Big 3 Leads Saline to Championship No. 4
March 9, 2013
By Greg Chrapek
Special for Second Half
HOLLAND – Although they were led by a trio of seniors who each won two individual events, a fourth consecutive MHSAA title was anything but a sure thing for Saline at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final at the Holland Aquatic Center.
Saline’s big three of seniors Adam Whitener, Josh Ehrman and David Boland came up big when they needed, and every point proved valuable as the Hornets edged fellow Division 1 powerhouse Birmingham Brother Rice by three points, 313-309, to claim their fourth consecutive title.
With points at a premium, the Hornets rallied and in the final event finished in fourth place in the 400 freestyle relay to clinch the championship.
“There was a lot of pressure, but I actually enjoy it,” Ehrman said. “We knew we had to go fast in every race, and we had to win. When you are put under that kind of pressure, you know you have to perform.”
Ehrman did his part and then some for the Hornets as he won two individual titles and was part of two relay teams that also won.
Ehrman teamed up with Boland and fellow seniors Michael Bundas and Lucas Allen to start things off in a big way Saturday by winning the 200-yard medley relay in an all-division Finals record time of 1:30.01.
Ehrman also won the 200-yard IM in an all-division Finals record time of 1:47.86 and broke his own all-division record time in the 100-yard breaststroke, winning in 55.31.
His success was something the Hornets were able to count on like clockwork since he joined the team his freshman season.
“Josh is a champion swimmer,” Saline coach Todd Brunty said. “The only races he lost during his high school career were two races his freshman year to a nationally-ranked swimmer.”
The Hornets’ key race Saturday was the ninth, the 200-yard freestyle relay. Ehrman teamed up with Bundas, Whitener and fellow senior Stefan Koberl to capture the championship in 1:23.92, another LP Division 1 meet record.
“When we won the 200-free relay, our guys believed they could do it,” Brunty said. “The door was still open, and that was all we needed was that crack to get through.
“Being a four-time state champion feels pretty good right now. It was a hard-fought win. Brother Rice is a very good team, and to go through the adversity that we did on Friday says a lot about this team. We didn’t have some of our best swims on Friday, and we had about 40 points to make up going into today. But the guys stayed steady and stayed strong, and they were able to overcome that deficit.”
Another key to success for the Hornets was the performance of their divers. Three Saline divers finished among the top 11, giving the team key points needed to erase the deficit.
Senior diver Sam Blair finished second overall to senior Nick Nicoletti of Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern. Nicoletti totaled 442.30 points, while Blair finished with 428.50. Senior Dustin Wall finished sixth in diving for Saline, while freshman Alex Calder placed 11th.
They complemented well the efforts of the trio of senior leaders who amazingly were part of eight of the 12 race championships.
Whitener capped his career at Saline by winning the 200-yard freestyle in 1:38.31 and taking the 100-yard freestyle in 44.65.
Boland also claimed two races and set two new Division 1 meet records in the process. He won the 100-yard backstroke in a record time of 49.75 and captured the 100-yard butterfly in a record time of 48.59. Boland also swam the first leg of the 200-yard medley relay that, in finishing first, set the tone for the day.
“I just wanted to get out and get everybody pumped up,” Boland said. “I wanted to get out and get out as far as I could. I wanted to get everybody pumped up and ready to go.”
Saline senior Michael Bundas added to the medal haul as he won the 50-yard freestyle in 20.96.
“I was really happy for Michael,” Brunty said. “He gave up baseball to focus on his swimming. He loves baseball, and it takes total dedication for someone to do that. He really stepped up for us today.”
Not all of the records at Saturday’s Finals were broken by Saline swimmers. Runner-up Birmingham Brother Rice’s 400-yard freestyle relay team set an all-division record. Senior Patrick Nodland, sophomores Gust Kouvaris and Mark Blinstrub and junior Joe Krause came into the meet seeded fourth, but saved their best for last as they turned in a time of 3:03.78.
“They really stepped up,” Brother Rice coach Mike Venos said. “We have one senior on that relay, and he inspires the team. Patrick Nodland just does a great job of getting everyone inspired and ready to go. I never, ever doubt my swimmers. I know what they are capable of.”
Brother Rice pushed Saline to the limit and carried on the program’s history of excellence. The Warriors have won eight MHSAA team titles since 1994, their most recent in 2007.
Livonia Stevenson junior Nick Arakelian also set a Division 1 meet record en route to winning the 500-yard freestyle. Arakelian, in his first year of high school swimming, won in a time of 4:27.75.
A nationally-ranked club swimmer, Arakelian decided to go out for high school swimming this season, and was more than happy he did.
“Oh I’m very happy I decided to come out,” Arakelian said. “I just decided to try it for a change. It’s a lot of fun, and I like the team atmosphere.”
