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Preview: Fast Finals in Weekend Forecast
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 25, 2021
Lower Peninsula boys swimming & diving has come back in a big, or rather really fast, way this winter.
The sport was halted days before last season’s MHSAA Finals. But contenders have sped through this season at an impressive pace – and have loaded this weekend’s championship meets with plenty of storylines.
Diving is Friday and all swimming Saturday – click for more meet details (and note that in Division 3 all diving is at Hamilton High School and all swimming at the Holland Aquatic Center). Because of the large numbers of participants, spectators are not allowed this weekend – but both days of all three meets will be streamed live and viewable with subscription on MHSAA.tv.
Here’s a glance at team and individual favorites:
Lower Peninsula Division 1 at Hudsonville
Top-ranked teams: 1. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2. Holland West Ottawa, 3. Detroit Catholic Central.
With no Finals competed in 2020, Holland West Ottawa remains the reigning champion – and is expected to give a mighty Pioneer team its strongest competition. Pioneer is seeking its first championship since 2009 and first top-two Finals finish since 2011, and enters with all three relays and 25 individual entries seeded to score plus three divers competing. West Ottawa will have all three relays competing with 11 individual entries seeded to score. DCC was the runner-up to West Ottawa at that most recent Finals two seasons ago, and the Shamrocks will attempt to earn their first championship with all three relays and 12 entries seeded to score and one diver competing.
Matt Adanin, Saline junior – He’s the favorite in the backstroke at his first Finals with a seed time of 49.94, and he’s also seeded third in the 200-yard freestyle (1:42.76).
Conner Halberg, Northville senior – After also qualifying as a top contender in the 500 and 200 freestyles last season, Halberg enters this weekend top-seeded in the 500 (4:36.8) and second-seeded in the 200 (1:40.94).
Dane Herrick, Lake Orion senior – The top seed in the 50 (21.01) and fourth seed in the 100 freestyle (46.82) also was slated to contend in both in 2020.
Ryan Hume, Ann Arbor Pioneer junior – Slated to swim other races last season, Hume is a favorite in his pair of individual events this weekend with the top seed in the individual medley (1:52.58) and second seed in the 500 (4:37.74).
Matthew Segal, Ann Arbor Pioneer senior – He earned a third in the 200 freestyle and fourth in the breaststroke as a sophomore and was the favorite in the breaststroke and second-seeded in the IM last season. He comes into this weekend seeded first in both the 200 free (1:39.62) and breaststroke (53.99), the latter with a time only four tenths of a second off the all-division/class Finals record.
Fletcher Smith, Huron Valley United junior – He qualified in the backstroke and butterfly last year and this weekend should contend in both with the top seed in the butterfly (50.58) and seventh in the 200 free.
Jack VanHowe, Rochester junior – A backstroke contender and 100 free qualifier a year ago, he is the top seed in the 100 (46.35) and second seed in the backstroke (50.02) this time.
Ann Arbor Pioneer’s 400 freestyle relay – The Pioneers’ top seed time of 3:04.99 is 2.9 seconds faster than the field and 2.93 seconds off the all-division/class Finals record.
Cole Tremewan, Ann Arbor Pioneer senior – He finished fifth at the Finals as a freshman and second as a sophomore, and his 507.55 Regional score last week was nearly 27 points higher than the next contender’s total and one of only five scores across the three Regionals above 400.
Lower Peninsula Division 2 at Jenison
Top-ranked teams: 1. Birmingham Seaholm, 2. Grosse Pointe South, 3. Ann Arbor Skyline.
The Maples will be competing for a first team championship since winning back-to-back in 2014 and 2015 and enter the weekend with all three relays and 13 entries seeded to score plus three divers competing. Grosse Pointe South will make a run at its first team title since 1968, boasting all three relays and nine entries seeded to score and a diver competing. Skyline chased Pioneer during the regular season and could join its neighbor as a champion with all three relays and 10 entries seeded to score, plus a diver. Skyline won the Division 1 championship in 2018.
Aidan Boldt, St. Clair Shores Lakeview senior – He finished fourth in the 200 and 500 freestyles as a sophomore and had top-three seeds in both heading into last year’s Finals. This weekend he has the top seed in the 200 (1:42.16) and second seed in the 500 (4:39.05).
