STOUGHTON — Monroe-New Glarus girls swimming coach Kendra Kalvin wasn’t surprised to see the Badger South Conference dual meet against Stoughton come down to the final race — the 400-yard freestyle relay on Tuesday, Oct. 1, on the road.
The Cheesemakers needed to have two 400-freestyle relay teams finish in the top three to pull off a thrilling comeback win. Instead, Monroe-NG had its top 400-free relay team of junior Mekenzie Hammer, junior Francesca Schiro, Kendra Wenger and sophomore Morgan Erstad finish second with a time of 3 minutes, 51.6 seconds — 6.6 seconds away from Stoughton’s winning time. The other 400-free relay team for Monroe-NG took fourth and the Vikings clipped the Cheesemakers 88-82.
Monroe-NG (2-4 Badger South) stormed back from a 20-point deficit by sweeping the top three spots in the 100-backstroke and 100-breaststroke.
“We had kind of counted ourselves out,” Kalvin said. “I think even to get back to that point where it was do or die, we are happy with that.”
Hammer won the 200-individual medley (2:15.94) and finished first in the 100-backstroke (1:01.72). The time Hammer swam in the 200-IM ranks as the fifth-fastest Division 2 time in the state, according to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association.
Sophomore Alyssa Roelli took second in the 100-back (1:06.81) and sophomore Kaitlyn Elgin placed third (1:06.93).
Sophomore Karley Michels won the 100-breaststroke (1:11.41) and junior Anna Newcomer finished second (1:125.54). Sophomore teammate Peyton Yaun took third (1:16.81) in the same event.
“We were not expecting that,” Kalvin said of sweeping the top three in the back and breaststroke. “We always have faith in the girls. The girls have been working really hard. To see them get those wins (in top three) really means a lot to us.”
Kalvin said the comeback was possible by having talented swimmers in the backstroke and breaststroke who really showed up.
Hammer teamed with Michels, Roelli and Schiro to win the 200-medley relay (1:57.96).
Francesca Schiro finished second in the 50-free (26.10) and the 100-free (57.04). Her younger sister, Samantha Schiro, took second in the 100-butterfly (1:08.35). Erstad added a second-place finish in the 200-free (2:06.08).
Stoughton junior Sofia Bormett, the Vikings’ first state champion in program history in the 200-free last year, knew what was on the line going into the dual’s final event — the 400-free relay.
The Vikings took first and third in the 400-free relay to edge the Cheesemakers.
“We were all really tired at the end,” Bormett said, “but when we are close to winning or when it’s tied, our energy and spirit goes up and we are ready to race. We knew our relays were stacked and we knew we could pull it out and win it.”
Stoughton improved to 4-1-1 in Badger South Conference dual meets. The Vikings lost to McFarland and tied Milton. Stoughton still swims against No. 1-ranked Madison Edgewood.
Monroe has a conference dual meet against Oregon for Senior Night on Oct. 15 at the Green County YMCA.
