Preview: Annual Contenders Aim for Top Finish Again
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 12, 2021
No team has won more Upper Peninsula boys swimming & diving championships than reigning Finals champ Marquette’s 26.
Similarly, no team has finished second more than Sault Ste. Marie’s 19 runner-up finishes, to go along with four titles.
Those two stand to contend for the top two places again at this weekend’s event – order to be determined.
Diving is Friday at all swimming Saturday – click for more meet details. Both will be streamed live and viewable with subscription on MHSAA.tv.
Here’s a glance at team and individual favorites:
Reigning champion: Marquette
Reigning runner-up: Sault Ste. Marie
Marquette broke Houghton’s two-season championship streak in 2020, finishing ahead of Sault Ste. Marie by 117 points. Prior to Houghton’s two-year run, Marquette had won four straight titles from 2014-17 – which followed Sault Ste. Marie’s most recent championship, in 2013.
Maverick Baldwin, Marquette sophomore – The top seed in the 100-yard freestyle (54.76) and fourth in the 50 (24.80) was second in the 50 as a freshman.
Morgan Burd, Sault Ste. Marie senior – He’s returning after winning the backstroke and individual medley and swimming on two championship relays in 2020. This time he’s seeded first in the 50 (23.18) and backstroke (57.63), the latter by nearly eight seconds.
Davin Evans, Houghton junior – He added a breaststroke championship last season to a relay title from freshman year, and also was third in the IM in 2020. He enters this weekend top-seeded in the IM (2:20.21) and second in the breaststroke (1:05.62).
Liam McFarren, Marquette sophomore – He kicked off his high school career with a championship in the 100 free and runner-up finish in the IM last season, and this weekend he’s top-seeded in the 200 free (2:00.83) and butterfly (1:00.48) both by six seconds.
Archer Olson, Houghton junior – One of three double individual champions last season, Olson will attempt to repeat in the 200 and 500 freestyles and is the second seed in both (2:06.67 and 5:37.01, respectively).
Colin Vanderschaaf, Marquette sophomore – Another standout Marquette sophomore, Vanderschaaf is seeded first in the 500 (5:24.65) by more than 12 seconds as well as the breaststroke (1:05.41).
Marquette 200 freestyle relay – A group with no seniors won last season’s event, with senior Hobey Manson, junior Bobby Caron and McFarren back as possibilities to swim it this weekend.
Cameron Bauers, Sault Ste. Marie senior – Last season’s diving runner-up also swam on the winning 200 medley relay and is slated to swim the 50 on Saturday as well. He also was fourth in diving as a sophomore and third as a freshman.
PHOTO: Swimmers launch during a race at the 2019 Upper Peninsula Finals at Marquette High School. (Click for more from Jarvinen Photos.)
Marquette 'Electrifies' with 3rd Title in 5 Years
By
Ryan Stieg
Special for Second Half
March 13, 2021
MARQUETTE – For the second year in a row, the Marquette boys swimming & diving team climbed atop the Upper Peninsula podium, and on Saturday, they did it in dominant fashion.
The Redmen finished with 421 points, 194 more than second-place Houghton, while Sault Ste. Marie (170) edged Kingsford (107) for third.
This was also Marquette’s third team championship in five years.
Marquette won eight of the 12 events, including all three relays (200-yard medley, 200 freestyle, 400 free).
“I don’t think it was really going to be a surprise,” Marquette head coach Nathan McFarren said. “I don’t want to sound cocky, but coming in, we were pretty stacked. We’ve broken records, but I don’t know if we’ve ever had this much depth. A couple of events we went 1-2-3. We won every single relay outright. The whole day was electrifying.”
Liam McFarren and Colin Vanderschaaf both won two events for Marquette with McFarren winning the 200 free and 100 butterfly and Vanderschaaf taking the 500 free and 100 breaststroke. Maverick Baldwin added a win in the 100 free.
According to Coach McFarren, both Liam McFarren and Vanderschaaf finished the season undefeated, including relays, and the coach said the whole team was locked in from the start.
“The focus this year having a team of mostly sophomores is way up,” he said. “Shortened season and everything came together in the end. It was pretty sweet.”
Morgan Burd earned two titles for Sault Ste. Marie, in the 50 free and 100 backstroke, and Cameron Bauers won the 1-meter diving competition Friday night. Houghton’s Davin Evans was the other individual champion as he won the 200 individual medley.
All in all, McFarren was extremely pleased with his team’s performance and knew from the opening event it was going to be a fun afternoon.
“Oh my God, it was amazing,” he said. “I could tell from the moment I showed up that was going to be an electrifying day.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Marquette's Liam McFarren charges through his win in the 200-yard freestyle Saturday. (Middle) Sault Ste. Marie's Morgan Burd makes his move toward the 100 backstroke championship. (Photos by Daryl Jarvinen.)