Gianni Carlino, Grosse Pointe North junior – He and Boldt will be chasing each other; Carlino also was expected to contend in the 200 and 500 freestyles last season and has the second seed in the 200 (1:42.90) and top seed in the 500 (4:38.84) this weekend.
Michael Grover, Byron Center junior – He made a jump to the fifth seed in the breaststroke in 2020 and this time is the top seed in that race (56.73) and eighth seed in the IM.
Jack Hamilton, Berkley senior – Hamilton has another chance to build on his backstroke championship and third place in the IM as a sophomore. He’s the top seed in the backstroke (49.30) for the third season in a row and this time by nearly two seconds, and he’s also the second seed in the IM (1:51.94).
Trevor Jones, Farmington senior – The top-seeded contender in both the IM (1:51.79) and 100 free (45.55) was ninth in the butterfly in Division 1 as a sophomore and expected to contend in the butterfly and 200 free in Division 2 last season.
Avery LeTourneau, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central senior – He was seeded to score in both the 200 free and butterfly last season and is again, this time sixth in the 200 and the favorite in the butterfly (49.69).
Micah Scheffer, Temperance Bedford junior – After taking fifth in the 50 and 11th in the 100 freestyle as a freshman, Scheffer was seeded eighth in both the 50 and butterfly last season. But this weekend he’s moved up to the top seed in the 50 (21.07) and third in the butterfly (50.72).
Kameron Liberman, Birmingham Seaholm senior – His 525.45 was the highest in all of Division 3’s Regionals last week. He improved from 12th at the Finals as a freshman to fifth as a sophomore.
Lower Peninsula Division 3 at Holland Aquatic Center/Hamilton
Top-ranked teams: 1. East Grand Rapids, 2. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 3. Holland Christian.
Even after the year off, there are some interesting streaks worth noting in this division. The 2018 and 2019 Division 3 Finals ended with Holland Christian as champion and East Grand Rapids as runner-up, and the Pioneers have actually finished second four straight seasons and last won the team title in 2013. Cranbrook was the champion four straight seasons from 2014-17. The Pioneers will bring potentially the two strongest divers plus all three relays and 13 entries seeded to score, while Cranbrook will lean on three relays and nine entries seeded among the top 16 in their events. Holland Christian’s three-peat could rely on three relays and 10 top-16 individual entries, plus a diver.
Charles Brown, Spring Lake junior – Brown has jumped from an expected middle-placing sprinter in 2020 to a major contender with the second-fastest 50 seed time (21.14) and best in the butterfly (51.08).
Jonas Cantrell, Mason senior – Cantrell is another of a handful of past champions getting another shot as he’s seeded first in both the 200 (1:40.01) and 500 (4:34.97) freestyles after winning the 500 and finishing third in the 200 as a sophomore.
Andrew Dobrzanski, Milan junior – Dobrzanski also is a past champion, having won the breaststroke and taken second in the IM in 2019. He’s seeded first in both this weekend with seed times of 54.79 and 1:50.87, respectively.
Colin Kalkman, Holland Christian senior – Kalkman was third in the IM and fifth in the backstroke and part of a championship relay two seasons ago, and he returns as the top seed in the 100 free (47.04) and second in the backstroke (53.04).
Tyler Ray, Pinckney junior – He was off to a great start with an eighth in the butterfly and 12th in the backstroke as a freshman and qualified for both in Division 2 a year ago. Back in Division 3 this weekend, he’s seeded first in the backstroke (52.95) and second in the butterfly (51.44).
Jacob Ryan, Detroit Country Day senior – He has posted a combined three top-eight Finals finishes in the 50 or 100 freestyles and was expected to pick up two more last season. He could be in for a big high school finale seeded first in the 50 (21.01) and second in the 100 (48.02) this weekend.
Charley Bayer, East Grand Rapids junior – Pioneers divers posted the two highest total scores at Regionals, with Bayer edging senior teammate Billy Kirchgessner. Bayer was eighth as a freshman in 2019, when then-sophomore Kirchgessner finished third, and both were slated to dive last season as well.
PHOTO: Matthew Segal, here against Ann Arbor Huron on Feb. 25, brings a pair of individual top seeds into the Division 1 Finals as he attempts to help top-ranked Pioneer secure its first team title since 2009. (Photo courtesy of We Love Ann Arbor.)
