Marquette Repeats in Record Fashion
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
February 21, 2015
MARQUETTE — The Marquette boys left nothing to chance Saturday as they retained their MHSAA Upper Peninsula Finals swimming and diving title with 326 points.
The Redmen, also champions in 2014, broke four of five U.P. Finals records that fell on this day, with all also school and pool records.
Junior Sam Williams established a record in the 200-yard freestyle race in one minute, 47.59 seconds and the 500 (4:55.74). He also helped the Redmen set a record in the 200 medley relay (1:41.14) and win the 400 freestyle event (3:27.41).
“Sam setting those records were definitely a highlight for us,” said Marquette coach Nathan McFarren. “He’s such a hard worker and has a humble demeanor, and today he reaped what he sowed.
“Today’s performance by both of our teams was pretty awesome. I’m so lucky to be part of this swimming community. We’re not like Goliath. We’re a team. It takes every single kid to make this possible.”
First-year entry Gladstone was runner-up at 230 points, and Sault Ste. Marie edged Kingsford for third 198-195½ .
Marquette senior Nathan Rotundo also set a record while earning his third straight 100 breaststroke title (1:00.29) and recorded a three-peat in the 200 individual medley (2:05.19).
“I think all the training we put in paid off today,” said Rotundo, who also helped the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays. “I felt pretty confident coming in. I wasn’t focusing on the win as much as I was on going for time. Everybody on our team did awesome. This is probably one of the best Finals this school has seen in a long time.
“We were a little nervous before the meet because we knew Gladstone had some good swimmers. It’s really cool for them to be able to be part of the U.P. Finals. They’ll be a force to be reckoned with.”
Gladstone sophomore Matt LeClaire set a meet record in the 100 backstroke at 54.91, won the 100 freestyle (51.08) and helped the Braves earn runner-up honors in the 200 medley (1:45.12) and 400 freestyle (3:32.27) relays.
“I really concentrated on that race,” LeClaire said of his record-setting performance in the backstroke. “I was amazed. I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t expecting to get this time.
“Taking runner-up as a team is all right. I think we performed as well as we could. Marquette just beat us.”
McFarren, who swam two 
at Alma College, was impressed with Saturday’s performances.
“I’ve seen faster swimming, but I’ve never seen so much fast swimming as I did here today,” he said. “Our guys outperformed all my expectations today.”
Also taking a first for Gladstone was senior Thomas Prica in the 100 butterfly (57.09).
“I added about three seconds today, but times tend to fluctuate,” said Prica. “We’ve been swimming against these teams for years and years as a YMCA team. It’s nice to be recognized as a high school program. This is just another day of trying to get it done. You just can’t let the atmosphere get to you. It’s not different unless you make it different.”
Sault Ste. Marie was especially successful in Friday’s diving competition, where it grabbed three of the top four spots.
Senior Kyle Flickinger won with a personal-best 223.85 points. Classmate Levi Furr was runner-up (212.2) and junior Erik Finley took fourth (171).
“Staying calm was the key,” said Flickinger. “Last year, I got stressed out and didn’t do as well as I hoped. Our coaches gave me some good advice, and having the competition in practice helped.”
The results also were pleasing to Sault diving coach Dylan Mayer.
“Kyle had a very good score,” he said. “He has all the mechanics down. From the beginning of the season, we knew we had a pretty strong team. Then, about mid-season, we felt pretty confident we could place high up here. It takes a lot of mental toughness to be a diver. It’s about 30 percent physical and 70 percent mental in my mind.”
Sault freshman Leevi Olson won the 50 freestyle (23.11) and helped the fourth-seeded Blue Devils capture the 200 freestyle relay (1:40.41).
“I didn’t think we’d win it because we were such an underdog,” said Olson, who anchored that relay. “The adrenalin just kind of kicked in for everybody. I knew where I was, but didn’t feel anything. I wasn’t sure we had won. We were really excited to get it.”
“I had a real good start in the 50. My feet and legs worked together real good. It helped to be seeded first. That got my confidence up.”
PHOTOS: Competitors race during Saturday's MHSAA Upper Peninsula Finals at Marquette High School. (Click to see more from Jarvinen Photos.)
Skyline Soars to 1st Finals Championship
March 10, 2018
By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half
YPSILANTI – The groundwork was laid Friday.
But the celebration was years in the making.
