![Midland Dow’s Noah Buist launches into a race during last season’s LPD2 Finals.](/sites/default/files/2023-01/230325_Dow_2H.jpg)
Local Dominance Achieved Again, Dow Sets Sights on Statewide Success
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
January 25, 2023
Less than 24 hours after its 2021-22 season ended, the Midland Dow boys swimming & diving team had established its goal for the next year.
Get back to the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals, and put Dow back among the best swim teams in the state.
“Even at the state meet last year, we were like, ‘Where are we going to be at when we come back here?’” Dow coach Claire Fries said. “It was the day after the state meet last year, we were already in that mode for next year. The boys have worked hard to meet that goal.”
While the Finals are still more than a month away – March 10 and 11 at the Holland Aquatic Center – Dow has already punched several tickets back to the championship meet.
All three Dow relays have met the Finals-qualifying mark, and at least one Dow swimmer has hit the mark in all but one individual event. In some events, multiple Chargers have qualified.
That’s a far cry from a year ago, when nearly all of Dow’s qualifying times were met in the final meets of the season.
“We’ve had our mindset on it all year,” said Dow senior Thomas Bacigalupo. “We’ve been working on it, practicing in the morning three times a week. On a big piece of paper in our office here, it says, ‘We’re going back,’ and we’re going to succeed. We have a saying that when we can see our goals, we have a higher chance of achieving them.”
Bacigalupo is one of six returning Finals qualifiers for Dow, joining his twin brother Tyler, senior Harrison Schuster, juniors Noah Buist and Nathan Velez, and sophomore Eli Soderberg.
That core made it easy to see why the Chargers were excited well before a single qualifying time had been accomplished.
“From last year’s team, we had almost everybody come back, and our team is full of depth this year with the freshman class we brought in,” Soderberg said. “We still have all that talent and all that speed. Those expectations, last year, were for all of us just to get to the state meet and qualify top 16 and all of that. Now, this year, we can actually make a run for stuff.”
Qualifying as many swimmers for the Finals as early as they have is a good sign for the Chargers. So is winning their 20th-straight Tri-Cities championship, which they accomplished this past weekend at Saginaw Valley State.
It’s a streak that predates the birth of any current Dow swimmer, and very nearly their coach.
“I think our goal is to keep that streak going as long as we can,” Tyler Bacigalupo said. “It shows the work ethic of all the guys in the past. But we also try to think of it like every regular meet, and just go out there and do our thing.”
For Fries, who is in her fourth year with the program and third as head coach, the Tri-Cities meet is about more than just continuing the streak.
“It’s more about a celebration of our community here,” she said. “What I stress to the boys is that this is really about representing Dow and the Tri-City community, and being able to compete and race with these kids that you’re with all year round. That’s more of what I put the focus on.”
With their local dominance established again, the Chargers continue to look to establish themselves on a bigger stage, and from what Fries has seen from her swimmers this season, it’s something she thinks they’re capable of accomplishing.
“We have nine seniors on our team, and they definitely are motivated,” she said. “They wanted to show that Dow is a good swim program, and one that should be respected anywhere in the state. Our boys are really motivated to compete with anybody in the state. That drive for competition has really fueled our team and made our team really close.”
Dow has twice been Finals runner-up, in 2006 and 2008 both in LP Division 2. The Chargers felt they had a chance to win it all in 2020, but that meet never happened as it was canceled because of the pandemic.
Rather than say “what if?” regarding their freshman year, the seniors are looking forward.
“We want to be top five and really put Midland Dow back on the map,” Tyler Bacigalupo said. “That (2020) was our best chance of being on top in states, but we want to put Dow back on the map again. Our tennis team and our hockey team have done it, now we just want to bring some attention to us.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Midland Dow’s Noah Buist launches into a race during last season’s LPD2 Finals. (Middle) Thomas Bacigalupo, second from left on starting block, prepares to lead off the B heat of the 400 freestyle relay. (Photos by High School Sports Scene.)
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Preview: 3 Champs Look for 3rd Straight
March 10, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Birmingham Brother Rice, Birmingham Seaholm and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood all are seeking their third straight Lower Peninsula boys swimming and diving championships this weekend.
But only two are favored to add another title – and both favorites are facing arguably the toughest competition of their current reigns.
