Preview: 3 Champs Look for 3rd Straight
March 10, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Birmingham Brother Rice, Birmingham Seaholm and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood all are seeking their third straight Lower Peninsula boys swimming and diving championships this weekend.
But only two are favored to add another title – and both favorites are facing arguably the toughest competition of their current reigns.
Michigan also will say good-bye to an accomplished group of seniors that have won a combined 16 individual championships – 13 in swimming and three in diving – as they make their final MHSAA Finals appearances.
See below for team favorites and top individuals to watch at all three meets. Preliminaries are Friday, with championship races and diving Saturday. All three Finals also will be streamed live and can be watched with subscription on MHSAA.TV.
Click for lineups and seed times for all three meets.
LP Division 1 at Holland Aquatics
Team contenders: Birmingham Brother Rice is competing for its third straight LP Division 1 championship and fourth straight top-two finish after winning last year’s Final by 111 points. The Warriors have 18 swimmers seeded to score, with all three relays enter seeded second. But Ann Arbor Skyline should provide a formidable challenge after finishing runner-up in Division 2 a year ago. The Eagles have 12 swimmers seeded to score including three tops seeds, plus a diver that finished third at his Regional.
Spencer Carl, Holland West Ottawa junior – Posted top-five finishes last season in the butterfly and 200-yard freestyle and is seeded first this time in the butterfly (50.53) and second in the free (1:39.95).
Cameron Craig, Monroe senior – Held the LP Division 1 Finals backstroke record for a season after setting it as a sophomore while also winning the butterfly that winter; Craig is seeded first both in the individual medley (1:47.17) and backstroke (47.84), with that backstroke time 55 hundredths of a second faster than the current all-Finals record set in 2002 and the IM time 11 hundredths of a second faster than the all-Finals record set a year ago.
Micah DeJonge, Zeeland senior – Holds the top seed in the 500 freestyle (4:30.90) and third seed in the 200 (1:40.68) after taking fourth in both races a year ago.
Drew Grady, Birmingham Brother Rice senior – Finished second in the breaststroke and 10th in the 50 last season and might have the best chance of all his teammates to add an individual title with the seventh seed in the 100 (46.86) but the second, only hundredth of a second behind, in the breaststroke (57.98).
Jonathan Lee, Detroit Catholic Central sophomore – Should make a big jump after taking 13th in the breaststroke and qualifying in the IM as a freshman last season. Lee is seeded second in the IM (1:53.83) and first in the breaststroke (57.97) this weekend.
Trayton Saladin, Bridgman senior – The reigning champion in the 500 also finished ninth in the 200 free last season; he is seeded ninth in the 200 (1:44.16) and third in the 500 (4:40.70).
Gabriel Trevino, Zeeland junior – Finished sixth in the 100 freestyle and seventh in the IM in 2015, but enters this meet seeded first in the 50 (20.97) and fifth in the 100 (46.59).
Ryan Vander Meulen, Ann Arbor Skyline senior – Last season’s 200 freestyle champion in LP Division 2 will swim his final high school meet as the top seeds in LP Division 1 in the 200 (1:38.83) and 100 (45.92). He was second in the 100 in LP Division 2 last year.
Jake Herremans, Rockford senior – Posted the highest LP Division 1 Regional score by nearly 15 points after winning LP Division 1 Finals championships as both a sophomore and junior. His 528.45 score in 2015 is the meet record.
LP Division 2 at Saginaw Valley State University
Team contenders: Birmingham Seaholm has won the last two LP Division 2 titles but is ranked only fourth; top-ranked Dexter is the favorite to take the championship back after last winning in 2012 and finishing second in 2014. The Dreadnaughts have 14 top-16 seeds, including three top seeds, plus two divers after finishing third a year ago. Warren DeLaSalle, ranked second, has 19 top-16 seeds including two top seeds, and a diver. And don’t forget about fourth-ranked Seaholm, which has 12 seeded to score including two top seeds, plus the reigning diving champion and another who finished fourth at their Regional.
Scott Carstens, Battle Creek Lakeview senior – Finished fifth in the 50 and ninth in the backstroke last season and will look to finish his career with his first individual title; Carstens is seeded first in the 50 (20.97) and fifth in the backstroke (53.20).
P.J. Desmet, Warren DeLaSalle senior – Finished second in the backstroke and sixth in the butterfly last season and also is looking to go out with a first championship; he’s seeded first in the butterfly (51.58) and second in the backstroke (52.22) and also swims on the top-seeded 200 medley relay (1:35.38).
