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'Best Ever' East Grand Rapids Wins 20th Title
November 19, 2016
By Butch Harmon
Special for Second Half
HOLLAND – East Grand Rapids swim coach Butch Briggs has won numerous MHSAA Finals championships over his 42 years of coaching the powerhouse program. But this year’s group has a special place in his gallery of champions.
The Pioneers captured their 20th MHSAA title since 1972 on Saturday, earning the Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship at the Holland Aquatics Center. East won the title in impressive fashion as it totaled 512 points. Bloomfield Hills Marian finished second with 364. Holland Christian totaled 175 points to place third overall, followed by reigning champion Grand Rapids Catholic Central with 172 and Milan with 134 to round out the top five.
“I’ve been coaching for 42 years, and this is the best swim team East has ever had,” said Briggs. “To swim this well and have such a great group of swimmers; this is our best team, hands down.”
Not only did East Grand Rapids pile up the points, but it also piled up meet records. East swimmers started the Finals off with a record-breaking performance in the 200-yard medley relay from sophomore Sydney Higgins, junior Ileah Doctor, senior Emma Rao and sophomore Laura Levine in 1:44.97.
“”This is very special,” said Rao. “We definitely knew we had the ability to do this. I think the key for us is that we were just so pumped up to be in the state finals.”
Like her teammate, Levine pointed to East’s inner drive as being key to the record-setting win.
“It was definitely the adrenaline,” Levine said. “It’s the state finals, and we had the adrenaline flowing. Being here at the state finals with our team definitely added to it.”
While the Pioneers set a new relay record, Doctor also posted a pair of individual records for East.
Doctor won the 50 freestyle in an LPD3 meet record time of 22.73 seconds and won the 100 breaststroke in a record time of 1:02.60.
“I was not expecting it at all,” Doctor said. “It really helped having my teammates being there for me.”
Helping the Pioneers win the team title was just as important to the talented junior.
“We came down here so excited, and it’s been really been great,” Doctor said. “We knew Marian was dropping down to Division 3 so we knew we had to be ready if we wanted to win. We knew with Marian here that we were not going to run away with this.”
Doctor was also part of East’s 200 free relay team that turned in a record time of 1:33.89. Seniors Lexus VanHoven, Hanna Sanford and Gabby Higgins joined Doctor on the relay team.
Higgins and sophomore sister Sydney Higgins also captured individual titles for the Pioneers. Gabby won the 100 freestyle in a time of 50.70 while Sydney Higgins captured the 100 backstroke in 56.57.
Bloomfield Hills Marian also took part in the record setting. In the final race of the meet, Marian’s 400 free relay team of senior Kailyn Swantek, junior Gabby Granata, junior Lauren Biglin and senior Sophia Schott set a new LPD3 meet record of 3:27.85. That time broke the record they set the previous day during the preliminaries.
East Grand Rapids’ 400 free relay team of VanHoven, Sanford, Sydney Higgins and Gabby Higgins turned in a time of 3:28.96 that also eclipsed the previous day’s record.
Individually, Marian’s Lauren Biglin also claimed a pair of individual championships. In the 200 freestyle, Biglin turned in a time of 1:52.14 to edge senior Riley Kishman of Grand Rapids Catholic Central, who turned in a time of 1:52.73. Biglin also captured the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:03.28.
Milan was powered to its top-five finish by a pair of championship efforts including a record-breaking swim. In the 200 IM, junior Madelyn Cislo set a record for LP Division 3 as she turned in a time of 2:04.62.
“This feels really awesome,” Cislo said. “Last year was a tough one for me. I was seeded first but I had a rough day. This year I came in with the attitude that no matter what, I will just have fun. In the last 50 meters, I just said to myself `Cislo, how bad do you want this.’”
In the diving competition, Milan sophomore Mackenzie Crawford came in as the top seed and performed up to form, totaling 478.3 points to win the title. The victory capped an undefeated season for Crawford.
“It felt really good,” Crawford said. “I was really nervous on some of my dives, but I just calmed down.”
Competing in this year’s Finals was extra special for Crawford, who missed most of her freshman season due to a knee injury.
“I’ve been diving since I was 5 years old,” Crawford said. “I dive five days a week. Diving is what I love to do.”
Pontiac Notre Dame freshman Rhianna Hensler also enjoyed a huge Finals. Not only did Hensler cap her freshman season with an individual title, but also she set an LPD3 meet record as she won the 100 butterfly in 56.21 to edge Susan LaGrand of Grand Rapids Catholic Central (56.24).
“It was very surprising,” Hensler said. “I came in wanting to swim my best time. I swam my best time at the county meet and I came in here hoping to swim in the high 57s, and I end up going in the low 56s. To win a state title and set the record too is very special.”
