Champions Old & New Thrive in D2
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
January 16, 2021
GRAND RAPIDS – Hannah Williams doesn't mind flying under the radar. In fact, the Portage Northern sophomore has thrived in the underdog role.
Williams went from virtually an unknown freshman to shocking nearly everyone including herself with a pair of individual titles at Saturday's Lower Peninsula Division 2 swimming & diving meet at Grand Rapids Northview.
She joined Jordyn Shipps of DeWitt as the only swimmers to capture two events in a meet won by Birmingham Seaholm for the third time in five years.
Williams, who didn't qualify for the Finals a year ago, won the 200-yard freestyle (1:49.42) and the 100 breaststroke (1:03.68), an admitted stunner for nearly everyone. Williams won three state titles in club swimming as an eighth grader, but didn't necessarily move the attention needle as a freshman.
"I'm as surprised as you – I didn't expect it," she said. "I don't know where it came from. I was kind of nervous, but my coach said just bust it, just go for it, just swim as well as I can. Nobody really knew who I was, and that was kind of a perk."
The same can't be said for Shipps, who was making her fourth Finals trip. She captured the 200 individual medley (2:02.50) and 100 free (50.80). Shipps, who is headed to Oakland University next season, credited her experience – combined with a simple swim philosophy – with leaving her in the hunt for a title.
"I don't have a best event, but the (200 IM) is definitely one of my stronger ones," she said. "You need four different strokes to be good, and my approach is just to get out front and stay there. I just wanted the chance to compete, and I did. It was awesome."
While Williams and Shipps stood out as individuals, Seaholm coach Karl Hodgson said his swimmers don't necessarily turn heads individually, but compete as well as any athlete. Seaholm won the 200 free (1:36.15) and 400 free relays (3:31.84), but garnered no individual winners. The same actually happened for last year's Maples championship team. Seaholm finished with 309 points on Saturday to 263 for runner-up Rochester Adams. Grand Rapids Northview was third with 174.
"We have numbers and talent," Hodgson said. "We have been fortunate to have a lot of talented kids. We knew we would be in the hunt. We had a lot of our team back, so we definitely knew we'd be in the hunt. The strength to our team is relay, and depth."
Seaholm's roster Saturday included eight seniors from a team of 56 swimmers. Hodgson said a season which included two stoppages, week-to-week workouts and virtual meetings was difficult, particularly at the end.
"I'll be honest, some girls didn't want to do this," he said. "They had already moved on, so this was tough."
Williams wasn't the only Portage Northern swimmer to win a title as junior Angelina Baker won the 500 free (4:57.15).
Other winners included Grace Albrecht of Jenison, who won the 50 free (23.90), Fenton's Gracie Olsen in the 100 butterfly (55.18) and Abby Forbes of Grand Rapids Northview, who won the 100 backstroke (56.15).
Albrecht, just a freshman, went from success in the USA swim program "JAWS" a year ago to her title.
"Obviously it was difficult," she said. "You just try to motivate yourself as much as you can. I just tried to beat my best time and not look at placing."
Unlike Williams and Albrecht, who were making their Finals debuts, Olsen had won three individual events in her first two trips as a freshman and sophomore.
"Each year is as fun as the year before," she said. "Experience helps. You recognize what is around you and what to expect. There is still pressure, but you get used to it."
Forbes, a conference winner in the 100 backstroke and 200 IM, said her personal expectations have grown each season.
"As a freshman you're just swimming to get a personal best. But I have confidence in myself and I wanted to finish first or second," she said. "This was just awesome. I set some goals and I had confidence I could make them."
Division 2 champions also included Rochester Adams in the 200 medley relay (1:45.65). Lily Witte, a sophomore from Dexter, repeated as the diving champion with 486.95 points – an LPD2 Finals record.
PHOTOS: (Top) Birmingham Seaholm's Samantha Clifford, top, swims toward one of her four top-three individual or relay finishes at Saturday's Division 2 Finals. (Middle) St. Joseph's Sylvia Park swims her leg of the 200 medley relay. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Preview: Welcome, Next Wave of Champs
November 19, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A lot has changed in MHSAA girls swimming and diving since Lower Peninsula Finals weekend a year ago.
A top Division 2 team is now the favorite in Division 1. The reigning champion in Division 3 is now in Division 2. A group of swimmers who combined to set six MHSAA Finals records graduated this spring.
But changes bring opportunities, and there are plenty of candidates hoping to become the next wave of champions at three meets that begin Friday and conclude Saturday afternoon.
