Cranes Emerge from Strong D3 Field
March 11, 2017
By Butch Harmon
Special for Second Half
HOLLAND – The Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood boys swimming & diving team made it four straight championships at Saturday’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals, but this title took every point the Cranes could muster.
Cranbrook Kingswood finished first at the event that took place at the Holland Aquatics Center with a total of 268 points. Only 41 separated the top four teams. East Grand Rapids, last year’s runner-up, placed second with 255 points, followed by Holland Christian in third with 241.5 and Chelsea in fourth with 227 points.
Cranes coach Karl Hodgson knew coming in that any number of teams could come away with the first-place trophy.
“Division 3 is a lot tougher the last few years,” Hodgson said, “especially this year. In the past, there would be two or three teams that had a chance to win it. This year, there were four, five and even six teams that were very tough and had a shot at it.”
Making the task even tougher for Cranbrook Kingswood this season was the number of talented seniors who graduated from last year’s team.
This title was a major accomplishment for this year’s seniors.
“This is surreal,” said Cranbrook Kingswood senior captain Giorgio Guttilla. “It’s an awesome feeling to win it four years in a row.”
Guttilla credits the team’s can-do attitude for making the difference on the final day.
“The difference was we all had a great attitude going into the Finals,” Guttilla said. “We were determined to win, and it just showed.”
Balance also played a key role in Cranbrook Kingswood’s win. Al three of the Cranes’ relay teams placed in the top three. The 200-yard medley relay team of sophomore Oliver Cafferty, senior Matthew Yang, junior Kevin Hao and senior Michael McLaughlin placed second, as did the 400 free relay team of junior Lucas Misra, Eric Youshao, Hao and Cafferty.
Cafferty claimed the lone individual title for Cranbrook Kingswood as he won the 100 backstroke by almost two full seconds with a time of 50.72.
“It was a phenomenal feeling,” Cafferty said. “It was crazy getting out of the pool and having everybody cheering.”
A sophomore, Cafferty has been a part of two team championships and points to his teammates’ camaraderie as being a key to success.
“Winning back-to-back state titles is a great feeling,” Cafferty said. “For the seniors it has got to be a crazy feeling. We put in tons of work this year. I think we worked harder this year than any other year. Everybody cheers each other on, and everyone wants to see each other succeed. I was not as sure that we would win it this year. I thought we might finish second or third, but to come in first feels amazing.”
East Grand Rapids provided Cranbrook Kingswood with its biggest challenge. The second-place Pioneers received a huge effort from junior Christian Bart. Bart not only won two events, but he also set multiple LP Division 3 Finals records in the process. Bart captured the 50 freestyle in a time of 20.64 and then won the 100 breaststroke in a time of 55.82.
“I’ve been working all year for this,” Bart said. “I’m very happy to have set the records. The competition was very tough, and that is why I posted those times. The races were so close and the times were so good because of the competition.”
East Grand Rapids also picked up plenty of points in the diving competition. Senior Grant Williams took first place as he scored a total of 456.65 points. Pioneers freshman Nick Merritt placed fourth with a total of 428.05.
Holland Christian gave the hometown fans plenty to cheer about as the Maroons placed third as a team.
Junior Skyler Cook-Weeks was one of two individual champions for Holland Christian. Cook-Weeks defended his championship in the 500 freestyle as he took first place with a time of 4:26.96. That time also broke his Division 3 Finals record set last year.
“Last year it was a surreal feeling for me,” Cook-Weeks said. “This year it was a different feeling. What made it special was having my teammate swimming with me. Luke Mason was right behind me, and he finished second so Holland Christian placed one-two.”
With two titles to his credit, Cook-Weeks not only has his sights set on another title next season but also a new record-breaking time.
“I want to try and get 4:19 next year,” Cook-Weeks said.
While Mason placed second to his teammate in the 500, the Holland Christian junior won his individual title earlier in the day. Mason, in his first year with the Holland Christian team after previously swimming on club teams, turned in a time of 1:52.79 to win the 200 individual medley.
“It’s just a great feeling,” Mason said. “It’s great being a part of a great team like this with great teammates. It’s been a great experience.”
Both Mason and Cook-Weeks were also part of a relay team that captured a title for Holland Christian. Along with sophomores Jacob Heeres and Riley VanMeter, Mason and Cook-Weeks helped the 400 free relay team to the win with a time of 3:07.25.
Senior Rudy Aguilar of Pontiac Notre Dame Prep also claimed a pair of individual titles and set a Division 3 record in the process. Aguilar won the 200 freestyle in a record time of 1:37.37 and also the 100 freestyle in a time of 45.71.
Aguilar edged a familiar face on his way to winning the 200, Cook-Weeks of Holland Christian by less than a second.
“I’ve known Skylar a long time and we’ve been swimming against each other in high school the last two years,” Aguilar said. “The atmosphere here is great and racing against each other made our times faster. I give all the glory to God. I also want to thank everyone who has helped me and my coaches and teammates at Notre Dame.”
Byron Center junior Nolan Briggs captured his first-ever Finals title when he won the 100 butterfly in a time of 49.85. The title was especially sweet for Briggs, who stopped swimming for a while before high school.
“I actually didn’t swim for a year,” Briggs said. “We moved from Holland to Byron Center and then coach Kimble (Don Kimble) got me back in it my freshman year. It was a great feeling being up on that podium. When I was younger I would come here for the Finals. To win my first state title is a great feeling.”
