Preview: Oakland Powers Seek 4-Peats
March 10, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Only one Lower Peninsula boys swimming & diving program has won at least four straight MHSAA Finals championships over the last two decades.
Birmingham Brother Rice in Division 1 and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in Division 3 have the opportunity this weekend to join the Saline teams from 2010-13 in building such a remarkable streak.
Both the Warriors and Cranes are going for their fourth straight MHSAA titles as action begins both Friday (preliminaries) and Saturday at noon at three sites. See below for team favorites and top individuals to watch at all three meets.
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 and below for direct links to broadcasts of all three meets.
Division 1 - Division 2 - Division 3
LP Division 1 at Oakland University
Top-ranked Birmingham Brother Rice has won the last three Division 1 titles, but this isn’t necessarily a one-team race. The Warriors have two top seeds, but only 13 other entries seeded to score among the top 16. Second-ranked Skyline, the 2015 runner-up in Division 2, is seeking its first championship and has 17 top-16 seeds and a strong diver. Saline and Novi tied for third in the final state ranking and should be in the mix, Saline with 12 seeded to score and Novi with 14 and a diver.
Spencer Carl, Holland West Ottawa senior – The reigning champion in the butterfly and 200-yard freestyle is expected to close his career with at least one more title; he’s seeded first in the 200 (1:39.77) and second in the 500 (4:37.67.) and is expected to swim on two top-five seeded relays.
Jonathan Lee, Detroit Catholic Central junior – He moved up from 13th in the breaststroke as a freshman to fourth last season and also took sixth in the individual medley; he’s seeded only ninth in the IM (1:56.43) but first in the breaststroke (56.54).
Alex Margherio, Birmingham Brother Rice junior – Margherio was part of Finals champions last season in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays, and he also took second in the butterfly and third in the backstroke. Both relays are seeded among the top five and the medley (1:33.26) has the top seed, and individually Margherio is seeded second in the butterfly (50.17) and first in the backstroke (50.97).
Camden Murphy, Novi senior – One of the most highly-regarded swimmers his age in the country, Murphy decided to swim for his high school team as a senior and has the top seed time in the IM (1:49.10) by nearly three seconds and the top butterfly seed time (47.94) by more than two; his butterfly time would break the LP Division 1 Finals record and approach the all-Finals record of 47.51. He could also swim on any of three top-five relays.
Benjamin Rojewski, Livonia Stevenson sophomore – He placed seventh in the 500 last season as a freshman, but carries the top seed in that race (4:36.49) by more than a second and is seeded fifth in the 200 freestyle (1:42.94).
Henry Schutte, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central sophomore – He took second in both the 50 and 100 freestyles last season as a freshman, and enters this weekend with the top 50 seed (20.87) and third-fastest in the 100 (46.36).
Gabriel Trevino, Zeeland senior –
After taking fifth in the 50 and 100 last season as a junior, he’s seeded second in the 50 (20.95) and first in the 100 (46.09) and could also swim on any of three qualified relays.
LP Division 2 at Eastern Michigan University
Top-ranked Ann Arbor Huron has four MHSAA titles during a highly-regarded history, but is seeking its first since winning Division 1 in 2008. The River Rats were 10th in Division 1 last season and have 12 individuals and all three relays seeded to score. Dexter is the reigning champion and has won this division two of the last five seasons; it also has 12 individuals and all three relays in scoring position. Groves is tied with Dexter for the No. 2 ranking and finished fifth a year ago. It has 11 individual seeds among the top 16 and also all three relays in position to score, plus a diver competing.
Alexander Capizzo, Fraser freshman – At his first Finals, Capizzo enters with the fastest seed in the 500 (4:32.05) by more than three seconds and third-fastest in the IM (1:55.80).
Niklas Eberly, Dexter sophomore – After finishing 16th in the 200 freestyle and seventh in the 500 last season for Pinckney, he enters this weekend seeded first in the butterfly (51.32) and sixth in the 200 freestyle (1:45.11) and potentially part of any of three top-six relays.
Noah Frassrand, Ann Arbor Huron senior – He finished seventh in the IM and 10th in the breaststroke in Division 1 last season for Ann Arbor Pioneer, and enters this Division 2 Finals fourth in the breaststroke (59.01) and top-seeded in the IM (1:54.43) and as part of two top-seven relays.
