Brookfield/Elm Grove Monthly

By Chris Bucher Freeman Staff WAUKESHA — Entering the WIAA Division State Meet in early November, Brookfield East senior long- distance swimmer Meredith Gustafson couldn't help but feel familiar with the circum- stances surrounding the excitement. It was about nine years ago that Gustafson was coached by Mike Rose while swim- ming in her youth for the Elmbrook Swim Club. Fast forward five years to 2012 and Gustafson was greeted by an old face. "I remember her first 100- meter butterfly at the Univer- sity of Minnesota against a college kid," Rose, who's now East's coach, said of Gustafson. "She's always been intelligent and focused about what she's been doing. It's fun to see these kids grow up and what they become." In her four seasons swim- ming for East, Gustafson's shown an ability that's impressed Rose. He said she's demonstrated a nice and effective style that's led to success in distance events. Just last week at the section- al, Gustafson qualified for state in the 500-yard freestyle. She cut five sec- onds off her normal time to touch the wall at 5 minutes, 10 seconds. "She has a very long, nice and smooth stroke. It's high- ly efficient. She can go a long way in just one stroke," Rose said. "She's a good distance swimmer. Her swim in the 500 at the sectional was quite an amazing swim. She had a pretty big time drop. She swims very smooth and makes it look really easy." Gustafson said she first fell in love with swimming by spending time in her family pool in her youth. It was her sister, Melissa, who started the interest in competitive swimming. "We have a pool at our house and my parents decid- ed to sign me up swim lessons for safety reasons," Meredith said. "Around that time, my sister started swim- ming club, she's four years older than me. I'd always come to all of her meets and watch her swim. Then when I turned six, we signed up and joined Elmbrook (Swim Club) and swam for club." Melissa also swam for Rose at East. He said the two sis- ters show a lot of similarities in terms of raw skills, but most of all it's the dedication they show to be fast swim- mers. "They're both good butter- fliers," Rose said. "Melissa was less of a distance swim- mer, but both are really hard workers. They both are pret- ty tight with each other." It was her sister that Meredith credited for help- ing pave the path for a suc- cessful high school career in the pool. "When I was a freshman on the team, she was as senior," Meredith said. "She helped me transition in and I hung out with her friends a lot. We had a pretty strong team freshman year. That's been the goal of our team every season. We always want to keep a good bond and grow stronger with all of the new girls that come in." Now in her senior season, Meredith said she's tried hard to give back to the pro- gram what her sister and the upperclassmen gave to her as an unexperienced high school swimmer. "I'm one of the club cap- tains with two other girls," Meredith said. "We try to get the young girls involved. In the first day of practice we have the freshman do some funny stuff. Most freshmen we kind of already knew, so it was easy to welcome them in, they're all really good girls. We have a young team and they all understood they have to work hard." Rose said he's seen Mered- ith step up into the role of a leader with relative ease. He added she's led by example every step of the way in prac- tice and meets. "She's one of those kids that never misses practice," Rose said. "She always remains focused and makes it look easy. She doesn't freak out whenever she has a big work load. She quietly does what she does. She's been kind of watching after every- one, she's been a very