Marquette Dominates to Run Streak to 3
February 20, 2016
By Keith Shelton
Special for Second Half
MARQUETTE – Overwhelming favorites to begin the day, the Marquette Redmen might have surpassed even their own lofty expectations Saturday at the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Swimming and Diving Finals in their home pool.
Marquette dominated to the point that they rendered the day a competition for second place, winning their third straight U.P. title with 326 points, followed by Houghton with 208 and Sault Ste. Marie with 205.
"We knew if they didn't disqualify in starts or turns, that they would dominate," Marquette coach Nate McFarren said. "We expected a lot from them this year, and they really tore it up today. It was pretty cool."
Senior Sam Williams had a day that any senior would love in his final sporting event. Williams broke three Upper Peninsula Finals records while capturing firsts in the 200-yard individual medley (1:57.11), 100 breaststroke (58.02) and as part of the 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams. His 200 IM time was nearly three seconds faster than the previous record, and his 100 breaststroke time was a full two seconds faster than the previous best in that event and six seconds ahead of his closest competitor. Williams also set the U.P. Finals record for the 100 freestyle while swimming on the 400 freestyle relay, with a time of 48.39.
Of the breaststroke, an event that proves difficult for many swimmers, Williams said, "The thing a lot of people don't understand is the breaststroke is not as much about power and speed. It's about decreasing the resistance. If you can get a good body line on every stroke, you're going to be better off than most people."
Williams began swimming competitively at age 10 and had a goal even then to win a U.P. title at the high school level before going on to swim in college. According to McFarren, the second part of Williams' goal is likely to be realized as well.
"Sam was quite a bit ahead of his closest competitor today, so we focused on him getting used to swimming by himself and visualizing his race with someone swimming next to him," McFarren said. "He's a very bright individual outside of swimming. He's number one in his class. To be with him for four years and watching him grow from a freshman to a senior, it's been my honor."
Marquette also had a standout in junior Andrew Kilpela, who earned a first as part of the 200 medley relay and was second in the 100 backstroke, arguably the best event of the day.
Gladstone junior Matthew LeClaire had an outstanding performance, highlighted by his victory in the 100 backstroke (54.33), which broke the previous U.P. Finals record of 54.91. Kilpela also broke the U.P. record with his time of 54.72. Throughout the race the two rivals pulled a hair ahead of one another, and the final 25 yards were neck and neck.
"Matt works very hard, and when he comes to this meet and swims against Andrew, that just seems to fire him up," said Gladstone coach Tom Desy. "That was about as close of a race as you can get. It was back and forth, definitely the race of the meet."
LeClaire, who will continue his rivalry with Kilpela next year, said he was battling his own thoughts prior to the race.
"It was tense getting ready for the race," LeClaire said. "The kid from Marquette was seeded ahead of me, and it was in my head. I was thinking oh man, I don't want to lose this; I can't lose this. I tried to hold it down and keep going."
LeClaire also won the 100 freestyle (50.64), which Williams did not race, and was part of the Braves' 200 medley relay team, which placed second.
Marquette's depth, however, was so pronounced that most of the other schools were simply seeing red for most of the day. The Redmen even had a 1-2 finish in the 200 IM, with Matt Kurin finishing second to Williams. Ben Luke won the 100 butterfly (57.77), Matthew Nykanen placed third in the 100 breaststroke and 100 freestyle, and Ryan Glover was third in the 100 backstroke. The Redmen also won all three relays.
"We're lucky to have some serious depth on the boys team," said McFarren. "Some finished second or third to their own teammates. Being able to put together three relays that win isn't always heard of.
"I was really nervous about our relays today because I spread our talent out," added McFarren. "I wanted to go after it in all three relays, and I probably couldn't have done it without the help of Andrew and Sam. Having Sam lead off two relays and lead us to victory, and break that individual record in a relay, is pretty cool."
Marquette will lose Williams to graduation, but with its superior depth, will be in good position to go for a fourth straight title next season.
"Sam will be a huge loss, but we're only losing two seniors, and we had a really talented team this year, outside of Sam," McFarren said.
PHOTOS: (Top) A swimmer leads the butterfly during Saturday's Upper Peninsula Finals at Marquette. (Middle) Swimmers launch for another race. (Click for more from Jarvinen Photography.)
Boys Swimming and Diving: Finals Primer
March 8, 2012
Swim coaches, more than those for any sport, have an ability to predict how a meet will end long before their athletes take to the water.
If those coaches are right this season, Saline and Birmingham Seaholm will repeat as MHSAA Lower Peninsula Swimming and Diving champions this weekend in Divisions 1 and 2, respectively. And Grand Rapids Christian will win its first MHSAA championship, claiming Division 3.
Eastern Michigan University will host this season’s Division 1 Final, with Division 2 at the Holland Aquatics Center and Division 3 at Oakland University. Preliminaries are Friday and championships will be decided Saturday.
Tickets cost $8, and competition begins at noon both days. Saturday’s championship races will be streamed live at FoxSportsDetroit.com and MHSAA.tv. Click for a full schedule and lists of qualifiers, their seed times and diving orders.
Predictions obviously don’t always come true. But here are some the teams, relays and individuals who could make the biggest waves:
You’ll recognize these contenders
Division 1: Saline and Rockford have remained unchanged in the top two spots of the coaches poll all season long, with Ann Arbor Pioneer and Birmingham Brother Rice taking turns in the third spot. Saline has dominated the last two MHSAA Division 1 championships – with Pioneer as runner-up both times. Rockford is seeking its first title since 2001. The Rams finished third last season.
