Marlins’ first swim meet ends in victory

The+Marlins+watch+intently+as+Zach+Solie+swims+in+the+50+freestyle.+He+took+second+place%2C+beat+out+by+a+senior+from+Greenfiled.

The Marlin’s watch intently as Zach Solie swims in the 50 freestyle. He took second place, beat out by a senior from Greenfiled.

New Berlin’s combined high school swim team, the Marlins, had their first swim meet of the season Wednesday night against the combined swim team of Greenfield and Greendale.  The meet took place at New Berlin West, and the Marlin’s won by fourteen points.

The Varsity team won 96-82 and got first in the 400 free relay consisting of all seniors; Zach Solie (West), captain Taylor Petrauski (Ike), Amin Phakhruddin (West), and captain Jackson Wannamaker (West) with a time of 3:12.84.  Solie also received first in the 100 freestyle with 51.31, while Wannamaker got first in the 500 freestyle with a 1:57.80.

Wannamker said “As long as we continue to work hard and stay focused, we will have a successful year and I think some of us have a shot at qualifying for state.”  The team plans to make state in two relays and multiple individual events.

The Greenfield/Greendale team was small (only 13swimmers) and only put swimmers in three of the twelve junior varsity events: the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, and 100 backstroke.  All other swimmers were put in varsity events.

The final JV score was 118-14 and junior Joe Hansen (West) got first in the 50 free with a time of 29.65, sophomore Alex Kellman (West) got first in the 100 free, 1:11.81, and freshman Michael Klein (West) also beat Greendale/Greenfield in the 100 backstroke with a finishing time of 1:38.06.

Assistant coach Ryan Heft said “All of the guys are in good shape for the beginning of the season, and we’re expecting some big results this year.”

The Marlins also have a special needs swimmer, super senior Tyler Jaquish from Eisenhower who swam in the JV events: 50 freestyle and the 200 free relay.

There were four divers; Zach Stoltenburg, Mitch Baker, Tyler Brandt, and Bennett Bartkuhn. Varsity Scored 14 points, while JV scored 6.

Head Coach Walden and assistant coach Heft both agreed “This was a very successful first meet, and will hopefully set the bar for the rest of the season.”