Brother Rice Rides Momentum To Top of D1
March 8, 2014
By Geoff Mott
Special to Second Half
UNIVERSITY CENTER – Birmingham Brother Rice coach Mike Venos realized his boys swimming and diving team had the talent to win an MHSAA title after the Warriors finished runner-up to four-time champion Saline at last year’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals.
“The way we ended last year gave us some big momentum,” Venos said. “You saw the look in their eyes. They were committed from that point into doing something special.”
Brother Rice cruised to its first LP Division 1 championship since 2007 on Saturday at Saginaw Valley State University’s Gerstacker Regional Aquatic Center, winning with 345 points. Livonia Stevenson finished runner-up with 202 while Holland West Ottawa finished third (191), Ann Arbor Pioneer fourth (185) and Bloomfield Hill fifth at 136 points.
Brother Rice won all three relays and took advantage of depth throughout its lineup to win the third championship in Venos’s 16th season as the Warriors coach. It’s the eighth boys swimming and diving title in Brother Rice history.
“We don’t shoot for state championships,” Venos said. “We shoot for our best times. We can only control what we can control.
“Every practice was a state meet. They beat each other up, and it showed how hard they’ve worked for this today.”
Joe Krause earned the lone individual title for the Warriors, winning the 50-yard freestyle in 20.63 seconds. He joined juniors Gust Kouvaris and Mark Blinstrub and sophomore Bobby Powrie in winning the 400 freestyle relay. The group broke the MHSAA all-Finals record with a 3:02.06 finish.
Krause also teamed with Powrie, senior Bradford Jones and junior Jack Kennedy in winning the 200 freestyle relay in 1:25.10, outkicking the Ann Arbor Pioneer relay team by a tenth of a second.
“We don’t go looking to win meets, just go out and swim our fastest to do the best that we can,” Krause said. “We had a fast week of practice, and we just wanted to swim to the best of our ability. We’ve shown the ability to excel all season.”
Krause credits the leadership he learned as a freshman in helping shape this Warriors team into a championship contender. Of the 33 swimmers and divers on the team, 16 are freshman.
“It’s been seven years since we’ve won a title, so this is pretty awesome,” Krause said. “When I was a freshman, those seniors had great leadership skills and they knew what it would take to get us back to the top, and that helped.
“I tried to emulate the peers before me. We had a challenge with so many freshmen, and they were ready for it.”
Kouvaris, Blinstrub, Jones and Drew Grady kicked off the Finals with a championship in the 200 medley relay, winning in 1:32.77.
Matching up relays was Venos’ greatest challenge.
“We have a very deep team and there can be a number of different options with the relay teams,” Venos said. “It made it pretty fun because we had all those options.
“A turning point this season came at the Oakland County Meet. We stepped up and I was really surprised at what we could do as a team. Once we got to this weekend, as coaches, we just got out of the way and let these guys have fun.”
Livonia Stevenson senior Nick Arakelian recorded an all-Finals record in the 200 individual medley, winning with a 1:47.47 to edge the previous record by nearly four-tenths of a second.
Arakelian went on to win the 500 freestyle with an LP Division 1 Final record time of 4:24.84. He also helped the Livonia Stevenson 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay teams to runner-up finishes.
“The records were definitely a goal that I kept in mind, but when I get here I got relaxed and had fun with my team,” Arakelian said. “I knew I had a shot, and I was a little jumpy during preliminaries. But I settled down.”
Arakelian, who will head to Queens University in Charlotte, N.C., next year to swim collegiately, was in seventh place after completing the butterfly portion in the first event of the 200 IM. He tied the leader after the backstroke and easily pulled away through the breaststroke and freestyle.
“You don’t see much of a crossover (for swimmers) in the 200 IM and 500 freestyle, so I’m pretty proud of myself,” Arakelian said. “I realized I needed to relax out there, and it worked.”
Holland West Ottawa junior Tabahn Afrik captured a pair of Finals titles that eluded him as a sophomore. After runner-up finishes in the 50 and 100 freestyle events last year, Afrik won the 100 with an LP Division 1 meet record 43.9-second finish. He also won the 200 freestyle in 1:38.18 and helped West Ottawa to third-place finishes in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
The two individual titles were the first for West Ottawa’s program, and its third-place team finish was the highest in school history.
“Every single person has contributed to this,” Afrik said. “We are a big family at this school.
“And personally, I’m very proud of the two state championships because it’s never happened here. As a junior, I’ve helped push this team, and this day has been our goal. I’ve dreamed about this since I was a freshman, and the competition definitely helps. They pushed me to be my best today, and I’m grateful.”
The closest race of the day was the 100 backstroke, where Detroit Catholic Central junior Jack Walsh touched the wall four-hundredths of a second before Monroe sophomore Cameron Craig. Walsh won with in 49.08 seconds, while Craig – who set the LP Division I meet record with a 48.9 in the preliminary heat on Friday – finished with a 49.12.
“I felt like I was right next to him for the final 25 yards,” Craig said. “I had a couple people tell me that I had won. It was that close. Now I’ve got to train harder to beat him next year.”
