The Platteville/Lancaster boys swim team hosted its only home meet of this season Saturday at UW–Platteville.

    The Hillmen scored 137 points and finished eighth out of 10 teams at the annual Platteville/Lancaster Hillmen Invitational.

     “This was our last opportunity to try some different things and to put people into events that they haven’t done for a while,” said Platteville/Lancaster head coach Matt Wunderlin. “There were a lot of best times in spite of the fact that the guys were swimming tired. It bodes well as we get into the championship portion of the season.”

     The Hillmen will travel to Lake Geneva for the Southern Lakes Conference Championships on Saturday.

     The 200-yard medley relay team of Dan Iselin, Vince Momot, Jack Schaffer and Nick Demaree earned a second-place silver medal, Platteville/Lancaster’s top finish, with a time of 1:51.56.

     Iselin, a Platteville junior, won an individual bronze medal in the 100 backstroke (1:02.56) and placed eighth in the 50 freestyle (24.68).

     PLATTEVILLE — Schaffer, a senior from Lancaster, placed fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.88) and fifth in the 50 free (23.89).
Momot, a Platteville senior, just missed a top-10 finish in the 100 butterfly, finishing 11th with a time of 1:11.48.

     “We placed where we would have expected. It was nice to come out ahead of La Crosse after they edged us out in a dual meet earlier in the season,” added Wunderlin.  “Our two teams were tied going into the last relay, but our guys dug deep and ended up ahead.”

     Last Tuesday, the Hillmen closed out their SLC dual meet schedule by sweeping conference triple dual at Jefferson.
The Platteville co-op defeated Whitewater 88–81, and came out on top of Jefferson/Cambridge, 88–79.

     “This was an exciting meet,” said Wunderlin. “All three teams knew that the results could swing in any direction. It was amazing to watch how the guys rose to the occasion and outswam some tough competition in order to edge out the other two schools.”

     The Hillmen won four events and turned in three second-place finishes. Iselin won the 200 individual medley (2:18.40) and the 100 backstroke (1:02.38). Schaffer was victorious in the 100 butterfly (56.54) and finished second in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.89). Momot earned a second place in the 100 fly (1:12.43) and came in third in the 100 breaststroke (1:16.57).

     Schaffer, Iselin, Demaree and sophomore Connor Feyen teamed up to win the 200 freestyle relay with a time of (1:38.89).

     The Hillmen finished the regular season 3–5 overall and 3–3 in SLC dual meets.

     “Our team goal was to win three conference duals this season,” said Wunderlin. “Early on, it looked like this goal was simply out of reach with our small and somewhat inexperienced team. But their hard work, senior leadership, and mental toughness has taken them a long way the past couple months. Now we have to carry this momentum forward as we near the championship phase of the season.”

Southern Lakes Conference Triple Dual
(from Tuesday, Jan. 19 @ Jefferson)
Team scores — Platteville/Lancaster 88, Whitewater 81; Platteville/Lancaster 88, Jefferson/Cambridge 79.
Platteville/Lancaster top finishers
200 medley relay — 2.Pla/Lan (Dan Iselin, Vince Momot, Jack Schaffer, Nick Demaree) 1:53.03. 200 freestyle — 3.Nick Demaree (P/L) 2:08.43. 200 individual medley — 1.Iselin (P/L) 2:18.40. 50 freestyle — 4(tie).Demaree (P/L) 26.21, 4(tie).Connor Feyen (P/L) 26.21. 100 butterfly — 1.Schaffer (P/L) 56.54, 2.Momot (P/L) 1:12.43. 100 freestyle — 4.Feyen (P/L) 1:00:30. 500 freestyle — 5.Ben Wilson (P/L) 6:29:28. 200 freestyle relay — 1.Pla/Lan (Schaffer, Iselin, Demaree, Feyen) 1:39.89. 100 backstroke — 1.Iselin (P/L) 1:02.38. 100 breaststroke — 2.Schaffer (P/L) 1:07.89, 3.Momot (P/L) 1:16.57. 400 freestyle relay — 3.Pla/Lan (Donovan, Michael Prestegard, Marvin Kaye, Feyen) 4:19.79.

Platteville/Lancaster Hillmen Invitational
(from Saturday, Jan. 23 @ UW–Platteville)
Team scores — 1.Sauk Prairie 310, 2.Beloit Memorial 301.5, 3.Hononegah 294, 4.Baraboo 271, 5.Madison Edgewood 254, 6.Rockford Auburn (Ill.) 243, 7.Stoughton 217.5, 8.Platteville/Lancaster 137, 9.La Crosse 119, 10.Delavan–Darien 77.
Platteville/Lancaster top finishers
200 medley relay — 2.Pla/Lan (Dan Iselin, Vince Momot, Jack Schaffer, Nick Demaree) 1:51.56. 200 freestyle — 22.Kevin Donovan (P/L) 2:24.17. 100 individual medley — 14.Michael Prestegard (P/L) 1:11.86. 50 freestyle — 5.Jack Schaffer (P/L) 23.89, 8.Dan Iselin 24.68. 100 butterfly — 11.Momot (P/L) 1:11.48. 100 freestyle — 27.Donovan (P/L) 1:01.23. 500 freestyle — 19.Ben Wilson (P/L) 6:42.71. 200 freestyle relay — 14.Pla/Lan (Marvin Kaye, Wilson, Trent Julius, Jackson Gormley) 1:58.55. 100 backstroke — 3.Iselin (P/L) 1:02.56. 100 breaststroke — 4.Schaffer (P/L) 1:07.88. 400 freestyle relay — 9.Pla/Lan (Schaffer, Iselin, Nick Demaree, Connor Feyen) 3:50.44.