Skyline Soars to 1st Finals Championship
March 10, 2018
By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half
YPSILANTI – The groundwork was laid Friday.
But the celebration was years in the making.
At the conclusion of the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Boys Swimming & Diving Finals at Eastern Michigan University, Ann Arbor Skyline coach Mo-Jo Isaac performed a near-perfect back flip off the 3-meter diving board – something she’s been doing for years when her teams accomplish something special.
The occasion certainly called for the coach to take a dip in Jones Natatorium Saturday afternoon. The Hawks cruised past the competition, scoring 274 team points to top the field and bring home the first MHSAA championship in program history.
“Whenever my girls teams (at Skyline) would accomplish a milestone, or something big would happen, that’s kind of what we do,” said Isaac, who’s in her second year coaching the boys program. “Today, I had kind of forgotten about it, but a bunch of our girls were here to cheer on the guys and they were like, ‘No, Coach Mo-Jo, you’ve got to jump.’ ”
Skyline picked up wins in five of the meet’s 12 events, with senior David Cleason leading the way with a pair of individual titles. He was tops in the 200-yard individual medley, winning in a time of 1:49.81. He also bested the field in the 500 freestyle, where he edged out Livonia Stevenson’s Ben Rojewski with a time of 4:30.50.
Cleason’s teammate, Michael MacGillivray, was second in the 200 IM, while winning a title of his own in the 100 breaststroke (55.01). Both Cleason and MacGillivray were members of the team’s winning 400 freestyle relay, with senior Samuel Jyawook and junior Kyle Tschannen. Their winning time was 3:04.99, beating out runner-up Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and third-place Harrison-Farmington Unified.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Cleason, who accounted for 40 points by himself and helped his team earn 50 more in the two relay events he swam. “Me and Michael (MacGillivray) have been dreaming about winning that 4x100 free relay and winning the team title for so long and now that we’re seniors, doing it and winning it in our last swim meet, it’s perfect.”
Skyline’s final individual event championship came in the 1-meter diving event. Junior Henry Schirmer repeated as champion, scoring 503.85 points to outdistance runner-up Cade Hammond of Brighton, who scored 448.45.
“I feel like we won the meet yesterday, even though no one scored a point,” Isaac said. “We talked about doing it as a team, and we couldn’t do it if everyone wasn’t there for each other. We were on fire yesterday and we qualified really well.”
Holland West Ottawa, which entered the Finals ranked No. 2 in the state behind Skyline, lived up to its ranking by finishing second with 207 points. The Panthers won two of the three relays and saw junior Derek Maas capture the 100 backstroke title. Maas, who finished runner-up in the event a year ago, left nothing to chance Saturday, winning in a time of 50.23, better than a second ahead of runner-up Parker Wasielewski of Livonia Stevenson.
Maas joined teammates Julian Barrios, Ryan Langdon and Khadin Soto on the Panthers’ winning 200 medley relay team (1:31.91). Langdon, Barrios, Jacob Boersema and Sam Smith took top honors in the 200 freestyle relay in a time of 1:24.54.
Forest Hills Central junior Henry Schutte repeated as champion in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events. His time of 20.01 in the preliminary Friday set an all-Division MHSAA Finals record in the 50. He nearly duplicated the feat Saturday, finishing with a winning time of 20.04. Zeeland’s Austin Mills was second in the 50, while Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Adam Orringer-Hau was runner-up to Schutte in the 100.
“I am beyond happy with everything I did today,” said Schutte, who helped his team to a fourth-place finish. “I have to thank my coaches, my family, my teammates, shoot, even the people in my races. We’re all pushing each other to do our best, and every race is so fun. I love it.”
Orringer-Hau, the top seed in the 200 freestyle, won the event in a time of 1:38.66. He was third at last year’s Finals.
Four-time reigning team champion Birmingham Brother Rice had its streak end, but not without a fight. The Warriors finished third, behind Skyline and West Ottawa, with 154 points. Senior Alex Margherio captured the lone individual title for Rice, winning the 100 butterfly in a time of 48.43. Howell’s Henry Bauer was second in a time of 50.09.
Northville finished fifth overall with 141 team points, with Ann Arbor Pioneer (131), Detroit Catholic Central (127), Saline (116), Zeeland (100) and Harrison-Farmington (81) rounding out the top 10.
PHOTOS: (Top) Skyline's Henry Schirmer rotates through one of his dives on the way to repeating as LP Division 1 champion Saturday. (Middle) Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central's Henry Schutte looks to the scoreboard as the other competitors in the 50 finish their sprints. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
6 Hundredths Seal West Ottawa Title Win
By
Greg Chrapek
Special for Second Half
March 9, 2019
HOLLAND – In a matter of minutes, Holland West Ottawa senior Khadin Soto’s disappointment of placing second in the breaststroke was replaced by the euphoria of clinching his school’s first MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 swimming & diving championship.
