Craig @ STATE

The Craig boys swim team were at the UW-Natatorium to compete at their last meet of the 2010-2011 swim season. The Medley Relay team of Nick Krueger, Alex Loftus, Troy Thornton and Tyler Meinders posted a 1:41.24 to finish 14th. Alex Loftus swam a 2:00.16 to place 15th in the 200 IM and a 59.41 to finish 9th in the 100 Breaststroke. The 400 Free Relay team of Tyler Meinders, Tad Martin, Jacob Canik and Alex Loftus placed 21st with a 3:24.92. Congratulations to everyone on a great swim season and thanks to all the parents for all their support!

We'll see you all next season!!

Warm ups @ the UW-NAT

Jacob Canik

Tyler Meinders

Alex Loftus

Craig @ WIAA Sectionals

The Cougars competed at the Middleton Sectional to try to acheive PR's and to qualify for the State meet. The meet started off great when the 200 Medley Relay swam a season best 1:42.39 and came in 5th place. Alex Loftus then broke his school record from last year (1:59.19) by placing second with a new record of 1:58.33. Tyler Meinders finished in 7th in the 50 Free and 12th in the 100 Free, while Troy Thornton finished 11th in the 100 Butterfly. Jimmy Loftus placed 10th in the 500 Free and Nick Krueger also finished 10th in the 100 Backstroke. Alex Loftus broke the oldest swim record at Craig by winning the 100 Breaststroke in 59.23 seconds, breaking Jai Khanna's record of 1:00.06 set in 1986. Alex becomes the first high schooler from Janesville to break a minute in the 100 Breast. The 400 Free Relay team finished out the day by dropping 7 seconds off their seed time, swimming a 3:24.68 and finishing in 5th place. Later that night, we found out that the following swimmers qualified for the 2011 WIAA State Championships:

200 Medley Relay- seeded 20th

Nick Krueger, Alex Loftus, Troy Thornton, Tyler Meinders

200 IM- Alex Loftus- seed 8th

100 Breaststroke- Alex Loftus- seeded 5th

400 Free Relay- seeded 22nd

Tyler Meinders

Tad Martin

Jacob Canik

Alex Loftus

State Relay Alternates are Jimmy Loftus and Mark Parker

Good Luck at State boys!!

Nick, Troy, Tyler and Alex 5th in the 200 Medley Relay

Alex in the 100 Breaststroke

Alex WINS the 100 Breaststroke and breaks the oldest standing Craig record.

CONGRATULATIONS Alex!

Tyler in the 400 Relay

Jacob Canik in the 400 Free Relay

Meeting Monday!

There will be a swim meeting right after school on Monday, February 14. Coach will be handing out information about the banquet and swimmers be voting for team awards.

2010-2011 AWARDS BANQUET

The awards banquet will be on Monday, February 28th at 6:30 PM. The banquet will be a potluck. Each family is asked to bring a hot dish and either a salad or dessert. The dinner will take place in the cafeteria with the awards ceremony in the small auditorium. The swimmers are required to wear dress clothes (button down shirt, tie, dress slacks and dress shoes).

Craig @ Big 8 Conference Championships

To kick off the varsity championship season, the Cougars were at Middleton to compete in the Big Eight Conference swim meet. Top finishers included: Alex Loftus finished 4th in the 200 IM and runner-up in the 100 Breaststroke, Jacob Canik finished 14th in the 200 Free, Tyler Meinders came in 14th in the 50 Free and 13th in the 100 Free, Jimmy Loftus placed 12th in the 500 Free, Nick Krueger finished 12th in the 100 Backstroke and the 400 Free Relay team of Tyler Meinders, Tad Martin, Jacob Canik and Alex Loftus finished in 9th place. The swimmers that tapered for the meet had a phenomenal day, posting 7 PR's out of 9 races. Congrats on a great Conference meet!

Alex 200 IM

Alex places 4th in 200 IM

Alex 100 Breaststroke

Alex 2nd in 100 Breaststroke

Tyler, Tad, Jacob C and Alex in the 400 Free Relay

Craig @ Menomonee Falls Invite

After the big win the night before, the Cougars had a renewed sense of confidence competing in the Menomonee Falls Invite. The team placed 3rd out of 11 teams, finishing only 7 points behind second and only 15 points behind champion and host Menomonee Falls/Germantown/Hamilton. The Cougars were paced by wins by Alex Loftus in the 200 IM and 100 Breast and by top finishes by Tyler Meinders (5th in the 50 Free and 6th in the 100 Free), Jimmy Loftus (5th in the 500 Free) and Nick Krueger (7th in the 100 Back). Many swimmers swam career-best times. Afterwards, the team continued their tradition of eating at the delicious Cheesecake Factory at Bayshore Mall.

