Cranes Continue D3 Dominance in 3-Peat
March 12, 2016
By Dan Stickradt
Special for Second Half
YPSILANTI — Located in talent-rich and depth-laden Oakland County, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood often has to depart the county’s borders to claim championships in boys swimming and diving.
Found lurking in the shadows of Division 1 and Division 2 state powerhouses such as Birmingham Brother Rice and Birmingham Seaholm, plus a host of other highly-regarded programs nearby, the Cranes have found state-meet success in Division 3.
Tons of success.
Cranbrook Kingswood added its long list of MHSAA titles Saturday inside the confines of Eastern Michigan University’s Jones Natatorium. The Cranes out-dueled East Grand Rapids to finish on top with 352 points and earn their third straight Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship.
“Swimming in Oakland County — we don’t win the county meet. But once we leave the county, we realize that we can swim with anybody in (Division 3),” offered Cranbrook Kingswood coach Karl Hodgson. “There are so many good teams there (in the county). It really does help prepare you for the state meet.”
On the strength of eight victories, East Grand Rapids finished second with 315 points. Chelsea, last year’s runner-up, swam third (195), while Holland Christian (188), Hamilton (127), Grand Rapids Christian (122), Otsego (118), Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (115), Detroit Country Day (107) and Milan (88) rounded out the top 10 in the team scoring.
A total of 32 schools reached the scoring column.
Cranbrook Kingswood landed finishers in 27 of the 192 total slots over the 12 events, including four top-16 placers in both the 100-yard breaststroke and 500 freestyle, which helped the Cranes take a lead they would not relinquish.
“I knew (depth) would be our only shot,” Hodgson admitted. “I knew EGR had the studs, and they sure proved that today, didn’t they? I tip my hat to them and their coach. They did a great job with (winning eight events). That’s what it came down to. But so did we. We swam so great (Friday) to put us in position. Really out of our minds. To duplicate it, I knew it would be tough. But the guys sucked it up and got it done.”
Cranbrook only won a single event, as senior Giorgio DelGrasso touched first in the 100 breaststroke in an LP Division 3 meet record time of 55.92. Cranbrook won in a landslide last season (430-299.5 over Chelsea), but had stiffer challenges this year, much like 2014 when the Cranes edged Chelsea (297-273.33)
“It feels really good, especially my senior year and (the fact) that it was my last high school race,” said DelGrasso. “But this is not about me. This is about my coaches and my teammates.”
“We knew it was going to be a good race because Christian Bart is a heck of a swimmer,” smiled Hodgson, who was dumped into the pool in celebration moments earlier. “But Giorgio wanted to break 56 (seconds) all year, and it was his last shot. He came through. That was good; we needed that hit. You could see the breaststroke was a big event for us; we had four guys there in the top eight. That was a big plus for us.”
East Grand Rapids won eight of the 12 events, including four of the first five in opening up a 125-122 lead.
The Pioneers have won more 100 MHSAA team titles across all sports, with more than 50 runner-up finishes going back to the 1920s — making East Grand Rapids one of the most storied high schools in MHSAA lore in terms of overall postseason success. But this time, a disqualification hurt the Pioneers’ chances.
“We swam great overall today in the finals,” said veteran East Grand Rapids coach Butch Briggs. “We had a lot of wins. But what I am really proud of is the way we bounced back. We were resilient. We were disqualified Friday in the 200 medley relay and lost those points. That was the first event. But we didn’t let it get to us. Instead, we came back and swam great in the finals.”
Andy MacGregor of East Grand Rapids defended his title in the 200 freestyle, breaking the 1:40-barrier with a 1:39.79 effort. MacGregor later added a win in the 100 freestyle (45.70).
“I didn’t put too much pressure on myself,” said MacGregor. “I went 1:40 in the prelims (of the 200 free) and I wanted to shave a few one-hundredths (of a second) and get down in the 1:39s. I wanted to swim faster on the final day and was able to accomplish that.”
Sophomore Christian Bart placed in four events (two individual and as part of two relays), including a win in the 200 individual medley (1:50.61).
“I think, being a sophomore, this is a great accomplishment for me. I didn’t expect it,” said Bart, who was a part of the Pioneers team last season that finished third. “Our goal was to have our best meet, go out there and swim the best we can. We were better than last year. We were third last year and second this year. We hope to contend next (season).”
Bart, Hein, MacGregor and Cade Vruggink teamed up for a win in the 200 freestyle relay (1:23.02), setting another meet record.
“We stacked this relay with our fastest swimmers,” smiled Hein. “We really wanted to win that event.”
In the final event, Vruggink, Christopher Steers, Joe Murphy and MacGregor joined forces for a 3:10.40 effort in the 400 freestyle relay for the Pioneers’ eighth win of the day.
