Groves Accomplishes Year-long Goal in Earning 1st Finals Title Since 2010
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 11, 2023
HOLLAND – Birmingham Groves junior Angus McDonald remembers a phone call between teammates following last year’s fourth-place finish at the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals.
“I remember a year ago, we were on a call late at night saying that we could really win state next year, and we’ve been working for this the whole year,” McDonald said. “It’s something we’ve dreamed of for so long.”
That dream became a reality Saturday as the Falcons claimed the Division 2 crown by a narrow margin over Detroit U-D Jesuit.
Groves finished with 274 points, while Jesuit had 267 points. Birmingham Seaholm (210) was third and Grosse Pointe South (207) placed fourth.
The Finals win was the Falcons’ first since 2010.
“We thought we had a chance to win the BIg Dance,” Groves coach Ricky Forrest said. “We knew it was going to be very tight. We knew it was going to be a dogfight, and it was.
“We had a lot of kids step up, and our captains and our leadership on the team did a tremendous job.”
Groves has steadily climbed the ladder at the Finals. The Falcons had placed ninth two years ago, and knew this feat was possible with the return of several experienced swimmers.
“It was a goal that they had last March, and they put in the work,” Forrest said. “It's one of the most rewarding feelings in the world when you put in the work, and you get to see it. I'm getting goosebumps just talking about it right now.”
McDonald won the 100-yard breaststroke (55.90) and was a part of the victorious 200 medley relay team that set the tone early.
“We knew if any year was going to be the year, this was it, and we’ve been striving so hard to make it happen,” McDonald said. “U of D put up a great fight, and they’re a very strong team. We’re just so happy to come out with this, and this feels amazing.”
Senior Ian Duncan, who clocked a winning time of 1:40.01 in the 200 free, became emotional as he clutched the championship trophy and talked about the journey to reach this moment.
“In this sport more than anything, you have early mornings and late nights and you think about all the things that can get you through those hard practices when you really don't want to do it,” Duncan said. “Keeping your dreams alive, that one day you might get in the pool and win it all for your team and the school that you represented for four years. It's really something that keeps you going through the hard times. It's immeasurable.”
After Friday’s preliminaries, Groves set out to prove it had enough mettle to win it all.
“We brought it together in our hotel room, and we thought we had a chance to do something special,” Duncan said. “We all looked each other in the eye, and we all knew if we could come together as a team and trusted each other then we were going to come out on top.”
Forrest said the little things made the difference.
“Our boys swam outstanding yesterday and today, and it's really crazy how all the small things that we teach and we coach always matter when the races are so tight,” he said.
Jesuit placed runner-up for the second-straight year. Last year the Cubs finished second to Ann Arbor Skyline.
“We kind of knew all season that we were talented,” Jesuit coach Drew Edson said. “I didn’t realize we were going to be up like this, but our focus the entire season and this weekend was the team.
“This is the best team around when it comes to being loving and appreciative for the successes they've had because they’ve worked for every amount of it.”
Jesuit captured wins in a pair of relay events, the 200 and 400 free.
“Top to bottom our kids did phenomenally,” Edson said. “Our relays were great, individually we were great and we had a lot of top-end speed. We were just missing a little bit of depth, and I think that’s where championships are won. Our kids swam their hearts out.”
Fenton senior Max Haney became a two-time Finals champion winning the 200 IM (1:48.44) and the 100 back (48.92).
Grosse Pointe South senior Logan Hepner recorded the top honor in diving for the second-straight season, this time by scoring 560.801 points. His father Chad had won a Finals championship in diving for the Blue Devils in 1993.
Byron Center's Austin Briggs (50 freestyle), Grosse Pointe south's Keiran Rahmaan (100 butterfly) and Troy Liu (100 free), and Walled Lake Northern's Seah Diffenderfer (500 free) also won championships, Diffenderfer repeating in that race.
PHOTOS (Top) Birmingham Groves celebrates its LPD2 team championship Saturday at Holland Aquatic Center. (Middle) Fenton’s Max Haney races to the 200 IM victory. (Below) Grosse Pointe South’s Logan Hepner launches during his repeat pursuit in diving. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Diving & Depth Help Deliver EGR's Latest Finals Win
By
Dan D'Addona
Special for Second Half
March 27, 2021
HOLLAND — The East Grand Rapids boys swimming & diving team was devastated when last year’s MHSAA Finals were canceled.
The Pioneers were poised to win and immediately set out on a mission to claim the Lower Peninsula Division 3 title this season.
East Grand Rapids won Saturday’s meet with 308 points despite not winning any swimming events.
Of course, diving was another story.
EGR started strong on Friday, going 1-2 in diving with Charley Bayer winning with 490 points, just ahead of teammate Billy Kirchgessner (472.90). Chelsea’s Mitch Brown was third (450.05).
“Everything started flowing together, and it all worked out in the meet for us,” Bayer said. “That is our biggest advantage. Having a teammate that good can push you, and we pushed each other. It is a blessing to be part of a program like this. This team win is the most important in a long time because we wanted a big win last year and it didn’t happen. This was a redemption win.”
The Pioneers earned their record 26th Finals win with their depth and relays.
In the 200-yard freestyle relay, East Grand Rapids finished second in 1:26.89 with Will Laham, Max Jung, Kenny Pontius and Logan McCahill posting the runner-up finish.
“Last year was traumatic. We had a lot of kids work so hard and we had a good chance to win it. This year, just getting to get to the meet was a plus, but to win it without taking any swimming firsts spoke well for the group,” EGR coach Butch Briggs said. “Diving got us 37 points, and you can’t do much better than that. It just got everyone pumped up.”
Holland Christian finished second with 218.5 points. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood was third (194), Spring Lake was fourth (196) and Mason was fifth (162).
Holland Christian senior Colin Kalkman won the title in the 100 freestyle, finishing in 45.72. He used a strong finish to pull ahead of runner-up Jacob Ryan (45.92) of Detroit Country Day. Trenton’s Spencer Boling-Hamer was third (47.24).
Kalkman then won the 100 backstroke in 50.96, holding off Pinckney’s Tyler Ray (51.09) and East Grand Rapids’ McCahill (51.45).
The Maroons also won the 400 freestyle relay with Joey Grasman, Christian Hoeksema, Blake Assink and Kalkman touching first in 3:09.58. Spring Lake (3:09.73) was second, followed by Mason (3:10.67).
“That was fantastic to win the final relay. They did what they had to do,” Holland Christian coach Todd Smeenge said. “I am happy for all the seniors, and Colin had a great meet. I am so happy for him. It was satisfying to see that work pay off. We scored about what we thought, but East Grand Rapids ate up all kinds of points.”
The fastest race of the meet was the 100 breaststroke, where the top three finishers bettered the previous Division 3 record. Milan’s Andrew Dobrzanski won the event in 54.67, followed by Cranbrook Kingswood’s Ethan Schwab (55.46) and Otsego’s Owen Stedner (55.85).
Dobrzanski also won the 200 IM in 1:50.07, a dominating performance that beat the field by nearly four seconds. Grand Rapids Christian’s Jacob Haaksma was second (1:53..94), followed by McCahill (1:55.17).
Dobrzanski was named Swimmer of the Meet .
“It means a lot. I was shocked when I saw my name up there,” Dobrzanski said. “The breaststroke was amazing with all of the competition.”
Cranbrook Kingswood won the 200 medley relay in 1:34.97 with Colin Zexter, Ethan Schwab, Josh Zexter and Andrew Zhang. Spring Lake was second (1:35.51), followed by East Grand Rapids (1:37.63).
Trenton’s Spencer Boling-Hamer won the 200 freestyle in 1:42.21, ahead of Grasman (1:42.40) and Mason’s Jonas Cantrell (1:42.49).
Detroit Country Day’s Ryan dropped nearly half a second from his seed time to win the 50 freestyle in 20.58, holding off Spring Lake’s Charles Brown (20.71) and Mason’s Gabe Williams (21.68) in an extremely fast race.
Pinckney’s Ray was the winner in the 100 butterfly, going 49.23 to hold off Spring Lake’s Brown (49.80) and Mason’s Liam Boomer (50.48).
Cantrell won the 500 freestyle in 4:27.58, ahead of Cranbrook Kingswood’s Schwab (4:35.14) and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Griffin Gushman (4:41.64).
Mason’s Williams, Tommy Hebert, Boomer and Cantrell won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:26.52, ahead of East Grand Rapids (1:26.89) and Grand Rapids Christian (1:27.13).
PHOTOS: (Top) East Grand Rapids celebrates its team championship Saturday at Holland Aquatic Center. (Middle) Milan’s Andrew Dobrzanski won the breaststroke and 200 IM. (Below) Cranbrook’s Andrew Zhang looks up at the clock after a race. (Click for photos by Dan D’Addona.)