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.)
Ogemaw Heights Record-Setter Showing Path to Success with 3rd Finals Trip
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
November 18, 2022
When Kiera Danitz leaves the blocks during this weekend’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Swimming & Diving Championships, it will feel pretty familiar to her.
The Ogemaw Heights junior has already experienced qualifying and competing at the Finals twice.
But she will experience some unfamiliarity this time too. She won’t have her training partner and teammate of the past two seasons, Clair Hines, with her. However, Danitz is going into this Finals as the fastest swimmer the school and conference has ever produced in her two events, the 50 and 100-yard freestyles.
She didn’t reach the LPD3 championship heats the last two seasons, but is expected to do so this weekend – and contend for titles in both races. She enters as the top seed in the 50 and the second seed in the 100.
Long before this season, Danitz already was listed on the Falcons’ pool wall record boards with Hines in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. With Hines moving on to swim for Aquinas College this year – she’s already set a Saints record – Danitz lost a training partner.
That didn’t slow her down, thankfully, according to her coach Louise Hofer.
“The two of them were very good friends and really good swimming partners, pushing each other,” Hofer said. “This is the first year that Kiera is without her, and she has had to step up her game a little bit and be more of the swimming leader on the team.
“She’s done a fantastic job in the water motivating the other girls to do the best they can.”
So far this fall, Danitz has broken records that stood for more than 20 years in both the 50 and 100. She also broke the Ogemaw Heights pool record in 50.
The school and conference 50 free records were set at the recent Independent Swim Conference championships – she won in 24.15 seconds. The conference 100 free record of 53:41 also was set during the two-day event held at Saginaw Valley State University. For her record-setting accomplishments, Danitz was named the ISC Swimmer of the Meet. Those are also her seed times for this weekend.
Swimming against the state’s best could bring out the best in Danitz, who started competing in the water in fourth grade when her mother suggested she give it a try.
“As a swimmer, she always does better when she’s in the hunt, when she’s a little bit behind,” Hofer pointed out. “If she’s got somebody that she can see their toes or she can see their shoulders or whatever, she is going to push herself much harder than if she is way out front.”
The lessons learned from the last two Finals should also bode well for the decorated junior.
“It was such a valuable learning experience for her,” Hofer said. “It has just bolstered her confidence.”
Regardless of how things go this weekend, Danitz already has plans to re-write the record books next year. She’s ready to do the work to improve on her own records and go after a couple more her senior year.
“I want to break the 200 IM record and maybe the 200 free records,” she said. “I am hoping for my 50 free to get a 23 (seconds) and I hope to get a 52 by the end of my senior year.”
Danitz’s success has been well supported by her teammates, and in fact may lead to other records being broken on both the boys and the girls teams.
Having recognizable names makes the records more attainable and provides motivation, the 21-year veteran coach Hofer believes.
“They’re very definitely paying attention to the new names going on the wall because these are kids that they know,” Hofer said. “You can see it in the kids’ eyes when they stand there and look at stuff.
“You can see the wheels spinning in their head,” she continued. “And they’re thinking, ‘OK … I know her… I know what (level) of work she put in … I can do it too.’”
Reese Engel and Alejandra Azcona are the other members of the school-record 200 relay team with Danitz and Hines. Jordan Nelson and Azcona join them on the wall for the 400 relay.
Hofer likes the idea of Danitz going after the 200 IM record. She had Danitz try that race a few times this year for a little variety.
“Kiera wants to improve upon those before she leaves,” Hofer said. “We dabbled with the 200.
“It was good for her to swim some other events and not be so laser-focused at every competition swimming the 50 and 100.”
Hofer is confident her stellar swimmer will do whatever it takes to meet those goals.
“Kiera is motivated, and she’s super competitive,” Hofer said. “She’s willing to do the work, and she knows what kind of work she needs to do.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Ogemaw Heights’ Kiera Danitz pops up from the water happy after touching the wall first during one of her races at the Independent Swim Conference championship meet. (Middle) Danitz and coach Louise Hofer stand over the broken 50 freestyle record board listings Danitz’s times will replace. (Top photo by Justin Kruskie Photography. Middle photo by Christine Rice.)