Marquette Regains UP Boys Title
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
February 15, 2014
MARQUETTE — It was a great Saturday to be a Marquette swimmer as the Redmen swimming and diving team earned its first Upper Peninsula title in four years with 331 points at its home pool.
The Redmen were followed by defending champ Sault Ste. Marie with 306 points and Kingsford with 181.
Marquette topped the standings in all 11 swimming events after Sault Ste. Marie grabbed the top three spots in Friday’s diving competition.
“We knew Sault Ste. Marie would be real good in diving,” Marquette coach Nate McFerrin said. “This is a pretty awesome moment. We wanted all the kids (boys and girls) on the podium (for post-meet photos) because as an adult you don’t get many moments like this.”
A trio of Marquette swimmers had a hand in four firsts, including senior Tony Lackey, junior Nate Rotundo and sophomore Sam Williams.
Lackey won the 50-yard freestyle race in 23.65 seconds, 100 freestyle (53.66) and helped the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays to victories
Rotundo, helping the 200 and 400 freestyle relays to firsts, also won the 100 backstroke (1:03.00) and 200 individual medley (2:07.82).
“They (Sault) got far ahead of us in diving, but we have some real good swimmers,” Rotundo said. “I’m pretty proud of this team. We really wanted this meet because we hadn’t won it since 2010. Our medley relay was just .3 second off the school record (1:44.74), which is pretty impressive. The school record is our goal for next year. We came in here knowing we had to do our best."
Williams captured 100 butterfly (56.03) and 500 freestyle (5:10.67) and helped the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays as well.
“I had been training real hard, but tapered off this week,” said Williams, who swam personal bests in both of his individual races. “We were behind (Sault) going into the 500 freestyle. Also, I wasn’t the top seed in butterfly, which really motivated me. I really wanted to come through for our team.”
Freshman Ben Luke also helped the 200 freestyle relay to victory, which gave the Redmen their first lead (236-233), and Luke also placed third in 100 backstroke (1:06.61) and fourth in 200 IM (2:26.18).
“I’ve been swimming for eight years and this is the best meet I’ve had in my life,” Luke said. “I’m happy with all my races and my teammates’ races. I really wanted to swim today and dropped four seconds from my previous best (in the 200 IM).
“In my opinion, the breaststroke is the most challenging because it takes a lot of technique and skill. But Nate (Rotundo) has mastered that.”
Sault junior Levi Furr topped the standings in diving with 186.65 points, followed by junior Kyle Flickinger (179.9) and sophomore Eric Finley (172.95).
“Diving has been one of our strongest events all year,” Sault coach Denise Mayer said. “That fired our kids coming into today’s swimming events.
“Marquette has very strong swimmers. Nate (coach McFerrin) and his staff should be very proud of them. I’m proud of all our kids, too. There wasn’t a kid on this team that didn’t swim a personal best.”
Not only was McFerrin proud of what the Redmen accomplish, he was impressed with Williams’ performance in the 500.
“Sam dropped 10 seconds in the 500, which is nearly unheard off for a swimmer of his caliber,” said McFerrin, who completed his third year as head coach. “I’m finally getting the feeling this team is becoming ours. I’ve come a long way in learning how to prepare a team for this meet. We’ve been there, done that. We can do it again.”
Also winning individual races for Marquette were junior Collin McCommons in 200 freestyle (1:56.98) and freshman Andrew Kilpela in 100 backstroke (1:00.24).
PHOTOS w: (Top) Marquette sophomore Sam Williams finishes off a 100-yard butterfly championship Saturday at the UP Swimming and Diving Finals. (Middle) Teammate Tony Lackey celebrates his 100 freestyle championship. (Photos courtesy of Jarvinen Photos.)
