Preview: Team Titles Too Close to Call
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 7, 2019
The races for team championships at this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming & Diving Finals could, as a group, finish as the closest in recent memory.
Both Division 1 and Division 3 have a pair of teams tied for the top spot in the rankings heading into Friday’s preliminaries. Meanwhile, Dexter is the three-time reigning Division 2 champion but extended its streak with a slim victory a year ago.
Preliminaries are Friday and Finals are Saturday, with action beginning at noon for both. 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 see below for a number of team and individual contenders at all three meets.
LP Division 1 at Holland Aquatic Center
Reigning champion: Ann Arbor Skyline
2018 runner-up: Holland West Ottawa
2019 top-ranked: T-1. Holland West Ottawa, T-1. Detroit Catholic Central, 3. Birmingham Rice
Skyline won it first championship last season, breaking a four-year winning streak by Brother Rice. West Ottawa finished 67 points back, and a championship this weekend – the program’s first since 1971 – would be a crowning achievement for a senior class that has otherwise dominated. West Ottawa has 12 individual entries and all three relays seeded to score among the top 16, with five top seeds. Detroit Catholic Central has only one top seed, but 11 individual entries and all three relays seeded to score plus a diver. Rice has nine individual entries and three relays seeded to score, plus a diver. The Shamrocks are competing for their first MHSAA Finals title and finished seventh a year ago, while Rice finished third a year ago.
Hunter Gubeno, Howell junior – After taking fifth in the 500 last season, Gubeno is expected to climb the podium multiple times with the top seeds in that race by four seconds (4:33.82) and the 200 free (1:40.98).
Derek Maas, Holland West Ottawa senior – Maas won the 100 backstroke and finished third in the 200 individual medley as a junior and also swam on the champion 200 medley relay. He has the top seeds in the IM (1:52.73) and butterfly (50.23) and is expected to swim on the top-seeded medley relay (1:34.28) and fourth-seeded 400 free relay.
Liam McDonell, Birmingham Brother Rice senior – The top seed in the backstroke (51.93) also will swim the butterfly and on the 200 medley and 400 free relays. He finished 12th in the backstroke at last year’s Finals.
Henry Schutte, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central senior – The four-time Finals champion sprinter is looking to add a few more titles to his two in both the 50 and 100 freestyles won the last two seasons. He’s seeded first in the 50 at 20.35 seconds, 34 hundredths off his all-Finals record 20.01 swam last season. He’s also seeded first in the 100 at 44.27 and is expected to swim on the third-seeded 200 freestyle relay and ninth-seeded 200 medley relay.
Khadin Soto, Holland West Ottawa senior – Soto finished sixth in the breaststroke and also was part of that medley relay championship in 2018. He’s seeded first in the breaststroke (56.17) and sixth in the 200 freestyle, and is slated to swim on the 200 medley and fourth-seeded 400 freestyle relays.
Holland West Ottawa 200 freestyle relay – Senior Sam Smith, juniors Gavin Temple and Jamahl Hogan and freshman Kevin Maas enter with the top seed time of 1:25.16, 1.48 seconds off the meet record swam in 2015 by Ann Arbor Pioneer.
William Henry Schirmer, Ann Arbor Skyline senior – Schirmer is seeking to finish his high school career with his third straight Division 1 championship. His Regional score of 529.20 was nearly 47 points higher than the rest of the Division 1 field, and he should make a run at the meet record of 528.45 achieved in 2015.
Division 2 at Eastern Michigan University
Reigning champion: Dexter
2018 runner-up: Rochester Adams
2019 top-ranked: 1. Dexter, 2. Birmingham Seaholm, 3. Birmingham Groves.
Dexter has won three straight Division 2 championships, last season’s by 21.5 points. The Dreadnaughts have 10 individual entries and all three relays seeded to score this weekend, plus two divers competing. Seaholm, which finished fifth last season, has 11 individual entries and all three relays seeded to score. Groves was third last season, 50.5 points off the lead, and could make a move with eight individual entries and three relays seeded to score, including a top seed.
Alexander Capizzo, Fraser junior – Capizzo won the 200 IM and 500 freestyle as both a freshman and sophomore. He’s the top seed in the IM (1:53.79) and the third seed in the 500 (4:41.08).
Niklas Eberly, Dexter senior – Eberly won the butterfly and 200 free last season and was on the winning 200 free relay. Switching things up a bit, he’s seeded second in the 50 (21.06) and first in the butterfly (49.13) and is expected to swim on the top-seeded 400 free relay (3:12.07) and fourth-seeded medley relay.
Jacob Grover, Byron Center senior – Grover is competing in Division 2 this weekend after finishing second in the breaststroke and fourth in the IM in Division 3 in 2018. He is seeded first in the breaststroke (57.61) and third in the IM (1:55.13) and will swim on the medley and 200 freestyle relays.
Eric Hieber, Walled Lake Western junior – After finishing ninth in the 200 free and fifth in the 500 last year, Hieber is expected to make a big jump. He’s seeded first in both races, at 1:40.68 in the 200 and by nine seconds in the 500 at 4:31.73. He also is expected to swim on the 200 and 400 free relays.
