Gladstone Girls Claim first MHSAA Title
February 20, 2016
By Keith Shelton
Special for Second Half
MARQUETTE – In a deficit to begin the day, the Gladstone swimmers had their work cut out for them.
So when it got down to the final three events of the day, and the PA announcer read off the standings, the elation and excitement when Gladstone was called in first place for the first time was genuine – the result of a hard day's work with little room for error.
By the time the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, it was a victory lap for the Braves, who were crowned Upper Peninsula champions for the first time Saturday at the MHSAA Girls Swimming & Diving Finals at Marquette High School.
Gladstone, which practices at the Northern Lights YMCA of Delta County, does not have a diving team. So the Braves could only watch Friday as their competitors built an advantage.
"Knowing we don't have diving, and we were going to give up those points, I talked about building depth in the team," said Gladstone head coach Tom Desy. "If we were going to win, we had to be strong in all events, all the way through. The girls dedicated themselves this year to do that. I had a lot of girls step up and swim events that they normally don't like to swim, but they did it for the good of the team."
Gladstone won with 281 points, followed by Houghton with 244 and Marquette with 241. The relatively tight finish was even closer prior to the final events. Before the 17th event, the 200 freestyle relay, Houghton had a slim lead, followed by Marquette and Gladstone. All three teams were within eight points of each other.
But the Braves' saved their best for last. Their 200 freestyle relay team of Jesse Flath, Sydney Herioux, Kirsten Williams and Lindsey McCann finished first with a time of 1:48.98. Gladstone followed with a victory in the 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, and 400 freestyle relay, sweeping the final four events to surge past the competition.
"Marquette and some of the other teams were strong in the IMs, but I know our team is very strong in the back and the breaststroke," Desy said. "I kind of thought if we could stay close, when the back and the breaststroke came up, we could do well, and we did."
Katie Stephenson had an outstanding day for the Braves. The junior placed first in the 100 backstroke (1:04.15), the 50 freestyle (25.72), anchored the Braves winning 400 freestyle relay and was part of the winning 200 medley relay team, the latter of which had a time of 1:57.63, just four tenths of a second off setting a U.P. Finals record.
"It was just adrenaline today," said Stephenson. "I got out of the 100 backstroke and I was breathing so hard, I puked. But I hopped back in. I wanted to finish it (400 freestyle relay) for (senior teammate) Jesse (Flath)."
Herioux, a freshman, won the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:12.40, three seconds faster than her seed time. Sophomore Claire Tembruell placed second in the 100 butterfly and third in the 100 back, and Flath placed second in both the 200 and 100 freestyles.
"Everyone tried their hardest today; it was amazing," exclaimed Flath. "It's amazing considering it's only our fourth year as a team."
Houghton held the lead for a good part of the day, but coach Erik Johnson was satisfied with the runner-up finish, saying his team exceeded expectations.
"If you told me at the end of the meet last year that we were going to finish second, I would have told you, you're out of your mind," he said. "We had a phenomenal meet."
The Houghton girls captured a bevy of second and third-place finishes, with no individual winners, but used their depth and consistency in all events to stay in contention.
"Our girls were undefeated during the season. They knew what they had to do and really stepped up," Johnson said. "Sam Olson was third in the 200 free, and second in the 500, and that helped a ton. It doesn't always come down to winning events. It comes down to those kids that squeeze into sixth place."
The Gladstone swim team, which has a co-op with neighboring Escanaba, was ineligible to compete in the U.P. Finals its first two years, as a club program. But Gladstone’s team became varsity for the 2014-15 season and quickly made a splash with a runner-up finish.
Desy has been there to see his team grow. Prior to taking the coaching job with the Braves, he ran the feeder program at the YMCA for eight seasons.
"This is a proud moment," Desy said. "I'm proud for the Escanaba and Gladstone combined schools. I’m proud of the girls that were on this team, some of which may not have continued through the YMCA without a high school program in place. I'm also very proud of the work I did for the Y, because the Y does a great job with the swim program. Normally without a high school team, those kids would go on to other sports. Now they have a focus to keep swimming and trying hard."
PHOTOS: (Top) Swimmers launch during a race Saturday at Marquette High School. (Middle) A Gladstone swimmer points to the clock as her team made its first MHSAA championship run. (Click for more from Jarvinen Photography.)
Performance: Harrison's Ashley Turak
November 23, 2017
Ashley Turak
Farmington Hills Harrison junior – Swimming
Turak led the Farmington/Harrison co-op swimming & diving team to a third-place finish at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals, winning two individual events and helping two championship relays to earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.” Her 50-yard freestyle time of 22.38 seconds set a meet record, and both of her individual event times qualified for All-America honors from the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association.