Swimming the anchor leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay, Soto touched the wall a mere six hundredths of a second before Detroit Catholic Central’s anchorman, giving West Ottawa the race win and the overall team title – its first in any division in nearly 50 years.
Soto and his relay teammates Jamahl Hogan, Sam Smith and Derek Maas turned in a time of 3:05.84, edging the Catholic Central team of Matthew Kozma, Bennett Loniewski, Mario McDonald and Conor Brownell. The win proved to be the difference maker as the meet came down to the final race with West Ottawa totaling 248 points to edge Detroit Catholic Central’s 240.
“I knew the meet was within a few points, and I knew we had to win that race,” said Soto. “I knew I had to beat the guy next to me and I knew he was really fast. Since I didn’t win the 100 breaststroke like I thought I would, I just kept telling myself that I can’t get caught up in everything else. I just need to do what my teammates need me to do. Just swim like we have been all year. For the last lap I was telling myself I can’t be the one that loses it for everyone.”
That determination paid off as Soto’s finishing kick was enough to give the Panthers the win and wash away Soto’s disappointment.
“I was just super excited,” Soto said. “Before I looked up at the board, I kind of had this feeling that we won. Then just seeing it, I was overwhelmed with emotions. It was like the perfect ending.”
Soto had little time to prepare for his crucial swim as he placed second in the breaststroke, which took place before the 400-yard relay.
“Khadin was coming out of the breaststroke, so he was coming right off of a swim,” said West Ottawa coach Steve Bowyer. “We were hoping to give him a little bit of a lead. He didn’t have much of a lead, but he battled back there at the end.”
West Ottawa had finished second in 2018, as it just missed its first Finals title since winning three straight in Class B-C-D from 1969-71. Detroit Catholic Central was swimming for its first Finals championship in this sport and came on strong down the stretch.
“Detroit Catholic Central had an unbelievable meet,” Bowyer said. “They fought really hard today. We had about 14 points on them after prelims. They came back and fought hard today and brought it right down to the last relay. They don’t get any closer than six hundredths of a second. We feel very fortunate to be on the winning end of that relay.”
Soto is part of a memorable senior class that fueled the Panthers’ drive to the title. Derek Maas is the headliner of West Ottawa’s senior class. Along with swimming a leg of the 400 relay and the winning 200 medley relay, Maas also captured a pair of individual titles. Heading to the University of Alabama next season, Maas won the 200 IM and the butterfly. Having talented teammates to train with has been a key to his success.
“It all starts at our practices,” Maas said. “I always have my teammates with me. It’s way easier to train hard with guys around you that are pushing you. It’s awesome to go out like this as a senior, especially with how the season has gone with the team. Winning the state team title was the ultimate goal.”
Maas teamed up with Soto, junior Gavin Temple and his younger brother, freshman Kevin Maas, to win the 200 medley relay. A versatile swimmer whose main event at the college level will be the 200 breaststroke, Maas won the Division 2 title in the 100 backstroke last year.
“Being a versatile swimmer has helped me,” Maas said. “I have three of the four strokes down pretty good.”
Maas was not the lone dual winner at the Finals as Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central senior Henry Schutte capped his high school career by winning both the 50 and 100 freestyles.
Schutte, who is headed to the University of Virginia to continue his career, won the 50 in 20.46 and captured the 100 in 44.82 seconds.
Schutte closed out his prep career as a six-time Finals champion. Schutte won the 50 and 100 freestyles as both a sophomore and junior. He credited his fellow competitors from around the state for helping him achieve success during his high school career.
“It’s been a blast,” Schutte said. “The past three or four years it’s been awesome to be a part of such a great group of athletes. My competitors have everything to do with that. We push ourselves to be the best, and it’s such a great atmosphere. I love it.”
Howell junior Hunter Gubeno also finished the day as a dual winner, winning the 200 freestyle in 1:39.63 and capturing the 500 freestyle in 4:31.39.
Ann Arbor Skyline senior diver William Henry Schirmer closed out his career as a three-time champion. Schirmer won this time by almost 100 points as he totaled 514.55.
Schirmer, who will dive at Northwestern University, said he felt little pressure in going for the three-peat this season.
“I came in wanting to have a lot of fun with it,” Schirmer said. “It’s my senior year, and I just relaxed and focused on doing what I know I can do. I wanted to stay consistent and have fun with it. It’s my last time being at the state meet, and it’s a great feeling being here with my teammates.”
A pair of seniors closed out their careers by capturing individual state titles. Birmingham Brother Rice senior Liam McDonnell won the 100-backstroke in a time of 50.19. Northville senior Travis Nitkiewicz won the 100-breaststroke in a time of 55.27.
In the 200-freestyle relay, the Harrison-Farmington team of Tristan Strasberger, Trevor Jones, Jared Visser and Brody Jamieson took first place in a time of 1:25.24.
PHOTOS: (Top) Holland West Ottawa’s Derek Maas was part of four championships Saturday, two individually and as part of two relays. (Middle) Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central’s Henry Schutte launches from the blocks on the way to winning the 50-yard freestyle. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)