Seaholm Dominates in Regaining D2 Title
March 8, 2014
By Chip Mundy
Special to Second Half
YPSILANTI – One by one, members of the Birmingham Seaholm boys swimming and diving team approached coach Tom Wyllie – who was completely soaked after a post-meet dip in the pool – and greeted him with a big hug.
When one swimmer offered a handshake, Wyllie insisted on a hug.
“It’s hugs; we’re all family,” Wyllie told the swimmer. “Soak it in.”
They were soaking in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 champions after a dominating performance Saturday at Michael H. Jones Natatorium on the campus of Eastern Michigan University.
Seaholm started the meet with an emphatic statement – an LP Division 2 Finals record performance in winning the 200 medley relay – and ended with a huge exclamation mark – another LP Division 2-record performance in winning the 400 freestyle relay. In between, Seaholm won the 200 freestyle relay, and junior Jack Russell captured the 200 IM for the Maples’ only individual championship of the meet.
The Maples finished with 357.5 points in a complete domination of the meet as Dexter was second with 203. They also won the MHSAA championship in 2011 and were second in 2012 and third in 2013.
Seaholm had 10 swimmers qualify for at least one individual event, and nine swimmers qualified in two. That all happened in an outstanding effort during preliminaries Friday.
“I’ve never seen anything like that in my 16 years of coaching,” Wyllie said of Friday’s performance. “We were very deep across the board; we had swimmers qualify in every event, and we qualified four 100 freestylers in the top eight – and only had one individual state champion.
“That goes to that team concept – it takes a team to win.”
The 200 medley relay opened in impressive fashion as Evan Burke, Russell, Cliff Ross and Matt Perham won in 1 minute, 33.41 seconds, narrowly edging Grosse Pointe South’s effort of 1:34.23. The previous LP Division 2 Finals record was 1:34.81 set by Holland in 2013.
“That relay probably would not have been that fast if it had not been for Grosse Pointe South,” Wyllie said. “They were right there with us neck and neck and pushing us really hard. We walked away with the win and a record on top of that. It just set the tone for the rest of the day.”
The individual highlight of the day for Seaholm came in the third race – the 200 IM – when Russell won in 1:52.10 – more than a second better than his time in the preliminaries. Robbie Zofchak of Dexter was a close second in 1:52.28.
“I had no clue if I won,” Russell said. “When I touched, I just looked at the board and saw first. I thought he caught me on the end.
“My coach told me that I would have him on the breaststroke, but he’ll be gunning for me on the freestyle. When I looked over in the last 25, I saw he was catching me off the turn. I just put my head down, didn’t breathe and touched the wall and hoped for the best.”
Russell also was third in the 100 breaststroke and swam the second leg on the winning 200 medley relay team.
While Seaholm had only one individual champion, it had several standouts.
- Senior Nathan Anderson was on both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays that won, and he also tied for second in the 100 freestyle and was third in the 50 freestyle. “The most important part of that day was getting first with my relays,” Anderson said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do that without them. Because of them, I got what I wanted – I got my first place.”
- Junior Enrique Hernandez was on the winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays in addition to taking fourth in the 100 freestyle and sixth in the 200 freestyle.
- Senior Mike Shaben also swam on the winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays, and was fifth in the 50 freestyle and sixth in the 100 freestyle.
- Perham, a senior, was on the winning 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay, and added a sixth-place finish in the 50 freestyle and an eighth-place finish in the 100 backstroke.
- Burke, Cliff Ross and Nick Ross each were on one winning relay team. Burke added a fourth-place finish in the 200 IM and was seventh in the 100 breaststroke. Nick Ross was seventh in the 200 freestyle and eighth in the 100 freestyle, while Cliff Ross was seventh in the 100 butterfly.
- Sophomore Sebastian Fay was runner-up in diving after placing 24th a year ago.
With the team championship secure, Seaholm went into the final event – the 400 freestyle relay – on a mission. Crosstown rival Birmingham Groves set the meet record of 3:05.63 in 2011, and in the preliminaries Friday, Seaholm was in the neighborhood with a 3:06.99.
They weren’t to be denied in the final, with Anderson, Shaben, Nick Ross and Hernandez teaming up to win in 3:05.13, shaving a half-second off the LP Division 2 record.
“The state record has always been one of our goals,” Shaben said. “The entire season we’ve been eying it. Two seniors, Nathan Anderson and me, we’ve really wanted to end our season with that record.”
While Seaholm dominated, there were other standouts as well led by Holland senior Thomas Rathbun. He successfully defended his championships in both the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle. His winning time of 4:28.75 in the latter was nearly 10 seconds ahead of the runner-up, and he won the 200 in 1:38.74.
Both times were better than his winning performances from 2013.
“I feel like that was the most important part,” Rathbun said of his times. “The placing doesn’t mean that much to me – it’s great to be first – but to me it’s more about the times and if I improve on myself.”
Rathbun also was rebounding from a difficult situation last summer.
“Coming into the season, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go,” he said. “I had an off-summer dealing with some mono and bronchitis, so it was a slow start.
“I worked through some stuff, and now it feels pretty good.”
The other successful defending champion was junior John Vann of Battle Creek Lakeview, who repeated in the 100 butterfly. His winning time of 49.23 was better than his 50.83 in 2013.
“It feels really good,” said Vann, who also was second in the 200 freestyle. “I was definitely more confident this year just knowing I had a state championship under my belt, and it just felt really good that I could compete with everybody and just get out there and race them.
