Posted: Jan. 13, 2010 |(0) Comments

Homestead diver Erik Larsen upset defending state champion Nathan Cox of Menomonee Falls to win the event and lead the Highlanders to a 13th place showing in the powerhouse Marquette Gator Invitational at Waukesha South on Saturday.

Larsen, who was sixth in state last season, turned in an 11-dive mark of 428.7 to edge Cox (426.75) in a field loaded with state-caliber performers. His efforts helped the Highlanders turn in a 101.5 point total as Waukesha South won with 310.5 and Arrowhead was second with 230.5.

Homestead also got a second out of Cody Burkard in the 100 breaststroke (1:01.9) while Ben Sjulson was fifth in the 100 freestyle (48.75) and sixth in the 50 free (22.61). Burkard was also seventh in the 200 individual medley (2:03.88). In addition, the 200 free relay team of Sjulson, Will Schlagater, Erik Erlandson and Burkard was 10th (1:35.13) and the 400 free relay crew of Sjulson, Erlandson, Kyle Welna and Burkard was 12th (season best 3:28.54).

Homestead will host Whitefish Bay in a North Shore dual at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14.

Whitefish Bay gymnastics

Behind the all-around championship of Margaret Anderson, the Blue Dukes pulled out the team title in the five-team Mount Horeb Viking Invitational.

Anderson turned in an all-around score of 35.675 in claiming her win. She turned in a victorious 8.675 score on the uneven bars and was second on balance beam (9.025), and vault (9.125) and tied for third in floor exercise (8.85).

After a dual Wednesday with West Allis, the Blue Dukes will now be off until the Jan. 23 Arrowhead Invitational.

Brown Deer boys basketball

The Falcons split a pair of Woodland Conference games last week.

They used a 38-26 second-half effort to rally past Greendale, 63-48, on Jan. 5, but then struggled against St.Thomas More, scoring only 14 points in the first half as the Cavaliers built a 30-14 lead.

Chris Smith and Jake Schimenz had eight points apiece for the Falcons (5-4 in Woodland play and 5-7 overall).

The Falcons will visit New Berlin West (7-2, 7-5) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Nicolet wrestling

Every rebuilding process needs a major step forward.The Knights may have found theirs when Ethan Klein at 112 pounds and Dakota Mitchell at 130 won individual titles in leading Nicolet to a strong third-place finish in the West Allis Hale Husky Invitational on Saturday.

“It was our best tournament in years,” said Nicolet coach Gus Kaufmann. “We even took along some JV guys and they did well, too. We won matches we expected to and other guys won matches we didn’t expect them to. The guys were really excited that they were actually in the running (for team honors).”

The Knights will try to build on this success, when they travel to Germantown at 7:30 p.m. today Thursday for a North Shore dual. They will then be at the Racine Case Eagle Invitational on Saturday.
Nicolet scored 193.5 points in the 10-team Hale meet as Waukesha West (212.5) and Hale (206) went one-two, respectively.

Klein and Mitchell were impressive in leading the way. Klein (20-2 overall) pinned opponents from Bay, Hale and Milwaukee Riverside to earn his crown, while Mitchell (17-3), pinned a Burlington Catholic Central foe and then claimed decisions over Bay and Racine Horlick grapplers.

“Ethan had real intensity, no one really scored on him all day,” said Kaufmann. “Dakota looked great down on the mat all day. We just have to work on his intensity a little.”

Chris Morrell was second at 103 (9-3) losing a tough 13-10 decision to a West opponent in the final. What really secured the final team place for the Knights were the six individual third-place slots they earned. They included Tamir Klein at 119 (18-5), Austin Bay at 125 (8-12), Matt Dineen at 135 (13-7), Bobby Herrick at 145 (15-7), Jon McKay at 215 (5-3) and Trevor Cole at 285 (3-1).

Kaufmann noted that all but one of the 13 wrestlers he brought to the meet earned a place. Of special note to him were the efforts of Bay, Wilhelm Fehlhaber at 160 (fourth and first two wins of the season) and McKay and Cole. “It was amazing, we were up after the first round,” said Kaufmann, “and I told them that they had to continue the momentum in the semifinals and they did.”

Whitefish Bay wrestling

Jake Beckert claimed the title at 171 pounds and Luke Davey moved up the list of all-time wins leaders as the Blue Dukes were encouraged by their tie for fifth in the West Allis Hale Husky Invitational on Saturday.

“A lot of nice things happened,” said Blue Dukes coach Dale Loebel. “It’s not a huge team tourney, but you wrestle the kids who are in front of you. We are moving forward and we are getting better.”

The Blue Dukes, who also beat Grafton in a North Shore dual on Jan. 7, scored 121 points for their spot to tie with Cedarburg in the 10-team field. Waukesha West won with 212.5.