Chelsea was led to its fourth-place finish by its relay teams – the 200 medley relay as seniors Kurt Jolly, Zach Lee, Lee Argir and Joey Mangner turned in a time of 1:34.71, and the 200 free relay as the team of Lee, sophomore Wes Wickens, senior Collin Babycz and Mangner turned in a time of 1:25.21.
PHOTOS: Cranbrook Kingswood’s Oliver Cafferty swims the 100 backstroke Saturday. (Middle) East Grand Rapids’ Christian Bart works toward a meet record in the 100 breaststroke. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Performance: Holland Christian's Skyler Cook-Weeks
March 17, 2018
Skyler Cook-Weeks
Holland Christian senior – Swimming
Cook-Weeks capped an outstanding career at Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals at Saginaw Valley State University with two more individual and two relay titles to help Holland Christian to its first MHSAA team title since 1989 and earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Cook-Weeks won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:37.27 and the 500 in 4:25.84, and also swam on the victorious 200 (1:24.89) and 400 (3:04.52) freestyle relays. His individual wins and the 400 freestyle relay all set meet records. Total, he finished his high school career with four individual and three relay Finals championships. All four times from Saturday also set school records, and Cook-Weeks also tops Holland Christian’s all-time leaderboard in the 50 (20.62) and 100 (45.03) freestyles.
After following five-time Finals individual champion brother Parker Cook-Weeks through Holland Christian, Skyler also will follow Parker to Queens University (N.C.) – which is competing this weekend for a fourth straight NCAA Division II championship. Skyler plans to study business and architectural design and spends part of his Holland Christian school day in work study with an uncle’s construction company.
Coach Todd Smeenge said: “Skyler’s success has been due to a strong work ethic and drive to get faster. Skyler sets goals that are just far enough out that he has to really work hard to make those goals. He is not the biggest kid on the team, but his heart makes up for what he might lack in stature, and his stamina takes over from there. Skyler is like the energizer bunny in the pool. It's not often that a workout taxes him beyond what his body can handle. When it does, he recovers and attacks his goals again the next day. … As far as the team goes, his work ethic pushes a lot of his peers, but it is really his words of encouragement to younger athletes, guys that are trying out the sport for the first time, that is going to be missed. He isn't flashy about it, but I often see the little things he does and says on the deck at meets that encourages or positively challenges those newer or younger swimmers.”
Performance Point: “The end part was the best part,” Cook-Weeks said of Saturday’s Finals, “because that’s when we won the meet and sealed it off with the 400 free relay, and that sealed the whole thing for us to win our first championship in 20 years. … Each practice we would always push each other to be the best; even if it was warm-up we would go fast. But once we got to the main sets, that’s where we’d push each other. Even for the kids who just started out, their freshman year, we wanted to push them to be the best that they can be. … I’m happy with how it turned out. At the beginning of the season, if somebody would say, ‘You’re going to win a state championship at the end of the season,’ I would say I don’t think we would. But in the end, we got it done.”
Picked up from Parker: “After my sophomore year, I went to his DII nationals in Indianapolis, and I went there and I watched how their team interacted with each other and treated everyone. And I took that to my junior year and to my senior year, to be more interactive – help people with what they need to be helped with and be a better teammate and a better leader.”
Building faith: “I think (becoming a leader) helped me become a better person, and it helped my faith a lot because my faith when I came in as a freshman wasn’t that good. But it progressed better and better throughout the years. I got into praying before each race, and praying for others that they could do the best they could do.”
Mr. Versatile: “I’ve always been known as a distance swimmer, but I kinda developed into more of a sprinter. So I can do the 50 and 100 but I was really known for the 200, 500, 1,000 and mile. When I first swam (the mile) in the summer of 2014, I wanted to scratch out of it because I hadn’t done it before. It took forever. Once I swam the mile for the first time, I went a pretty decent time. After that I developed into a different swimmer with a lot of endurance. I want to try to take that into sprint events because that’s where I can help out the team.”
Back on dry land: “Everyone at school has probably only known me as a swimmer, like that’s all he focuses on. But when I get home I like to watch other sports and hang around with friends. … I like to watch football – I root for the Carolina Panthers.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
March 8: Dakota Greer, Howard City Tri-County wrestling - Read
March 1: Camree' Clegg, Wayne Memorial basketball - Read
February 23: Aliah Robertson, Sault Ste. Marie swimming - Read
February 16: Austin O'Hearon, Eaton Rapids wrestling - Read
February 9: Sophia Wiard, Muskegon Oakridge basketball - Read
February 2: Brenden Tulpa, Hartland hockey - Read
January 25: Brandon Whitman, Dundee wrestling - Read
January 18: Derek Maas, Holland West Ottawa swimming - Read
January 11: Lexi Niepoth, Bellaire basketball - Read
November 30: La'Darius Jefferson, Muskegon football - Read
November 23: Ashley Turak, Farmington Hills Harrison swimming - Read
November 16: Bryce Veasley, West Bloomfield football - Read
November 9: Jose Penaloza, Holland soccer - Read
November 2: Karenna Duffey, Macomb L'Anse Creuse North cross country - Read
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City Central golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Skyler Cook-Weeks launches during the 200-yard freestyle at the LP Division 3 Finals. (Middle) Cook-Weeks follows the line on the way to the start for the 500. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)