Luke Lezotte, Midland Dow junior – In his first season at Dow after moving from Florida, Lezotte will chase at least one meet record. He’s seeded first in both sprints – his 20.52 in the 50 is seven hundredths of a second off the record achieved in 2010 – and he’s seeded first in the 100 free (46.12) by more than a second. He’s also slated to swim on the top-seeded 200 free relay (1:27.38) and second-seeded medley relay.
Tyler Vo, Holland senior – Vo finished sixth in the backstroke last season but is seeded first in that race this weekend (52.23). He’s also seeded fifth in the butterfly (52.46) and expected to swim on the 200 free and medley relays.
Hunter Hollenbeck, Okemos junior – The reigning champion scored 548.40 to win his Regional by nearly 146 points, and his score was 90 higher than any other diver in Division 2. He scored 503.15 at last season’s Final and could make a run at the meet record of 537 from 2009.
Division 3 at Oakland University
Reigning champion: Holland Christian
2018 runner-up: East Grand Rapids
2019 top-ranked: T-1. Holland Christian, T-1. East Grand Rapids, 3. Spring Lake.
A year ago, Holland Christian broke Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood’s four-year hold on the Division 3 title. East Grand Rapids is hoping to break a streak of three straight runner-up finishes by taking the next step. Holland Christian is talented and deep, with 15 individual entries and all three relays seeded to score (with two top seeds) plus a diver competing. East Grand Rapids also has 15 individual entries and three relays seeded to score, plus a diver. Spring Lake has only seven individual entries with its three relays seeded to score – but six top seeds and an opportunity to make things interesting at the top.
Jonas Cantrell, Mason sophomore – Cantrell is seeded first in the 500 (4:41.86) after finishing 14th a year ago. He’s also seeded third in the 200 freestyle (1:45.44) and slated to swim on the 400 free relay.
Andrew Dobrzanski, Milan freshman – Heading into his first Finals, Dobrzanski is seeded first in the IM (1:57.08) by more than two seconds and the breaststroke (58.01) by more than a second. He’s also expected to swim on the 200 medley and 400 free relays.
Kevin Losee, Spring Lake junior – Losee finished fourth in the 200 and 500 freestyles and as part of two runner-up relays in 2018. He’s seeded first in the 200 (1:43.99) and second in the 500 (4:48.07) and expected to swim on top-seeded 200 (1:25.27) and 400 (3:07.52) freestyle relays.
Cam Peel, Spring Lake senior – Last season’s champ in the 100 free (and third-place finisher in the 50) is seeded first in both with a 20.85 in the 50 and by two seconds with a 44.81 in the 100. The 100 time is 16 hundredths of a second faster than the meet record he swam last season. He’s also slated to swim on the top-seeded 200 and 400 free relays.
Riley VanMeter, Holland Christian senior – He finished second in the butterfly and backstroke last season and swam on two winning relays, and could lead a repeat run entering as the top seed in the butterfly (49.75) and third in the backstroke (52.60) and with spots on the second-seeded 200 and 400 freestyle relays. His butterfly time is six tenths of a second off the meet record set in 2015.
Joey Wachter, Spring Lake junior – After finishing fifth in the backstroke and ninth in the 100 free last season, Wachter also is expected to surge. He’s seeded first in the backstroke (51.15) and second in the 50 (21.09) and also will swim on the 200 and 400 free relays.
Spring Lake 200 freestyle relay – Wachter, senior Sam Sella, Losee and Peel enter with a 1:25.27 seed time, 2.25 seconds off the meet record achieved in 2016.
Spring Lake 400 freestyle relay – Freshman Charles Brown along with Losee, Wachter and Peel have a seed time of 3:07.52, exactly three seconds off the meet record swam by Holland Christian a year ago.
Caden Petrak, St. Johns senior – The reigning champion won his Regional with a score of 467.85, although it was only the second-highest in Division 3 behind that of East Grand Rapids’ junior Nicholas Merritt (478.45).
PHOTOS: Swimmers prepare to launch at the start of a championship race at the 2017 Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Cranes Dominate D3 in Record Fashion
March 14, 2015
By Dan Stickradt
Special for Second Half
ROCHESTER HILLS — There was no one denying Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood’s repeat performance Saturday.
No one was even close.
After winning its first boys swimming and diving MHSAA championship in 2014, Cranbrook Kingswood made quite a statement in capturing its second straight Lower Peninsula Division 3 boys swimming and diving title at Oakland University.
Behind an uber-dominating team performance, Cranbrook Kingswood compiled an impressive 430 points and won by 130.5.
“It was a little more difficult this season, a lot more pressure,” said Cranbrook Kingswood coach Karl Hodgson, who has guided the Cranes to four top-five finishes in his stint at the school. “I knew we had a shot coming in, and we were in good position after the prelims. But I never thought we’d do this well. We had some incredible performances. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Not too many teams have won by that many and scored this many points.”
Since the MHSAA split from two divisions to three for boys swimming in 2008, the previous record for D-3 Finals points was East Grand Rapids’ 373 in 2008. Cranbrook scored 297 points in winning its first MHSAA title in 2014. No other D-3 school has eclipsed the 300-point barrier.
