Finals: Another Star, Another Saline Title
March 10, 2012
YPSILANTI – Saline entered Saturday’s Division 1 Finals at Eastern Michigan University with two swimmers who had combined for six individual MHSAA championships over the past two seasons.
Juniors David Boland and Adam Whitener pushed that total to 10. But the name of junior teammate Josh Ehrman will be the one most stamped in the MHSAA record book for his performances in helping Saline to a third-straight team title.
Ehrman swam a 55.36 in the breaststroke to set an all division/class record, and set another Division 1 record with a preliminary time of 1:49.34 in the individual medley – before losing to teammate Boland in the Final. Ehrman also was a member of two record-setting relays as Saline scored a team total of 326.5 points to edge runner-up Rockford by 92.5.
“It makes me feel really good, but I couldn’t have done it without those guys. I’ve been swimming with David and Adam since I was 9 years old,” Ehrman said. “They’re two of my best friends, and that’s what makes for great competitors. We trained together year-round for seven years, and it makes us all better.
“It bodes well for next year I think. We’ll have some guys we have to replace, but we’ll try to do it.”
Total, Saline had champions in seven of 12 events. Boland, Whitener, Ehrman and senior James Fisher also teamed to break Saline’s own all-division/class record in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:04.26. Ehrman, Boland, senior Tom Walls and junior Michael Bundas opened the meet with a Division 1 record 1:33.95 in the 200 medley relay.
The finish made it tough to believe that Saline did lose a meet this season, to Birmingham Seaholm when some of the Hornets were sick and others didn’t swim their best. But Ehrman said that loss clearly refocused the team – something that should continue to carry over.
“We’ve got to keep challenging them. They’ve certainly got a lot of improving to do. I think we could swim better than we did today,” Saline coach Todd Brunty said. “I’m going to go back and find a way we can get faster, find out what we’ve got to work on. In the world of swimming, all across the country and the Olympic level – which some of these guys are going to aspire to – there’s a lot of ways we can get better. We’re going to keep trying to do that as a team, and that’s the best part. It’s not just one person.”
The third relay record also fell Saturday. Rockford’s 200 freestyle relay of seniors Nick Dulak, Bryan Wasberg, sophomore Craig Wasberg and senior Eric Chisholm swam a 1:24.34 to crash the mark.
Chisholm said he was disappointed to fall short of setting the meet record in the 50 freestyle, but he still won that race in a time of 20.76. He also finished second to Whitener in the 100 freestyle.
“(My favorite was) probably breaking the record with my team on the 2(00) free relay. We all worked really hard to get it,” Chisholm said. “We’re happy. We all swam well, as best as we could on the given days. That’s all you can do.”
While Saline and Rockford were expected to shine, the most surprising of Saturday’s finishes came from Lansing Legacy senior Blake Howe. Legacy is a co-op team made up of all three Lansing public schools – Everett, Eastern and Sexton – and Howe earned its signature accomplishment by finishing ahead of reigning champion Victor Zhang of Canton to win the 100 backstroke in 50.83 seconds.
That time was only three hundredths off the Division 1 Final record. Howe also finished third in the butterfly.
“ Pulling off that third turn, I saw him and I was that much ahead, and I’m like that was it. This is the last 25 (yards) of my high school career. I’ve got to win,” Howe said. “Coach said when you do your workout, states is where you get your paycheck and you can cash that in. And I cashed it in.”
Click for full Division 1 results.
Division 2 at Holland Aquatics Center
All season, reigning champion Birmingham Seaholm was ranked No. 1 in Division 2. And all season, Dexter was No. 2.
But despite only one single-event championship – in the 200 freestyle relay – the Dreadnaughts edged Groves 320-298.5 on Saturday, with Seaholm coming in third.
Dexter did post nine top-three finishes to go with the relay win by seniors Mark Brown, John Eber, Nate Kilian and junior Brennan Maisch.
Groves – ranked No. 3 entering the postseason – had champions in five events, led by senior Scott Crosthwaite. He won the 200 freestyle in 139.47 and the 500 in 4:33.26. He also swam on the champion 400 freestyle relay and runner-up 200 freestyle relay.
Click for complete Division 2 results.
Division 3 at Oakland University
St. Joseph was ranked just No. 4 entering the postseason and had never won an MHSAA Final – finishing runner-up in both 1980 and 1968.
But in the closest of this winter’s Finals, the Bears scored 250 points to edge Grand Rapids Christian by five, East Grand Rapids by 22 and Hamilton by 36.5.
St. Joseph got wins in four events, including a pair by freshman Ben Carter in the 100 freestyle (46.67) and the 50 freestyle (21.34). His prelim 50 time of 21.05 set a Division 3 record.
Spring Lake senior Nick Zacek also won two races, the butterfly (51.52) and 200 freestyle (1:41.78).
Click for complete Division 3 results.
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Rice Wins Close Race to 4th Straight Title
March 11, 2017
By Dan Stickradt
Special for Second Half
ROCHESTER HILLS — High expectations.
Attending a prestigious school such as Birmingham Brother Rice, where academics and athletics success stories are the norm and somewhat expected, Andrew Biskup understands the pressures that came with the tradition-rich territory.
Biskup and his classmates exceeded those expectations during their prep careers at Brother Rice, and that all culminated Saturday at Oakland University.
The Warriors pulled away from a tight field over the final couple of events to capture their fourth consecutive MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals championship in boys swimming & diving.
