New Berlin boys swimming coach Paul Lutzke knew early on just how good this season could be for the Marlins.
"We won the Delavan-Darien meet (on Dec. 6) for the third year in a row, and the first clue was that we broke a number of meet and pool records," Lutzke said. "The next week (Dec. 10), at the Woodland Conference Relays, we won eight events and set six records. After that, we saw what a special season this could be."
So far, the Marlins have indeed been special; in fact, they were unbeaten going into a Woodland dual on Jan. 29 against Shorewood, having won four conference duals and four major meets. They even defeated powerful Brookfield at the Shorewood Invitational.
Before the season, Lutzke thought his team had some question marks. "We had only nine returnees, so we had plenty of new faces," he said. "They looked good in the early practices and they have developed well. We're fortunate that the new guys had talent and made an impact."
It also helps that the team is anchored by senior Byron Butler, who won the WIAA Division 1 state championship in the 100 butterfly last year and has not lost an individual event so far this season. He also holds the state's top times in both the butterfly and 100 backstroke.
"He's swimming (butterfly) times faster than his state time last year, and he has been at the top of the (state) lists for just about the whole season," Lutzke said of Butler, who recently signed a letter of intent with the University of Iowa.
The team's numerous accomplishments this season have not surprised Butler. "You always have it in the back of your mind that you can win all your meets," he said. "Some guys have stepped up from last year, including me, and we have some talent from the freshman class."
Those freshmen are Michael Brill, Jasen Johnson, Ian Sanders and Casey Vanselow, all of whom have made their mark on the varsity this season. They have joined veterans like Butler, Kevin Koenitzer, Alex Rodenkirk, Matt Schumacher, Chris Kaminski and Josh Solie, among others, to form a strong team.
One key to the Marlins' success is their lineup at the beginning and end of meets. Their 200 medley relay team, which has featured eight different swimmers, is unbeaten on the season, and they are solid in the final three events, the 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and 400 freestyle relay, in which New Berlin again is undefeated.
New Berlin will compete in the Bob White Invitational at Wauwatosa West on Saturday, Jan. 31, then on Saturday, Feb. 7 at Cudahy, the Marlins will look to add the Woodland Conference Meet championship to their relay crown. The WIAA sectionals and state meet follow after that.
The Marlins' hope now is that they can finish the season the same way they began it.
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Two individual performances in basketball games really stood out in the past week.
First, Muskego senior Nikki Guhr hit the game-winning shot in the final second of two Warrior victories. Her baseline jumper at the buzzer beat Franklin, 37-35, on Jan. 19 and her rebound and putback basket with less than a second left downed Racine Case, 68-66, in overtime on Jan. 23.
Those were both huge victories for the Warriors, who remained unbeaten in Southeast Conference play and now hold a two-game lead over rivals Franklin and Oak Creek in the North Division. To top it off, Guhr also celebrated her 18th birthday last week.
The other was West Allis Hale senior Danny Wall, who kept the Huskies close in their 52-45 loss to West Allis Central on Jan. 27 with seven 3-point goals. Wall nailed a trio of 3-pointers in the first half to help Hale to a 21-15 halftime lead, then added four in the second half to keep the Huskies within range of posting their first victory of the season.
Wall, who missed John Rybak's school record for 3-pointers in a game by just one, finished with a game-high 24 points. "After I hit the first one, I just felt it for the rest of the game," Wall said.
More about the New Berlin Marlins and Guhr's heroics can be found in the Jan. 29 issue of the New Berlin/Muskego NOW newspaper.