“I took it out a lot faster than Friday, and it hurt a lot more in the end, but it was definitely worth it.”
White Lake Lakeland senior Will Walker, who finished second to Vann in the 100 butterfly, won the 50 freestyle in 20.83 seconds, while Nick Leshok of North Farmington won the 100 freestyle in 46.03 seconds.
The 100 backstroke went to Jason Wesseling of Jenison in 50.05 (just off the meet record of 50.04), and Xinghao Wang of Grand Ledge took the 100 breaststroke in 55.77 seconds.
The diving portion of the meet went to Swartz Creek senior Jason Maxwell, who outdistanced the field with 437.50 points as runner-up Fay of Seaholm had 375.20. Maxwell had a healthy lead for his final dive – a reverse double somersault in the tuck position.
However, the day and the meet belonged to Seaholm.
“Everybody played their part – the hugs – we’re one giant family,” Wyllie said. “When family cares about each other, you don’t want to let each other down. Everybody does their part.
“My son was on the last state championship with me. He was a senior and a captain, so that was a different feeling. I was wondering how this one would feel, and it feels like I have 45 sons; it’s just incredible. Both state titles are unique in their own way.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Swimmers launch for a leg of a relay Saturday at the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final. (Middle) A swimmer surges ahead during his race at Eastern Michigan University. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)
Bayer's Awe-Inspiring Diving Record Paces East Grand Rapids Repeat
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 12, 2022
GRAND RAPIDS – Charley Bayer knew he had at least broken a pair of much-wanted records, but the real shock came after he climbed out of the pool following his last dive.
With one dive to go at Saturday's Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals, the East Grand Rapids senior knew he had already broken the Calvin University pool and LPD3 Finals records. But that didn't compare with smashing Michigan's all-class/division Finals record with his final dive. The result concluded a dynamic, once-in-lifetime performance with a score of 590.85.
The mark broke former Ann Arbor native, University of Michigan All-American and Olympic silver medalist Bruce Kimball's previous mark of 584.75 set 41 years ago. Bayer's previous best was a 555 at this season's Division 3 Invite.
"It wasn't on my radar," Bayer said of the new mark. "I was going for the Calvin and D3 records. "It was the most put-together, most consistent diving ever for me. I can look back and things couldn't have been better. I feel real good about it."
Bayer, who will dive for South Carolina next season, admitted he could find little room for things he could have improved upon. He had scored a 399.45 in Friday's first day of diving.
"There is no such thing as perfect," he said. "But I'm so happy with this. I did as well as I could."
The performance helped East Grand Rapids successfully repeat as champion. The Pioneers, who feature a roster of barely a dozen swimmers, finished with 272 points to outdistance a heavily west-wide showing. Holland Christian finished runner-up with 214 points, Spring Lake was third with 191 and Grand Rapids Christian fourth with 187 points. Five of the top seven finishers were from the state's west side.
Like many of the meet's coaches, EGR diving coach Tylor Fick said he was left in awe of Bayer's performance.
"I've never seen a high school diver, or coached against, someone with that talent," he said. "What he did this weekend was incredible. He is a mix of talent and hard work and dedication. Overall, he's just a great, humble young man."
The state title was the 11th boys crown to go along with 25 girls Finals championships for coach Butch Briggs. It was the seventh time Briggs' boys and girls teams have won championships in the same school year. In all, EGR has won 51 boys and girls state Class B-C-D or Division 3 titles.
"It's the same old story but with different kids," said Briggs, who began coaching swimmers when he was 20 and is now 73. "Every team is very unique, and this team was a challenge to coach and they came through. It's a group of individuals and it took our captains a whole lot to get them together as a team."
Bayer's stunning showing aside, the Pioneers managed one other first when Carter Kegle won the 500-yard freestyle (4:34.68).
Two swimmers won two events each, including Andrew Dobrzanski of Milan who captured the 200 free (1:41.66) and 100 breaststroke (54.45), the latter breaking the LPD3 Finals record. Dobrzanski said the title came after struggling with back problems early in the season, a tired shoulder midway through the winter and missing a week and a half with other ailments in February. Still, Dobrzanski, who said he never felt completely healthy until a couple weeks ago, thought he would be in the hunt for a crown.
"I knew I had a chance just because of how I am and having the experience of being here before," he said. "It was more satisfying because of what I went through. But I thought it could be a little difficult."
The other double winner was Tyler Ray of Pinckney who won the 100 backstroke (50.05) and the 100 butterfly (47.39).
"I think there was more riding on the fly because that's my best event," he said. "In the backstroke I was just focused on getting to the wall."
One of the meet's winners, Charles Brown of Spring Lake, found himself basking in a moment of revenge in winning the 50 free (20.32). He was runner-up at the wire in that event a year ago. He promised himself it wouldn't happen two years in a row.
"I just got touched out last year, so I just put more work into it this year," said Brown, who was also on the winning 200 medley relay team (1:36.11). "That motivated me a lot; I wasn't going to lose by a point again."
The meet's other individual winners were Erik Bolang of Pinckney in the 200 individual medley (1:52.82) and Ben Sytsma of Grand Rapids Christian in the 100 free (45.63). Grand Rapids Christian also won the 400 free (3:08.73) and 200 free (1:26.04) relays.
PHOTOS (Top) The East Grand Rapids boys swimming & diving team shows its latest Finals championship trophy. (Middle) The Pioneers’ Charley Bayer gets high off the board during one of his dives. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)