Gremlin Girls Swim To U.P. Title

By John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com

February 16, 2013

MARQUETTE — Many of the Houghton High School girls may be too young to remember when the Gremlins had last earned an Upper Peninsula swimming title.

The Gremlins, however, created their own memories on Saturday as they gained their first title in 12 years with 339 points. They were followed by 11-time defending champion Marquette 319 and Sault Ste. Marie 155.

“In all the recent history, not only did we have the depth,” Houghton coach Roger Woods said shortly after diving in the pool with his team moments after receiving the championship trophy. “We also had the top end talent. We just couldn’t win the relays. Last year, we got swept in the relays. This year, we won only one. But we were close in the others.”

Houghton senior Rebecca Jaczczak retained her 50-yard freestyle title in 25.62 seconds and copped her first 100 backstroke crown (1:07.14) at the Marquette High School pool.

“I’m real happy with that,” said Jaczczak, who hopes to major in exercise science, but is undecided on which college she wants to attend. “Coming in here as a defending champion in 50 freestyle was a great motivator. All the hard work and focus this season paid off. Also, our coach is phenomenal. He has a passion for everything we do. HIs positive thinking rubs off an all of us.”

Jaczazak also helped the Gremlins open with a victory in the 200 medley relay and place second in the 400 freestyle relay.

Sophomore Hannah Gundlach, also a part of the Gremlins’ 400 relay, added a first in 500 freestyle (5:40.21) and second in 200 freestyle (2:08.79).

“Hannah knows how to swim in a big meet,” said Woods. “It was the same thing in the 200. When I saw her take off out of the gates, I knew she was going to have a good day.”

Adding an individual first for Houghton was sophomore Sophie Witting in 100 butterfly (1:09.32), who also helped the winning 200 medley relay and second-place 200 freestyle unit.

Marquette’s leader was senior Katy Beckstrom, who won 100 breaststroke (1:12.37) and helped the winning 400 freestyle relay and runner-up 200 medley relay.

“Our senior girls had an amazing end to their season,” said Marquette coach Nate McFarren. “All of them had personal bests. Personally, I wanted everything for all our kids. I’m very proud of them, their parents, our assistant coaches, helpers and community.”

Marquette’s underclassmen showed plenty of promise in this meet. A prime example was the 500 freestyle where the Redettes took three of the top five places.

For example, sophomore Janelle Carroll was runner-up in the 500 freestyle (5:50.14) and helped the winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays.

Classmate Logan Vear also helped the two shorter relays and placed second in 200 individual medley (2:30.55) and third in 100 butterfly (1:11.11).

“We’re excited about the girls we have coming back,” said McFarren. “I think we have the potential to field a very strong team next year.”

Next year’s U.P. FInals will be held at Houghton.

“We’re looking forward to that,” said Hancock-Jeffers coach Joanne Rouleau. “That will be a nice, short trip. All we’ll have to do is go across the (Portage Canal lift) bridge.”

PHOTOS: (Top) Swimmers leap at the start of a race during Saturday's Finals at Marquette High School. (Middle) Champion Houghton poses on the trophy stand after clinching this season's title. (Photos courtesy of Keith Freeman of Freeman's Photography.)

Dow's Newman Right at Home in Water

By Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com

August 29, 2018

Claire Newman described her younger self as “a complete amphibian,” and not much has changed as she goes through her teenage years.

“I’ve just always felt at home in the water,” the Midland Dow junior said. “It helps me work out my school day and any emotional problems. Being in swim also kind of reminds me of my abilities and, personally, I feel more spiritually sound when I swim.”

Newman is a four-time Division 2 Finals runner-up, having placed second in the 50 and 100-yard freestyles both of the past two seasons. She has won state titles in club competition, and is already drawing interest from college swim programs at all levels.

So it’s no surprise she feels comfortable in the water. It’s an offseason spent mostly on dry land, however, that could be the catalyst for Newman’s strongest season yet.

“I spent two to three months doing physical therapy on my shoulder,” Newman said. “I feel much better now that my shoulder is all healed up. I know better how to prevent another injury. I’m already starting to see the results of it. I’m much more conscious of which muscles I’m using for every part of my stroke, but especially my shoulders.”

The shoulder injury surfaced during Newman’s sophomore season, and she said it was the result of overuse. While still in season, she trained by simply kicking in the pool for two weeks.

Newman managed to perform well when it mattered at the Division 2 meet, also helping Dow touch third in the 400-yard freestyle relay in addition to her runner-up individual finishes. But she said the entire process was tough emotionally.

She would go on to compete in Junior Nationals in Tennessee following the prep season, but eventually focused on getting healthy.

“She was working very hard on the dry-land aspect, then she started swimming again full-time in May and swam through the summer,” Dow coach Chilly Smith said. “She did very little swimming in January through April. It’s going to help her, hopefully, stay healthy. By doing all the dry land, she stabilized (her shoulder). That was probably the first time she’s ever had really four months out of the pool since she was younger -- a lot younger. I think it was good for her, and that’s why we brought her back fairly slow.”

Now healthy, Newman is ready to meet the goals she’s set for herself. While they’re lofty, they look to be well within her reach.

“I think winning an event at state is probably one of my goals,” she said. “Breaking 23 (seconds) officially in the 50 -- I’ve sort of, kind of done it unofficially. I want personal improvement in my other strokes, specifically the breaststroke and the butterfly, and I also want to get more college exposure.”

Based on last year’s results, Newman appears to be the favorite to complete her first goal – something she was on track to do a year ago.

In 2016, Newman finished second to Birmingham Seaholm’s Haley Doan in the 50 and Dexter’s Annette Schultz in the 100. She passed both of them in 2017, but East Grand Rapids’ move to Division 2 (from Division 3) brought into her races Ileah Doctor, who went on to set meet records in both events in finishing ahead of Newman. Doctor graduated this spring and will be swimming at Indiana University, but Newman’s motivation remains the same.

“I was aware of how incredibly fast she was,” Newman said. “I didn’t really focus on her as competition, though. I usually use myself as competition, trying to beat my own times and focus more on improving myself.

“I wasn’t waking up every morning thinking about Ileah Doctor. I was waking up every morning thinking about how I could get better.”

Winning an MHSAA Finals title, and breaking 23 seconds, would go a long way toward achieving Newman’s final goal of attracting more college attention. So would improving her other strokes and proving she can win at longer distances, as Newman is well aware.

“A lot of colleges really like to see a 200 (yard) swimmer,” Newman said. “That signals that you’re pretty flexible in your events, same with the two (individual medley events). I think it’s also really great for aerobic training.”

Smith said he’ll be working the longer events, as well as the butterfly, into Newman’s competitive schedule this season to help her and the team.

“A swimmer has to be able to swim different events, because that’s one way you can keep a swimmer from becoming stale or bored with their swimming,” he said. “We’re really trying to work the 200, because if we can get a better 200 out of her, that’s just going to help her 100 freestyle.”

Newman has taken a visit to Michigan State University and said that Notre Dame (which she has visited on her own) and Indiana also interest her significantly, as does Division III Kenyon College in Ohio. While she admits she wants to swim against Division I competition, the most important factor for Newman is finding the right academic fit, as well as an athletic one. She plans to study something in liberal arts that allows her to tap into her creative side.

No matter where she goes, as long as she’s in the water, she’ll be right at home.

Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. 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) Midland Dow’s Claire Newman prepares to swim the 50-yard freestyle at last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals at Holland Aquatic Center. (Middle) Newman, middle, looks to the scoreboard with her teammates in anticipation of their relay time. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)