PHOTOS: (Top) East Grand Rapids’ Ileah Doctor swims her record-breaking 50-yard freestyle Saturday. (Middle) Bloomfield Hills Marian’s Lauren Biglin swims the winning 500 freestyle. (Below) Milan’s Madelyn Cislo swims to her meet record time in the 200 individual medley. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
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Performance: Brighton's Taylor Seaman
September 30, 2016
Taylor Seaman
Brighton senior – Swimming & Diving
Seaman already will graduate next spring as one of the top swimmers in Brighton history. As a sophomore two seasons ago, she became just the second from her school to win an MHSAA championship in the sport, finishing first in the 100-yard freestyle at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final. Last week she helped the Bulldogs make more history, as they beat reigning LP Division 2 champ Dexter for the first time in 22 years, 98-88. Seaman won the 100 freestyle (51.62) and swam on winning 200 medley (1:51.97) and 200 freestyle (1:40.46) relays to earn the Michigan National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Brighton currently is ranked No. 9 in LP Division 1, while Dexter is No. 1 in LP Division 2. Seaman holds school records in the 50 freestyle (23.68 seconds), 100 free (51.59), 200 free (1:55.19), 200 individual medley (2:10.93) and 100 butterfly (58.91.) Her championship in 2014 was the Bulldogs' first at a Finals since Morgan Zebley won the 100 butterfly in 2010, and it helped them to a fourth-place team finish. Seaman finished second in the 100 to Ann Arbor Skyline’s Katie Portz at last season’s LP Division 1 Final, while also repeating her fourth place in the 200 freestyle and swimming on two top-four relays as Brighton finished fifth as a team.
A top-25 student academically in a class of more than 500, Seaman carries a 4.06 grade-point average and has taken college visits to Brown and Cornell and today began a visit at Ohio State. She’s interested in studying psychology while continuing her swim career at the next level. But first she’ll be a likely favorite in at least one race at this season’s Finals, Nov. 18-19 at Oakland University, with an opportunity to add to the accolades that have led Brighton to hang a poster of her alongside one of Zebley in their pool.
Coach Jason Black said: “Taylor is the type of athlete that not only brings her ‘A’ game to the swim meets but also to each practice. She attacks each set with an intensity knowing that the workout is going to make her faster at the end of the season. Taylor has helped transform Brighton swimming from a regional player to a state player as we have been a top-10 program the last two years with our eyes on a third year in a row with Taylor leading the way. She recently broke her own school record in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.68 and is swimming faster in the middle of the season than she ever has. Her work ethic and her drive help lead the team to ever bigger goals. It is going to be hard without Taylor next year, but her swimming has inspired the younger swimmers to be better – and I believe our team will still be reaching for higher goals after she graduates because of how Taylor has led by example.”
Performance Point: “Every year since I was a freshman, and obviously many years before that, it’s been really disappointing to lose to (Dexter),” Seaman said. “We always try our best, but it never seemed to work out, obviously. It would just ruin our week. Last week was just awesome. Jason (Black) told us we had a chance to beat them for the first time in 22 years. We were really motivated to do that. We knew they had lost a couple of good swimmers, and we knew we still had most of our state team from last year and had a few good girls come in as freshmen. I kinda cried when the score was announced at the end."
Pushing ahead: “I feel pretty good about my season at the moment. I, along with other people on the team, we’ve all been going faster right now than what we were doing last year at this time. I would obviously like to go for my best times, and if I could win (at the MHSAA Finals) again, that would be absolutely amazing. I know it will be tough competition; last year it was Katie Portz, but she graduated. I’m actually pretty good friends with her; we used to swim together in the offseason. Having great competition is good because they can push me, and especially when they are friends.”
Leaving a legacy: “I just remember when I was 8, swimming for Brighton Eels, I would see the Morgan Zebley picture on the wall being like, I want to be like her. Now, seeing my poster on the wall, people ask me all the time, ‘Is that you?’ It’s cool that poster will be up there for the next many years. … It’s interesting to see every day at practice. We’ve adjusted to it being there. At first (my teammates) would be like, ‘It’s you, watching yourself swim every day.’”
Going for gold: “I really look up to all of the Olympic swimmers, and how dedicated they are. Missy Franklin, I just love her positive attitude. She didn’t do great at the Olympics this year, but she still had an amazing attitude about it. Allison Schmitt (from Canton) used to swim for my same club team, and I actually broke one of her records – so obviously I want to be like her. She’s amazing.”
Mind on the future: “I would like to do something with psychology. I’m leaning toward the sociological aspects of psychology. I find that very fascinating. I love finding out why we as people do what we do, why we act certain ways in certain situations. Why, when there are multiple doors available, we all funnel into one door. I want to learn why we do that.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 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 protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Brighton's Taylor Seaman launches from the starting blocks. (Middle) Seaman will be competing this season to add to her 2014 MHSAA title. (Photos courtesy of the Seaman family.)