BARABOO — The Cheesemakers are sending six swimmers to the WIAA Division 2 state meet after a stellar day in the pool Nov. 3 at the Baraboo Sectional.

Monroe-New Glarus finished fourth as a team and will be racing in five events at the Friday, Nov. 9 competition at the UW-Natatorium in Madison. Mekenzie Hammer, Morgan Erstad, Alyssa Roelli, Karley Michels and Nina and Francesca Schiro will all compete for the Cheesemakers.

“I don’t know where those swims came from, but those girls earned what they put in the pool today. It was unbelievable,” Monroe-New Glarus head coach Linda Moser said.

Hammer, the defending state champion in the 100-yard backstroke, will defend her title after snagging a second-place finish in the sectional, 57.99 seconds, which was .54 seconds behind Madison Edgewood freshman Anna teDuits. 

“It means a lot to me. I was really worried coming in here for no reason — I just get really nervous,” Hammer said. “But then once I got here, I realized ‘You worked really hard, you deserve this.’ So, I just got in there and focused on my race. I’m really, really proud of myself.”

Youth was a driving factor throughout much of the sectional, but it was apparent in the backstroke. After winning the state title as a freshman last season, the other five top finishers at the sectional were all freshmen — including Erstad, who was fourth (59.00) and will compete in four events Friday.

“I don’t care that they are younger than me, I just see them as another competitor and do my best,” Hammer said.

Erstad was the top finisher in her other individual event — the 500-yard freestyle (5:19.66), an event in which she broke her own school record. Senior teammate Nina Schiro finished fifth (5:29.02) and also advanced to the state meet.

“I wasn’t nervous before. I was really pumped because I also had my teammate Nina Schiro in the same heat, and I was trying to pump her up,” Erstad said. “When I was swimming it, I was trying to feel smooth, and I did. It was super exciting.”

Hammer won the 200-yard individual medley (2:09.90), cutting nearly six seconds off of her seed time and also breaking the previous school record of 2:12.23, set by Rachel Root in 2012.

“I just got in there and I raced. My mind just went all on the race that I was swimming. I just wanted to attack the water the whole time,” Hammer said.

Roelli and Michels, both freshmen, join Hammer and Erstad in the 200-yard medley relay that will kick off of the meet. The quartet broke the school record set back in 1999 with a fourth-place time of 1:52.70. The Schiro sisters will team up with Hammer and Erstad in the 400-yard freestyle relay to close out the state meet. That pairing also broke the previous program mark set in 2016.

“Tapering week went really well for them. And they were in a really good place mentally, and that is huge for the girls,” Moser said. “The fact that we dropped 3-4 seconds, which is what you would expect, and others dropped 5, 6, 7 seconds — it went really well.”

The fourth-place finish is the best the Cheesemakers have ever done at a sectional, especially when considering state powerhouses Edgewood (first) McFarland (second) and Baraboo (third) all reside in the field. 

“We have the powerhouse sectional, and everybody knows that,” Moser said. “This is Fort’s first year back and they are so glad to be back in a sectional that’s really fast because it helps you as a team to be faster.”

In the 100-yard freestyle alone the Baraboo Sectional is sending 11 swimmers to the state meet, making up 10 of the 12 at-large bids. Francesca Schiro finished 12th in the race (55.96), just 44/100ths behind Sauk Prairie’s Mariah Chao, who also missed out on advancing in the event.

Not reaching state is senior Cammi Ganshert, finishing on the outside looking in for the 200-yard freestyle relay, the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle. Ganshert and Nina Schiro were the veteran leaders of the team this year.

“I’m going to miss them so much. They are such leaders on this team in so many ways,” Moser said. “(Nina) gave up an individual swim so her sister Samantha could come experience this. That’s called ‘team’. Cammi said to me before she went to the 200-free, ‘Can I not push quite so hard so that the 200-relay has a chance to make it?’ That’s what team is about, and those girls exemplify that.”