DeForest girls swimming hosts season-opening invitational

DeForest's girls swim team began its 2026 season by hosting the Norski Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 22.

Of eight teams in attendance, DeForest finished fifth with 125 team points. Each team was split into three groups: Team Red, Team White and Team Blue.

The Red Team scored 42 points, while the White Team added 24 and the Blue Team totaled 59.

Success for DeForest started immediately. In the 50-yard freestyle, senior Megan Berkley, representing Team Blue, clocked 26.16 seconds to finish in second.

In the 100-yard freestyle, junior Norski Brenna Whitcher won the Red Team race, using a time of 58.22 seconds to capture first-place honors.

Meet results

Meanwhile, Berkley finished third in the Team Blue race with a time of 57.62 seconds, while junior Harper Craney placed fourth in the White Team race, Because of a time of 1:15.56.

In the 200-yard freestyle, Avery Hanson — representing DeForest on Team Blue — placed third. Only a sophomore, Hanson’s third-place finish was fueled by a time of 2:13.10.

In the 100-yard breaststroke, Hanson switched to Team Red, where she swam to a first-place finish at 1:14.12.

In the 100-yard backstroke, Sage Hess, another sophomore, placed second for Team Blue, clocking 1:02.01.

In the 100-yard butterfly, junior Emma Rognsvoog won the race by over two seconds, Because of a time of 1:05.78. This first-place finish added seven points for Team Blue.

Then came Bristyl Wagner.

Wagner, a junior, swam to a time of 2:31.32 in the 200-yard individual medley for Team Red, placing second. Meanwhile, Rognsvoog placed second in her portion of the race at 2:23.88.

In relay action, Sage Hess, Bristyl Wagner, senior Sophia Deadman and Brenna Whitcher placed second in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The quartet teamed up in 1:48.15 for Team Blue.

DeForest added its second top-two finish, this time, in the 200-yard medley relay. With freshman Lucia Carini, Avery Hanson, Emma Rognsvoog and senior Leilani Deutscher representing Team Red, the group teamed up for a combined time of 2:05.20.

DeForest snagged one last top-two finish in relay action for Team Blue in the 200-yard medley relay. Sage Hess, Bristyl Wagner, Megan Berkley and Brenna Whitcher swam for a combined time of 1:57.70 to secure the second-place nod.

Up next for DeForest, DeForest will participate in the Sun Prairie East Invite on Saturday, Aug. 29 at 1 p.m., before hosting the Badger-Large Relays on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 6 p.m.

Combined Team Scoring from the Norski Invitational, per Bound Wisconsin: Sun Prairie East 182, McFarland 162, Middleton 161, Oregon 143, DeForest 125, Sauk Prairie 73, Elkhorn 59, Monroe/New Glarus 14.