At the conclusion of the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Boys Swimming & Diving Finals at Eastern Michigan University, Ann Arbor Skyline coach Mo-Jo Isaac performed a near-perfect back flip off the 3-meter diving board – something she’s been doing for years when her teams accomplish something special.
The occasion certainly called for the coach to take a dip in Jones Natatorium Saturday afternoon. The Hawks cruised past the competition, scoring 274 team points to top the field and bring home the first MHSAA championship in program history.
“Whenever my girls teams (at Skyline) would accomplish a milestone, or something big would happen, that’s kind of what we do,” said Isaac, who’s in her second year coaching the boys program. “Today, I had kind of forgotten about it, but a bunch of our girls were here to cheer on the guys and they were like, ‘No, Coach Mo-Jo, you’ve got to jump.’ ”
Skyline picked up wins in five of the meet’s 12 events, with senior David Cleason leading the way with a pair of individual titles. He was tops in the 200-yard individual medley, winning in a time of 1:49.81. He also bested the field in the 500 freestyle, where he edged out Livonia Stevenson’s Ben Rojewski with a time of 4:30.50.
Cleason’s teammate, Michael MacGillivray, was second in the 200 IM, while winning a title of his own in the 100 breaststroke (55.01). Both Cleason and MacGillivray were members of the team’s winning 400 freestyle relay, with senior Samuel Jyawook and junior Kyle Tschannen. Their winning time was 3:04.99, beating out runner-up Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and third-place Harrison-Farmington Unified.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Cleason, who accounted for 40 points by himself and helped his team earn 50 more in the two relay events he swam. “Me and Michael (MacGillivray) have been dreaming about winning that 4x100 free relay and winning the team title for so long and now that we’re seniors, doing it and winning it in our last swim meet, it’s perfect.”
Skyline’s final individual event championship came in the 1-meter diving event. Junior Henry Schirmer repeated as champion, scoring 503.85 points to outdistance runner-up Cade Hammond of Brighton, who scored 448.45.
“I feel like we won the meet yesterday, even though no one scored a point,” Isaac said. “We talked about doing it as a team, and we couldn’t do it if everyone wasn’t there for each other. We were on fire yesterday and we qualified really well.”
Holland West Ottawa, which entered the Finals ranked No. 2 in the state behind Skyline, lived up to its ranking by finishing second with 207 points. The Panthers won two of the three relays and saw junior Derek Maas capture the 100 backstroke title. Maas, who finished runner-up in the event a year ago, left nothing to chance Saturday, winning in a time of 50.23, better than a second ahead of runner-up Parker Wasielewski of Livonia Stevenson.
Maas joined teammates Julian Barrios, Ryan Langdon and Khadin Soto on the Panthers’ winning 200 medley relay team (1:31.91). Langdon, Barrios, Jacob Boersema and Sam Smith took top honors in the 200 freestyle relay in a time of 1:24.54.
Forest Hills Central junior Henry Schutte repeated as champion in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events. His time of 20.01 in the preliminary Friday set an all-Division MHSAA Finals record in the 50. He nearly duplicated the feat Saturday, finishing with a winning time of 20.04. Zeeland’s Austin Mills was second in the 50, while Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Adam Orringer-Hau was runner-up to Schutte in the 100.
“I am beyond happy with everything I did today,” said Schutte, who helped his team to a fourth-place finish. “I have to thank my coaches, my family, my teammates, shoot, even the people in my races. We’re all pushing each other to do our best, and every race is so fun. I love it.”
Orringer-Hau, the top seed in the 200 freestyle, won the event in a time of 1:38.66. He was third at last year’s Finals.
Four-time reigning team champion Birmingham Brother Rice had its streak end, but not without a fight. The Warriors finished third, behind Skyline and West Ottawa, with 154 points. Senior Alex Margherio captured the lone individual title for Rice, winning the 100 butterfly in a time of 48.43. Howell’s Henry Bauer was second in a time of 50.09.
Northville finished fifth overall with 141 team points, with Ann Arbor Pioneer (131), Detroit Catholic Central (127), Saline (116), Zeeland (100) and Harrison-Farmington (81) rounding out the top 10.
PHOTOS: (Top) Skyline's Henry Schirmer rotates through one of his dives on the way to repeating as LP Division 1 champion Saturday. (Middle) Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central's Henry Schutte looks to the scoreboard as the other competitors in the 50 finish their sprints. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)