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.)
Talented Pioneer Dominates with Depth, Extends Team Title Streak to 4
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 9, 2024
ROCHESTER — Just when it seemed like the dynasty that is the Ann Arbor Pioneer boys swim & dive program couldn’t come up with another method for winning a state title, the Pioneers did so at Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals at Oakland University.
It was something Pioneer head coach Stefanie Kerska said she hadn’t even seen from her team before.
“We didn’t win a single event, and we didn’t win a single relay,” Kerska said.
But that didn’t stop Pioneer from winning a fourth straight title, using its supreme depth to collect a meet-best 275 points.
Saline was the runner-up with 245 points, edging third place Detroit Catholic Central’s total of 243.5. Northville (226) and Zeeland (136) rounded out the top-five.
“For every single person to play their part and do their job, it’s just a really special feeling for this team,” Kerska said.
If Pioneer managing to finish first despite not winning an event was not deflating enough for opponents, it may be even worse for them to consider the Pioneer dynasty looks like it will continue for the foreseeable future – with its longest streak of six straight Finals titles won from 1977-82 potentially approached by this group.
“Ten of 17 had never been here before,” Kerska said. “Our 400 free relay was made up of freshmen and sophomores. We are a fairly young and inexperienced team.”
Individually, two standouts ruled the day.
The first was Oxford senior Olin Charnstrom, who first followed up a fourth-place finish in the 100 freestyle from last year by winning the event Saturday in a time of 45.03.
“I really have a drive for freestyle,” Charnstrom said. “Last year, I had a really bad prelims and a good finals. This year, I made sure to come in and leave nothing behind.”
A short time later, Charnstrom took the pool again and defended his title in the 100 backstroke, winning that event in a time of 48.10.
“It feels great,” said Charnstrom, who will swim at Wayne State. “My progress from my freshman year to now, every single year I’ve gotten better and put in more work. It’s so nice to see all that pay off.”
The other standout was Zeeland junior Owen Stevens, who defended his titles in both the 200 individual medley and the 500 freestyle.
Stevens, who has committed to Louisville, swam the IM in a time of 1:49.68 and the 500 in a time of 4:27.48.
“This year I came in with more expectations,” Stevens said. “There was some pressure there. It was a little nerve-wracking. But I had a lot of fun, and it was some good swimming. I felt better about the 500 more than the 200 IM. I was little off from where I wanted to be in the 200 IM. But it was still a very good time I dropped from last year.”
Other individual winners were Catholic Central senior Luke Mychalowych in the 200 freestyle (1:37.98), Northville senior Phillip Zhavoronkov in the 50 freestyle (20.65), Rockford senior Julian Cardenas in diving (537.95 points), Rochester senior Lucas Hosch in the 100 butterfly (49.80) and Brighton senior Luke Newcomb in the 100 breaststroke (54.56).
Catholic Central also won the 200 medley relay in a time of 1:32.61 and the 200 freestyle relay in 1:24.61. Holland West Ottawa won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:08.65.
PHOTOS (Top) The championship heat of the 50-yard freestyle, including Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Henry Baumhover and Christopher Leuciuc, launches Saturday. (Middle) Oxford’s Olin Charnstrom swims to a repeat championship in the backstroke. (Below) Zeeland’s Owen Stevens swims to the win in the 500 freestyle. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)