“We had guys that swam at Rice 10 years ago. This shows how deep our tradition really goes and the expectations we have here,” said Biskup. “I knew we could be big, but we definitely exceeded my expectations of what I thought could be possible. We’ve always had a great program here at Rice, and it’s great to carry on our tradition.”
Top-ranked and senior-laden Rice collected 238 points to edge Ann Arbor Skyline (212), Saline (202), Novi (196) and Holland West Ottawa (190) in a field where just 48 points separated the top five teams.
Zeeland Unified (177), Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central (113), Northville (105), Ann Arbor Pioneer (99) and Grandville (98) rounded out the top 10. A total of 35 schools scored points.
Brother Rice, which features 14 seniors and eight who scored points at the Finals, joined some elite company with the fourth straight title. The Warriors became only the ninth program in MHSAA lore to win at least four straight Finals championships.
“I don't think they understand the magnitude of what they have accomplished because they are so grounded,” offered veteran coach Mike Venos. “They are a humble group of kids that work so hard. Winning four straight titles, in any sport, is extremely difficult.”
East Grand Rapids holds the record of 15 straight Class B-C-D crowns from 1948-1962. Bloomfield Hills Andover won eight straight (1990-97), EGR also completed seven straight (1976-82), Battle Creek Central seven consecutive (1931-37), Ann Arbor Pioneer six straight (1977-82), Ann Arbor University High five straight (1942-46), Brother Rice five straight (1994-98), Saline four straight (2010-13) and now Rice the past four Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship meets.
Additionally, Marquette captured 12 straight crowns in the Upper Peninsula tournament (1991-2002).
This marked Rice’s 11th MHSAA title overall dating back to 1994, and sixth with Venos as head coach. Venos also recorded a Finals runner-up as head coach at Rice and served as assistant for two title teams at Bloomfield Hills Andover.
Rice is now fourth on the all-time list with its 11 total MHSAA Finals championships in boys swim and dive. Only East Grand Rapids (25), Ann Arbor Pioneer (18) and Battle Creek Central (16) have more in the sport.
Brother Rice opened the day with a win in the 200-yard medley relay, as Mason Wilczewski, Biskup, Alex Margherio and Jack Grady joined forces for a 1:31.72 clocking.
Margherio, a junior, came back to win the 100 backstroke, in 48.46 seconds. Grady, Patrick Olmstead, Wilczewski and Margherio capped the meet with a victory in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:04.25.
“This is just a great feeling. This team is so close,” said Margherio. “We have a great senior class — 14 of them and eight that scored — and some good (underclassmen). This is what our goal was since last year.”
Rice held the lead entering the final event and just needed a top-eight finish to hold onto the lead.
“I knew we had the lead. I just wanted us to time our (exchanges right and not disqualify),” said Venos. “I knew if we placed high, we’d win the meet. They came back and actually won the relay.”
Novi’s Camden Murphy won the 200 individual medley (1:48.99) and 100 butterfly (46.63), the latter in a new MHSAA Division 1 and All-Division Finals record. Headed to the University of Georgia, Murphy won two events and placed on two top-eight relays (second in the 200 medley relay and fifth in the 400 freestyle relay).
“The butterfly has always been my favorite event, so to finally win it my senior year is incredible,” said Murphy. “(The Oakland County meet) put me in a really good place, and that kind of gave me some extra confidence that I carried over the rest of the season into today.”
Holland West Ottawa’s Spencer Carl defended his crowns in the 200 freestyle (1:37.08) and 500 freestyle (4:26.89).
“Last year winning the 200 free wasn't expected. I won by .01 last year. This year I was expected to go out and defend it. I don't think I had my best race. It didn't go exactly how I wanted it to, but I still won,” Carl said. “I wanted to go out a state champion again, and that was my ultimate goal.”
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central sophomore Henry Schutte won the 50 freestyle (20.38) by less than three tenths of a second. Then he came back to win the 100 freestyle (45.27).
“I was runner-up in the 50 free last season, so I thought I’d have a chance this season,” noted Schutte. “I thought I had a great race. I wasn't sure how it would turn out being a sophomore. I just love the sport and love to (compete).”
Saline’s foursome of Matt Lau, Josh Willwerth, Greg Winning and Daniel Keith won the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:25.01, with Keith pumping his first after he surged past Brother Rice down the stretch. He credited hard work coupled with divine influence for the Hornets’ relay win.
Lau also touched first in the 100 breaststroke (56.37).
“We knew we’d have a chance in that relay. It was wide open and we pulled it off,” said Keith. “It really boils down to us stepping up and it’s all to the glory of God. He’s the one who decides who wins these races. We’re thankful to him that we won a relay state championship like some of the other great Saline swimmers before us.”
Skyline sophomore Henry Schirmer captured the one-meter diving event with 470.15 points, ahead of Lake Orion freshman Alexander Brent (416.55 points).
The Eagles posted their highest D-1 Finals finish and did so with only one senior who scored points.
“I was new this year, and we asked the boys to change everything. At the beginning of the season we never anticipated this,” said first-year Skyline coach Maureen Isaac. “They came a long ways this season with such a young team. I don't think anyone would have thought we’d take second here with (mostly underclassmen). We had a senior place 15th in one event and swim on one of our relays. Everyone else will be back next year.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Swimmers launch during Saturday's Division 1 Finals at Oakland University. (Middle) Birmingham Brother Rice stands on the champion’s podium with its latest trophy. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)