Michigan also will say good-bye to an accomplished group of seniors that have won a combined 16 individual championships – 13 in swimming and three in diving – as they make their final MHSAA Finals appearances.
See below for team favorites and top individuals to watch at all three meets. Preliminaries are Friday, with championship races and diving Saturday. All three Finals also will be streamed live and can be watched with subscription on MHSAA.TV.
Click for lineups and seed times for all three meets.
LP Division 1 at Holland Aquatics
Team contenders: Birmingham Brother Rice is competing for its third straight LP Division 1 championship and fourth straight top-two finish after winning last year’s Final by 111 points. The Warriors have 18 swimmers seeded to score, with all three relays enter seeded second. But Ann Arbor Skyline should provide a formidable challenge after finishing runner-up in Division 2 a year ago. The Eagles have 12 swimmers seeded to score including three tops seeds, plus a diver that finished third at his Regional.
Spencer Carl, Holland West Ottawa junior – Posted top-five finishes last season in the butterfly and 200-yard freestyle and is seeded first this time in the butterfly (50.53) and second in the free (1:39.95).
Cameron Craig, Monroe senior – Held the LP Division 1 Finals backstroke record for a season after setting it as a sophomore while also winning the butterfly that winter; Craig is seeded first both in the individual medley (1:47.17) and backstroke (47.84), with that backstroke time 55 hundredths of a second faster than the current all-Finals record set in 2002 and the IM time 11 hundredths of a second faster than the all-Finals record set a year ago.
Micah DeJonge, Zeeland senior – Holds the top seed in the 500 freestyle (4:30.90) and third seed in the 200 (1:40.68) after taking fourth in both races a year ago.
Drew Grady, Birmingham Brother Rice senior – Finished second in the breaststroke and 10th in the 50 last season and might have the best chance of all his teammates to add an individual title with the seventh seed in the 100 (46.86) but the second, only hundredth of a second behind, in the breaststroke (57.98).
Jonathan Lee, Detroit Catholic Central sophomore – Should make a big jump after taking 13th in the breaststroke and qualifying in the IM as a freshman last season. Lee is seeded second in the IM (1:53.83) and first in the breaststroke (57.97) this weekend.
Trayton Saladin, Bridgman senior – The reigning champion in the 500 also finished ninth in the 200 free last season; he is seeded ninth in the 200 (1:44.16) and third in the 500 (4:40.70).
Gabriel Trevino, Zeeland junior – Finished sixth in the 100 freestyle and seventh in the IM in 2015, but enters this meet seeded first in the 50 (20.97) and fifth in the 100 (46.59).
Ryan Vander Meulen, Ann Arbor Skyline senior – Last season’s 200 freestyle champion in LP Division 2 will swim his final high school meet as the top seeds in LP Division 1 in the 200 (1:38.83) and 100 (45.92). He was second in the 100 in LP Division 2 last year.
Jake Herremans, Rockford senior – Posted the highest LP Division 1 Regional score by nearly 15 points after winning LP Division 1 Finals championships as both a sophomore and junior. His 528.45 score in 2015 is the meet record.
LP Division 2 at Saginaw Valley State University
Team contenders: Birmingham Seaholm has won the last two LP Division 2 titles but is ranked only fourth; top-ranked Dexter is the favorite to take the championship back after last winning in 2012 and finishing second in 2014. The Dreadnaughts have 14 top-16 seeds, including three top seeds, plus two divers after finishing third a year ago. Warren DeLaSalle, ranked second, has 19 top-16 seeds including two top seeds, and a diver. And don’t forget about fourth-ranked Seaholm, which has 12 seeded to score including two top seeds, plus the reigning diving champion and another who finished fourth at their Regional.
Scott Carstens, Battle Creek Lakeview senior – Finished fifth in the 50 and ninth in the backstroke last season and will look to finish his career with his first individual title; Carstens is seeded first in the 50 (20.97) and fifth in the backstroke (53.20).
P.J. Desmet, Warren DeLaSalle senior – Finished second in the backstroke and sixth in the butterfly last season and also is looking to go out with a first championship; he’s seeded first in the butterfly (51.58) and second in the backstroke (52.22) and also swims on the top-seeded 200 medley relay (1:35.38).