Below is a look at team contenders and top individuals to watch at all three Finals. All three will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and covered with stories posted to Second Half later Saturday evening.
LP DIVISION 1 at Holland Aquatic Center
Team contenders: Last season’s LP Division 2 runner-up, Ann Arbor Skyline, is in Division 1 this fall and moved up to the top spot in the final coaches association poll. Skyline has 14 swim entries seeded to score, with senior Katie Portz the top-seeded racer in the 100 and 200 freestyles and part of the top-seeded 400 freestyle relay, and sophomore Georgia Mosher top-seeded in the breaststroke. Farmington Hills Mercy is seeking its third title in five seasons and finished runner-up last fall and in 2012 as well. The Marlins also have 14 top-16 seeds and a few more on the edge of contention, with senior Elyse Conn helping lead the way after posting two top-five finishes in 2014. Saline is the reigning champion and has finished among the top two three of the last four seasons, and was ranked No. 1 most of the season. The Hornets have 12 seeded to score plus the top returning diver from last season’s Final.
Morgan Bullock, Zeeland senior – The runner-up in both the butterfly and individual medley last season is the likely favorite with the champions/record holders in both races now graduated. Bullock has the fastest IM seed time of 2:03.45 and second-fastest in the butterfly of 55.75.
Emma Curtis, Grand Blanc junior – The reigning champion in the 50 freestyle has a top-seeded time (23.24) that’s faster than her championship time of a year ago by 36 hundredths of a second. She’s also seeded third in the 100 freestyle at 51.35.
Sarah Hennings, Lake Orion junior – After finishing eighth in the butterfly and missing the final in the backstroke last season, Hennings is top-seeded in the butterfly (55.38) and up to 14th in the backstroke.
Katie Minnich, Farmington Hills Mercy sophomore – The reigning champion in the backstroke has the top seed time of 55.60 and is seeded sixth in the IM after finishing 12th as a freshman.
Georgia Mosher, Ann Arbor Skyline sophomore – After finishing ninth in the breaststroke and 10th in the IM in LP Division 2 last season, she’s tops on the LP Division 1 seed list in the breaststroke at 1:04.34 and third in the 500 (4:57.80).
Katie Portz, Ann Arbor Skyline senior – She finished second in both the 100 and 200 freestyles in LP Division 2 last season but set the LP Division 1 meet record in the 100 of 50.23 in winning the race in 2013. She’s top-seeded in that race at 49.71 and also in the 200 at 1:46.47 – only 22 hundredths of a second off the all-Finals record.
Taylor Seaman, Brighton junior – She won the 100 freestyle and was second in the 200 last season, and enters seeded behind Portz in both the 100 (50.87) and 200 (1:52.55).
Laura Westphal, Northville junior – The reigning champion in the 500 freestyle will look to add a third title after also winning the race as a freshman. She’s got the top seed time at 4:56.23 and also will swim the 200 freestyle after finishing third in that race a year ago.
Ann Arbor Skyline 400 freestyle relay – Junior Emma Cleason, Portz and Mosher were part of the relay that missed a Division 2 title last fall by seven hundredths of a second; they are joined this time by sophomore Emily Lock and have posted a seed time of 3:24.57 that is five seconds faster than the field and nearly two faster than the LPD1 meet record.
Camryn McPherson, Saline junior – Last season’s diving runner-up has won two straight Regional titles and could make a run at the meet record set by teammate Amy Stevens last year.
LP DIVISION 2 at Oakland University
Team contenders: After two straight LP Division 3 championships, the most successful program in MHSAA history – East Grand Rapids – brings the top-ranked team in Division 2 heading into this weekend. The Pioneers have 12 top-16 seeds plus three divers competing; senior Emily Converse and junior Gabby Higgins have combined for five individual Finals championships over the last two seasons. Reigning champion Bloomfield Hills Marian enters ranked No. 2 and with 14 seeded to score, including two top-seeded relays. Rochester Adams moved up five spots to No. 3 in the final poll and has 16 flights seeded to score plus two divers after finishing eighth a year ago.
Emily Converse, East Grand Rapids senior – The Pioneers’ standout has won three individual titles and been part of four winning relays over the last two seasons, and now in LPD2 she has the fourth-seeded 200 freestyle time of 1:53.54 and the second-seeded 500 time of 5:02.38 – plus will swim on two second-seeded relays.
Gabby Higgins, East Grand Rapids junior – She won the 100 and 50 freestyles last season in LPD3 and also swam on winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Her 50 seed time this weekend is second-fastest at 23.80 and her 100 time is third at 52.12, and she also swims on those relays with Converse.