Jacob Krzciok, Midland Dow junior – He’s back after finishing 10th in the 100 freestyle and swimming on three top-nine relays in 2016, and he’ll have a chance to contribute even more seeded first in the 50 (20.89) and second in the 100 (46.51) while possibly swimming on any of three top-11 relays.
Ryan Lawrence, Birmingham Seaholm senior – He was part of championship 200 and 400 freestyle relays last season and also took second in the 100 freestyle and 10th in the backstroke. This weekend, he’s seeded second in the 50 (21.14), first in the 100 free (46.49) and those two relays also are seeded first at 1:27.49 and 3:13.24, respectively.
Zach Milke, Warren DeLaSalle junior – In addition to finishing third in the backstroke and eighth in the IM last season, Milke was part of the champion medley relay and third-place 400 relay. He’s seeded third in the 50 (21.23) and first in the backstroke (50.88) this time, and that medley relay (1:36.74) is seeded first while the 400 is seeded second (3:13.53).
Graham Miotke, Rochester Adams junior – The reigning champion in the 500 also took fourth in the 200 last season and finds himself seeded second in both races with a 1:43.41 in the 200 and 4:35.29 in the 500.
Patrick Seidel, Birmingham Groves junior – He’s expected to take another jump after finishing sixth in the breaststroke and 11th in the IM last season; he’s seeded first in the breaststroke (58.78) and sixth in the IM (1:58.48) and could swim on two top-seven relays.
David Turner, Pinckney senior – He’s looking at a strong finish to his career after taking ninth in the 200 freestyle and 11th in the 100 last winter. Turner is seeded first in the 200 (1:43.34) and third in the 100 (46.89).
LP Division 3 at Holland Aquatic Center
After trailing East Grand Rapids in the first three state rankings this season, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood grabbed a tie for the top spot with the Pioneers in the final listing as the Cranes go for a fourth straight championship. They have all three relays and 14 individuals with top-16 seeds. East Grand Rapids, last season’s runner-up, has only three relays and nine individual entries seeded to score, but also the reigning diving champion and another contender in that event. Chelsea finished runner-up in both 2014 and 2015 and has three relays and 11 individual entries among the top 16 seeds in those events, including three top seeds and two second seeds.
Rudy Aguilar, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep senior – He’s looking to add to the relay championship he won for Brother Rice as a sophomore, and is favored as the top seed in the 100 freestyle (45.71) and 200 freestyle (1:39.93). He finished second in the 100 and fourth in the backstroke for Notre Dame Prep last season.
Christian Bart, East Grand Rapids junior – He added a championship in the IM and runner-up finish in the breaststroke to two second places as a freshman; this weekend he’s seeded first in the breaststroke (57.17) and second in the 50 (21.18) with spots on two top-seven relays as well.
Skyler Cook-Weeks, Holland Christian junior – Cook-Weeks made good on his top seed in the 500 last season with the title and finished second in the 200 as well; he’s seeded first in the 500 again (4:33.98) and second to Aguilar in the 200 (1:40.67) while swimming on possibly any of three top-six relays. The 400 freestyle relay is seeded first (3:10.63) by nearly a second.
Joey Mangner, Chelsea senior – The 2015 champion in the 50 false-started in the Final last season but did finish fourth in the 100 and anchored the champion medley relay. He’s seeded first in the 50 (20.78) with a time that would tie the meet record, and second to Aguilar in the 100 (46.50) while possibly swimming on the top-seeded 200 freestyle (1:26.86), second-seeded 400 freestyle (3:11.41) or top-seeded medley (1:35.59) relays.
Luke Mason, Holland Christian junior – He enters this weekend seeded second to Cook-Weeks in the 500 (4:44.17) and first in the IM (1:56.26) and potentially could swim on any of three top-six relays as well.
Ben Puglessi, Grand Rapids Catholic Central junior – After finishing seventh in the 200 freestyle and 10th in the backstroke as a sophomore, Puglessi enters as the third seed in the 200 (1:44.73) and second in the butterfly (51.29).
Riley VanMeter, Holland Christian sophomore – VanMeter carries the top seed in the butterfly (51.15) and backstroke (52.65) into this Finals and likely will swim on at least one of those highly-seeded relays as well.
Grant Williams, East Grand Rapids senior – After jumping from 16th in diving as a sophomore to win the championship last winter, he enters this weekend after finishing second at his Regional (448.85) 10.5 points back of Hamilton senior Nolan DeJonge.
PHOTO: Swimmers launch last season at the start of the 400-yard freestyle relay at the LP Division 3 Finals. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
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.)