Pioneer Climbs Podium for 16th Time, 1st Since 2009
By
Will Kennedy
Special for Second Half
March 27, 2021
HUDSONVILLE — Ann Arbor Pioneer dominated Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals and came away with its 16th championship, earning four individual titles in the process.
Coach Stefanie Kerska said she was thrilled with the way her team performed throughout the entire competition, earning 369 points. That total was nearly 100 points more than the Pioneers’ closest competitor.
“I am super pleased, I think we just wanted to be consistent from the start to the finish of the season,” Kerska said. “I thought they did such a great job doing that. Whether it was their preparation, execution, or just the way they’ve handled themselves, they’ve really been a dream.”
But the day got off to a fast start for Saline, which finished second in the team standings. The Hornets took home the top spot in the 200-yard relay with a time of 1:30.35, more than a second faster than any other team and breaking a Hudsonville pool record. But Pioneer wasn’t far behind, finishing in second place, with a time of 1:31.74.
Another pool record fell in the second event of the day, the 200 freestyle. Pioneer senior Matthew Segal earned it with his time of 1:38.24 and added 20 points for his team. Northville senior Conner Halberg touched the wall less than a second after Segal, clocking in at 1:38.87. Rounding out the podium was Saline junior Matt Adanin at 1:41.41; he would later finish runner-up in backstroke as well.
The Pioneers topped the podium again in the individual medley, with junior Ryan Hume touching the wall first in 1:50.37.
“I’ve been training for the whole year for this 200 IM,” Hume said. “I just had one mission, which was to win. I’m hoping to win again next year and hopefully break a varsity record.’
During the sprint of the afternoon, the 50 free, West Ottawa claimed two of the top three spots on the way to finishing team runner-up. Junior Kevin Maas finished first with a blistering swim of 20.60 seconds to break the pool record. Senior teammate Josh Rottier finished in third (21.33), as Lake Orion senior Dane Herrick finished in the middle with a time of 21.13.
Even though his team finished just off the top of the podium, West Ottawa coach Steve Bowyer said he was beyond pleased with the way the Panthers ended the season.
“We knew coming in this year that Ann Arbor Pioneer was going to be really tough to beat,” Bowyer said. “We came in hoping for a runner-up finish and our guys got the job done today … we had some really nice performances today.”
Just like most other events on the day, Pioneer dominated the one-meter dive, as senior Cole Tremewan won by nearly 40 points, scoring 449.05.
“I’m so happy for our diving program and for Cole winning; it was such a big moment for him,” Kerska said. “I know he felt a lot of pressure and handled it so beautifully.”
The 100 butterfly proved to be a race where Saline could claw back some points, finishing two swimmers among the top 16 to Pioneer’s one. Huron Valley junior Fletcher Smith topped the podium with a time of 50.40.
In the 100 free, Pioneer placed three swimmers among the top 16, while Saline had two. But the Hornets got more points earning the individual title thanks to senior Ethan Saunders’ blazing 44.64.
The Pioneers padded their lead in the 500, placing two swimmers among the top three, Hume finished in second (4:31.93) and junior Cameron Williston finished in third (4:40.80). Northville’s Halberg finished just ahead of Hume with a time of 4:31.31.
A new LP Division I Finals record was set in the 200-freestyle relay by West Ottawa’s team of Rottier, Tai Afrik, Alex Boersema and Maas, who finished in 1:23.25. Maas closed hard, finishing the final leg in just 19.94. Saline came in just milliseconds after the Panthers (1:23.68). The Pioneers weren’t far behind, clocking in third with a time of 1:25.32
“It was really close, Saline’s freestyle was superfast, so I knew I had to bring it home for the team,” Maas said.” That was our goal, to get that state record, for the entire season. We talked about it like every day.”
Pioneer put two more finishers among the top 16 in the 100 backstroke, which was won by Rochester junior Jack VanHowe in 49.35. Pioneer then dominated in the 100 breaststroke, with Segal posting an all-division/class Finals record of 53.26.
Segal said he was thrilled with the accolade, but the team title means so much more.
“This team is amazing,” Segal said. “I’m really happy about all my other events, achieving state titles in individual events is really fun, but winning it as a team is a surging sense of pride. To accomplish something we know we’ve been working for, we’ve had it in our minds the whole season.”