Graham Miotke, Rochester Adams sophomore – Should make a big jump after finishing 10th in the 500 and 14th in the 200 freestyle as a freshman. Miotke is seeded first in the 500 (4:36.96) by nearly nine seconds and fourth in the 200 (1:43.53).
Jacob Montague, Grosse Pointe South senior – The Blue Devils’ standout won Division 2 championships in the breaststroke and IM last season, setting meet records in both. He’s top-seeded in the breaststroke (56.96) and IM (1:49.40), by more than five seconds in the latter.
Nehemiah Mork, Midland Dow senior – The Dow speedster also won two races last season, the 50 and 100 freestyles. He’s seeded only third in the 50 (21.09) but only 12 hundredths of a second off the top, and first in the 100 (45.90) by more than a second.
Robbie Zofchak, Dexter senior – Part of the Dreadnaughts’ title hopes rest on Zofchak, last season’s champion in the backstroke (setting the meet record) who also finished second to Montague in the IM. He’s seeded first in the backstroke (50.44) and 200 freestyle (1:42.07) and swims on the top-seeded 400 freestyle relay (3:10.29).
Sebastian Fay, Birmingham Seaholm senior – He won last season’s championship by 9.9 points and is the favorite to repeat after posting the top Regional score in Division 2 by 39 points.
LP Division 3 at Eastern Michigan University
Team contenders: The last two LP Division 3 Finals have ended the same way – Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood first and Chelsea second, by 130.5 points last season but by only 25 and a few tenths in 2014. The top-ranked Cranes have 18 top-16 seeds including three top seeds this time. East Grand Rapids, the champion in 2013 and third-place finisher last season, is ranked No. 2 and also has 18 seeded to score with three top seeds, plus brings a Regional diving champion in junior Grant Williams. Chelsea is expected to remain in the hunt, ranked No. 3 and with 14 seeded to score including two top seeds, plus two divers.
Rudy Aguilar, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep junior – Posted four top-eight places in Division 1 over his freshman and sophomore seasons at Brother Rice, including runner-up finishes in the 200 and 500 freestyles last year. He’s seeded second in the backstroke (52.52) and seventh in the 100 freestyle (48.33) this weekend.
Christian Bart, East Grand Rapids sophomore – Finished second in the breaststroke and IM as a freshman and is seeded second in the breaststroke (58.07) and first in the IM (1:53.44) this time.
Skyler Cook-Weeks, Holland Christian sophomore – After finishing second in the 500 and sixth in the 200 freestyles as a freshman, Cook-Weeks is seeded first in both with a time of 1:43.17 in the 200 and 4:37.77 in the 500.
Giorgio DelGrosso, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood senior – The reigning champion in the breaststroke also finished third in the IM last season; he’s seeded first in the breaststroke (57.94) and second to Bart in the IM (1:57.46).
Andy MacGregor, East Grand Rapids senior – He won the 100 and 200 freestyles last season and also has been part of two championship relays over the last two Finals. He’s seeded second to Skyler-Weeks in the 200 (1:44.06) and also second in the 100 (46.95) by two hundredths of a second.
Joey Mangner, Chelsea junior – He’s seeded just ahead of MacGregor in the 100 (46.93) after finishing second to him in 2015, and also seeded first in the 50 (21.02) after winning that race last season.
Alec Nyboer, Hamilton senior – Set the LP Division 3 meet record in winning the butterfly last season and also took third in the backstroke; he’s seeded first in the butterfly (50.40) and third in the backstroke (53.15).
Joey Puglessi, Grand Rapids Catholic Central senior – The reigning champion in the backstroke set the meet record last season and is seeded first this weekend (52.37). He’s also seeded sixth in the 200 (1:46.99) after placing 13th a year ago.
Andrew Trunsky, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood senior – Trunsky was first in the 500 and third in the 200 freestyles as a junior and is part of a strong field in both again, seeded second in the 500 (4:42.65) and fourth in the 200 (1:45.25).
East Grand Rapids 200 freestyle relay – Half the names are new after last season’s meet record-setting victory in 1:26.06. But Bart and MacGregor will join junior Cade Vruggink and senior Mitchell McMahon in an attempt at going faster. They enter with a top seed time of 1:26.91.