Michigan Boys Take the Swimming Plunge

November 30, 2018

By Ron Pesch
Special for Second Half

It was late March. Dressed in his black silk swimsuit adorned with an orange letter “J,” James Dingman stood 18 inches above the waterline, perched on a spring-less board. In 60 seconds it would be over.

With his arms outstretched into an inverted “V,” he dove face first into the 90-foot swimming pool. The tank, 30 feet wide, and located on the campus of Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University), was the largest of its kind in the Midwest and measured 15 feet longer than a standard competitive pool.

“The aim of all plungers should be to leap as high into the air as possible and as far out as an open jack-knife will carry,” wrote Tom J. Clemens in the 1919-20 edition of the Wilson Athletic Library Official Swimming Guide, the bible of instruction and rules for swimming, diving, water games and lifesaving. “Nearly all plungers dive too flatly,” added the coach of the Detroit Y.M.C.A. swimming team. “A plunge is only as good as the dive.”

How long Dingman remained under water or at what distance he surfaced is not recorded. According to Clemens, a dive might bring the body to within six inches of the bottom of the pool. The best plungers remain under water as long as possible, angling upward at 40 degrees just as the force of the dive is spent. Record holders would surface 40 to 50 feet out into the water.

Upon surfacing, as per the rules of the event, Dingman glided along the surface, without the aid of propulsion from his arms or legs, for a measured distance of 63 feet. The mark fell two feet short of his performance in the prelims. Still, it was the best of the day and earned him a first place finish at the 1925 team state swimming championships.

While its origins are unclear, the plunge for distance dates back to at least 1865. In 1904, it appeared as an Olympic diving event, and then disappeared from the games. By the 1920s, it was rapidly losing popularity. The plunge appeared only twice in the Michigan high school state title meets. The first time was in 1924 in what was Michigan’s first swimming and diving championships. Sanctioned by the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), the immediate predecessor to the modern-day Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), a total of nine teams –  Northern, Northwestern and Southeastern, all of Detroit; Highland Park, Ann Arbor, Jackson, Lansing, Battle Creek Lakeview and Flint Central – took part in the event.

The 1925 championships was the first run by the MHSAA. Also staged at the M.A.C. pool, it featured a 10th team – Detroit Cass Tech. Dingman’s performance, combined with teammate Dick Seydell’s surprising first-place finish in the fancy diving competition and Jack Redfield’s second in the 100-yard freestyle, helped Jackson High School earn an unexpected runner-up finish in only its second year of competition.

Following the actions of the NCAA, the state association removed the plunge from the schedule of competition prior the 1926 championship meet.

Fancy diving and my plunge into uncharted waters

My ‘job” as MHSAA historian, (which is really just a fascination with prep sports history) has always been to fill in holes that surface when I, the various members of the MHSAA staff or the state’s television, radio or newspaper media, seek answers to a question. I’m a detail guy, who earned my living as a business analyst compiling, normalizing and studying data. I love diving deeper into information, completing lists and unearthing stories to tell.

From the first trophy awarded by the MHSAA in 1925, and then for the next 20 years, the state’s 35 team swimming championships never strayed beyond the borders of four Michigan counties: Wayne, Washtenaw, Calhoun and Jackson. Two of those counties, Washtenaw and Calhoun, accounted for 24 of those 35 titles.

Within those borders, only eight schools claimed titles during those two decades, with two schools combining for 18 of those awarded championships.

Detroit dominates

The Detroit area dominated statewide competition in the earliest days. The metro area boasted many of the state’s finest high schools, offering students, male and female, a wide array of athletic facilities and opportunities. During the 1920s, the schools dominated across a variety of sports, including swimming where Detroit Northwestern, Detroit Northern and Highland Park battled for annual city, state and, often, mid-west supremacy.