Performance: Dexter's Rob Zofchak
January 13, 2016
Rob Zofchak
Dexter senior – Swimming
Zofchak entered this season poised for a strong finish to his high school career coming off his first MHSAA championship and a Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals record in the 100-yard backstroke (49.72 seconds) last winter. He’s on pace to equal that success – and accomplish much more. Zofchak was one of two multiple winners at Saturday’s Spartan Invitational at Battle Creek Lakeview, besting a field that included most of the top-ranked teams in Lower Peninsula Division 2 to earn this week’s Michigan National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Zofchak won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:42.07, more than five seconds faster than the runner-up, and his winning backstroke time of 51.44 was more than a second faster than the rest. He also swam on the winning 400 freestyle relay (3:13.36) and fifth-place 200 medley relay (1:40.39). Top-ranked Dexter as a team finished first overall, in front of No. 4 Warren DeLaSalle and also ahead of No. 5 Lakeview, reigning champion and No. 2 Birmingham Seaholm, No. 3 Birmingham Groves, No. 8 Grosse Pointe South, No. 10 Portage Northern and Division 1 No. 2 Ann Arbor Skyline.
The two-time team Most Valuable Performer holds three individual and a relay school record, and last season was part of 17 pool record swims at pools throughout Michigan. He’s also earned All-America honors five times from the national coaches association and has signed to continue his swimming career on scholarship at the University of Michigan. Zofchak is a member of the National Honor Society, and last summer he qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100 and 200 backstrokes with times of 56.94 and 2:02.56, respectively.
Coach Michael McHugh said: “Rob is a gifted swimmer, but without the hard work and dedication he has shown throughout his career none of the accomplishments would have been possible. He puts himself in a position to succeed each day and motivates his teammates to raise their effort level to match. He is such a versatile swimmer that I can put in almost anywhere in the lineup and know he will come through for the team. As a captain for us this year he has shown great leadership and a willingness to go the extra distance for his teammates. His teammates look to him in big moments, and he is always ready to give it everything he has in order to get the job done.”
Performance Point: “I think (Spartan) went pretty well. Obviously, there’s a lot that I still need to improve – and there always will be. But it really sets us up with most of the other teams. The meet had most of the top five or six teams in Division 2 there. … We’d never actually gotten a trophy at that meet.”
Title time: Dexter won its last MHSAA team championship in boys swimming & diving in 2012; the Dreadnaughts finished fourth, second and third at the LP Division 2 Finals over Zofchak’s first three seasons. The Dexter girls, including his sophomore sister Sarah, won the LPD2 title this fall. “I know a lot of the guys are really looking at trying to get that title, especially with the girls winning it. It would be a great way to end my high school career, for sure. It would be a really great way to end it after all we’ve been through.”
Family ties: In addition to Zofchak’s younger sister, his older brother Jonathan was a Dexter standout and swims at Michigan State. “I try to teach my sister as much as I can, which is not much. I like to help her as much as I can. With Jonathan, I always try to go after him. I always want to beat my big brother.”
Chasing Clay: “Certainly, there are times and names out there that you always want to measure yourself up to, come close to those times. Clay Youngquist’s times (for Battle Creek Lakeview) in everything; I look at those and aspire for those. His 200 free (1:34.28 in 2011) in pretty absurd, probably untouchable. But I’d like to swim at the end of the year and at least be close.”
Hailing U-M: “I really admire the program there. I really admire the coaches, and I like what they have going on. On top of being one of the best swim schools in the nation, it’s a top academic school as well. Especially with it being 15 minutes from my house, it was one of my greatest choices. I’ll try for med(ical) school. My uncle is a doctor, and I want to help solve issues with people, help make people better.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2015-16 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and respond as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our Nation's freedom, or protecting lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2015-16 honorees
Jan. 6: Tyler Deming, Caro wrestling – Read
Dec. 15: Jordan Weber, East Jordan boys basketball – Read
Dec. 8: Kaitlyn Geers, Kent City girls basketball – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Rob Zofchak was a two-time champion at the Spartan Invitational, winning the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke. (Middle) The backstroke is Zofchak's favorite stroke, and he is the reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion in the event. (Action photos by Doni Houghtaling; head shot by Tammy Lynne Photography.)