C/A swim eyes further postseason accolades
A season full of new school records and a pair of state appearances won’t be easy to top, but with the Colby/Abbotsford swim team returning a large portion of their core from last year’s team, the co-op squad is once again setting their sights high in 2025.
There has been steady progression for the Colby/Abbotsford program over the last few years, thanks in part to a core group of senior swimmers that have been key contributors to the varsity squad since their freshman year. After going 0-7 in Great Northern Conference duals in 2021, the team has seen a steady ascension up the final standings. They jumped from eighth place in the conference to fifth in 2022, fourth in 2023 and then finally moving up into third following the 2024 season. Colby/ Abby has also had at least one representative at the state meet the past three seasons.
While this year’s squad will be short a key piece to this recent success in the now graduated Chloe Cihlar, who was part of the 200-yard freestyle relay team that went to state in 2024, Colby/Abby will still have a number of accomplished swimmers returning.
Seniors Brezlyn Boyer, Jordan Jakel and Madisyn Schraufnagel were also part of last year’s school record setting state freestyle relay team and will be once again aiming for that goal. All three had been to state prior to the 2024 team; Boyer and Schraufnagel both were part of the 400yard freestyle state relay team in 2023 and Jakel served as the alternate and Schraufnagel has participated as an individual every season since joining as a freshman, holding school records in the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard IM.
“We have strong returners,” head coach Monica Tesmer said. “Madi Schraufnagel, Brezlyn Boyer and Jordan Jakel all went to state last year, so using their talent and their expertise to help push the younger swimmers is great.”
Finding a fourth swimmer to potentially step into Cihlar’s place in the team’s top relay will be one of the challenges that faces the Colby/Abby squad in 2025, but the team’s coaching staff feels that, with their solid core of varsity returners behind the trio of seniors from last year’s state relay, they have a number of good options.
Senior Hazel Flink and juniors Sage Lueth and Bryleigh Boyer all have multiple years of varsity experience under their belts and have helped the team climb their way up the standings of the conference by providing valuable depth during dual meets. Returning sophomores Ella Baumann and Kate Sheahan contributed to the varsity squad already as freshmen last season and are poised to continue to do so this year as well.
“We have really good fillers,” Tesmer noted. “Hazel, Bryleigh and Sage are all pretty good at all four strokes and Ella is a really strong freestyler, so we have fillers that can really help those other areas.”
“We have three really strong swimmers, who’s going to be that fourth to that relay?” she added. “Who’s going to step up and take this place? And they know that and they are working for it.”
There are also some new additions to the team that appear poised to be contributors in their first year with the varsity squad.
“With the freshmen coming in, Myra Hopperdietzel looks really strong in her free right now,” Tesmer said. “Hailey Huther, her starts look really good and we are tweaking some things, but she swims breaststroke.”
Having that depth and athletes with not only the ability to compete in the four different strokes, but the willingness to swim in those events depending on what the team needs in a specific meet will be one of the team’s strengths during their regular season dual schedule.
“Our four seniors, Madi, Brez, Jordan and Hazel, may be swimming out of their comfort zone to fill areas that we need for duals,” Tesmer said. “And they all have that flexibility right now. The four seniors are all very strong in all four strokes. If somebody is sick and I need a 500 swimmer, they’ll jump into a distance, they’ll jump into a 100-fly, they’ll jump into anything because they’re all able to. And having that is a strength and will help us compete.”
Looking closer at the Great Northern Conference, Rhinelander would appear to still have a vice grip over the top spot, sporting both the numbers and talent to notch another conference title.
The battle behind the Hodags has typically gone to Medford in recent years, and while they have graduated some key pieces, they will also be returning several strong swimmers.
Antigo, who took fourth place in the GNC last season, will be short their top swimmer in Chloe Tainter, but will be returning almost the rest of their squad as well. A young Lakeland squad from last season will likely also be improved and newcomer to the GNC Merrill could be a wild card as teams battle it out in a cluttered race behind Rhinelander. Colby/Abby appears to be in the center of all of it with a veteran squad that took third last year.
Because of the addition of the Bluejays to the conference, the schedule will look a little different this season. With now an odd number of teams, the first two duals of the season will now be double duals and then teams will have a bye week of sorts during the regular season.
Colby/Abby will host their first of these double duals on Thursday, September 4, when they host both the Ladysmith co-op squad and Merrill. Last season, the Colby/ Abby defeated Ladysmith 93-71, winning eight of the 11 events. The visiting co-op will also be short their best swimmer from last season, Sarah Allard, who graduated.
Meanwhile, Merrill proved to be a solid squad in the Wisconsin Valley Conference, tying for fourth place with Marshfield and sending swimmers to state in three different events.
The dual meet will start at 5:30 p.m.
