GRCC Pulls Far Away from Rest to win LPD3
November 21, 2015
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
YPSILANTI – The 1-2 punch of Grand Rapids Catholic Central swimmers Riley Kishman and Susan LaGrand overwhelmed the field Saturday afternoon at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 girls swimming and diving championships at Eastern Michigan University.
They had plenty of help, too, as Grand Rapids Catholic Central won its first MHSAA team championship In girls swimming and diving with 299 points to far outdistance runner-up St. Clair (199) and third-place Holland Christian (197).
Kishman, a junior who was named the Division 3 Swimmer of the Year by the coaches association, won two individual events and swam on two championship relays. LaGrand, a sophomore, also won two individual events in addition to contributing to a championship relay and another relay that placed second.
“It feels really good,” said Kishman, who won the 100 breaststroke and the 200 freestyle. “We’ve been wanting this for a while, and I’m glad it finally happened.
“Coach told us if we were going in thinking that we have it, we won’t have it, so we went in like we were in second place. We knew we had a target on our backs, so we tried to just keep going.”
Kishman, a two-time Finals champion in the 200 individual medley, passed on the event in favor of the 200 freestyle, which she won in 1 minute, 51.01 seconds.
“I have been doing more freestyle lately, and I like the 200 free better,” she said. “I thought we would have a better chance at getting more points if I did that, and I’m glad I did it.”
Kishman did successfully defend her title in the 200 breaststroke in 1:03.20.
“I had my best time in that since my freshman year, so I was really happy about that,” said Kishman, who also swam on the winning 200 freestyle relay and the winning 400 freestyle relay.
LaGrand had one of the more exciting victories of the day when she came from behind to win the 100 butterfly over St. Clair senior Grace Shinske. It was the second consecutive MHSAA title in the butterfly for LaGrand, who set a meet record with a time of 56.85 seconds.
“It’s always better when you have somebody to race,” she said. “It was really great. I could not have gone the time I did without her pushing me.”
LaGrand’s other individual title came in the 200 IM, which she finished in 2:06.97, better than Kishman’s winning time from a year ago.
“It really feels good,” she said after the win. “I have an awesome team behind me that pushes me every day in practice, so that really helps.”
The 200 IM was just two events after the meet-opening 200 medley relay, which had LaGrand and Grand Rapids Catholic Central finishing second to St. Clair. It was a quick turnaround for LaGrand.
“It was a little stressful, but with good time management it’s all right,” she said. “You know what you are going into when you sign up.”
As impressive as Kishman and LaGrand were, Grand Rapids Catholic Central was far from a two-girl show. Six other girls scored points, including senior Liz Rabaut and sophomores Nicole Rotelle and Elise Merucci. All three scored four times, including on one championship relay.
Lauren Lomonoco, another senior, was on two championship relays and placed in another individual event.
“It’s amazing to see how far our team has come since our freshman year,” she said. “We were just trying to get in the top 10 in the state that year, so it’s really rewarding and overwhelming.
“It’s just a great way to end my career.”
Sophomores Emily Merucci and Hannah DeBoer also scored twice in individual events for Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Kishman and LaGrand were the only defending champions to repeat in their events, and two others failed to repeat as champions. In 1-meter diving, Allegan senior Erin Isola edged reigning champion Taylor Hosein of Milan 454.40 to 435.90. Isola had a lead of less than seven points coming into Saturday but put it away with three solid dives that totaled 139.50 points.
“It really hasn’t hit me yet … it’s like a dream come true,” she said after winning. “I’m really excited.”
She said her second dive – an inward 1½ somersault – was the key dive for her.
“Normally I don’t nail it as well as I did, and it got me a bunch of points to stay ahead of Taylor,” she said. “Taylor is a great diver, and it really could have been either one of us who won. It was really close.”
The other displaced champion was Rileigh Eding of Hamilton, who was edged by Shinske in the 100 backstroke. Shinske, who led LaGrand before finishing second in the exciting 100 butterfly, defeated Eding in the same fashion. Eding had a lead after 50 yards, but Shinske, in the final individual race of her high school career, surged back in the last 50 yards to pass her and win in 56.27.
“It was pretty exciting,” Shinske said. “At one point, I was thinking I was going to finish in second place, and then I realized that I could do it and I just went for it. It feels great.”
Shinske also teamed with Molly Likins, Heidi Likins and Alexis Smith to win the meet-opening 200 medley relay in 1:47.54.
