Longtime Friends from Rival Schools Heading to Finals as Tritons Teammates
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
November 17, 2023
Traverse City Central’s Ella Cabbage and Traverse City West’s Kira Adams have competed in pools with and against each other for as long as they can remember.
They also attend schools considered each other’s biggest rival.
Yet, they will be rooting for each other at the weekend’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls Swimming & Diving Finals at Eastern Michigan University. Adams’ family will be cheering on Cabbage as much as they do her. Same for Cabbage’s family.
They are not rivals this weekend. The girls with a long-time friendship are teammates. West and Central are in a cooperative program for swimming along with Traverse City St. Francis. The co-op goes by the moniker Traverse City Tritons.
Adams and Cabbage, both juniors, came into the season listed among the swimmers to watch in Northern Michigan. They didn’t disappoint, leading the Tritons to their third straight Coastal Conference title.
This weekend’s Finals will provide them with a very special moment. They both plan to look for each other the second they finish their respective events. They are treasuring the opportunity to compete in the Finals together.
“One hundred percent we always do,” Adams said of the chance they will be the first person they see after competing. “We get to warm up with each other at the same time and prepare to race together as well.”
Cabbage agreed.
“I go right after Ella so we’ll be together the whole way,” Adams said. ‘We will get see other compete — It is very special.”
Adams and Cabbage hope their families capture more memories for future viewing.
‘We have videos of Kira swimming and me in the background screaming and vice versa,” Cabbage said. “I wouldn’t want to go to states with anyone else.
“Our families are really close,” Cabbage continued. “It’s really special for it being just the two of us in the Finals.”
Adams used the conference finals to meet the MHSAA Finals qualifying time in the 100-yard breaststroke. She also competed well in the 200 individual medley, backstroke and freestyle events in 2023. Cabbage had qualified in the 100 backstroke early in the season.
Cabbage and Adams were at last years’ Finals, Cabbage a member of the 200 medley relay that finished 16th and Adams an alternate for the relay.
They were really looking forward to getting on the road to the Finals this week, recalling last year’s trip featuring inclement early winter weather at Oakland University, second-year coach Megan Petroelje noted. She was the driver for last year’s qualifiers and will be again this year.
“Last year we had quite a snowstorm on our way down,” Petroelje said after noting the weather forecast for the trip to Ypsilanti. “Unfortunately, it was not the best start.
“We basically fought the weather all the way down and all the way home,” she continued. “I am excited to see two these two perform in a completely different environment than they’re used to, and I think they’re excited too.”
Petroelje is thrilled to have two individual qualifiers. It is the first time in many years the co-op produced two individual finalists. For a long time this season, Cabbage was concerned she was going to be alone.
“Kira slid in at the end, and it was awesome,” Petroelje said. “I am so thankful they get to do this together.
“It is so much more fun to train with someone and have someone to motivate you and keep you accountable,” she continued. “The fact that there are two, I am super excited about.”
Adams and Cabbage have been teammates since their beginning days of swimming with their club Traverse City Breakers. They trained as youngsters in the same pools – the Grand Traverse YMCA and the Traverse City Civic Center. Petroelje also coached the qualifiers as Breakers.
While they currently attend rival schools, the don’t think of themselves as rivals in any way shape or form.
“We’ve grown up swimming together,” Adams said. “While some people might see it as a rivalry, it’s really not for us because we’ve known each other for so long.”
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) From left: Traverse City Tritons Ella Cabbage, coach Megan Petroelje and Kira Adams. (Middle) Adams swims one of her races this season. (Below) Cabbage launches during a meet this fall. (Photos by Andrea Hartman.)
Preview: Welcome, Next Wave of Champs
November 19, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A lot has changed in MHSAA girls swimming and diving since Lower Peninsula Finals weekend a year ago.
A top Division 2 team is now the favorite in Division 1. The reigning champion in Division 3 is now in Division 2. A group of swimmers who combined to set six MHSAA Finals records graduated this spring.
But changes bring opportunities, and there are plenty of candidates hoping to become the next wave of champions at three meets that begin Friday and conclude Saturday afternoon.
Below is a look at team contenders and top individuals to watch at all three Finals. All three will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and covered with stories posted to Second Half later Saturday evening.