Beckert ran his record to 19-3 with his championship. He got a first-round bye and then pinned a Racine Horlick opponent before dowing a Milwaukee Riverside foe 8-2 in the finals.

Bay got one second and that was from Andrew Reidy at 125 (13-8). He beat a Riverside foe in the semifinal and then lost to Scott Hancox of Hale (15-1) in the final by an 11-2 count.

“But he put in such a good effort, always attacking,” said Loebel.

Davey went 3-1 on the day at 130 to improve to 14-7 and take third. He is now 57-33 overall, fourth unofficially on the all-time school win list. Beckert is right behind him at 52-34.

Other places for the Blue Dukes included Joey Davey at 103 (fourth, 11-13); Joe Mahler at 119 (fifth, 3-9); Rashadeem Gray at 140 (fourth, 7-9); Tim Carlin at 152 (fifth, 10-11); and Henry Dixon at 189 (fourth, 3-4).

In the 49-27 win over Grafton, actual match wins went to Dixon at 189 (12-10 decision), Reidy at 125 (13-3 major decision), and Gray at 140 (pin 1:40). The Blackhawks forfeited six classes to the Blue Dukes.

Nicolet boys basketball

Consistency is needed to win conference championships and just three days after looking brilliant against Homestead (71-56 win) and maintaining a share of the North Shore lead, the Knights looked inconsistent and dropped out of first with a surprising 65-57 loss to Germantown on Friday.

“We didn’t quite have the mental edge or discipline needed at crucial times,” said Knights coach Paul Hepp. “We didn’t have enough patience to go to the second or the third option when we ran the offense. We rushed a lot of shots.”

The split dropped the Knights to 3-2 in the North Shore (8-2 overall) and into a three-way tie for third, a game behind co-leaders Whitefish Bay and Port Washington. Nicolet will look to get back on track with a home game against Milwaukee Lutheran at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Nicolet rallied from an early deficit against Germantown (3-2, 8-4) to take an 18-17 lead early in the second quarter, but in a critical sequence, the Knights missed on three straight possessions while the Warhawks scored on three straight possessions. Nicolet would not have the lead again.

The Warhawks would hit 17 of 21 free throws in the game.

Myles Henry and Christian Griggs-Williams had 12 points apiece for Nicolet.

In the win over Homestead, a 21-12 outburst in the second quarter gave the Knights the lead for good as Henry scored eight of his team-high 17 points in succession at the end of the stanza. Four players were in double figures for the Knights including Tre Kinlow (13), and Cameron Smith and Jarel James (10).

“Everybody has to bring it every night,” said James of the team effort.

Brown Deer girls basketball

Finally getting healthy, the Falcons put back-to-back wins together for the first time this season, beating St. Thomas More, 45-35, on Friday and then outlasting Sheboygan South 57-54, on Saturday.

“We had been missing Ariel Kinlow and Allison Laurent because of concussions for five games and, not surprisingly, we lost all five of those games,” said Falcons coach Mark Busalacchi. “Now with them back, we’re making strides.”

Brown Deer, which had also dropped a 48-34 decision to Greendale on Jan. 5, entered this week at 4-7 overall. They will host New Berlin West at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Against South in the nonconference game Saturday, the Falcons built an 18-point lead, but things got harrowing late as the Falcons missed eight straight free throws in the fourth quarter. The Redwings did have a final look, said Busalacchi, but the shot was rushed and off the mark.
Mariah Weddle had 20 points for the Falcons.

In the win over More, the Falcons came back from a 19-17 halftime deficit, outscoring the Cavaliers 28-16 in the second half.

Kinlow scored 14 points while Monique Morris had 13 and Chelsea Stingley 10 for Brown Deer, which hit 15 of 24 free throws this contest.

“We took care of the ball and made our shots in the fourth quarter,” said Busalacchi. Morris had six points in the final stanza.

Whitefish Bay girls basketball

Getting a firm handle on the team concept, the Blue Dukes outscored host Homestead in every quarter to pull away for a 46-28 win Friday.

“I think we’re beginning to understand who we are defensively,” said coach Greg Capper. “We have bigger, faster, longer kids who now understand their roles and that gives us more confidence.”

Coupled with a tough 39-33 loss to defending state Division 2 champ Grafton on Jan. 5, the Blue Dukes started this week 2-3 in the North Shore and 4-6 overall. Bay will visit Cedarburg (4-1, 8-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Bay was up 13-6 at the quarter and 24-11 at the half against the rebuilding Highlanders (0-5, 2-7). Alexa Herasimchuk had 13 points, including three, 3-pointers while Jessica Switzer and Elisabeth Johnston tossed in 11 apiece.

Katie Sullivan was also highlighted for her efforts. The Highlanders were led by Natalie Sperling with six points.