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Performance: Grosse Pointe South's Jacob Montague
March 17, 2016
Jacob Montague
Grosse Pointe South senior – Swimming
Montague already was going to graduate as one of the fastest swimmers in MHSAA history. But Saturday, he finished his final high school meet by setting Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals records in two events for the second straight season, earning the Michigan National Guard Performance of the Week.
Montague’s championship race time in the 200-yard individual medley of 1:47.40 at Saginaw Valley State University broke the record he set at last season’s Division 2 meet by nine tenths of a second. His 53.93 in the 100 breaststroke broke his previous meet record by 73 hundredths of a second. He also swam on a 200 medley relay that came in runner-up and a 400 freestyle relay that came in fourth.
Montague holds all eight individual swimming records at Grosse Pointe South and has been part of record medley and 400 freestyle relays. He is the son of former University of Michigan swimmer Andy Montague and started in the sport at an early age, but gave it up during middle school to play baseball and tennis. He returned to the pool as a freshman and played all three sports that year at South before injuring a knee and focusing on swimming the rest of his career. Montague will follow his dad to U-M and is considering majoring in business.
Coach Eric Gunderson said: “In addition to setting new D2 records in both of his individual events, Jacob made a huge contribution to our relays. His breaststroke on the medley relay was incredibly fast … and his anchor leg of the 400 free relay was really fun to watch as he caught up to people at the end of it. Jacob is quite talented, but he also has an amazing work ethic. It has been a privilege for everyone to watch and to be a part of his success and dramatic improvement over the course of four years. It will be exciting to see what he can achieve going forward.”
Performance Point: “I’d say the most fun parts were the relays this year. We finished second in the medley relay and fourth in the 400 free relay, and our 400 free relay brook our school record set in 2010. That’s what was most exciting for us; we were a little off it from prelims, and we said that’s our goal. It wasn’t about place; it was about breaking that record. I was happy with my individual swims as well. I was hoping to go a little faster, but for where I’m at with my season with my taper and everything, I was happy with my times.”
Different this time: “My junior year, nobody really knew me. Everybody was expecting other people to win. Other people were seeded higher than me going into the meet, and I had nothing to lose. I would just go for it. This year there was a little more pressure having won last year. But I tried my best not to think about that really, just to focus on swimming. And it still turned out well.”
Destination reached: “It definitely was a long journey, a lot of hard work and a lot of practices the past three years. My mind was on one goal – to be the best I can be. Definitely at times I’d get tired of it, worn out going in every day for three hours and swimming back and forth. But you get to the end of the season, you’re feeling better, swimming faster, and it pays off at the end. I didn’t really have any expectations my freshman year, especially. I was just excited to be part of a team. And our team has been good since my freshman year as a whole, and I was excited to be a part of that.”
Pools of knowledge: “My dad, he’s definitely made a big impact. He doesn’t try to intrude on my training; I control what I do and make my own decisions what I do. But he definitely gives me pointers all the time. And also (Grosse Pointe South assistant and club coach) John Fodell. … He’s fixed my stroke, made me faster every day.”
Born to swim: “Especially my freshman year when I was getting back into it, it got monotonous. Every day, doing pretty much the same thing, back and forth, over and over for three hours. But as I improved and got better, I realized I can’t improve unless I enjoy the process of getting to that point. You have to enjoy the pain you feel during and after, being sore and what not. It’s almost soothing being in the pool. There’s nothing else to think about besides swimming."
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2015-16 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom, or protecting lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2015-16 honorees
March 9: Kyle Tuttle, St. Charles boys bowling - Read
March 2: Brittney Schnicke, Caledonia girls bowling - Read
Feb. 24: Kamari Newman, Detroit East English boys basketball - Read
Feb. 17: Jason Whitens, Powers North Central boys basketball - Read
Feb. 10: Rachel Hogan, Grand Ledge gymnastics - Read
Feb. 3: Nehemiah Mork, Midland Dow swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 27: Mardrekia Cook, Muskegon girls basketball - Read
Jan. 20: Sage Castillo, Hartland wrestling - Read
Jan. 13: Rob Zofchak, Dexter swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 6: Tyler Deming, Caro wrestling – Read
Dec. 15: Jordan Weber, East Jordan boys basketball – Read
Dec. 8: Kaitlyn Geers, Kent City girls basketball – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Jacob Montague swims the individual medley during Saturday's Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final. (Middle) Montague swims the breaststroke; he won both races. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)