LP DIVISION 1 at Holland Aquatic Center
Team contenders: Last season’s LP Division 2 runner-up, Ann Arbor Skyline, is in Division 1 this fall and moved up to the top spot in the final coaches association poll. Skyline has 14 swim entries seeded to score, with senior Katie Portz the top-seeded racer in the 100 and 200 freestyles and part of the top-seeded 400 freestyle relay, and sophomore Georgia Mosher top-seeded in the breaststroke. Farmington Hills Mercy is seeking its third title in five seasons and finished runner-up last fall and in 2012 as well. The Marlins also have 14 top-16 seeds and a few more on the edge of contention, with senior Elyse Conn helping lead the way after posting two top-five finishes in 2014. Saline is the reigning champion and has finished among the top two three of the last four seasons, and was ranked No. 1 most of the season. The Hornets have 12 seeded to score plus the top returning diver from last season’s Final.
Morgan Bullock, Zeeland senior – The runner-up in both the butterfly and individual medley last season is the likely favorite with the champions/record holders in both races now graduated. Bullock has the fastest IM seed time of 2:03.45 and second-fastest in the butterfly of 55.75.
Emma Curtis, Grand Blanc junior – The reigning champion in the 50 freestyle has a top-seeded time (23.24) that’s faster than her championship time of a year ago by 36 hundredths of a second. She’s also seeded third in the 100 freestyle at 51.35.
Sarah Hennings, Lake Orion junior – After finishing eighth in the butterfly and missing the final in the backstroke last season, Hennings is top-seeded in the butterfly (55.38) and up to 14th in the backstroke.
Katie Minnich, Farmington Hills Mercy sophomore – The reigning champion in the backstroke has the top seed time of 55.60 and is seeded sixth in the IM after finishing 12th as a freshman.
Georgia Mosher, Ann Arbor Skyline sophomore – After finishing ninth in the breaststroke and 10th in the IM in LP Division 2 last season, she’s tops on the LP Division 1 seed list in the breaststroke at 1:04.34 and third in the 500 (4:57.80).
Katie Portz, Ann Arbor Skyline senior – She finished second in both the 100 and 200 freestyles in LP Division 2 last season but set the LP Division 1 meet record in the 100 of 50.23 in winning the race in 2013. She’s top-seeded in that race at 49.71 and also in the 200 at 1:46.47 – only 22 hundredths of a second off the all-Finals record.
Taylor Seaman, Brighton junior – She won the 100 freestyle and was second in the 200 last season, and enters seeded behind Portz in both the 100 (50.87) and 200 (1:52.55).
Laura Westphal, Northville junior – The reigning champion in the 500 freestyle will look to add a third title after also winning the race as a freshman. She’s got the top seed time at 4:56.23 and also will swim the 200 freestyle after finishing third in that race a year ago.
Ann Arbor Skyline 400 freestyle relay – Junior Emma Cleason, Portz and Mosher were part of the relay that missed a Division 2 title last fall by seven hundredths of a second; they are joined this time by sophomore Emily Lock and have posted a seed time of 3:24.57 that is five seconds faster than the field and nearly two faster than the LPD1 meet record.
Camryn McPherson, Saline junior – Last season’s diving runner-up has won two straight Regional titles and could make a run at the meet record set by teammate Amy Stevens last year.
LP DIVISION 2 at Oakland University
Team contenders: After two straight LP Division 3 championships, the most successful program in MHSAA history – East Grand Rapids – brings the top-ranked team in Division 2 heading into this weekend. The Pioneers have 12 top-16 seeds plus three divers competing; senior Emily Converse and junior Gabby Higgins have combined for five individual Finals championships over the last two seasons. Reigning champion Bloomfield Hills Marian enters ranked No. 2 and with 14 seeded to score, including two top-seeded relays. Rochester Adams moved up five spots to No. 3 in the final poll and has 16 flights seeded to score plus two divers after finishing eighth a year ago.
Emily Converse, East Grand Rapids senior – The Pioneers’ standout has won three individual titles and been part of four winning relays over the last two seasons, and now in LPD2 she has the fourth-seeded 200 freestyle time of 1:53.54 and the second-seeded 500 time of 5:02.38 – plus will swim on two second-seeded relays.
Gabby Higgins, East Grand Rapids junior – She won the 100 and 50 freestyles last season in LPD3 and also swam on winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Her 50 seed time this weekend is second-fastest at 23.80 and her 100 time is third at 52.12, and she also swims on those relays with Converse.
Claire McGinnis, Rochester Adams senior – The University of Miami (Fla.) recruit has the fastest seed time in the 500 (4:58.54) and the second-seeded time in the 200 freestyle (1:52.24).
