SECTIONALS

The Cougars were at the Middleton pool again and were swimming in the deepest and most competitive Sectional in the state. The 200 Medley Relay finished 8th place. Jimmy Loftus finished 11th in the 200 Free; Peter Loftus had a PR in the 200 IM and finished 11th; Troy Thornton had a big PR in the 100 Butterfly and also finished 11th; the 200 Free Relay finished in 8th place; Nick Krueger turned in a good performance in the 100 Back and finished 8th; the 400 Free Relay finished the meet on a good note with a season-best time and a 5th place finish. Later that night we found out the the 200 Medley Relay qualified for the State Championship Meet! Congratulations to relay members Nick Krueger, Troy Thornton, Mark Parker and Tad Martin! Relay aternates include Ryan Teuscher, John Casper and Erik Davis. Good luck to the Medley Relay at State!!!

200 Medley Relay Team of Nick Krueger (Back), Troy Thornton (Breast),

Mark Parker (Fly) and Tad Martin (Free)

200 Free Relay Team of (L to R) Tad Martin, Jimmy Loftus, John Casper and Mark Parker

The 400 Free Relay Team of (L to R) Mark Parker, Troy Thornton,

Jimmy Loftus and Tad Martin

Big 8 Conference

The Conference championship meet was held at Middleton and the Cougars had a strong showing. The team finished in 5th place out of 10 teams and achieved one of their team goals for the season. The top individual finishers were: Jimmy Loftus in the 200 and 500 Free and Nick Krueger in the 100 Back. Congratulations to the swimmers who earned their varsity letters at the meet. Lucas Canik lettered in the 500 Free; Austin Campbell and Erik Tollefsrud lettered in the 100 Free. Great way to finish off your season!

Jimmy Loftus in the 500 Freestyle

Nick Krueger (silver cap) in the 100 Backstroke

Cougar JV Invite

Swimming in their final meet of the season, the JV swimmers had an outstanding meet at the Craig pool. The team competed against Kenosha Bradford and Janesville Parker. Medal winners included: Levi Richardson- 2nd in the 200 Free; Nick Werle- 1st in the 50 Free; Nick Werle, Cormac McCarthy and Grayson Lindau swept the podium in the 100 Free; Max Snyder- 2nd in the 500 Free; the 200 Free Relay team of Cormac, Nick, Max and Grayson finished 1st; Cormac McCarthy- 3rd in the 100 Back; Grayson Lindau- 1st in the 100 Breaststroke; and the 400 Free Relay team of Cormac, Nick, Grayson and Bryce finished out the meet in style in 1st place. Out of the 16 swims, 14 of them were PR's! It was a great finish to their season!

Levi Richardson earns a silver in the 200 Freestyle

Cormac, Grayson and Nick (L to R) on the blocks

Nick, Grayson and Cormac (L to R) head to head in the 100 Free

Nick (gold), Cormac (silver) and Grayson (bronze) sweep the podium in the 100 Freestyle

Max Snyder earns silver in the 500 Freestyle

Cormac gets support from his teammates in the 100 Backstroke. "KICK!"

Grayson gets a boost from teammates and wins gold in the 100 Breaststroke

JV Conference @ Sun Prairie

Competing in their first taper meet, the Cougar JV swimmes battled tough competition at the Sun Prairie pool. Most of the team competed in the 50 Free and 100 Free and the top finishers included: Cormac McCarthy, Max Snyder and Nick Werle in the 50 Free and Cormac, Grayson Lindau and Nick in the 100 Free. Max Snyder and Andrew Ressler swam to great times in the 500 Free. The 400 Free Relay team of Max Snyder, Nick Werle, Grayson Lindau and Bryce Kitzman finished in 7th place. Overall, the swimmers had fun and represented Craig well!

Cormac McCarthy

Bryce Kitzman

Max Snyder

Nick Werle

Grayson Lindau

Andrew Ressler

Parker/Madison Memorial

After originally being postponed due to snow, the Cougars and Vikings tangled with Madison Memorial in a triple dual. The cross-town rivalry meet was competitive again, and the meet was extremely close due to the team missing 3 of their top varsity swimmers. Competing without Logan Lindau, Mark Parker or Nick Krueger the Cougars still managed to sqeak out a 91-79 victory. The win marks the 12th consecutive victory over Parker and sends the seniors out undefeated in their high school careers!

Senior, Ryan Tuescher, giving it all he's got in the 200 Medley Relay

Senior, Ryan Prestil, sets yet another PR in the 100 Breaststroke.

Menomonee Falls Invite

Menomonee Falls: Always a team favorite, the Cougars competed in the Menomonee Falls Indian Invite. The team finished in 3rd place overall out of 9 teams. Top individual and relay finishers included: the 200 Medley Relay team of Nick Krueger, Troy Thornton, Mark Parker and Tad Martin which finished first; Jimmy Loftus finished 5th in the 200 Free and 4th in the 500 Free; Nick Krueger finished 5th in the 50 Free and 4th in the 100 Back; Troy Thornton finished 4th in the 100 Fly and 5th in the 100 Breast; Travis Condon finished in 5th place in the 500 Free; the 200 Free Relay fnished 4th and the 400 Free Relay finished 5th. Afterwards, the Cougars headed over to Bayshore Mall to continue their tradition of eating at the Cheesecake Factory.

Cardinal Relays

Competing against a field of some of the top teams and swimmers in the state, the Cougars held their own, finishing in an impessive sixth place out of 14 teams. It was the team's best finish in the the four years they've competed in the meet. The 200 Medley Relay and the 500 Crescendo Relay both finished in 7th place. The 300 Backstroke Relay placed 6th. The highest finishing relay was the 400 Freestyle Relay which placed fifth, consisting of a team of Mark Parker, Tad Martin, Troy Thornton and Jimmy Loftus.

