Harris places second at state for SPASH
Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) junior Drew Harris reached the awards podium in a pair of events, including a State Runner-up finish, at the WIAA Division 1 Boys Swimming State Meet at the University of Wisconsin Natatorium in Madison Saturday, Feb. 16.
After placing fifth in the 500 freestyle last year as a sophomore, Harris entered the State Meet Saturday with the top-seeded time in the event at 4:37.63, ahead of second-seeded senior Andrew Martin of Middleton (4:41.43).
Harris went on to complete the 500 freestyle in 4:33.51 Saturday to come in second behind Martin (4:31.12) and finish as the State Runner-up.
Harris also reached the awards podium in the 200 freestyle, as he placed fifth with a time of 1:41.27, while junior Michael Linnihan of Brookfield Central/East won the event in 1:39.00.
SPASH senior Chad Franz also qualified for state in a pair of individual events. He finished 10th in the 200 freestyle in 1:44.83, and came in 12th in the 100 freestyle in 48.03 seconds.
Harris and Chad Franz also teamed with junior Marco Kurzynski and freshman Kyle Franz in the 200 freestyle relay, where they finished 13th with a time of 1:29.04 to beat their mark of 1:29.43 from a week earlier at Sectionals.
The four also teamed up in the 400 freestyle, where they also took 13th with a time of 3:14.99, to beat their time of 3:15.29 from a week earlier.
SPASH ended up 14th in the team standings with 59 points to finish ahead of Wisconsin Valley Conference Champion D.C. Everest (58), while Madison West won the State Title for the second year in a row, as it totaled 314 points to beat Middleton (257) and Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial (161).