From 1925-1927, Detroit Northwestern, coached by Bert Maris, won the MHSAA’s Open Class swimming competitions, featuring all schools regardless of enrollment. A former coach at University of Michigan and Notre Dame, Maris accepted the position of athletic director at the newly-opened Northwestern High School in 1914, and stayed for 28 seasons before retiring in 1942. Like many mentors from the era, he coached multiple sports, winning state titles in basketball, track, and swimming. Over the years he worked with an amazing number of athletes, including football legend Knute Rockne and track stars Eddie Tolan and Willis Ward. Maris’ teams actually won four swimming titles in a row, as Northwestern topped Jackson in that 1924 MIAA prep championship. That meet featured eight events. Besides the plunge, and fancy diving, it included the 50, 100 and 220-yard freestyles, the 50-yard breaststroke, the 50-yard backstroke, and the 120-yard relay.

The 1925 meet, in which Dingman competed, included the same events and added the 300-yard medley relay, comprised of the 60-yard backstroke, 60-yard freestyle, 60-yard breaststroke and 120-yard free. While Northwestern repeated as team champion, Gurdon Guile of Flint Central “was the star of the meet, with a first in the 100-yard freestyle and a second in the 50-yard freestyle.”

OPEN CLASS

Year

Champion (Coach)

Runner-Up

1925

Detroit Northwestern (Bert Maris)

Jackson

1926

Detroit Northwestern (Bert Maris)

Highland Park

1927

Detroit Northwestern (Bert Maris)

Highland Park

1928

Highland Park (Grant Withey)

Detroit Northern

The 1926 championships featured 10 Michigan high schools, including Belding, a newcomer to state swimming circles. Horace Craig, later a star swimmer at Michigan State, trimmed eight seconds from the 220 freestyle record in leading Northwestern to its third straight title in 1926. He again topped the mark in the preliminaries in 1927 as Northwestern posted 57 points, outdistancing runner-up Highland Park by 34.

In 1928, Highland Park jumped to the forefront, qualifying 10 of 26 swimmers in preliminary competition – more than twice the number of any other school – then unseated the four-time champions in the finals to win the competition. The Polar Bears topped six state meet records (including Craig’s 220 freestyle mark) along the way. Then, led by Louis Lemak and Bob Klintworth, future swimmers at the University of Michigan, Highland Park repeated as champion in 1929 when MHSAA competition was split into Class A for the state’s largest schools based on enrollment and Class B-C-D to handle all other schools with swim programs in the state. Roosevelt High, one of two high schools in Ypsilanti, grabbed the Class B-C-D crown, with East Grand Rapids finishing second.

In the spring of 1930, Central High School in Ypsilanti eked past East Grand Rapids by a single point to top a field of seven schools competing for Class B-C-D honors. It was the first of four straight titles for Ypsilanti Central and their coach, James Schaffer, over a five-year span. (In 1932, the Indians finished runners-up to River Rouge. Rouge, in turn, finished second to Ypsilanti in 1931, 1933 and 1934).

Detroit Northwestern returned to the pedestal in 1930, earning another title against a field of 14, this time with Leo S. Maas as coach. It would be the last swimming title awarded to a Detroit Public League school.

With the arrival of the 1930-31 school year, Detroit public schools withdrew from state interscholastic competition, to focus only on intramural contests between other Detroit city schools. Vaughn S. Blanchard, who took charge as Director of Health and Physical Education for the Detroit Public Schools in 1929, cited in the decision his belief that there was an unhealthy overemphasis on competitive athletics. The voluntary exile would last for the next 30 years and recast competition within Michigan prep athletics.

Maas’ teams would continue to dominate Detroit swimming, winning 7 of 9 City League championships. In September of 1938, he joined the staff of Wayne University as swimming coach, leading the Tartars to national prominence in the 1940s. He spent 20 years at the school, renamed Wayne State University in 1956.

Battle Creek Takes Charge

Charles McCaffree, Jr. was born in South Dakota and learned to love swimming at the YMCA pool in Sioux City. He followed his brother to the University of Michigan, earning three varsity letters under internationally-known swimming coach Matt Mann. Following college graduation in 1930, McCaffree was hired at Battle Creek Central as swimming coach in 1931. For the next six years, 1931-1936, his Bearcats teams won Michigan swimming titles. All were in Class A, with the exception of the 1935 tournament, when, because of the Great Depression, only a single title was awarded. A total of 139 swimmers from 14 teams competed in the state’s 12th annual meet, held at the intramural pool at the University of Michigan.