Claire McGinnis, Rochester Adams senior – The University of Miami (Fla.) recruit has the fastest seed time in the 500 (4:58.54) and the second-seeded time in the 200 freestyle (1:52.24).
Nicole Pape, Rochester Adams junior – After winning the IM and finishing second in the breaststroke last season, Pape enters with the third-fastest time in the IM (2:09.96) and fastest in the butterfly (56.06) by more than a second.
Allie Russell, Birmingham Seaholm junior – She earned an MHSAA championship last year as part of the 200 medley relay winner and also took fourth in the breaststroke and ninth in the IM; she has the ninth-fastest IM seed time of 2:11.80 and the fastest in the breaststroke in 1:05.75.
Sophia Schott, Bloomfield Hills Marian junior – She has the fastest seed time in the 50 by nearly half a second at 23.32 after winning that race last season, and also has the fastest in the 100 at 51.08 after coming in sixth in that race a year ago.
Annette Schultz, Dexter sophomore – She posted two top-five finishes last year, going third in the 200 freestyle and fourth in the 100, and she enters this weekend with the fastest 200 time of 1:50.41 and second-fastest in the 100 of 51.85. She also will swim on the top-seeded 200 medley relay.
Claire Young, Grosse Pointe South senior – After taking second in the backstroke a year ago and sixth in the IM, she’s top-seeded in both races: her 2:07.27 in the IM has nearly a second on the field, and her 55.30 backstroke time has 1.55 seconds on the rest.
Erin Neely, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central junior – After winning last season’s diving championship by 23.5 points ahead of two seniors, she’s the favorite coming off posting the highest Regional score, 462.00, of any LPD2 meet.
LP DIVISION 3 at Eastern Michigan University
Team contenders: Grand Rapids Catholic Central was runner-up last season to now-LPD2 East Grand Rapids and could be in line for its first MHSAA team championship with 17 swim flights seeded to score including six seeded either first or second. St. Clair was sixth last season and also hasn’t won a Finals meet, but surged to the No. 2 ranking heading into the weekend and has 12 top-16 seeds including five seeded first or second. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood finished fourth in 2014, its first time below the top two since 2008, but could make a move back into contention with 14 flights seeded among the top 16. The Cranes are led by junior Anuschka Sambel, who posted two fourth-place finishes in 2014.
Milan sophomore Madelyn Cislo – After finishing fourth in the 200 freestyle and fifth in the butterfly as a freshman, Cislo is a second faster than the field with the top 200 IM time of 2:08.68 and sits third in the butterfly at 59.21.
Hamilton senior Rileigh Eding – The reigning champion in the backstroke also took eighth in the 100 freestyle in 2014; this time she’s seeded second in the 50 at 24.66 and fifth in the backstroke at 59.46.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central junior Riley Kishman – She owns two championships in the IM and one in the breaststroke from her first two seasons (winning both events last year), and could push the total to five entering with the top 200 freestyle seed time of 1:52.23 and the fastest in the breaststroke of 1:05.52.
Manistee senior Anna Kutschke – She's the favorite in the 50 with a time of 24 seconds flat after finishing fourth a year ago in her only individual event; she’s also seeded second this time in the 100 freestyle at 53.18.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central sophomore Susan LaGrand – Although she is seeded second in both of her individual events – the IM (2:09.80) and butterfly (58.53) – she’s the reigning champion in the butterfly and also took third in the backstroke last year.
Tecumseh junior Karlee Marsh – She finished third in the 100 and fifth in the 200 freestyles in 2014, but could be in line to contend for a couple of championships entering with the top time in the 100 (52.61) and second-fastest in the 200 (1:53.81).
St. Clair senior Grace Shinske – She made a run at a pair of titles last fall finishing second in the backstroke and third in the butterfly, and should be in the mix again entering top-seeded in the butterfly (57.97) and backstroke (56.82) and swimming on two top-seeded relays.
Alma sophomore Evelyn VanDeMark – She’s expected to make a big jump in her second Finals after taking sixth in the 500 and 10th in the butterfly as a freshman. She’ll swim both again and is top-seeded in the 500 at 5:25.01.
Milan senior Taylor Hosein – The two-time reigning champion in diving in LP Division 3 finished only second at her Regional but hardly can be counted out in going for the three-peat.
Allegan senior Erin Isola – She finished third last season as a junior and sixth as a sophomore, but posted the top score at Regionals of any division, 478.95.
PHOTO: An East Grand Rapids swimmer begins her leg of a relay during last season's Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals; the Pioneers are the top-ranked team in LP Division 2 this season. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)