200 Medley Relay team of Nick Kreuger (Backstroke), Mark Parker (Butterfly), Troy Thronton (Breaststroke) and Tad Martin (Freestyle).

The 300 Backstroke Relay team of Ryan Tuescher, Travis Reese, Peter Loftus and Nick Kreuger.

The 400 Free Relay team of Mark Parker, Troy Thornton, Tad Martin and Jimmy Loftus.

Craig vs Madison West (Senior/Parents' Night)

It was Parent and Senior Recogntion Night at the Craig pool and the Cougars hosted a tough Madison West squad. Although the team lost to the Regents 119-51, the team had some very good performances. Nick Krueger was the lone event winner, finishing first in the 100 Backstroke with an impressive 58.94. Jimmy Loftus finished second in the 200 and 500 Freestyle events, while John Casper picked up a second place finish in the 100 Butterfly. Congratulations to all the seniors on a great career swimming in the Craig pool and thanks to all the parents for everything you do for us!

Nick Kreuger swimming the 100 Backstroke.

John Casper in the 100 Butterfly.

Middleton/Beloit Triple Dual

Craig came out 1-1 after swimming in a triple dual hosted by Middleton. The Cougars lost to Middleton 131-39 but beat Beloit Memorial 115-55. Swimming in a very fast pool, Jimmy Loftus finished third in the 200 and 500 Freestyle events; Troy Thornton got third in the 100 Butterfly and Nick Krueger also finished third in the 100 Back. The 200 Freestyle Relay also finished second to Middleton.

Nick Krueger in the 100 Backstroke.

Jimmy Loftus in the 500 Freestyle.

Troy Thornton in the 100 Butterfly.

Rock County Invite

The Cougars hosted the 2nd Annual Rock County Swim Championships in front of a huge crowd at the Craig pool. Craig finished second in the meet behind a strong performance from Milton. The 200 Medley and 200 Free Relays both finished second, while the 400 Freestyle Relay got first. Jimmy Loftus got second in the 200 Freestyle and won the 500 Freestyle in a new meet record time. Nick Krueger finished third in the 50 Free and second in the 100 Back. Troy Thornton picked up a third place finish in the 100 Butterfly and Travis Condon finished third in the 500 Free. Jimmy Loftus was voted as Craig's meet MVP by the participating coaches.

Jimmy Loftus, the meet MVP, wins the 500 Free!

400 Freestyle Relay swimmers (and Asst Coach, Rick Mueller/background) celebrate a win!

Logan Lindau and Jimmy Loftus congratulate one another after a win in the 400 Freestyle

Elkhorn Invite

The Cougars put in a good showing at the Elkhorn Invitational but were no match against the host Elks. Craig finished the meet in 4th place out of 11 teams. The top finisher was Jimmy Loftus, who was 5th in both the 200 Free and 400 Free. The 200 Medley and 200 Free Relays finished 5th and 4th respectively.

Jimmy Loftus swimming the 200 Freestyle

The 200 Medley Relay Team of Nick Krueger (Backstroke), Troy Thornton (Breaststroke), John Casper (Butterfly) and Tad Martin (Freestyle).

The 200 Freestyle Relay Team of Logan Lindau, John Casper, Jimmy Loftus and Tad Martin.

Sun Prairie

The Cougars knew they were going to have their hands full when a very evenly-matched Sun Prairie team came to the Craig pool. Although the Cougars lost 94-76, there were many good performances. Troy Thornton was a double winner, winning the 100 Fly and 100 Breaststroke.

Troy Thornton in the 100 Butterfly

and a double winner in the 100 Breaststroke.

WAY TO GO, TROY!

Parker Relays

Although the team was missing four top swimmers, the Cougars still put in a strong showing finishing 4th out of eight teams. The team placed three relays in the top 3: 200 Freestyle Relay (John Casper, Troy Thornton, Nick Krueger and Jimmy Loftus) finished 2nd; the 300 Back Relay (Ryan Teuscher, Jimmy Loftus, Travis Condon and Nick Krueger) finished 3rd; and the 500 Crescendo Relay (John Casper, Nick Krueger, Travis Condon and Jimmy Loftus) finished third.

Jimmy Loftus diving in for his leg of the 200 Free Relay.

Cougars rooting on a teammate, "go, Go, GOOOOOO!"

Craig vs LaFollette & Madison East

The Cougars hosted their first triple dual of the season and came away with two conference victories! Craig beat Madison LaFollette 121-49 and beat Madison East 124-46. The Cougars got individual victories from: Jimmy Loftus- 200 Free and 500 Free, Mark Parker- 200 IM, Tad Martin- 100 Free, Nick Krueger-100 Back and Troy Thornton-100 Breast.

Way to go GUYS!

Nick Krueger checking the scoreboard after his win in the 100 Backstroke.

Troy Thornton preparing for victory in the 100 Breaststroke.

Cougar Relays

As the host of the Cougar Relays, the team always wants to make a good showing. This year the Cougars made a good showing alright- THEY WON THE MEET! Craig won the final race of the meet, the Rocket Relay, to beat Elkhorn A by a mere two points- 124-122! The 200 Medley Relay, the 400 IM Relay and the 400 Rocket Relay all finished first. The Cougars medaled in every event and swam a number of unbelievable relay splits. Great job Craig!

Peter Loftus swimming the 100 Butterfly.

Nick Krueger swimming the backstroke.