Nicole Pape, Rochester Adams junior – After winning the IM and finishing second in the breaststroke last season, Pape enters with the third-fastest time in the IM (2:09.96) and fastest in the butterfly (56.06) by more than a second.
Allie Russell, Birmingham Seaholm junior – She earned an MHSAA championship last year as part of the 200 medley relay winner and also took fourth in the breaststroke and ninth in the IM; she has the ninth-fastest IM seed time of 2:11.80 and the fastest in the breaststroke in 1:05.75.
Sophia Schott, Bloomfield Hills Marian junior – She has the fastest seed time in the 50 by nearly half a second at 23.32 after winning that race last season, and also has the fastest in the 100 at 51.08 after coming in sixth in that race a year ago.
Annette Schultz, Dexter sophomore – She posted two top-five finishes last year, going third in the 200 freestyle and fourth in the 100, and she enters this weekend with the fastest 200 time of 1:50.41 and second-fastest in the 100 of 51.85. She also will swim on the top-seeded 200 medley relay.
Claire Young, Grosse Pointe South senior – After taking second in the backstroke a year ago and sixth in the IM, she’s top-seeded in both races: her 2:07.27 in the IM has nearly a second on the field, and her 55.30 backstroke time has 1.55 seconds on the rest.
Erin Neely, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central junior – After winning last season’s diving championship by 23.5 points ahead of two seniors, she’s the favorite coming off posting the highest Regional score, 462.00, of any LPD2 meet.
LP DIVISION 3 at Eastern Michigan University
Team contenders: Grand Rapids Catholic Central was runner-up last season to now-LPD2 East Grand Rapids and could be in line for its first MHSAA team championship with 17 swim flights seeded to score including six seeded either first or second. St. Clair was sixth last season and also hasn’t won a Finals meet, but surged to the No. 2 ranking heading into the weekend and has 12 top-16 seeds including five seeded first or second. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood finished fourth in 2014, its first time below the top two since 2008, but could make a move back into contention with 14 flights seeded among the top 16. The Cranes are led by junior Anuschka Sambel, who posted two fourth-place finishes in 2014.
Milan sophomore Madelyn Cislo – After finishing fourth in the 200 freestyle and fifth in the butterfly as a freshman, Cislo is a second faster than the field with the top 200 IM time of 2:08.68 and sits third in the butterfly at 59.21.
Hamilton senior Rileigh Eding – The reigning champion in the backstroke also took eighth in the 100 freestyle in 2014; this time she’s seeded second in the 50 at 24.66 and fifth in the backstroke at 59.46.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central junior Riley Kishman – She owns two championships in the IM and one in the breaststroke from her first two seasons (winning both events last year), and could push the total to five entering with the top 200 freestyle seed time of 1:52.23 and the fastest in the breaststroke of 1:05.52.
Manistee senior Anna Kutschke – She's the favorite in the 50 with a time of 24 seconds flat after finishing fourth a year ago in her only individual event; she’s also seeded second this time in the 100 freestyle at 53.18.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central sophomore Susan LaGrand – Although she is seeded second in both of her individual events – the IM (2:09.80) and butterfly (58.53) – she’s the reigning champion in the butterfly and also took third in the backstroke last year.
Tecumseh junior Karlee Marsh – She finished third in the 100 and fifth in the 200 freestyles in 2014, but could be in line to contend for a couple of championships entering with the top time in the 100 (52.61) and second-fastest in the 200 (1:53.81).
St. Clair senior Grace Shinske – She made a run at a pair of titles last fall finishing second in the backstroke and third in the butterfly, and should be in the mix again entering top-seeded in the butterfly (57.97) and backstroke (56.82) and swimming on two top-seeded relays.
Alma sophomore Evelyn VanDeMark – She’s expected to make a big jump in her second Finals after taking sixth in the 500 and 10th in the butterfly as a freshman. She’ll swim both again and is top-seeded in the 500 at 5:25.01.
Milan senior Taylor Hosein – The two-time reigning champion in diving in LP Division 3 finished only second at her Regional but hardly can be counted out in going for the three-peat.
Allegan senior Erin Isola – She finished third last season as a junior and sixth as a sophomore, but posted the top score at Regionals of any division, 478.95.
PHOTO: An East Grand Rapids swimmer begins her leg of a relay during last season's Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals; the Pioneers are the top-ranked team in LP Division 2 this season. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)