Arakelian helped Stevenson to a third-place finish as a team as he also took second place in the 200-yard IM and was a part of the 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard free relay teams that also finished second.
“This was an incredible feeling,” Arakelian said. “I’m planning on coming out next year, and I’m very excited about next year.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Saline swimmers celebrate while en route to their fourth-straight MHSAA team title. (Middle) A Saline swimmer races Saturday at Holland Aquatics Center. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Preview: Finals Opportunities Abound for Swim & Dive Contenders
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 9, 2023
Even with two returning team champions expected to reign again, it’s fair to say there are abundant opportunities for first-time winners to climb the podiums at this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming & Diving Finals.
Ann Arbor Pioneer and East Grand Rapids are pursuing third-straight team titles in Divisions 1 and 3, respectively. But the top-three ranked contenders in Division 2 either haven’t won a Finals or haven’t won in over a decade. And of 27 individual events across the three meets, only six will welcome back last year’s winners as the great majority graduated last spring.
Preliminaries at all three Finals sites begin at noon Friday, with Saturday championship events starting at noon as well. Both days of all three meets will be streamed live and viewable with subscription on MHSAA.tv. For information on purchasing tickets, plus psych sheets, dive orders and more, visit the Boys Swimming & Diving page – and see below for a glance at team and individual contenders to follow.
Lower Peninsula Division 1 at Calvin University
Reigning champion: Ann Arbor Pioneer
2022 runner-up: Northville
2023 top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2. Northville, 3. Detroit Catholic Central
Pioneer has won the last two LPD1 championships, last year by 98 points with a total of 365. With 18 entries seeded to score and five top seeds – including all three relays – the Pioneers certainly are favorites to extend that streak. Northville’s runner-up finish last season was its highest at a Finals since winning its lone title in 1973, and the Mustangs have 13 entries seeded to score. Detroit Catholic Central placed eighth last season and is seeking its first championship, and has an intriguing mix with nine entries seeded to score including a top seed, plus two divers.
Olin Charnstrom, Oxford junior: After finishing 13th in the 100-yard backstroke and just missing the final heats in the 50-yard in 2022, he has an opportunity for a big move as the backstroke top seed (49.44 seconds) by a second and the third seed in the 100-yard freestyle (46.54).
Ryan Gurgel, Canton senior: Last season’s champion in the 100-yard butterfly and runner-up in the 200-yard freestyle is the first seed in both races this weekend in 50.64 and 1:42.16, respectively.
Luke Mychalowych, Detroit Catholic Central junior: He finished fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke and just missed the final heats in the 100 free last winter, but enters this weekend top-seeded in the breaststroke (57.25), eighth-seeded in the 200-yard freestyle and a possibility to swim on two top-four seeded relays.
Gabriel Sanchez-Burks, Ann Arbor Pioneer senior: After a big jump last season that saw him finish second in the 50, seventh in the 100 free and as part of championship and runner-up relays, he’s lined up for an even bigger finish to his high school career. He has top seeds in the 50 (20.25) and 100 (45.31) and is likely to swim on two of the three top-seeded relays, and his 50 seed time is only 24 hundredths of a second off the LPD1 record swam by Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central’s Henry Schutte in 2018.
Owen Stevens, Zeeland sophomore: He debuted at the Finals with a sixth place in the 200-yard individual medley and fourth in the 500-yard freestyle last year, and he returns as the top seed in the IM (1:54.30) and 500 (4:38.99) and possible swimmer on two top-three seeded relays.
Ann Arbor Pioneer 200 freestyle relay: The Pioneers have a seed time of 1:25.53, nearly two seconds faster than second-seeded Holland West Ottawa and about 2½ seconds off the LPD1 record of 1:23.25 swam by West Ottawa in 2021.
Julian Cardenas, Rockford junior: He was last season’s LPD1 diving runner-up, slightly more than 43 points back with a score of 413.55 – but he posted the highest LPD1 Regional score last week of 486.40 to clear his qualifying meet field by 70 points.
Alex Poulin, Waterford Mott senior: Last season’s diving champion with a score of 456.70 posted the second-highest LPD1 Regional score last week, 428.80, to win his qualifying meet by eight points.
Lower Peninsula Division 2 at Holland Aquatic Center
Reigning champion: Ann Arbor Skyline
2022 runner-up: Detroit U-D Jesuit
2023 top-ranked: 1. Birmingham Groves, 2. Detroit U-D Jesuit, 3. Grosse Pointe South.
Jesuit missed a first Finals championship in this sport last season by 25 points and will make another run following 14 entries seeded to score with four top seeds – including two relays – plus two divers. But favored this time is Groves, which finished fourth a year ago, second as recently as 2019 and is seeking its first championship since 2010. Groves has 19 entries seeded to score, with two top seeds. Grosse Pointe South is another regular contender and placed third last season, 53 points off the lead. The Blue Devils also are seeking a first championship and were runners-up in 2021. They have 11 entries seeded to score with three top seeds including a favored relay, and five divers including the reigning champion.