Pioneer continued to rack up the big points, finishing the 400 free relay in second place with a time of 3:03.84. Saline took the top spot again with a time of 3:03.84.
The title marks the Pioneers’ first since 2009. Though they don’t plan on waiting 12 years before winning it again, finally breaking the drought meant a lot to this team.
“It means a lot. ... I was on those Pioneer former state championship teams, so I know what it means to the school and the community,” Kerska said. “I’m just so glad that we’re bringing back the tradition of Pioneer swimming and diving.”
PHOTOS: (Top) An Ann Arbor Pioneer swimmer celebrates during Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals at Hudsonville High School. (Middle) A Holland West Ottawa competitor swims the breaststroke. (Below) Another racer swims the butterfly. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Holland Christian Shows D3 Dominance
March 10, 2018
By Chris Stevens
Special for Second Half
UNIVERSITY CENTER – After finishing second in the state twice during his coaching career, Holland Christian’s Todd Smeenge had the unmistakable look of a champion following Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 swimming & diving championships at Saginaw Valley State University.
Smeenge’s hair, his shirt and his shorts were all wet. Only championship coaches know that feeling.
Smeenge’s team, led by superb performances from seniors Skylar Cook-Weeks and Ian Miskelley, unseated four-time reigning champion Bloomfield Hills Cranbook Kingswood to capture the title. Holland Christian finished with 326.50 points, easily out-distancing East Grand Rapids which finished second with 240 points. Spring Lake was third with 201 points, while Cranbook was fourth at 197.
“It’s a great feeling,” Smeenge said. “Between Cranbrook and East Rapids, they’re the perennial favorites, so it’s a good feeling (to win the title.)”
It was the first time Holland Christian’s boys had won a Finals swim title since 1989. Smeenge has led the Maroons to a pair of runner-up finishes during his time as coach, in 1990 and 2011.
Cook-Weeks, meanwhile, was at his absolute best en route to winning two individual titles and being part of two first-place relay teams. Cook-Weeks finished his high school career with seven Finals titles.
And Saturday’s team finish topped it all off.
“It feels fantastic,” Cook-Weeks said moments after he and his teammates, along with their head coach, carried out the tradition of jumping into the pool to celebrate. “To go out my senior year by winning a state championship, you can’t ask for anything more than that. It just feels great to be able to do it with these guys. I’m going to miss being with them.”
Cook-Weeks won individual titles in the 200-yard freestyle and the 500 freestyle. His time of 1:37.27 in the 200 free set a new LP Division 3 Finals record. In the 500, he broke his own meet record with a time of 4:25.84.
“His work ethic in the pool is just outstanding,” Smeenge said. “It drives everybody else. That’s the thing that I will think of and remember the most about him.”
Cook-Weeks also was part of the winning 200 and 400 relay teams. His teammates on the 200 team were Miskelley, junior Brad Windemuller and junior Jacob Heeres; and on the 400 team were Heeres, junior Riley VanMeter and senior Luke Mason.
“We wanted to go into the meet by doing the best that we could, and we came out the way we wanted to be,” Cook-Weeks said of the mindset that he and his teammates had entering the meet as the top-ranked team.
The Maroons’ Miskelley also turned in a stellar performance. He won a pair of individual titles, capturing the 200 individual medley in a meet record time of 1:49.58. He also placed first in the 100 backstroke in a meet-record time of 49.05 seconds.
Mason was second in the 200 free and third in the 500.
“We obviously lose some big guns (to graduation) with Skylar, Ian and Luke,” Smeenge said. “But we’ve got a nice group of guys who are returning and who scored points for us. I don’t know if it’s going to be enough to win a state championship again, but we’re going to give it a shot.”
In other events, Christian Bart of East Grand Rapids won the 50 free in 20.31 seconds, breaking his previous meet record in the race. Nolan Briggs of Byron Center captured the 100 butterfly in 49.16 seconds, and Spring Lake’s Cam Peel placed first in the 100 free in a meet-record time of 44.97.
Bart also repeated in the 100 breaststroke in 56.07 seconds, just off his meet record time of 55.82 set last season.
St. Johns’ junior Cayden Petrak won the diving championship with 470.35 points, edging East Grand Rapids sophomore Nick Merritt by a mere 1.5.
PHOTOS: (Top) Holland Christian hoists its LP Division 3 championship trophy Saturday. (Middle) Swimmers launch during the 400 freestyle relay. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)