WATERLOO, Iowa —The biggest Platteville/Lancaster boys’ swimming team in the 33-year history of the program used its superior team depth to dominate a pair of non-conference dual meets last Tuesday at Waterloo East High School.
     The Hillmen won six of the eight individual events and swept all three relays en route to easy victories over Waterloo East, 90–48, and Vinton/Shellsburg 90–55.
     “We had a heavy advantage with a much larger team than either of the other two,” said Hillmen head coach Tom Caccia. “I was pleased with the wins. It’s a nice way to start the season. I think we have some work to get done and this meet provided us the opportunity to see what we need to work on as a team.”
     Lancaster junior Brenden Polkinghorn won both the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle events with times of 53.79 seconds and 2:02.96 and respectively.
     Platteville junior Ben Bahr won the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:31.69.
     Lancaster senior Ryan Heberlein won the 50-yard   freestyle (25.30), Platteville sophomore Sam Iselin won the 100 butterfly (1:05.93) and Lancaster senior Nicholas Volkmann won the 500 freestyle (5:45.70).
     Friday the Hillmen returned to action at the eight-team Milton Invitational, finishing third with 369 points, behind the host Red Hawks (604) and runner-up Stoughton (400).
     Volkmann claimed an individual victory in the 200-yard freestyle with a winning time of 2:01.43, while Polkinghorn finished second in the event (2:02.69) and second in the 100-yard freestyle (53.79).
     The Lancaster duo also combined with Heberlein and Platteville senior Jordan Kress to finish second in the 200 freestyle relay (1:38.51), and with Heberlein and Platteville senior Wade Roberts to place second in the 400 free relay (2:01.43).
     “We had a very good meet with very few mistakes,” said Caccia. “We placed as well as we could have placed and I’m happy with our guys competitive attitude. I’m looking forward to the start of the conference season.”
     The conference season opens for the Hillmen Thursday night with a meet Southern Lakes triple dual with conference favorite, Elkhorn and Whitewater at UW–Platteville starting at 6 p.m.

Waterloo Triple Dual
(from Tuesday, Dec. 4 @ Waterloo, Iowa)
Team scores — Platteville/Lancaster 90, Waterloo East 48; Platteville/Lanacster 90, Vinton/Shellsburg 55.
     Platteville/Lancaster’s winners
200 medley relay — 1.Platteville/Lancaster (Jake Fulton, Ben Bahr, Jordan Kress, Ryan Heberlein) 1:56.79. 200 freestyle — 1.Brenden Polkinghorn (P/L) 2:02.96. 200 individual medley – 1.Ben Bahr (P/L) 2:31.69. 50 freestyle – 1.Ryan Heberlein 25.30. 100 butterfly — 1.Sam Iselin 1:05.93. 100 freestyle — 1.Polkinghorn (P/L) 53.79. 500 freestyle — 1.Nicholas Volkmann (P/L) 5:45.70. 200 freestyle relay — 1.Pla/Lan (Heberlein, Kres,, Nicholas Volkmann and Polkinghorn) 1:40.94. 400 freestyle relay — 1.Pla/Lan (Volkmann, Fulton, Roberts, Polkinghorn) 3:50.58.

Milton Invitational
(from Friday, Dec. 7 @ Milton)
Team scores — 1.Milton 604, 2.Stoughton 400, 3.Platteville/Lancaster 369, 4.Milton B 250, 5.Beaver Dam 231, 6.Whitewater 227, 7.Delavan–Darien 139, 8.Jefferson 59.
     Platteville/Lancaster’s top finishers
200 freestyle — 1.Nicholas Volkmann (P/L) 2:01.43, 2.Brenden Polkinghorn (P/L) 2:02.69. 100 freestyle — 2.Polkinghorn (P/L) 52.84. 200 freestyle relay — 2.Pla/Lan (Ryan Heberlein, Jordan Kress, Volkmann and Polkinghorn) 1:38.51. 400 freestyle relay — 2.Pla/Lan (Heberlein, Roberts, Volkmann, Polkinghorn) 3:38.27.