Reloading Grafton (2-2, 6-3) outscored Bay 24-15 in the middle two quarters and that was enough for the victory Jan. 5.

“We were just OK in handling in their pressure,” Capper said, “and so they were able to turn us over a few more times than we were able to afford.” Herasimchuk had 12 points and Switzer nine for the Blue Dukes.

Homestead boys basketball

Battling gamely but coming up just a little short each time defensively, the Highlanders fell out of first place in the North Shore with tough defeats at the hands of Nicolet (70-56) and Whitefish Bay (71-63) last week.

“We can’t give teams like that (extra opportunities),” said Highlanders coach Ray Curry after the loss to Nicolet. “We just couldn’t seem to get a stop.”

The Highlanders dropped to 3-2 in the North Shore and 5-5 overall. They will visit co-league leader Port Washington (4-1, 9-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

In losing to the other co-leader Bay (4-1, 8-2) on Friday, the Highlanders could not contain the powerful one-two punch of senior guard John Johnston (27 points) and junior forward Jamie Schneck (25 points and 15 rebounds).

Bay held a 55-49 lead at the end of three quarters, but a bucket by Homestead forward Lamonte Moore got the score to 66-63 with 1:28 remaining. Alex Jamerson hit two clinching free throws for Bay 20 seconds later.

Moore had 13 and Dominic Wilder 11 for Homestead which shot itself in the foot with a 13 of 30 free throw effort on the night.

Against Nicolet (3-2, 8-2), the Highlanders grabbed an early 5-0 lead but could not contain a balanced Knights (four in double figures) attack and never had the lead again after the first quarter. Coy Smith had 18 points and John Laihinen 17 for the Highlanders.

Whitefish Bay swimming

The Blue Dukes dropped a fiercely contested nonconference dual with area rival Shorewood, 89-87, to get the new year off to a competitive start.

Bay got individual firsts from Chuckie Prestigiacomo in the 50-yard freestyle (23.08), Bobby Rinka in diving, Tommy Hiller in the 500 free (5:10.63) and Jason Castillo in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.72).

In addition, the Blue Dukes claimed the 200 medley relay with Chris Fink, Castillo, Prestigiacomo and Rob Colton taking part (1:42.2) and also the 400 free relay with Fink, D.J. Friesch, Castillo and Prestigiacomo (3:22.5).

Shorewood won the 200 free relay and went one-three-four in the 100 backstroke to take control.

Seconds for Bay went to Fink in the 200 free (1:54.48) and the 100 backstroke (56.33), Castillo in the 200 individual medley (2:03.15), Colton in the 50 free (23.51), Hiller in the 100 butterfly (56.4) and Prestigiacomo in the 100 free (51.61).

The Blue Dukes will have a busy week, traveling to Homestead for a 6 p.m. dual today Thursday and then following that with a trip to Appleton North for the Lightning Invitational at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Homestead wrestling

With just not quite enough depth to pull more wins off, the Highlanders were a disappointing 1-4 in the Verona Duals on Saturday.

“We have our four or five really good kids but we’re still waiting for some of our others to pick it up and give the others a break,” said Highlanders coach Barry Bernstein, “and we need that, because when we’re going up against these kinds of teams, it’s a much higher level of competition.”

Homestead was competitive in almost all its matches, losing to the likes of Darlington, Slinger, Monroe and Portage with its only victory a 45-30 decision over the host Wildcats.

Jason Findling at 112 pounds and Ryan Greve at 215 both went 5-0 on the day while Spencer Bold at 125 and Taylor Ruffin at 160 were both 4-1. Alex Fischer at 119 and Nick Weyker at 130 were both 3-2.

A lot of the individual losses were to state-ranked opponents, said Bernstein.

“We’re still trying to find our place,” he said.

Brown Deer/USM boys swimming

Billy Wong’s second place showing in the 100 breaststroke highlighted a balanced effort for the Falcons as they took seventh in the 12-school Cedarburg Bulldog Invitational on Saturday.

“It was a really good team effort,” said Falcons co-coach Bob Van Lieshout. “We were missing a few guys because of a DECA event, but things are starting to work now. We’re starting to put things together.
“We didn’t have any weak swims at all today.”

Brown Deer/USM scored 140 points for its spot as Shorewood won with 345.

Wong turned in a time of one minute, 7.21 seconds in earning his place in the breaststroke.

Others Van Lieshout praised for their efforts included Stephen Grambow (ninth in the 200 free and a season best eighth in the 500 free) and Steven Lillie and Matt Daniels (10th and 11th in the 100 butterfly, respectively).

The Falcons 200 medley relay team of Jack Ladd, Daniels, Wong and Lillie was seventh (1:51.74) and the 200 free crew of Lillie, Grambow, Wong and Adam Brostowicz (1:39.39) was eighth.

- Steven L. Tietz