Division 2: The top four in every coaches poll this season has read 1. Birmingham Seaholm, 2. Dexter, 3. Birmingham Groves, 4. Holland. Seaholm beat Groves by eight and Dexter by 30 last season. Seaholm has 40 swimming cuts (not counting relays) this time; Dexter has 26.
Division 3: Reigning champions Hamilton and East Grand Rapids have alternated winning this division since the MHSAA went from two to three five seasons ago. But Grand Rapids Christian is attempting to break that hold after finishing third, fifth and sixth the last three seasons, respectively. St. Joseph has big points potential from a couple of standouts, but might not have enough throughout the line-up to push the big three.
Pass the baton
Keep an eye on these relays, which all could post significant finishes Saturday:
Saline’s 400-yard freestyle relay: Saline would need to cut 4.53 seconds from its seed time to equal last season’s all-Finals record of 3:04.83. But this season’s top time of 3:09.36 is nearly two seconds better than the field, and seniors James Fisher and juniors David Boland and Adam Whitener all were on that record-setting team in 2011.
Birmingham Groves’ 400 freestyle relay: Groves has swum 3:12.79, 7.16 seconds off its Division 2 record pace from last season. However, seniors Scott Crosthwaite, Noah Zamler and Steven Curry all were on that record setter and are back in the line-up.
Grand Rapids Christian’s 200 freestyle relay: The Eagles will try to win one of the best races of the day in any division. Grand Rapids Christian has posted a top time of 1:27.95. Hamilton set the Division 3 record last season with a 1:26.10 and has a top time this season of 1:28.60. But Hamilton also has three swimmers back from that record-setting relay – seniors Joey DeGood and Ryan Hagen and junior Zach Lepird.
Athletes to Watch
David Boland, Saline junior – He could add fifth and sixth individual MHSAA championships to his list this weekend after winning both the individual medley and butterfly as both a freshman and sophomore. He’s also the Division 1 Final record holder in both races and as part of the 400 relay. His 400 and 200 relays won championships as well last season.
Ben Carter, St. Joseph freshman – The first-year phenom is seeded first in two Division 3 races – the 50 (21.58) and 100 freestyles (47.79), with healthy edges in both. He also will swim on three relays expected to score, including two contenders.
Eric Chisholm, Rockford senior – He’s looking to finish his high school career as the elite sprinter in Division 1. He won the 50 freestyle last season and his top time this winter of 20.59 seconds is a second better than both his winning time last season and the best times from the rest of the field. Chisholm also has the second-fastest 100 freestyle time (46.84) and will swim on three relays expected to contend.
Daniel Gironza, South Lyon senior – Based on Regional score, he’s the heavy Division 1 favorite after finishing seventh at the 2011 Final. Gironza’s score Tuesday of 490.55 was 89 points better than that of any other Division 1 diver.
Jackson Goethe, Midland Dow junior – He’s got the top-seeded Division 2 time in the 50 (21.43) and 100 freestyles (46.82), the latter by more than a second. He’ll swim on all three Dow relays, including two that should be in the running for first.
Matt Hooper, East Grand Rapids junior – The reigning Division 3 breaststroke champion has the top seed time in that race (57.77), which would be good enough to set a Division 3 record. Hooper also is seeded third in the IM (1:58.40) and will swim on two relays – including the reigning champion in the 200 medley.
Brennan LaBar, St. Johns junior – He won the Division 2 diving championship last season and won his Regional on Tuesday with a score of 451.50. But he’ll have to hold off Highland-Milford’s Scott Jessup, also a Regional champion with a score of 461.85.
Ben Martin, Midland Dow junior – His 200 individual medley seed time (1:54.77) is 2.2 seconds better than the rest of the Division 2 field, and his 100 butterfly time of 52.69 is a half-second better than the rest. Like teammate Goethe, he’ll also swim on all three relays.
Christian Mellos, Grosse Pointe North senior – After finishing seventh in the individual medley and fifth in the breaststroke last season, Mellos brings in the top Division 2 seed time in the latter (58.46) and the third-best (1:57.44) in the IM. He’ll also swim on two relays – one expected to contend and the other expected to push for a spot in the top heat.
Aaron Moyer, St. Joseph senior – He’s favored heavily to win his third-straight Division 3 championship in the individual medley and has the top seed time (1:56.54) by nearly two seconds. He’s also the top seed in the butterfly (51.99) and, like teammate Carter, will swim on all three relays.
Seiji Osawa, Ann Arbor Pioneer senior – Looking to go out strong after winning the 500 freestyle as a sophomore, Osawa has Division 1’s top seed time in that race (4:41.14) and the second-fastest in the 200 freestyle (1:42.76). He’ll also swim on two relays expected to contend for a spot in the championship heat.
Henk Plaggemars, Haslett senior – He’s taken over for graduated teammate Chris McLauchlan, who finished Division 3 runner-up last season. Plaggemars won his Regional with a score of 417.90, 16 points better than anyone else in his division. He finished sixth at last season’s Final.
Adam Whitener, Saline junior – He won both the 100 and 200 freestyles at last season’s Division 1 meet. And not surprisingly, he’s posted the lowest seed times in both of those races this winter. Whitener also could finish as part of two winning relays for the second straight season.
Victor Zhang, Canton senior – The reigning champion in the 100 backstroke has Division 1’s fastest seed time in both that race (52.04) and the 200 individual medley (1:51.65). In the latter, he’ll likely compete with reigning champion Boland of Saline. Zhang also will swim on two relays.