The MHSAA returned to two class championships in the spring of 1936. Ypsilanti Roosevelt returned to the winners’ circle, besting Ypsilanti Central by two points, 38 to 36, while winning four first places in the eight-event meet.

In September 1936, McCaffree returned to U-M to take over the Wolverines program while Coach Mann attended to his seriously ill father in Leeds, England. McCaffree’s teams at Battle Creek had won 53 dual meets and lost only three. He helped build the district’s junior high swim program and turned out 14 prep All-Americans, (including Dobson “Dobbie” Burton, captain of Michigan’s 1941 NCAA championship swim team and later, a very successful swim coach at Evanston Township High School in Illinois). With Mann’s return to the helm at Michigan in February 1937, McCaffree accepted the head swimming coaching position at Iowa State, where his teams won four Big Eight Conference Championships.

In 1942, “Coach Mac” was hired by Michigan State athletic director Ralph Young to head the Spartans swim team. For the next 28 years, he guided the team as head coach, winning eight straight Central Collegiate Conference championships prior to State’s entry into the Big Ten. In 1957, he led MSU to its first Big Ten swimming title. Before retiring as coach in 1969, “his student-athletes earned All-American honors 322 times, won 34 Big Ten titles, and claimed 22 NCAA titles. Six individuals qualified for the Olympics.” In 1979, the university named the pools within the Intramural-West Building in his honor.

CLASS A

Year

Champion (Coach)

Runner-Up

1929

Highland Park (Grant Withey)

Detroit Northern

1930

Detroit Northwestern (Leo. S. Maas)

Detroit Northern

1931

Battle Creek Central (Charles McCaffree)

Lansing Central

1932

Battle Creek Central (Charles McCaffree)

Kalamazoo Central

1933

Battle Creek Central (Charles McCaffree)

Lansing Central

1934

Battle Creek Central (Charles McCaffree)

Lansing Central


OPEN CLASS

Year

Champion (Coach)

Runner-Up

1935

Battle Creek Central (Charles McCaffree)

Dearborn Fordson


CLASS B-C-D

Year

Champion (Coach)

Runner-Up

1929

Ypsilanti Roosevelt (Howard Farnslow)

East Grand Rapids

1930

Ypsilanti (James Schaffer)

East Grand Rapids

1931

Ypsilanti (James Schaffer)

River Rouge

1932

River Rouge (Benny Goodell)

Ypsilanti

1933

Ypsilanti (James Schaffer)

River Rouge

1934

Ypsilanti (James Schaffer)

River Rouge

Ypsilanti, Jackson emerge

McCaffree’s replacement at Battle Creek, John Vydareny, led the Bearcats to a seventh consecutive title in 1937. The city of Ypsilanti retained control of the Class-B-C-D title, as Ypsilanti Central dethroned Roosevelt High 71-54. It was the first of three consecutive by Central High and coach James Schaffer.

“More than 200 high school swimming stars churned the Michigan State college pool today as they warmed up for trials in the 15th annual Michigan High School Athletic association championship swim,” noted The Associated Press in 1938 pre-event coverage.

A broadcast, featuring a running account of the meet, was recorded in East Lansing that Saturday and brought to Battle Creek for an 11:00 p.m. broadcast on radio station WELL-AM. Designed to give listeners “the pool’s edge atmosphere of the meet,” the program was replayed on Sunday evening “to give those who did not attend, and those who retired too early to hear the Saturday night program.”

Jackson, which lost the Five-A league title to Battle Creek, emerged as the Class A winner. Both schools brought 22 to the event.

