The swim team walked down Brown Street Saturday afternoon with a police and fire escort on their return from Waukesha with the state championship trophy. Bob Mainhardt photo.

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By Star Journal Staff

The Hodag boys swim team returned home on Saturday afternoon after winning the first state Division 2 Championship in school history Friday evening.

The Hodags won with 256 points, just five-and-a-half points over second place McFarland.

The Hodags placed second in the opening event, the 200 yard medley relay setting a new school record. Daniel Gillingham placed fourth in the 200 yard IM and set a new school record that Zacha King had set in the first heat of the event.

King placed fifth, Jack Antonuk eighth, Shawn Denis fourteenth and Dolan O’Malley placed fifteenth.

The team of Gillingham, Carter Gaber, Mathias Fugle and Charlie Heck won the 200 yard freestyle and set a new school record. In the 100 yard backstroke, King placed second, Gaber eighth and Dolan O’Malley thirteenth.

Jack Antonuk placed fifth in the 100 yard breaststroke, breaking the school record and is the first Hodag swimmer to break the one-minute mark, finishing in 59.94 seconds. Denis placed ninth in the breaststroke.

In the last event, the 400 yard freestyle relay, the Hodags needed a fourth place finish and for Shorewood to place lower than first. And that’s what happened; Shorewood placed second and the Hodags placed fourth, moving Shorewood to third place and the Hodags to first place and the first ever state championship for boys swimming.