Chelsea finished in the runner-up slot for the second straight year, collecting 299.5 points. East Grand Rapids was third with 248 points, while Hamilton (215), Grand Rapids Christian (124), Milan (111), Detroit Country Day (104), Grand Rapids Catholic Central (94), Tecumseh (90) and Otsego (86) rounded out the top 10 in a field where 29 schools scored.
Cranbrook dominated from start to finish, opening the meet with an LPD3 meet record in the 200-yard medley relay and capping the day with another meet record in the 400 freestyle relay.
On the day, Cranbrook scored in 11 events, captured first places in five, had a runner-up finish, five third-place finishes and a trio of fourth-place finishes to showcase its top-tier talent.
The Cranes also had 14 of 16 competitors score points during their repeat performance.
“We came out and won the first relay, and it kind of amped us up,” admitted senior Frankie Misra. “We kind of (fed) off that energy. We wanted to win it again. We knew we had a strong team coming in, and we had some incredible swims in the prelims. I am so proud of our team — and even prouder today. I don’t think we could have imagined us doing so well.”
Misra, Mitch Buccalo, Andrew Guam and Giorgio DelGrosso joined forces for a 1:33.89 clocking in the 200 medley relay to set the tone. The Cranes continued to pile on the points after that point. Out of 176 total slots, Cranbrook had 27 placers spread over all events.
Buccalo set another LPD3 Finals mark in winning the 200 IM (1:50.55). Andrew Trunsky took first in the 500 freestyle (4:37.12), building a large lead by the midpoint and cruising to a win by nearly 3.5 seconds, while DelGrosso pulled away for a win in the 100 breaststroke (56.58).
Showing a three-second advantage at Friday’s prelims, the unit of Guam, Alessandro Guttilla, Misra and Buccalo put the finishing touches on the team title by winning the meet-ending 400 freestyle relay in 3:06.15, yet another LPD3 meet record.
“I think when us seniors came in, we helped take the program to another level, and now we have so many good swimmers on this team,” Buccalo said. “We trained so hard for this. We were second two years ago, and we won it this year and last year. We’re not just a (tennis and hockey school), yes sir. Our swimming program is very strong.”
East Grand Rapids’ Andy McGregor was in on three victories on the day, touching first in both the 200 freestyle (1:40.96) and 100 freestyle (46.09), while he teamed up with Braden Wiener, Christian Bart and Jack Filion for a meet-record time of 1:26.06 in the 200 freestyle relay.
“It’s pretty special being up there representing our school and coming in here and doing so well,” said MacGregor, who had a slow start in the 200 free only to pull ahead in the final two lengths. He also anchored the winning relay.
“I think the sprinting part is my strength. I always pick it up to finish strong,” added MacGregor.
Chelsea sophomore Joey Mangner won the 50 free (21.27), an event where six competitors broke 22 seconds.
“Last year I was 12th in the 50. I didn’t make it to the fast heat,” said Mangner. “Coming back this year I really wanted to get it, at least try to contend for the title.”
Chelsea’s Joe Smith captured the one-meter diving event (492.95 points), rising up from the second position after Friday’s prelims. The Bulldogs had four of the top 16 finishers in diving, including two of the top three placers.
“I really felt good in the Finals. It was one of my best performances,” Smith said. “I think it’s really special to have four of us from one team place at states in diving. I think it really helped push our team into second place.”
As a team, Chelsea put together another fine outing but still not enough to catch top-ranked Cranbrook. The Bulldogs still placed in the top 10 for the 24th time in 27 seasons.
“They are very good, very deep,” said Chelsea coach Dave Jolly about finishing second to Cranbrook for the second straight season. “We knew we could challenge for second but knew we couldn’t match up with their depth. But I am very pleased with how we competed. We had everyone swim season bests, and we did very well in diving. Having the best diving coach in the state of Michigan (Eric Burris) sure helps. This is the second straight year we had a state champion in diving. Being strong in that event really helped us finish second. We scored (50) points in that event alone.”
Hamilton’s Alec Nyboer repeated in the 100 butterfly, establishing a new LPD3 meet standard with a 49.15 clocking. Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Joey Puglessi won the 100 backstroke (50.45) to round out the winners.
“This was the goal all along,” Nyboer said. “I won it last season, too, and I have been down close to 50 (seconds) all season, so it was nice to go under and get the record. I think it would be sweet to get the all-division record next year. I have about two more seconds more to shave off. A lot of work to do.”
Puglessi earned his second title, pulling away during the last length to win by nearly a second. He also won the backstroke as a freshman in 2013.
“I really tried to challenge in my race and see what I could do,” said Puglessi. “I set some high standards for myself and it seemed to pay off today. It’s nice to see all of the hard work pay off and to represent your school in this way.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Cranbrook Kingswood’s Giorgio DelGrosso moves ahead of the pack during Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals. (Middle) Chelsea’s Joe Smith prepares to touch water during one of his title-winning dives. (Below) Hamilton’s Alec Nyboer repeated and set a meet record in the 100 butterfly. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)