“Jackson dethroned the Bearcats…in the Michigan State college natatorium and the difference between an eighth successive crown and runner-up position … was disqualification of the Battle Creek Medley relay team in the preliminaries. The Bearcat medley trio finished a full half lap in front of the field … in record time … but it was ruled out …”

Jackson finished with 39 points, followed by Battle Creek with 32. The Vikings would repeat as Class A champions in both 1939 and 1940. Coach Elwood Watson’s swimmers would pick up a fourth title in 1942. Battle Creek Central added three additional titles to their total with wins in 1941, 1943 and 1944. Because of World War II restrictions, only 13 schools entered the Class A meet and five competed in Class B-C-D in 1943, while 14 schools participated in the Class A meet in 1944 at Michigan State, and six schools chased honors in the Class B-C-D competition at the University of Michigan.

With the absence of Detroit schools during the 14-year span, 1931 through 1944, a member of the 5-A League – comprised of Battle Creek, Jackson, Ann Arbor, Lansing Eastern and Lansing Central – controlled Michigan’s Class A swim title during that time. On nine occasions during that period, the 5-A also placed the state runner-up.

In Class B-C-D, Ann Arbor University High emerged as a swimming power, finishing as runner-up to Ypsilanti Central in both 1938 and 1939. Guided by University of Michigan assistant swimming coach Harvey Muller, the Cubs ended the city of Ypsilanti’s grip on the smaller school title in 1940.

“University High’s crack free-style quartet of Bill Koch, Earl Bryant, Jim Gordy and Max Tobias nosed out Central in the final relay to overcome a 43-42 lead which Ypsilanti held prior to the event.”

With the win, “the Ann Arbor tankers scored 52 points, one more than Central … It was Central’s first defeat in the state meet in the last four years.”

Ypsilanti Central topped Roosevelt in the 1941 state meet, this time under the guidance of coach Christy Wilson. University High won the first of five straight titles, with Muller as coach in 1942 and the legendary Matt Mann guiding the team from 1943 to 1946. Among the winners in 1943 was Matt Mann, Jr., who clipped five seconds off the meet’s 200-yard freestyle record. He would later be named a four-time All-American at Michigan and compete on the university’s 1948 national championship swim team. Following graduation, Mann, Jr. coached swimming and diving at Lansing Sexton High School.

Times Change

Post World War II saw many changes to society, cities, and, within competitive swimming, new record setters and coaching legends emerged. In 1980, a separate boys tournament was added to the MHSAA menu for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The grouping of schools moved from classes to divisions in 2003, and in 2008, a third division was added.

Today, ownership of MHSAA boys swimming & diving titles has geographically traveled a bit farther, but still to only 12 of Michigan’s 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.

PHOTOS: (Top) The 1930 Detroit Northwestern team was among early state swimming powers. (2) Jackson's 1925 team also was an early force in the sport. (3) Bert Maris. (4) The 1930 Ypsilanti team. (5) Charles McCaffree, Jr. (6) The Michigan Agricultural College pool, in 1921. (7) The 1940 Jackson team. (Photos collected by Ron Pesch.)

Preview: Reigning Champs Favored, but Potential Rankings Wreckers Await

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

March 7, 2024

All three of last season’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula swimming & diving team champions are entering this weekend’s Finals ranked No. 1 in their respective divisions.

But while Ann Arbor Pioneer, Birmingham Groves and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood might be starting the race at the forecasted front, there will be plenty of opportunity for shuffling before the final relays finish Saturday afternoon.

Preliminaries at all three Finals sites begin at noon Friday, with Saturday championship events starting at noon as well. Both days of all three meets will be streamed live and viewable with subscription on MHSAA.tv. For information on purchasing tickets, plus psych sheets, dive orders and more, visit the Boys Swimming & Diving page – and see below for a glance at several team and individual contenders to follow.

Division 1 at Oakland University

Reigning champion: Ann Arbor Pioneer
2023 runner-up: Holland West Ottawa
2024 top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2. Saline, 3. Detroit Catholic Central.