effec- tive captain." On Saturday, another sense of familiarity will resonate with Meredith as she enters the pool at the UW Natatori- um in Madison. She qualified for the state meet as a sopho- more and junior, but is look- ing to leave a lasting impact this time around. She'll swim the 100-yard butterfly, the 500 freestyle and the second leg of East's 400 relay team. Meredith said she's really looking forward to showcas- ing her talents at the state meet, but is also dejected at what the end brings. "I'm very excited because it's always a fun meet," Meredith said. "But I'm kind of sad knowing that this is my last high school race that I'll be doing. It's bittersweet, but the girls are all very sup- portive, they all understand and are very excited." Even with the impressive swims and résumé, Meredith isn't the only East swimmer that's contributed to a good season, not by a long shot. Rose said East has been on a roll this season and has had one of the most successful seasons he can remember. "We have a big group," Rose said. "We qualified nine individuals and two relays. That's the most we've had for a long time. The thing with this team is that everyone is so good and so fast." East's 400 relay team had a stellar performance at the sectional last week. They broke a 31-year-old school record, but they didn't real- ize it at first. "Mike came to us before the race and said 'if we exe- cute, we'll break the school record,'" Meredith said. "When we finished the race, we saw we were a second off of what he told us. We were so close. But when I got home that night and he sent out an email telling us that we did actually break the record, we didn't even realize it." The previous school record was 3:39.38 and the East's four swimmers narrowly beat it, finishing in 3:39.33. Meredith said she has a desire to obtain an education degree and swim in school. She said she's choosing between the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Ball State University. "I love Brookfield East," Meredith said. "It's been a great school and I feel like all of the teachers and coaches really love what they do, and it shows." Email: cbucher@conleynet.com Page 4B • Freeman Brookfield & Elm Grove DECEMBER 2015 18 Full-size Doors On Display, Our Installers Are Licensed & Bonded 16'x7', 25 Gauge...Non Insulated Steel $ 725 Lifetime Door Co. TRUCKLOAD SALE on Garage Doors & Door Openers Installed Tax Included $ 895 • Lifetime Warranty • Other Sizes Available • 2000 Garage Doors in Stock Special! - Take down and haul away old door for FREE! 16x7 SAVE $ 240 NOW Model 8365 ORDER A LIFTMASTER 1/2 HP GARAGE DOOR OPENER & GET 2 REMOTES & KEYPAD. $ 329 Installed Tax Included • Two-Sided Pre-Finished Galvanized Steel • R-10 Insulated • 5 colors to choose from 12645 W. Townsend (2 blocks N. of Burleigh, enter off 124th St. only) Free Estimate 262-783-4004 Monday - Friday 7am-5pm www.lifetimedoor.net 2 4 7 3 3 7 0 0 1 Full Year Warranty, parts and service on installed operators. Metropolitan Builders Association January 8th-10th, 2016 Wisconsin State Fair Park Exposition Center 640 S. 84th Street, West Allis, WI 53214 Look inside your January edition. Preview this year's MBA Home Building and Remodeling Show! Look for our special supplement that will highlight the special events and features at the Show, a list of exhibitors, sponsors and more! Brookfield & Elm Grove T H I S M O N T H 14835 W. Lisbon Rd., Brookfield, WI 53005 • 262-373-0490 We are open 7 days a week from 10am-9pm, including Sundays and Holidays. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Prices Good While Supplies Last ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 247388001 HOT PRICE LIQUOR $ 29 99 750 ml. WINE BEER Bring in any Competitor's Advertised Price & We Will Meet or Beat it E&J V.S. Brandy $ 14 99 1.75L GREAT LAKES DIST. Pumpkin Spirit $ 29 99 750 ml. GLENFIDDICH Single Malt Scotch 12 Years $ 34 99 750 ml. TANQUERAY Gin $ 28 99 1.75 L CROWN ROYAL Whiskey $ 39 99 1.75 L MAKERS MARK Cask Strength $ 49 99 750ml. JOHNNIE WALKER Green Label 15 yrs $ 56 99 750ml. 1800 TEQUILA Silver or Gold $ 28 99 1.75 L KRAKEN Black Spiced Rum $ 23 99 1.75 L THE BALVENIE DOUBLEWOOD Single Malt Scotch 12 Years $ 46 99 750 ml. FREE 2 Lt. Soda $ 23 98 1.75 L CAPTAIN MORGAN Spiced Rum BAILEY'S Irish Cream $ 19 99 750 ml. WOODFORD RESERVE Bourbon BAREFOOT Wine $ 8 99 1.5 L with instant with instant OPUS ONE 2009 2012 $ 189 99 $ 219 99 GALLO FAMILY Wine $ 6 99 1.5 L $ 12 Mail in Rebate on 6 Bottles YELLOW TAIL WINE $ 4 99 750 ml. $ 9 99 1.5 L APOTHIC Red Wine $ 7 99 750 ml. DOM PERIGNON 2002 Champagne $ 139 99 750 ml. 7 DEADLY ZINS $ 11 99 750 ml. LOUIS MARTINI Cabernet Sauvignon $ 11 99 750 ml. DOOR COUNTY Witches Brew $ 8 99 750 ml. MARTINI & ROSSI Asti $ 9 99 750 ml. MEIOMI Chardonnay or Pinot Noir $ 17 99 750 ml. THE FEDERALIST LODI • Cabernet • Zinfandel • Chardonnay $ 10 99 750 ml. BOTA BOX $ 16 99 3 L BLACK BOX $ 16 99 3 L KORBEL Brut • Brut Rose Sweet Cuvee Sweet Rose Extra Dry $ 9 99 750 ml. JOSH Cabernet Merlot Red Blend RODERER ESTATE Brut $ 11 99 750 ml. $ 18 99 750 ml. $ 17 99 BUD, BUD LIGHT 30pk. Cans $ 17 99 30pk. Cans MILLER LITE, COORS LIGHT TOPPLING GOLIATH Golden Nugget Rover Truk $ 8 99 4pk. NEW GLARUS Spotted Cow $ 7 99 6pk. $ 14 99 12pk. HEINEKEN 18 Pack Bottles $ 16 99 LAKEFRONT 6 Pack Bottles $ 6 99 GREAT LAKES Xmas 6 Pack $ 10 99 KENTUCKY Bourbon Barrel Ale $ 9 49 4pk. GUINNESS, RED STRIPE, SMITHWICKS, HARP $ 9 99 12pk. Bottles E&J V.S.O.P. Brandy $ 16 99 1.75L SMIRNOFF Vodka $ 18 99 1.75 L with instant Gustafson an influential swimmer PREP PROFILE Get to know ... MEREDITH GUSTAFSON School/Sport Brookfield East/Girls Swimming Coach Mike Rose Class In School/Age Senior/17 Also In My Family Are: my mom Jenny, my dad Bob and my older sister Melissa. The Athletic Accomplishment I Am Most Proud Of Is: win- ning Club State in the girls 13- and 14-year-old 200-meter butterfly. My Favorite Subject In School Is: math. My Favorite Teacher Is: Mrs. Mathia. My Favorite Movie Is: "She's the Man." My Favorite Recording Artist Is: "One Direction." My Favorite TV Show Is: "Finding Carter." The Best Meal My Mother Makes Is: pasta and meatballs. A Bad Habit I Have Is: having a messy room. A Pet Peeve I Have Is: when people breathe really loud. The Thing I Do Best Outside Of Athletics Is: taking pic- tures. The Person I'd Most Like To Meet Is: Harry Styles. The Last Time I Cleaned My Room I Found: money. Nobody Ever Says I'm: quiet. My Most Memorable Experience Is: snorkeling in Florida with my team on a trip. My Most Prized Possession Is: all of my family pictures. One Thing People Might Not Know About Me Is: that I have over 50 cousins, One Thing I Would Change About Myself Is: I wish I were a little taller. One Thing At My School I Would Change Is: that we would have a student section at our swim meets! I See Myself In 10 Years Being: teaching second grade and married with a family. I Wish Coach Rose Would: bring us food for after practice. Kristen at Salon A'Bella 11702 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa Call or text (414) 430-1130 for an appointment • Master Stylist • Goldwell Color Line • Morrocan Oil Products • Featuring New Expanded Hours 25 % Any Service New clients only. Must mention this ad. Expires 12/31/15 off 247201006 Submitted photo Brookfield East senior Meredith Gustafson made her third WIAA state appearance No. 14 in Madison.

• Cover