"The way these girls swam, to me, means a lot more than winning state last year,'' Purgolders coach Matt Matteson said.

Sophomore Ivy Martin and junior Becca Soderholm had as much impact. Martin was third in the 50 despite being seeded 14th. Soderholm, who came in with a No. 13 seed in the 100 butterfly, finished second.

The meet ended with seven first-place finishes that represented the second-best times in state history.

"In my mind I was just thinking, 'I have to do this,' '' Ivy Martin said after the 26-point swing she and Soderholm gave the Purgolders.

Van Hout's time of 4 minutes, 48.60 seconds in the 500 free bettered the meet record by more than 5 seconds.

"It feels awesome,'' said Van Hout, who defended her 500 and 200 individual medley titles and teamed with Soderholm and the Martins in the relays. "It took a lot of dedication and hard work and early morning practices that paid off."

East's surge was in part due to a better outing from its third-place finish at sectionals. Matteson and a handful of swimmers agreed the Purgolders didn't turn in their best showing last weekend.

"Our coach told us that today would be our day and we all went into it knowing we'd drop a ton of time and have best swims of our lives,'' said Ruby Martin, a UW recruit who defended her title in the 50 and recaptured the 100 championship she won in 2006.

East led Arrowhead 198-194 through nine events, but the Warhawks won their sixth title in the past seven seasons by outscoring East 32-2 over the next two events.

Memorial, which was the runner-up last season, set six school records.

Junior Jackie Powell won the 100 free and 100 backstroke and also led off the 200 medley relay that finished third after being seeded 11th.

"We really knew that we had a big chance to drop time and we were really excited to swim as fast as we could and race the clock. And we did," said Powell, who watched teammate Kayla Smith finish second and third in the 50 and 100, respectively.

The pair also teamed with seniors Kelsie Saxe and MacKenzie King for a runner-up finish in the 400 relay.

Madison West's Kylie Rosenstock won her division-record third 1-meter diving title. The 471.60 points compiled by the junior is second in state history to the 502.45 set by Oshkosh North's Lauren LeRoy in 2003.

Rosenstock already has her sights set on the all-division record of four straight that Brown Deer's Gina Ketelhohn accomplished from 1992 to '95 in Division 2.

"It means a lot more hard work, but I'm ready for it,'' Rosenstock said.

Lake Geneva Badger co-op junior Emily Russart defended her title in the 100 breaststroke and helped the team to victory in the 200 medley relay.