Eding, who failed to repeat in the 100 backstroke, captured the 50 freestyle in 24.04 seconds. Other freestyle winners were Karlee Marsh of Tecumseh in the 100 freestyle (51.80) and sophomore Evelyn VanDeMark of Alma in the 500 freestyle (5:11.43).
Marsh, a junior, had finished third and fifth in two individual events last year.
“I’m really emotional, but it’s a great feeling,” she said. “It definitely helps that I was a second faster coming in, and it made me more confident. I think everybody did really good.”
But the best of those were the girls from Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
“It was a team goal to establish a championship feeling, and we accomplished that,” Grand Rapids Catholic Central coach Mio Vasic said. “I want to congratulate the girls on how they were able to balance their personal lives, school, academics and swimming. I’m very proud of them.”
PHOTO: (Top) Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Susan LaGrand swims her winning 200 individual medley Saturday. (Middle) St. Clair’s Grace Shinske works toward her butterfly championship. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Wayland's Wolf Eager to Build on Historic Freshman Finals Performance
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
November 16, 2023
WAYLAND – Laney Wolf made a giant splash last year in her debut at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Swimming & Diving Finals.
As a freshman, the Wayland standout won individual titles in the 50 and 100-yard freestyles – becoming the first swimmer in school history to earn a Finals championship while putting the rest of the state on notice that she will be around to contend for more over the next three years.
“Last year was a great experience, especially being able to win in the 50 and 100 free,” Wolf said. “It was really exciting, especially with my teammates and coaches cheering me on.
“I've done a lot of club swimming, but it was just a different atmosphere for high school because it was a big state meet. It was important.”
Wolf entered her first Finals with zero expectations.
“I didn’t expect to win,” she said. “I swam well in the preliminaries, and I was first. Then in the finals, I just gave it all I had and ended up with the wins.”
Wayland swimming & diving coach Seth Beat also had no idea what to expect from his talented young swimmer.
“When she came in, I knew she was going to score well in our conference and be a top competitor,” Beat said. “And then tracking her progress, it was exciting to see her growing and climbing the ranks at the state level.”
The opportunity to qualify for her Finals was satisfying enough.
“I was just happy for her to go to state with her being ranked in the top eight in her individual races, and for her to finish first in those was just mind-blowing,” Beat said. “We were all proud of her, and it was just go and swim as hard as you can and be happy with the outcome.
“And I think we will have the same mindset this year. Let's just go, be focused and do what you can. Be mentally and physically ready and just give it her all.”
Wolf will try to duplicate last year’s awe-inspiring effort when she competes in this weekend’s Finals at Oakland University. She has the fourth-fastest LPD3 qualifying times in both of her signature events (24.54 in the 50 and 53.55 in the 100).
“I'm really excited about the 50 free this year, and I think I have a really good shot at that event,” Wolf said. “I know there is a lot more competition than there was last year, but I'm still going to try my best and give it everything I have.”
Wolf has reason for optimism after recording a personal best in the 50 during practice.
“I’ve been very happy with how I’ve swam this season,” she said. “I had 24 (seconds) during the hard week of practice, which was huge for me to be able to do that.”
Beat has witnessed firsthand Wolf’s climb to early success at the high school level. He first met her when she was 6 years old while taking part in the Wayland AquatiCATS Swim Program.
“She has a killer instinct and is very competitive,” Beat said. “She comes from a family of athletes.”
That family of athletes includes two brothers and an older sister, who’s also on the team, and who constantly push each other and strive for excellence. Laney also played basketball and ran track as a freshman.
“I’ve coached them all in swimming and taught them in the classroom, and they just set high goals and are extremely determined to meet those goals,” Beat said. “They will work out in the weight room, eat right, swim right and will train seven days a week.
“They will do what they need to do in order to make sure they achieve their goals. It’s in their genes and makeup. They put their best foot forward to be the best they can be.”
Wolf’s work ethic, perseverance and positive attitude provide her with the necessary motivation to excel.
“I never give up, and I always try my best at practice,” Wolf said. “I do club swimming over the summer, and I'm always putting in the work to do the best I can.
“When I’m getting ready for my races, I don't think about my competition. I just picture the event before I swim it, and I'm trying to perfect everything in my head before I go into that event and get into a good head space.”
Wolf isn’t feeling any pressure to repeat this weekend.
“I think no matter how I do, I will be happy with how it turns out,” Wolf said. “No matter what, it will be a good end to the season.”
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Wayland’s Laney Wolf swims one of her races; she’s among the state’s elite sprinters. (Middle) Wolf is awarded with her 100 freestyle championship at last season’s LPD3 Finals. (Photos courtesy of the Wayland athletic department.)