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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.)
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Brother Rice Repeats in True Team Effort
March 14, 2015
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
YPSILANTI – It certainly was not by design, but it seemed like the Birmingham Brother Rice swimmers did not want to take the top step on the winning podium without a teammate by their side.
Brother Rice led from start to finish Saturday in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Swimming and Diving Finals at Michael H. Jones Natatorium on the campus of Eastern Michigan University
And the Warriors did it without a single individual champion.
“We have done that quite a few times in the past,” Brother Rice coach Mike Venos said. “It’s almost a tradition around here, and it makes my job easy because these kids know everybody gets to contribute.
“I think that’s what makes us strong. They come in and they are mentored that it’s a whole team effort.”
Last year, Brother Rice dominated the meet, winning by an amazing 143 points. This year, the Warriors finished with a 111-point margin over runner-up Holland West Ottawa.
Brother Rice opened the meet by repeating as champion in the 200-yard medley relay. Mark Blinstrub, Drew Grady, Gust Kouvaris and Jack Kennedy won in 1 minute, 31.68 seconds – more than a second faster than last year’s winning time.
Brother Rice would not return to the top spot on the podium until the final event – the 400 freestyle relay. Kouvaris, sophomore Rudy Aguilar, junior Bobby Powrie and Blinstrub made it a repeat championship in 3:02.58.
Between the two winning relays, the Warriors had seven second-place finishes in the eight individual swimming events. Kouvaris was second in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke, Blinstrub was second in the 200 individual medley and 100 free, Aguilar was second in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle and Grady was second in the 100 breaststroke.
“It’s good to win as a team,” Kouvaris said. “We’re a family. We all swim together, and we all train together. For me in the 100 backstroke, standing next to one of my teammates (Alex Margherio, who finished fourth) was the best feeling in the world.
“It feels amazing to be standing up there with these guys.”
Blinstrub was runner-up to two-time champion Jack Walsh in the 200 IM and two-time champion Tabahn Afrik in the 100 freestyle.
“The guys I finished second to are unbelievable,” said Blinstrub, who plans to swim at the University of Pennsylvania. “It doesn’t upset me at all. They are going to Notre Dame and Stanford. They’re incredible guys and incredible swimmers, so to get second to them is fine.
“I do what I do for my team. I did my best.”
Aguilar’s second-place finishes included setting a school-record in the 200 freestyle (1:39.57).
“It has been a pleasure swimming for Brother Rice,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to swim the 400 free relay - that’s basically our relay – and training has been really hard, and it showed.
“As a sophomore I’m really happy with my times. I was really happy with that 200 freestyle, breaking the school record.”
As dominant as Brother Rice was, the meet’s top individual swimmers were Walsh, a Detroit Catholic Central senior who won the 200 IM and 100 backstroke, and Devon Nowicki, a Lake Orion junior who took the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke.
Walsh, who plans to continue his swimming career at Stanford, was a repeat winner in the backstroke and improved on his second-place finish from last year in the IM. His winning time of 1:47.26 set an all-division meet record, and his 48.48 in the backstroke set an LP Division 1 meet record.
He did not put the records above the championships.
“It’s always nice to have a record, but a championship is something that can’t be taken away,” he said. “It feels great to have a season of hard work pay off.”
Nowicki’s championships were the first of his career. Last year, he swam distance events, but with a change of coaches, he concentrated more on events that would benefit him in the 200 IM. He was fifth in the 500 freestyle and ninth in the 200 freestyle last year.
“It was different being on top of the podium instead of the lower ones,” Nowicki said. “We changed coaches, and we wanted to focus on something completely different and try something new and see what works.”
Nowicki’s winning time of 53.59 in the breaststroke set an all-division meet record, and he won the butterfly in 48.92.
“The 100 fly I’ve kind of been around but not prominent in, but the 100 breast I’ve been around my whole life,” he said. “Winning the fly was like a happy accident I guess. I’ve always been decent at all the strokes. We just tried to focus more on the fly this year to expand my IM abilities.”
The other double-winner was Holland West Ottawa senior Tabahn Afrik, who won the 50 freestyle in 20.26 seconds – an LP Division 1 meet record – and the 100 freestyle in 44.06. He was the defending champion in both the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle but decided to scrap the 200 and try the 50 this year.
“Honestly, there was no thought going into it other than to just try something new,” said Afrik, who will attend Notre Dame on a full scholarship in the fall. “I have the 100 and the 200 under my belt, so I thought this year I might as well go for the 50, and that’s what we did.”
Afrik also swam the anchor leg for Holland West Ottawa in the 200 freestyle relay. The team finished fourth, but Afrik’s split was an amazing 19.67 seconds, which would have been an all-division meet record had he done it from the first leg of the relay.
“That is the first time I got into the 19s,” he said. “It definitely felt good – a huge milestone that I accomplished. I left it all in the pool. I can’t complain.”
Rockford junior Jake Herremans put on a show in the diving portion of the event. He set a meet record with 528.45 points – the previous record was 494.40 – and left himself looking for more.
“I want to keep hitting those harder dives and make them crisp and clean and possibly try to get my degree of difficulty up a little more,” he said. “I tried to focus on myself and block everything else out. No distractions while I’m on the board, just me in my little happy place.”
Will Brenner of Ann Arbor Huron was runner-up in diving with 500.15 points, and he also was runner-up to Afrik in the 50 freestyle in the event immediately preceding the diving. Brenner’s final dive of an inward two-and-a-half scored in the 7s and 8s and had Herremans clapping as he stood on the board preparing to make his dive.
“That dive was outstanding,” Herremans said. “It was the best dive I’ve ever seen him do. I have to give him so much credit because he did awesome. He’s a great diver and a great kid. I love competing with him.”
Afrik also complimented Brenner and said he was not so sure that Brenner was not going to beat him in the 50 freestyle.
“He had me for the majority of the race,” Afrik said. “I’m not going to lie, I was really impressed with the way he swam. I just turned it up and got him.”
Brenner seemed to take it all in stride.
“I thought it was a great success,” he said. “I thought I nailed the dives. I’m very happy.”
The other individual champions were Kai Williams of Ann Arbor Pioneer in the 200 freestyle (1:38.10) and Trayton Saladin of Bridgman in the 500 freestyle (4:30.99). Williams also swam the anchor leg for Ann Arbor Pioneer as it won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:23.68, breaking the LP Division 1 Finals record.
“We were hoping to get the all-division record, but it’s hard to complain with this,” he said. “The 200 freestyle was my first win ever, so it was exciting.
“I wanted to take it out fast and hold the lead the entire race.”
However, with all the stars and records that dominated the meet, in the end it was the depth of Birmingham Brother Rice that ruled the day. The Warriors had 16 individuals seeded and ended up with 11 entries in the Finals and 14 entries in the consolation races.
“I think we had a lot more underclassmen contribute, and we had so many more kids in the consolation finals this year,” Venos said. “It fired everybody up, watching those kids have their day. It was fantastic.
“It’s a tribute to what these kids have built for themselves.”
PHOTOS: (Top) A Brother Rice swimmer competes in the 100 butterfly; five Warriors scored among the top 16 in the event. (Middle) Holland West Ottawa's Mitch Plaggemars swims to 14th place in the 100 breaststroke. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)