Austin Briggs, Byron Center senior: He finished 10th in the 50 and 11th in the 100 free last season but will push toward the front entering this weekend seeded first in the 50 (20.94) and second in the 100 breaststroke (58.34), with his time in the latter only one-hundredth of a second behind the top seed.
Sean Diffenderfer, Walled Lake Northern senior: The reigning champion in the 500 and fourth-place finisher in the 200 free is seeded fifth in the 500 and 10th in the 200 this weekend.
Ian Duncan, Birmingham Groves senior: He was third in the 200 free and fourth in the 500 in 2022 and should contend again in both seeded third in the 200 (1:43.45) and first in the 500 (4:41.78) while also likely to swim on two of the team’s three top-five seeded relays.
Max Haney, Fenton senior: Last season’s butterfly runner-up and fifth-place finisher in the IM could cap high school in a big way seeded first in the IM (1:51.38), by more than a second, and second in the backstroke (50.48).
Angus MacDonald, Birmingham Groves junior: Another Groves standout, he’s seeded first in the breaststroke (58.33), third in the IM (1:53.35) and also likely will swim on two of those contending relays. He finished runner-up in both the IM and 500 last season.
Keiran Rahmaan, Grosse Pointe South senior: He finished third in the backstroke, fourth in the butterfly and led off the LPD2 Finals record-setting 200-yard medley relay last season, and he also was part of a relay champ in 2021. He could add substantially to those accomplishments; he’s seeded first this weekend in both the butterfly (49.61) and backstroke (49.91) and likely will swim on the top-seeded 400 freestyle relay (3:10.14).
Evan Tack, Detroit U-D Jesuit sophomore: His Finals debut last season included a sixth place in the IM, 10th in the breaststroke and two top-three relay finishes. He enters this weekend seeded first in the 100 (46.24) and 200 frees (1:41.25) and as part of two top-two seeded relays including the favorite in the 200 freestyle (1:27.09).
Logan Hepner, Grosse Pointe South senior: Last season’s diving champion by more than 49 points went 618.85 to set the pace across LPD2 at last week’s Regionals, although Birmingham Seaholm senior Grayson Davis was his runner-up and the only other to break 600 (or 500) with a 601.90.
Lower Peninsula Division 3 at Oakland University
Reigning champion: East Grand Rapids
2022 runner-up: Holland Christian
2023 top-ranked: 1. East Grand Rapids, 2. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 3. Holland Christian.
The last two seasons have finished the same way at the top with EGR first and Holland Christian second. The Pioneers are favored again on the strength of 13 entries seeded to score – including two top seeds – and two divers competing. Holland Christian – most recently champion in 2019 and 2018 – doesn’t have a top seed but also has 13 entries seeded to score plus two divers. Cranbrook is seeking its first championship since winning four straight from 2014-17, and has the people to do so with 15 entries seeded to score, including three top seeds, and a diver.
Carter Kegle, East Grand Rapids junior: He finished first in the 500, second in the 200 free and swam on two top-three relays last season, and he returns as the top seed in the 500 (4:40.95), second seed in the 200 (1:43.81) and expected to swim on two top-three seeded relays.
Alec Lampen, Manistee junior: He finished sixth in the backstroke and helped all three Manistee relays place last season, and he should be a major point scorer again seeded first in the 50 (20.92) and backstroke (51.40) and swimming on two top-seven seeded relays.
London Rising, Adrian freshman: He’ll make his Finals debut as the top seed in the 200 free (1:41.71), by two seconds, and the fourth seed in the butterfly, plus he’s expected to swim on two second-seeded relays.
Ethan Schwab, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood senior: He’ll look to add to a relay championship he helped win in 2021, seeded first this time in the IM (1:53.99) and breaststroke (55.92) and as a possibility to swim on two of three top-six seeded relays including the favorite in the 400-yard freestyle (3:13.77). He finished second in both the 500 and breaststroke last season.
Liam Smith, Otsego freshman: Another standout freshman, he enters the weekend seeded first in the butterfly (50.54) and second in the IM (1:55.25).
Ben Sytsma, Grand Rapids Christian junior: The reigning champion in the 100 free and runner-up in the 50 – and champion as well as part of 200 and 400 freestyle relays – is the top seed in the 100 (45.88), the second seed in the 50 (20.95) by just three-hundredths of a second and could swim on the top-seeded 200 free relay plus another.
Mitch Brown, Chelsea junior: Last season’s diving runner-up to record-setting senior Charley Bayer from East Grand Rapids is in position to ascend after positing a division-best 538 to win his Regional last week – clearing the rest of LPD3 by 61 points.
PHOTO Swimmers launch during a Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals race in 2022. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)