Grand Blanc Champ's Choices Paying Off
September 29, 2015
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
GRAND BLANC — Emma Curtis had two decisions to make as she entered high school.
The first: Volleyball or swimming?
"I had a lot more fun during swimming, because of the people that I met," the Grand Blanc junior said. "When you get really good times, it's the best feeling in the world, so I just stuck with swimming."
The second: High school or club swimming?
Travel seasons in most sports don't conflict with high schools seasons, but swimmers have the option of competing in non-school programs rather than their high school teams. It was certainly a consideration for Curtis, a year-round swimmer who was beginning to hit her stride entering ninth grade.
Once again, as was the case when choosing a sport, the personal relationships she developed tipped the scales in favor of the high school team.
"I met great people," she said. "I just wanted to stick with them. I just loved the people. They have really good practices and I love the coach, so I just stuck with high school."
That was a huge relief to Grand Blanc coach Emily Overmyer, who knew about Curtis from her summer club performances and who coached her brother, Bailey.
"We were really glad she came out," Overmyer said. "She started to drop time instantly and became a very big factor on the team as a freshman."
According to Monday’s post by the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association, Curtis has swam the third-fastest 50 time this fall statewide (24.19, second-fastest for LP Division 1 swimmers only), the eighth-fastest Division 1 time in the butterfly (1:00.98) and the fifth-fastest Division 1 time (and ninth overall) in the 100 freestyle (53.83).
Curtis had her first all-state performance as a freshman in the 2013 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 meet, swimming the first leg for the seventh-place 200-yard freestyle relay team. Curtis teamed with Eryn Scannell, Rachel Eaton and Lindsay Baywol, a quartet that previously had set the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Lakes Conference record with a time of 1:38.46.
Curtis missed out on all-state in the 50 freestyle when she lost a swim-off with South Lyon's Stormy Malarik for the eighth and final spot in the championship heat. All eight swimmers in the final make all-state from MISCA. Curtis wound up with a 10th-place finish after swimming the consolation heat.
She was 14th in the 100 freestyle and was on the ninth-place 400 freestyle relay team.
Those were solid performances for a ninth-grader in her first MHSAA Finals meet, but they didn't foreshadow what was to come for Curtis last year. Even Curtis had no idea that the stage was set for her to make history the following season.
"Going to states my freshman year, I didn't really place well because it was my first time," she said. "I wasn't very good back then, so going into my sophomore year, I didn't expect to place really high."
She came to the LP Division 1 Finals at Eastern Michigan University to culminate a season in which she set five individual or relay school records, giving her a total of six in her first two years.
When Curtis stood on the starting board for the 50 freestyle final, she was about to hit the water with three other swimmers who beat her the previous year. Not only did Curtis have to lower her own times as a sophomore, but she needed to improve at a greater rate than her competition.
Curtis touched the wall with a time of 23.60 seconds, but it wasn't a clear-cut victory. Rockford senior Erin Hudson, who was second in 2013, hit the wall at nearly the same time.
"It was a very, very close race," Overmyer said. "Everybody had to look at the scoreboard to see what the actual result was, because you couldn't tell by the naked eye."
Curtis' name was in first place by one-hundredth of a second over Hudson. Curtis didn't look at the scoreboard to see if she had won. The faces of her teammates on the pool deck said it all.
"When I finished at the wall all of my teammates were screaming, 'You won states, you won!" Curtis said. "My friend (Scannell) actually pulled me up out of the water when I won; she's just funny."
Curtis knew she was in a close battle, catching occasional glimpses of Hudson during the race.
"That was really exciting," Curtis said. "When I would take a breath, I would see she was right next to me. I was trying to push through and go fast."
The Bobcats have had a strong swimming and diving program over the years, but Curtis became only the third MHSAA champion from Grand Blanc. Julie Little was the Class A diving champion in 1989 and Sarah Salenski won the 100 breaststroke in 1992.
Curtis' day wasn't done. She improved to fourth place in the 100 freestyle with a time of 52.01 seconds, then helped Grand Blanc take fifth place in the 200 freestyle relay, along with Sydney Schmit, Lindsey Sieloff and Scannell.
Earlier, Curtis was on a 12th-place 200 medley relay team.
"At the last state meet, I just did not feel good at all," Curtis said. "I was really tired when it got to the 100. Both are sprint races, so the 100 takes a whole lot more out of you. You could say I'm better in the 50. I'm getting a lot stronger in the 100. I did really good during the summer. It's a long course (during non-school events), so it's 100 meters instead of 100 yards. I don't really know what my time would be in yards, but it was a good time for a long course."
Now that Curtis is a defending MHSAA champion, she can't sneak up on anybody when the Division 1 Finals are held Nov. 20-21 at Holland Aquatic Center.
Overmyer is trying to ensure Curtis doesn't feel any undue pressure to repeat.
"We're trying not to focus on that," Overmyer said. "She doesn't appear to be putting any extra pressure on herself. She always puts extra pressure on herself because she doesn't want to let the team down. She always competes for the team and goes where she's needed. When it comes to pressure, that's the main aspect of it."
Bill Khan served as a sportswriter at The Flint Journal from 1981-2011 and currently contributes to the State Champs! Sports Network. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Emma Curtis, goggles off, looks to the scoreboard after the 50 freestyle final at last season’s LP Division 1 meet. (Middle) Curtis stands on the top of the award stand, flanked by Rockford’s runner-up Erin Hudson and third-place finisher Meegan Snyman.
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.)