Graham Miotke, Rochester Adams sophomore – Should make a big jump after finishing 10th in the 500 and 14th in the 200 freestyle as a freshman. Miotke is seeded first in the 500 (4:36.96) by nearly nine seconds and fourth in the 200 (1:43.53).
Jacob Montague, Grosse Pointe South senior – The Blue Devils’ standout won Division 2 championships in the breaststroke and IM last season, setting meet records in both. He’s top-seeded in the breaststroke (56.96) and IM (1:49.40), by more than five seconds in the latter.
Nehemiah Mork, Midland Dow senior – The Dow speedster also won two races last season, the 50 and 100 freestyles. He’s seeded only third in the 50 (21.09) but only 12 hundredths of a second off the top, and first in the 100 (45.90) by more than a second.
Robbie Zofchak, Dexter senior – Part of the Dreadnaughts’ title hopes rest on Zofchak, last season’s champion in the backstroke (setting the meet record) who also finished second to Montague in the IM. He’s seeded first in the backstroke (50.44) and 200 freestyle (1:42.07) and swims on the top-seeded 400 freestyle relay (3:10.29).
Sebastian Fay, Birmingham Seaholm senior – He won last season’s championship by 9.9 points and is the favorite to repeat after posting the top Regional score in Division 2 by 39 points.
LP Division 3 at Eastern Michigan University
Team contenders: The last two LP Division 3 Finals have ended the same way – Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood first and Chelsea second, by 130.5 points last season but by only 25 and a few tenths in 2014. The top-ranked Cranes have 18 top-16 seeds including three top seeds this time. East Grand Rapids, the champion in 2013 and third-place finisher last season, is ranked No. 2 and also has 18 seeded to score with three top seeds, plus brings a Regional diving champion in junior Grant Williams. Chelsea is expected to remain in the hunt, ranked No. 3 and with 14 seeded to score including two top seeds, plus two divers.
Rudy Aguilar, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep junior – Posted four top-eight places in Division 1 over his freshman and sophomore seasons at Brother Rice, including runner-up finishes in the 200 and 500 freestyles last year. He’s seeded second in the backstroke (52.52) and seventh in the 100 freestyle (48.33) this weekend.
Christian Bart, East Grand Rapids sophomore – Finished second in the breaststroke and IM as a freshman and is seeded second in the breaststroke (58.07) and first in the IM (1:53.44) this time.
Skyler Cook-Weeks, Holland Christian sophomore – After finishing second in the 500 and sixth in the 200 freestyles as a freshman, Cook-Weeks is seeded first in both with a time of 1:43.17 in the 200 and 4:37.77 in the 500.
Giorgio DelGrosso, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood senior – The reigning champion in the breaststroke also finished third in the IM last season; he’s seeded first in the breaststroke (57.94) and second to Bart in the IM (1:57.46).
Andy MacGregor, East Grand Rapids senior – He won the 100 and 200 freestyles last season and also has been part of two championship relays over the last two Finals. He’s seeded second to Skyler-Weeks in the 200 (1:44.06) and also second in the 100 (46.95) by two hundredths of a second.
Joey Mangner, Chelsea junior – He’s seeded just ahead of MacGregor in the 100 (46.93) after finishing second to him in 2015, and also seeded first in the 50 (21.02) after winning that race last season.
Alec Nyboer, Hamilton senior – Set the LP Division 3 meet record in winning the butterfly last season and also took third in the backstroke; he’s seeded first in the butterfly (50.40) and third in the backstroke (53.15).
Joey Puglessi, Grand Rapids Catholic Central senior – The reigning champion in the backstroke set the meet record last season and is seeded first this weekend (52.37). He’s also seeded sixth in the 200 (1:46.99) after placing 13th a year ago.
Andrew Trunsky, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood senior – Trunsky was first in the 500 and third in the 200 freestyles as a junior and is part of a strong field in both again, seeded second in the 500 (4:42.65) and fourth in the 200 (1:45.25).
East Grand Rapids 200 freestyle relay – Half the names are new after last season’s meet record-setting victory in 1:26.06. But Bart and MacGregor will join junior Cade Vruggink and senior Mitchell McMahon in an attempt at going faster. They enter with a top seed time of 1:26.91.
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.)