Hein, a senior, out-sprinted a tight group to win the 50 freestyle (20.81) and came back to upend defending champion Alec Nyboer of Hamilton to win the 100 butterfly (49.18). Nyboer finished second in 49.24.
“I knew it would be close,” said Hein. “I really had to push. It feels great beating (the reigning champ).”
EGR’s Grant Williams continued his school’s trend by winning the one-meter diving competition with 443.45 points.
Chelsea, second as a team a year ago, pulled the first upset of the day. The Bulldogs stunned top-seeded Cranbrook in the 200 medley relay, as anchor Joey Manger used a strong kick to help his unit prevail with a 1:34.56 clocking.
Kurt Jolly, Zach Lee and Lee Argir joined Mangner on the medals stand. Cranbrook was second in 1:34.69.
“I knew that Joey Mangner is one of the best sprinters in the state and that he would catch him,” said Zach Lee. “We all did our part, and Joey finished it.”
Holland Christian sophomore Skyler Cook-Weeks finished second in the 500 freestyle as a freshman and overpowered the pack this year to post a 4:31.48 effort, also a meet record.
“Last year I was second, so this year I really wanted to come here and win,” said Cook-Weeks. “I got down to around 4:31, so now I want go after 4:25 next year.”
Grand Rapids Catholic Central senior Joey Puglessi set the LP Division 3 Finals record in the prelims Friday in the 100 backstroke (49.89) and repeated as champion in the event Saturday with a 50.07 clocking.
“It feels great to get the record and defend my title,” said Puglessi, who has signed to swim at the University of Buffalo. “You always want to go out with a (great effort) at your last high school meet.”
PHOTOS: (Top) A Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood swimmer competes during Saturday’s LP Division 3 Finals. (Middle) A competitor swims in the backstroke championship race. (Below) The Cranes pose with their championship trophy. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Marquette Boys Run Title Streak to 4
February 18, 2017
By Ryan Stieg
Special for Second Half
MARQUETTE – Dynasties come to an end eventually, no matter what the sport.
But Marquette’s reign continued for another year Saturday at the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Boys Swimming & Diving Finals.
The Redmen dominated the competition again in winning its fourth championship in a row. They ended up with 312 points, well ahead of second-place Houghton’s 239. Sault Ste. Marie finished third at the meet with 203, Gladstone took fourth with 167 and Ishpeming/Negaunee ended up fifth with 123.
Even though it has become a routine for the Redmen to finish on top at the U.P. Finals, Marquette head coach Nathan McFarren said that each championship continues to be meaningful to both him and his team.
“It still feels pretty awesome,” he said. “What we’ve been able to accomplish is incredible. I’m just happy to be along for the ride.”
“I give a lot of credit to this team. They realized that they needed to have respect for themselves and their coaches and have fun at the same time. You can’t be in sports without having fun and trusting each other. After that, the success just fell into place. We’ve won titles before, but this one was extra special. It was just an incredible day.”
The most impressive part of Marquette’s victory was that it won only two events – both were relays. The Redmen won the 200-yard medley relay and set a U.P. Finals record in the 200 freestyle relay with the team of Andrew Kilpela, Ryan Glover, Jed Weber and Matthew Nykanen.
“To top off that day with that record relay was just great,” McFarren said. “This pool has never seen that before and that’s pretty cool.”
Houghton gave Marquette a good fight, but the Redmen pulled away in the later events. The Gremlins won two events, as Peter Jaszczak took first in the 100 butterfly and Sal Sharp finished on top in the 1-meter diving event Friday.
“Our boys really stepped up big for us,” Houghton head coach Erik Johnson said. “I was hoping going in to have a chance at second, and our divers set the bar high. Literally, everyone contributed today and Peter set a school record in the butterfly. They all did very well.”
Sault Ste. Marie won three of the events, the biggest being Andrew Innerebner’s U.P. Finals record in the 200 freestyle. The Blue Devils also received first places from Leevi Olson in the 50 free and 100 breaststroke and also won the 400 free relay.
Sault Ste. Marie head coach Steve Habusta was pleased with how his team performed despite its youth and inexperience.
“We’re a young team and we’re still learning the process, but today went well,” he said. “Finishing third is great, and we are where we want to be. This is also where I expected us to be, and we’re going to continue to get better.
“I think Andrew is the U.P. swimmer of the year, and to set a record like that is pretty phenomenal. Leevi also had a great day by winning two events with both different strokes and different lengths. That isn’t easy to do.”
Gladstone’s Matthew LeClaire picked up both of the Braves’ victories. He won the 200 individual medley and set a U.P. Finals record in the 100 backstroke. Kingsford’s Caleb Plumley was the final individual champion as he won the 500 free.
PHOTOS: (Top) A Marquette swimmer launches during a relay at Saturday's Upper Peninsula Finals. (Middle) A competitor powers through his swim at Marquette High School. (Click to see more from Jarvinen Photos.)