Eleven swimmers with the Wildcat Aquatics Club, affiliated with the David and Thu Brule YMCA of Marquette County, competed at the Wisconsin/UP YMCA State Championships March 15-17 in Brown Deer, Wisconsin. Henrik Larsen, age 14, was the team’s top finisher in the short course (yards) meet. Larsen placed 2nd in the 400 yard-individual medley, 2nd in the 100 backstroke, 2nd in the 200 backstroke, 2nd in the open 1,000 freestyle and 3rd in the 50 freestyle; and broke the team record in the 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke and 1,000 freestyle. Larsen also had a successful weekend at USA State Championships in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin March 1-3, where he placed top 5 in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 200 butterfly and broke the team record in each of those events. Larsen will finish his 2024 short course season at NCSA Age Group Nationals in Orlando, FL March 27-30. Larsen was followed by four Marquette Senior High School swimmers, each of whom won at least one event at MHSAA Swim and Dive U.P. Finals in February. Grace Sobczak, 17, swam her way to a significant personal best and a 2nd place finish in the open 1650 freestyle, followed by a 3rd place in the 400 individual medley, 6th in the 1,000 freestyle and 15th in the 500 freestyle. Sobczak, a senior, has won several championships at U.P. Finals and is planning to continue her swimmer career in college. Kaytlin Roell, 14, had a top finish of 4th in the 200 butterfly, followed by 6th in the 400 individual medley, 8th in the 200 backstroke and 11th in the 200 freestyle. Roell and Larsen won the Division 3 team championship at the USA State Championship meet in early March, with Roell’s top finishes being 15th in the 500 freestyle and 22nd in the 1,000 freestyle at the USA meet. Olive Krueger, 14, finished 3rd in the 1,650 freestyle - just a few seconds behind Sobczak. Krueger also medaled with an 8th place in both the open 1,000 freestyle and the 500 freestyle, and placed 9th in the 200 backstroke and 13th in the 200 freestyle. Trevor Crandell, 17, the final MSHS swimmer competing at YMCA State Championships had a top finish of 16th in the 100 yard butterfly, as well as 31st in the 50 freestyle and 43rd in the 100 freestyle. Emmett Krueger, 11, led the younger swimmers on the team by placing 4th in the 50 breaststroke, 4th in the 500 freestyle, and 5th in the 100 breaststroke. Krueger, along with Ray Bolm, Hank Huhta and Will Lindsay also placed 19th in the 200-yard freestyle relay and 17th in the 200-yard medley relay. Will Lindsay, 13, finished 19th in the 100 breaststroke and 28th in the 100 freestyle, with substantial time drops in both of his events. Hank Huhta, 11, placed 3rd in both the 200 individual medley and the 500 freestyle, significantly improving his personal best times in both events. Harrison Huhta, 10, swam his way to 7th place in the 100 backstroke, followed by 12th in the 50 backstroke and 15th in the 50 freestyle. Ray Bolm, 11, finished 21st in the 50 freestyle; while Evan Sibley, 8, finished 27th in the 25 freestyle. The team’s short course season runs from September through mid-March under the direction of head coach Grant Combs and assistant coach Sarah Watling. Additional information regarding the team can be found at wildcataquaticsclub.com. Team Photo: Front row l-r: Grant Combs, Hank Huhta, Harrison Huhta, Ray Bolm, Evan Sibley, Sarah Watling. Back row l-r: Emmett Krueger, Will Lindsay, Trevor Crandall, Olive Krueger, Kaytlin Roell, Grace Sobczak and Henrik Larsen. Photo provided courtesy of LaBelle Photos.