Pioneer has won the last three Division 1 championships, last year by 111 points, and will bring back plenty of scoring power. The 400 freestyle relay is the team’s only top seed, but the other two relays and 14 individual entries are seeded to score (among the top 16), and the Pioneers also have two divers competing. Saline, sixth a year ago, has stayed close to Pioneer this season, losing their dual only 96-90 and finishing only 29 points back at the Southeastern Conference Red meet. The Hornets last won this championship in 2013 and finished runners-up in 2016, and they also have all three relays and 14 individuals seeded to score, with three divers. Detroit Catholic Central finished runner-up in 2019 and is seeking its first team title after placing eighth a year ago. The Shamrocks have three relays and nine individual entries seeded to score, but two of those relays and Luke Mychalowych in his two events are top-seeded.

Olin Charnstrom, Oxford senior: Last season’s champion in the 100-yard backstroke is the top seed in that race (48.50) and the 100 freestyle (45.75) after also finishing fourth in the latter a year ago.

Will Cheney, Rockford senior: He finished fourth in the 50 and tied for 13th in the 100 freestyle last season and enters this weekend the top seed in the 50 (20.82) and fifth-seeded in the 100.

Lucas Hosch, Rochester senior: The top seed in the 100 butterfly (50.51) finished sixth in that race last season and 13th in the 50.

Luke Mychalowych, Detroit Catholic Central senior: He’s the top seed in the 200 freestyle (1:40.62) and 100 breaststroke (55.47) and also part of the top-seeded 200 medley relay (1:33.08) and top-seeded 200 free relay (1:24.67). He finished second in the breaststroke and fourth in the 200 free last season.

Luke Newcomb, Brighton senior: The reigning champion in the breaststroke also finished eighth in the 200 individual medley last season and is seeded second in the breaststroke (55.99) and eighth in the IM this weekend.

Owen Stevens, Zeeland junior: The reigning champion in the IM and 500 freestyle could be in position for a repeat double as the top seed in both races – the IM at 1:51.98 and 500 at 4:29.11.

Edward Zhang, Ann Arbor Pioneer junior: He debuted last season on two championship relays and finishing fifth in the 200 free and sixth in the 500. He returns as the second seed in the 200 (1:40.75) and fourth seed in the breaststroke (57.48) and likely to swim on the top-seeded 400 relay (3:08.32) and second-seeded medley relay (1:34.22).

Julian Cardenas, Rockford senior: The reigning Division 1 diving champion enters this weekend coming off posting the division’s highest Regional score last week (484.70).

Division 2 at Eastern Michigan University

Reigning champion: Birmingham Groves
2023 runner-up: Detroit U-D Jesuit
2024 top-ranked: 1. Birmingham Groves, 2. Farmington, 3. Birmingham Seaholm.

Groves moved up from No. 3 to No. 1 in the final team rankings as it looks to follow up last season’s seven-point win over U-D Jesuit, which has finished runner-up the last two seasons and is ranked No. 5. The Falcons have all three relays and 12 individual entries seeded to score this weekend, including top seeds for one relay and four individual races. Farmington finished seventh a year ago and is seeking its first team title with all three relays and 11 individual entries seeded to score, including two relay favorites and a top-seeded individual. Seaholm last won the team title in 2021 and finished third a year ago. The Maples also have all three relays and 11 individual entries seeded to score.

Leland Curanovic, Farmington senior: He’s looking to build on last year’s sixth place in the 50 and ninth place in the 100 freestyle, entering this weekend as the top seed in the 200 free (1:41.48) and second seed in the 100 (47.08).

Troy Liu, Grosse Pointe South senior: He’s the reigning champion in the 100 free and finished fourth in the 50 last winter, and enters this weekend the top seed in both at 20.88 in the 50 and 46.19 in the 100.

Gus MacDonald, Birmingham Groves senior: He played a big part in Groves’ team title last season winning the breaststroke, finishing second in the IM and swimming on first and third-place relays. He’s the top seed in the breaststroke (57.11), second seed in the IM (1:51.21) and is likely to swim on two contending relays including the top-seeded 200 medley (1:34.34).