A top-four finisher in both the 50 and 100 freestyles as a sophomore, Turak entered Friday’s prelims seeded second in both races. Her winning 50 time was 77 hundredths of a second faster than her lowest entering the weekend – an almost unheard of drop in time for the shortest race – and she cut an also-impressive 73 hundredths of a second off her top 100 time entering the meet by winning that title in 49.79. Both finishes broke her previous school records in those events. She also swam the first leg on the 200 freestyle relay that won in 1:34.67, and the anchor on the 400 freestyle relay that won in 3:26.35. Both relays also qualified for All-America status, and both entered the Finals seeded third.
Turak will be part of the final senior class at Harrison, which is set to close at the conclusion of the 2018-19 school year. It’s becoming a bittersweet good-bye – she’s excited to be able to honor the school as one of its final graduates, but of course sad to see it close. She will continue to represent though as she goes on to college swimming – she’s sifting through options with more sure to come – and she’s considering studying something in the biology or medical fields. Turak carries a 3.7 grade-point average as part of Harrison’s rigorous International Baccalaureate program.
Coach Kyle Kinyon said: “Her coaches and teammates are so proud of her for achieving a goal she set out to accomplish at the beginning of this season. She obviously is talented, but her success is rooted in her preparation in practice. Ashley is constantly looking for feedback about her technique and training. She routinely pushes herself to be better, as well as encouraging her teammates to do the same. Turak leads the team by her example in and out of the pool. She does the little things right, including proper nutrition and dry land training in addition to her sprint training. It is for this reason she was named a captain of the team as a junior this year.”
Performance Point: “I think the hard work really paid off, because for the whole season my coach kept telling me the end goal is the state meet,” Turak said. “Going into the state meet, I definitely wanted to make a statement, work with my team to get us as high of a placement as we could. I guess my biggest takeaway is you’re going to keep getting better. But with that, you’ve got to keep working hard to get there. … The first day I wouldn’t call it the best day, but I still (cut) time which was good. I guess the second day I was just really fired up going in. I didn’t feel as nervous for the meet and I just wanted to do what I could for my team, because being seeded first (after prelims) in two of my events going in, it was just really pumping me up.”
Making her move: “A year ago, I didn’t even think I would be in this position. I was racing (Brighton) senior Taylor Seaman, and I looked up to her and saw her as a role model. I never would’ve expected to come near her times and even break her state record in the 50 free.”
Farmington pride: “Farmington’s swim program has always been something that has been growing and developing, and we’re getting more and more great swimmers every year. And all of the swimmers are growing individually and as a team. So it’s obviously great to see (this year’s LPD1 champion) Mercy achieve all these things, because they’re the best swim school in the state for girls. When the (Mercy) girls were actually on the podium for first place, my team was chanting “representing Farmington swim program.” It’s pretty cool to come from the same place and have two top teams finishing there. And it’s great for my team because we’re newly developed – we’ve only been a team for two years. So going from last year placing 13th to third place, that was really awesome.”
Last of the Hawks: “It’s obviously really sad because we’re seeing the student body (enrollment) is dropping. But it’s really cool to be able to represent Harrison in its final years and be in the last graduating class. My friends and I were actually at a Harrison football game a few weeks ago, and it’s really cool talking to the alumni. They were sharing their experiences about how they went here in the ‘80s and how we’re going to be the last class to represent, and that resemblance of pride in the school. It’s really sad that I’m not going to be able to go to games in the future as an alumni, but I like being able to be the class that represents the closing of it.”
Serving notice: “Swim has always been very underappreciated here, especially the girls team because our boys … have been winning a lot of league titles, which is really cool to watch and awesome to see them do that. The girls kinda being underdogs this year, and coming in winning second in the county of Oakland and third in the state of Michigan for D1, I think it’s cool that we’re making a statement now. I think people are starting to notice, because on Monday swim actually made the announcements before football, which never happens. And I’ve been getting a lot of congratulations in the hallway, and I’ve been noticed by my principal, so it’s really cool that our swim team is actually being noticed.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army 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 2017-18 honorees:
November 16: Bryce Veasley, West Bloomfield football - Read
November 9: Jose Penaloza, Holland soccer - Read
November 2: Karenna Duffey, Macomb L'Anse Creuse North cross country - Read
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City Central golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Farmington/Harrison's Ashley Turak receives her championship medal for winning the 50 freestyle at Saturday's Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals. (Middle) Turak, third from bottom, prepares to launch for the start of the 200 freestyle relay. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)