Craig didn’t leave empty-handed. He won the 100 butterfly in 48.95, edging Brother Rice’s Kouvaris.
“I think I had a good finish,” Craig said. “I didn’t finish with my best times, but I put a lot of effort into this meet. I’ve been training since last year for it.”
Oakland University-bound John Schihl captured a 100 breaststroke in 55.39 seconds, missing the LP Division 1 meet record by eight hundredths of a second. Schihl finished second last year in the event in Division 3 while swimming for Lahser before it and Andover merged this fall.
“I had higher expectations, but this was bigger of a meet than we are used to,” Schihl said. “I did pretty well at keeping my focus. I knew this would be tough when we moved up to Division 1. It was a hard transition and a lot of practice to get here.”
Rockford sophomore Jake Herremans won the diving title with a personal-best score of 458, while Saline freshman Dakota Hurbis finished runner-up with 433.25 points. Herremans finished ninth at the meet as a freshman.
“I was one away from all-state and all-conference honors last year,” Herremans said. “I knew I’d be toward the top this year. I didn’t miss a dive after the preliminary dives.”
PHOTOS: (Top) A swimmer celebrates after finishing a race Saturday at Saginaw Valley State University. (Middle) The Brother Rice swimming and diving team celebrates with its championship trophy. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)
Preview: Reigning Champs Favored, but Potential Rankings Wreckers Await
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 7, 2024
All three of last season’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula swimming & diving team champions are entering this weekend’s Finals ranked No. 1 in their respective divisions.
But while Ann Arbor Pioneer, Birmingham Groves and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood might be starting the race at the forecasted front, there will be plenty of opportunity for shuffling before the final relays finish Saturday afternoon.
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 several team and individual contenders to follow.
Division 1 at Oakland University
Reigning champion: Ann Arbor Pioneer
2023 runner-up: Holland West Ottawa
2024 top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2. Saline, 3. Detroit Catholic Central.
Pioneer has won the last three Division 1 championships, last year by 111 points, and will bring back plenty of scoring power. The 400 freestyle relay is the team’s only top seed, but the other two relays and 14 individual entries are seeded to score (among the top 16), and the Pioneers also have two divers competing. Saline, sixth a year ago, has stayed close to Pioneer this season, losing their dual only 96-90 and finishing only 29 points back at the Southeastern Conference Red meet. The Hornets last won this championship in 2013 and finished runners-up in 2016, and they also have all three relays and 14 individuals seeded to score, with three divers. Detroit Catholic Central finished runner-up in 2019 and is seeking its first team title after placing eighth a year ago. The Shamrocks have three relays and nine individual entries seeded to score, but two of those relays and Luke Mychalowych in his two events are top-seeded.
Olin Charnstrom, Oxford senior: Last season’s champion in the 100-yard backstroke is the top seed in that race (48.50) and the 100 freestyle (45.75) after also finishing fourth in the latter a year ago.
Will Cheney, Rockford senior: He finished fourth in the 50 and tied for 13th in the 100 freestyle last season and enters this weekend the top seed in the 50 (20.82) and fifth-seeded in the 100.
Lucas Hosch, Rochester senior: The top seed in the 100 butterfly (50.51) finished sixth in that race last season and 13th in the 50.
Luke Mychalowych, Detroit Catholic Central senior: He’s the top seed in the 200 freestyle (1:40.62) and 100 breaststroke (55.47) and also part of the top-seeded 200 medley relay (1:33.08) and top-seeded 200 free relay (1:24.67). He finished second in the breaststroke and fourth in the 200 free last season.
Luke Newcomb, Brighton senior: The reigning champion in the breaststroke also finished eighth in the 200 individual medley last season and is seeded second in the breaststroke (55.99) and eighth in the IM this weekend.
Owen Stevens, Zeeland junior: The reigning champion in the IM and 500 freestyle could be in position for a repeat double as the top seed in both races – the IM at 1:51.98 and 500 at 4:29.11.
Edward Zhang, Ann Arbor Pioneer junior: He debuted last season on two championship relays and finishing fifth in the 200 free and sixth in the 500. He returns as the second seed in the 200 (1:40.75) and fourth seed in the breaststroke (57.48) and likely to swim on the top-seeded 400 relay (3:08.32) and second-seeded medley relay (1:34.22).
Julian Cardenas, Rockford senior: The reigning Division 1 diving champion enters this weekend coming off posting the division’s highest Regional score last week (484.70).
Division 2 at Eastern Michigan University
Reigning champion: Birmingham Groves
2023 runner-up: Detroit U-D Jesuit
2024 top-ranked: 1. Birmingham Groves, 2. Farmington, 3. Birmingham Seaholm.