Josh Martin, Mattawan junior: He could make a nice jump after finishing fourth in the butterfly and ninth in the 50 last season, entering this weekend seeded third in the 50 (21.37) and first in the butterfly (50.02).

Joey Stebbins, Birmingham Groves senior: Stebbins also played a major role in Groves’ 2023 success finishing fourth in both the IM and backstroke and swimming on the same relays with MacDonald. He’s the top seed this time in the IM (1:50.92) and backstroke (49.13) and is slated to swim on two contending relays including the 200 medley as well.

Nathan Stebbins, Birmingham Groves sophomore: He’s entering his second Finals as the top seed in the 500 (4:47.59), sixth seed in the IM and as a part of two top-three relays after finishing sixth in the 500 and just outside the final heats in the 200 free last year.

Robby Russo, Jenison senior: Last season’s fourth-place finisher in diving – and highest among non-seniors at his meet – scored the highest Regional total in Division 2 last week, 458.60.

Division 3 at Holland Aquatic Center

Reigning champion: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
2023 runner-up: East Grand Rapids
2024 rankings: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. East Grand Rapids, 3. Holland Christian.

Cranbrook broke up the EGR/Holland Christian hold on the top spots last season, taking its first title since 2017 after EGR and Holland Christian had finished first and second in some order at the previous four Finals. One of those three teams has won this championship every year beginning with 2013 (not counting 2020, when Finals were canceled due to COVID-19). The Cranes edged the Pioneers by 12 points in 2023 and return this weekend with an overwhelming three relays and 23 entries seeded to score, plus a diver, and with all three relays and an individual top-seeded. EGR has three relays and nine individuals seeded to score, with four divers competing, and Holland Christian has three relays and eight individuals seeded to score and three divers in the mix.

Andrew Delzer, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood senior: He’s finishing up his only high school season as the top seed in the breaststroke (58.15) and fourth seed in the 50 and likely to swim on the top-seeded 200 medley (1:32.83) and 400 freestyle (3:08.37) relays.

Hadyn Gould, Adrian senior: After finishing seventh in both the IM and backstroke as a junior, he enters this weekend the top seed in both at 1:51.37 and 49.25, respectively.

Carter Kegle, East Grand Rapids senior: He’s claimed the 500 championship the last two seasons and also was second in the 200 free and swam on a winning relay last year. He’s seeded first in the 500 (4:38.94) and third in the 200 free (1:42.32) this weekend.

Alec Lampen, Manistee senior: The reigning champion in the backstroke and runner-up in the 50 is seeded second in both in 50.34 and 20.79, respectively.

London Rising, Adrian sophomore: He won the 200 freestyle and finished third in the butterfly as a freshman, and returns as the top seed in the 200 (1:40.66) and third seed in the butterfly (50.74).

Liam Smith, Otsego sophomore: He also debuted last year as a champion winning the butterfly and finishing third in the IM, and this weekend he’s seeded first in the butterfly (49.12) and second in the IM (1:53.42).

Ben Sytsma, East Grand Rapids senior: He enters his last Finals with two individual titles and two relay championships, last season winning the 50 and finishing second in the 100 free after winning the latter as a sophomore. He’s seeded first in both individual races in 20.42 and 44.92, respectively.

Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 200 medley relay: The expected lineup of seniors Delzer, Colin Zexter and Will Farner and junior Joseph Wiater have a seed time of 1:32.83, which would break the meet record of 1:33.01 set by Holland Christian in 2018.

Mitch Brown, Chelsea senior: Last season’s diving champion by more than 51 points also just missed qualifying for the final heats as part of his team’s 200 medley relay. His diving Regional score last week of 546 points topped all divisions, and his 200 medley relay is seeded 16th.

PHOTO Plainwell's Sam Harper, Adrian’s London Rising, East Grand Rapids’ Carter Kegle and Cranbrook’s Will Farner are among those launching to start last season’s 200 freestyle championship race during the LP Division 3 Finals at Oakland University. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)