Alex Loftus

Tyler Meinders

Nick Krueger

Craig vs Parker & Memorial

In what is described as every Craig swimmer's 'second most important meet of the season', the Cougars had some history to make when swimming against cross-town rival Janesville Parker and state power Madison Memorial. The Cougars lost to Memorial 131-39 but beat Parker 103-67. The win continues the streak of 11 consecutive victories against Parker and sent the Seniors away undefeated in their high school careers. Against Parker, victories included: Alex Loftus in the 100 Free and 100 Breast, Jimmy Loftus in the 500 Free and Nick Krueger in the 100 Back. The 200 Medley Relay and 200 Free Relays also beat Parker's. Congratulations to the seniors and the team on this historic win!

Alex Loftus

Nick Krueger

Jimmy Loftus

Viewing & Ordering Meet Pictures

http://craigboysswim.shutterfly.com

Click on this Shutterfly link to see pictures from each meet. The site has been up and running since the 2008-2009 season and those photos are still available.

Each swim meet has 'an album' of its own. You can view each album as a slideshow, add comments to photos and you can select your favorite photos to order prints (in a variety of sizes mailed to you directly from Shutterfly. Create an account (fast & free) and follow the steps to order using a credit/debit card. You can even use your favorite photos to create a photo book, a calendar, cards and other photo gifts. Shutterfly makes it easy and once you're a customer, they will offer you GREAT discounts!

You may also choose to pick up your prints (and pay for them) at Target or Walgreens (within an hour). Target and Walgreens will only print 4x6 glossy prints.

ENJOY!

Craig @ Cardinal Relays

Swimming in the deepest relay meet in the state, the Cougars placed a very respectable 8th out of 15 teams. The team was lead by a sixth place finish in the 200 Free Relay (Tyler Meinders, Logan Lindau, Tad Martin and Alex Loftus), a 4th place finish by the 500 Crescendo Relay (Logan Lindau, Tyler Meinders, Jacob Canik, and Alex Loftus), a 5th place finish by the 100 Free Relay (Logan Lindau, Logan Bagley, John Casper and Zach Saltzman) and a 5th place finish by the 400 Free Relay (Tyler Meinders, Tad Martin, Jacob Canik and Alex Loftus). The team showed they could compete with some of the best talent in the state.

Craig @ Madison West

Despite some great swims, the Cougars lost to conference power Madison West 127-43. The team managed many second and third place finishes against the talented West squad.

Craig vs Beloit & Middleton

In the first home meet in almost a month, the Cougars split a triple dual. They beat Beloit Memorial 135-35 and lost to Middleton by a respectable score of 99-71. Alex Loftus won the 200 IM and 100 Breaststroke, Tyler Meinders won the 50 Free and 100 Free and the 200 Free Relay team of Meinders, Jacob Canik, Tad Martin and Alex Loftus were also victorious. The Cougars are now 4-2 in the Big Eight Conference.

Rock County Challenge

The Cougars were finally back competing after a long winter break. In the 1st Annual Rock County Championships, the team won with 424 points, followed by Milton with 407, Janesville Parker with 287 and Beloit Memorial with 182. Individual event winners were: Tyler Meinders in the 100 Free and Jimmy Loftus in the 500 Free. By winning the meet, the Cougars now possess the traveling trophy known as "A piece of the Rock". Great meet guys!

Jimmy Loftus

Craig & Parker Alumni Meet

Craig and Parker alums met at the Parker High School pool on the day after Christmas for the annual Alumni Meet. Host Eric Rhodes explained the proceedings, 'High school swimmers, you know the rules. Alums have no rules.' It was great to see a number of former swimmers and be reminded of their athletic talents and their great personalities. The event was topped off by a visit from two very special swim fans, none other than Santa and Mrs. Claus!

Happy Holidays!

Craig @ Elkhorn Invitational

The team was highly motivated at the 2010 Elkhorn Invitational. Swimming in meters (rather than yards), the team was prepared to swim fast, both as individuals and as a team. Craig's highest place winners were: Jacob Canik (5th in the 200m Free), Alex Loftus (2nd in the 200m IM and winner of the 100m Breaststroke), Tyler Meinders (4th in the 50m Free and 4th in the 100m Free), Troy Thornton (7th in the 100m Butterfly), Jimmy Loftus (5th in the 400m Free), Nick Krueger (7th in the 100m Backstroke), the 2nd place 200 Medley Relay team (Nick Krueger, Alex Loftus, Troy Thornton and Tyler Meinders) and the 2nd place 200 Free Relay team (Tyler Meinders, Jacob Canik, Tad Martin, and Alex Loftus.) The Cougars placed 3rd out of 11 teams overall. Congrats on another great meet!!!

Craig @ Sun Prairie

The Cougars got their very first look at the brand new Sun Prairie High School pool and found it to their liking! The team beat Sun Prairie for the first time ever, 109-61. Highlights included: 1st place finishes by Alex Loftus in the 200 IM (2:02.31) and 100 Breaststroke (1:01.85), Tyler Meinders in the 50 Free (23.73) and 100 Free (53.12) , Brian Paulos in the 100 Butterfly (1:03.83) and Nick Krueger in the 100 Back (1:03.38). Also, Zach Saltzman lettered for the first time (in the 100 Butterfly- 1:06.53!!! Congrats Zach!). The facility was amazing, the times were fast and the team left with a win!