Groves moved up from No. 3 to No. 1 in the final team rankings as it looks to follow up last season’s seven-point win over U-D Jesuit, which has finished runner-up the last two seasons and is ranked No. 5. The Falcons have all three relays and 12 individual entries seeded to score this weekend, including top seeds for one relay and four individual races. Farmington finished seventh a year ago and is seeking its first team title with all three relays and 11 individual entries seeded to score, including two relay favorites and a top-seeded individual. Seaholm last won the team title in 2021 and finished third a year ago. The Maples also have all three relays and 11 individual entries seeded to score.
Leland Curanovic, Farmington senior: He’s looking to build on last year’s sixth place in the 50 and ninth place in the 100 freestyle, entering this weekend as the top seed in the 200 free (1:41.48) and second seed in the 100 (47.08).
Troy Liu, Grosse Pointe South senior: He’s the reigning champion in the 100 free and finished fourth in the 50 last winter, and enters this weekend the top seed in both at 20.88 in the 50 and 46.19 in the 100.
Gus MacDonald, Birmingham Groves senior: He played a big part in Groves’ team title last season winning the breaststroke, finishing second in the IM and swimming on first and third-place relays. He’s the top seed in the breaststroke (57.11), second seed in the IM (1:51.21) and is likely to swim on two contending relays including the top-seeded 200 medley (1:34.34).
Josh Martin, Mattawan junior: He could make a nice jump after finishing fourth in the butterfly and ninth in the 50 last season, entering this weekend seeded third in the 50 (21.37) and first in the butterfly (50.02).
Joey Stebbins, Birmingham Groves senior: Stebbins also played a major role in Groves’ 2023 success finishing fourth in both the IM and backstroke and swimming on the same relays with MacDonald. He’s the top seed this time in the IM (1:50.92) and backstroke (49.13) and is slated to swim on two contending relays including the 200 medley as well.
Nathan Stebbins, Birmingham Groves sophomore: He’s entering his second Finals as the top seed in the 500 (4:47.59), sixth seed in the IM and as a part of two top-three relays after finishing sixth in the 500 and just outside the final heats in the 200 free last year.
Robby Russo, Jenison senior: Last season’s fourth-place finisher in diving – and highest among non-seniors at his meet – scored the highest Regional total in Division 2 last week, 458.60.
Division 3 at Holland Aquatic Center
Reigning champion: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
2023 runner-up: East Grand Rapids
2024 rankings: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. East Grand Rapids, 3. Holland Christian.
Cranbrook broke up the EGR/Holland Christian hold on the top spots last season, taking its first title since 2017 after EGR and Holland Christian had finished first and second in some order at the previous four Finals. One of those three teams has won this championship every year beginning with 2013 (not counting 2020, when Finals were canceled due to COVID-19). The Cranes edged the Pioneers by 12 points in 2023 and return this weekend with an overwhelming three relays and 23 entries seeded to score, plus a diver, and with all three relays and an individual top-seeded. EGR has three relays and nine individuals seeded to score, with four divers competing, and Holland Christian has three relays and eight individuals seeded to score and three divers in the mix.
Andrew Delzer, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood senior: He’s finishing up his only high school season as the top seed in the breaststroke (58.15) and fourth seed in the 50 and likely to swim on the top-seeded 200 medley (1:32.83) and 400 freestyle (3:08.37) relays.
Hadyn Gould, Adrian senior: After finishing seventh in both the IM and backstroke as a junior, he enters this weekend the top seed in both at 1:51.37 and 49.25, respectively.
Carter Kegle, East Grand Rapids senior: He’s claimed the 500 championship the last two seasons and also was second in the 200 free and swam on a winning relay last year. He’s seeded first in the 500 (4:38.94) and third in the 200 free (1:42.32) this weekend.
Alec Lampen, Manistee senior: The reigning champion in the backstroke and runner-up in the 50 is seeded second in both in 50.34 and 20.79, respectively.
London Rising, Adrian sophomore: He won the 200 freestyle and finished third in the butterfly as a freshman, and returns as the top seed in the 200 (1:40.66) and third seed in the butterfly (50.74).
Liam Smith, Otsego sophomore: He also debuted last year as a champion winning the butterfly and finishing third in the IM, and this weekend he’s seeded first in the butterfly (49.12) and second in the IM (1:53.42).
Ben Sytsma, East Grand Rapids senior: He enters his last Finals with two individual titles and two relay championships, last season winning the 50 and finishing second in the 100 free after winning the latter as a sophomore. He’s seeded first in both individual races in 20.42 and 44.92, respectively.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 200 medley relay: The expected lineup of seniors Delzer, Colin Zexter and Will Farner and junior Joseph Wiater have a seed time of 1:32.83, which would break the meet record of 1:33.01 set by Holland Christian in 2018.
Mitch Brown, Chelsea senior: Last season’s diving champion by more than 51 points also just missed qualifying for the final heats as part of his team’s 200 medley relay. His diving Regional score last week of 546 points topped all divisions, and his 200 medley relay is seeded 16th.
PHOTO Plainwell's Sam Harper, Adrian’s London Rising, East Grand Rapids’ Carter Kegle and Cranbrook’s Will Farner are among those launching to start last season’s 200 freestyle championship race during the LP Division 3 Finals at Oakland University. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)