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Marquette Edges 2021 Champ to Regain UP Girls Swim & Dive Title
By
Travis Nelson
Special for Second Half
February 19, 2022
MARQUETTE – Marquette claimed the Upper Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals championship Saturday by 13 points ahead of 2021 champion Sault Ste. Marie.
Marquette won with 323 points, and Sault Ste. Marie totaled 310. Rounding out the top five were Kingsford (202), Houghton (118.5) and Ishpeming Westwood (112). The championship was Marquette's third in four seasons.
The Redettes came away with four victories out of 12 events, and senior Delaney Marchiol was part of three of them. Marchiol had individual victories in the 200-yard freestyle and 100 butterfly and was part of the winning 200 medley relay team with seniors Ella Whalen and Kelsey Glover, and sophomore Grace Sobczak. Marquette’s other victory came from Sobczak in the 500 free.
“I was so nervous coming into today, but I’m so proud of everything that I did today,” Marchiol said. “I managed to pull off two wins that I am beyond proud of myself; I’m proud of my team all around.”
Sault Ste. Marie senior Joanne Arbic capped her career with an impressive day to keep the Blue Devils in team title contention with three first-place finishes and one runner-up. Arbic took home the 100 free and was part of winning 400 and 200 free relay titles, and finished in second in the 50 free.
The 400 free relay team consisted of Arbic, seniors Alyvia Lori and Anna Hildebrand and junior Julie Innerebner. Arbic, along with Hildebrand, Innerebner and sophomore Mia Woolever were the 200 free relay victors. Innerebner also picked up an individual win in the 100 backstroke, and the Blue Devils also received a first place from Olivia Martin in diving.
“It was a rollercoaster for sure, but I’m glad that we all were able to pull together,” Arbic said. The whole team stepped it up a ton, it was so fantastic and I have so much fun out here with the girls. I just had fun, and that’s what it’s all about. I did what I knew that I could and what I needed to do for my team, and that’s what matters.”
Arbic came into the meet with the U.P. Finals record in the 50 free from 2020, and finished second in that event this time to Kingsford sophomore Adelaide McRoberts. With a time of 24.22 seconds, McRoberts broke the record, and Arbic finished just after at 24.53.
McRoberts’ great performance continued with a 24.21 split in the 50 to start the 200 free relay (with the Flivvers finishing second in that event), and she went on to also win the 200 individual medley. She also swam on the runner-up 200 medley relay.
The pushing from coaches and teammates helped her achieve the fastest 50 free mark, McRoberts said.
“I was very proud of myself, but more importantly, I was happy with how much my coaches and my team pushed me to get here today,” McRoberts said. “It was kind of crazy considering that I’m not even a freestyler. It was definitely a shock, but I was very happy with it.”
The only event on the day not won by a Redette, Blue Devil or Flivver was the 100 breaststroke claimed by Houghton senior Leah Komarzee.
Marquette was the expected team winner of the meet, but coach Nate McFarren was left with a sweat to see the final results.
“You always question yourself when it comes to your taper, but after the first event, I really felt like we were ready to go,” McFarren said. “I did not expect only winning by 13, but (Sault Ste. Marie) showed and was ready to go. It was awesome.”
PHOTOS Marquette’s Grace Sobczak launches into her leg of the 400 freestyle relay Saturday. (Middle) Kingsford’s Adelaide McRoberts swims the individual medley, one of two individual races she won at the U.P. Finals. (Photos by Daryl Jarvinen. For more, email [email protected].)
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Champions Old & New Thrive in D2
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
January 16, 2021
GRAND RAPIDS – Hannah Williams doesn't mind flying under the radar. In fact, the Portage Northern sophomore has thrived in the underdog role.
Williams went from virtually an unknown freshman to shocking nearly everyone including herself with a pair of individual titles at Saturday's Lower Peninsula Division 2 swimming & diving meet at Grand Rapids Northview.
She joined Jordyn Shipps of DeWitt as the only swimmers to capture two events in a meet won by Birmingham Seaholm for the third time in five years.
Williams, who didn't qualify for the Finals a year ago, won the 200-yard freestyle (1:49.42) and the 100 breaststroke (1:03.68), an admitted stunner for nearly everyone. Williams won three state titles in club swimming as an eighth grader, but didn't necessarily move the attention needle as a freshman.
"I'm as surprised as you – I didn't expect it," she said. "I don't know where it came from. I was kind of nervous, but my coach said just bust it, just go for it, just swim as well as I can. Nobody really knew who I was, and that was kind of a perk."
The same can't be said for Shipps, who was making her fourth Finals trip. She captured the 200 individual medley (2:02.50) and 100 free (50.80). Shipps, who is headed to Oakland University next season, credited her experience – combined with a simple swim philosophy – with leaving her in the hunt for a title.
"I don't have a best event, but the (200 IM) is definitely one of my stronger ones," she said. "You need four different strokes to be good, and my approach is just to get out front and stay there. I just wanted the chance to compete, and I did. It was awesome."
While Williams and Shipps stood out as individuals, Seaholm coach Karl Hodgson said his swimmers don't necessarily turn heads individually, but compete as well as any athlete. Seaholm won the 200 free (1:36.15) and 400 free relays (3:31.84), but garnered no individual winners. The same actually happened for last year's Maples championship team. Seaholm finished with 309 points on Saturday to 263 for runner-up Rochester Adams. