Holland Leads From Start to Finish in D2
March 9, 2013
By Jon Malavolti
Special to Second Half
ROCHESTER – A blazing, record-breaking photo finish in the first race of the day set the tone for Holland High as the boys swimming and diving team went wire-to-wire in first place of the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals on Saturday at Oakland University.
The Dutch opened the day edging eventual meet runner-up Ann Arbor Pioneer by two hundredths of a second for first in the 200-yard medley relay.
“That definitely set us off right,” Holland senior Derek Bosko said. “It just got us all going.”
Holland’s all-senior team of Connor Bos, Kyle Doss, Gage Mitchell and Jonathon Maat finished the race in 1 minute and 34.81 seconds. Pioneer’s squad of Matthew Erickson, Chris Klein, Kai Williams and Thad Stalmack finished in 1:34.83. Both times were good enough to surpass the former Division 2 meet record of 1:35.32 set by Zeeland in 2008.
“It just really set the right spot. Not only did it give us a cushion in points, but it really fired everybody up,” Holland coach Don Kimble said. “For them to go that fast is really something.”
The Dutch boys won their first MHSAA title since taking the LP Division 2 crown in 2007.
“We have a good system that works, and we have a bunch of good kids,” Kimble said. “They worked their butts off.”
Bosko said it’s been his teammates’ goal for years to finish first at the Finals.
“Since my freshman year, we’ve believed that we could do it. And just this year the whole team came together and really made it happen,” he said. “It’s awesome.”
While Holland never relinquished the lead throughout all 12 events, Pioneer pushed the Dutch all day.
“I knew Pioneer would be tough,” Kimble said. “When the team listings came out for divisions back in July, every boy I saw I warned about Pioneer. I know their ability, and I knew right away they were going to be trouble.”
“We knew today when we started the meet it was going to be tough,” Bosko added.
Pioneer coach Dennis Hill said his team “really swam well.”
“The kids came together and had just great swims,” said Hill, who co-coaches the team with his wife Liz. “We came a long ways.”
Pioneer senior Chris Klein was proud of his teammates.
“I think we did a great job,” he said. “A lot of the guys had great times, and we’re really excited about it.”
Klein, in addition to participating in the opening relay, anchored the Pioneers’ second-place 400 freestyle relay while grabbing a pair of first-place individual finishes in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. He also set a meet record in the breaststroke, and was honored as the Swimmer of the Meet.
“Chris has been so much fun, to watch him as a young ninth grader to grow into a real man. He’s going to Michigan next year, and he’s going to be a big part of that Michigan team,” Hill said. “But he has come so far through hard work and determination. It’s a pleasure to see that kind of stuff happen to young people.”
When asked what kind of work Klein has put into reaching his accomplishments, he responded: “Every day in the pool pushing it as hard as you can, and just knowing that you’ve done what you can do, and trained as hard as you can, and that you’re going to have a great swim.”
St. Johns senior Brennan LaBar emerged as the best diver, winning that competition with 365.20 points. He reclaimed the title he won in 2011 as a sophomore, after finished in second last year.
“That’s all I wanted, was to get the title back, to be state champion again, that really drove me throughout the season,” the Michigan State University-bound diver said. “There’s minimal room for error here, diving against the best in Michigan. I really enjoy diving against the best; it brings out the best in my diving.”
Holland would go on to win five other races on the day to continue its dominance and ensure the title. Kimble, who also coached the Dutch girls team to the Division 2 championship in the fall, joked that perhaps his girls are the only ones who can look down on his boys squad. The Holland girls have won two straight titles.
“The girls like the bragging rights because they have two in a row, so they have a little edge on the boys,” Kimble said. “The boys just take longer to develop this type of level of team. The girls have gotten used to reloading every year and coming back. The guys, we have to reload. And we have a big senior class this year, so we’ll see what happens next.”
But to Bosko and his teammates, all that matters is they went home with the trophy Saturday.
“It’s just expectations really of Holland swimming,” the Dutch senior said. “We’ve always had a tradition of getting a trophy, and really this year, it was all or nothing. It was first or nothing.”
PHOTOS: (Top) A swimmer celebrates during Saturday's Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final at Oakland University. (Middle) Holland holds up its trophy after edging Ann Arbor Pioneer for the title. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Cranbrook Pulls Far Ahead for Repeat, GR Christian's Sytsma Adds to Title Total
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 9, 2024
HOLLAND – The Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood boys swimming & diving team cleared a major hurdle last year in winning the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals by a narrow margin.
This year, the role of favorite suited the Cranes just fine as they rolled to a repeat Saturday at Holland Aquatic Center.
Cranbrook put forth an impressive all-around effort and finished with 380 points to overwhelm the rest of the field.
East Grand Rapids (243) edged Holland Christian (211) for second place, while Adrian (151) finished fourth.
“I think last year, when we got over that hump and we won the meet, we saw what we had coming back,” Cranbrook coach Paul Ellis said. “I feel like the boys were a lot more relaxed all season. We didn't have that ‘we’re chasing it’ mindset, and it was about widening the gap and the boys did a phenomenal job.
Cranbrook won two individual events with seniors Andrew Delzer (100-yard breaststroke) and Colin Zexter (100 backstroke) and collected relay titles in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle.
“We had great leaders on our team,” Ellis said. “We had a couple seniors come in that haven't swam for us before, and they really helped bring us all together. They are all team players, they care about their teammates and they bust their butt and set a good example that helped everyone make a huge step forward in terms of training and in bringing that team atmosphere together.
“It helped in how they swam. We had so many lifetime bests this weekend and throughout the season, and it was really fun. It was an enjoyable season.”
Delzer and Zexter joined Joseph Wiater and Will Farner on the 200 medley and AJ and Will Farner on the 400 relay.
“All of our seniors stepped up and were scoring points, and we had a blast,” Delzer said. “There definitely was a target on our back, but we weren't going to let anyone hunt us down. It was a privilege to be in that position, and we had a great time doing it.”
This was Zexter’s first year on the Cranbrook team after swimming club previously.
“This one was amazing, and it's my first one,” Zexter said. “I did high school just to have fun, and the whole team this season was like family. We were so close, and to have the perfect season and be undefeated is the best feeling.”
Grand Rapids Christian’s Ben Sytsma was named Swimmer of Meet by the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association after a dominating performance to cap off an illustrious career.
Sytsma added two more individual titles to his career total by winning the 50 and 100 freestyle events. He also helped the Eagles to a victory in the 200 freestyle relay and a runner-up effort in the 400.
His time of 43.87 in the first 100-yard leg of the 400 relay was an LP Division 3 Finals record. He finished his high school career with four individual championships and having been part of three relay winners.
“I really just wanted to go out with a bang,” Sytsma said. “The boys and I worked really hard, and I was really proud of how they did.
“We really wanted to win those relays. We came up short in the 400, but beat our school record so I think we are all very satisfied with how it ended up.”
Sytsma recorded a time of 19.98 in the 50 and became only the second swimmer in meet history to break 20 seconds.
“That was Cam Peel (in 2019), and I always looked up to him as an idol and followed his career,” Sytsma said. “I wanted to be like him in that 50, break 20, and I wasn't the first to do it, but I was the second one so I’m happy with that.
“There were definitely goals I had coming into this meet, state records I was looking at. I came up short in the 50 and that 100 record in the final relay was really emotional for me. I was happy with myself.”
East Grand Rapids placed runner-up for the second straight year.
“Second place in this year’s meet is all you could hope for,” Pioneers coach Milton Briggs said. “Cranbrook is definitely far and away better than all of us, so for us to come in and take second among this talent, you have to feel good about that. We knew it was going to be close between us and Holland Christian.”
East Grand Rapids was led by senior Carter Kegle, who won the 500 for the third consecutive year and claimed top honors in the 200 freestyle.
Otsego sophomore Liam Smith won two individual titles. He repeated in the 100 butterfly (48.02) and also swam to victory in the 200 IM (1:48.64).
Chelsea senior Mitch Brown defended his diving title. He recorded a score of 503.05 to finish ahead of runner-up Carson Reynolds of DeWitt.
PHOTOS (Top) Cranbrook Kingswood celebrates its victory Saturday at Holland Aquatic Center. (Middle) Grand Rapids Christian's Ben Sytsma looks to the scoreboard and celebrates. (Below) Otsego's Liam Smith, bottom, pulls away for the win in the butterfly. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)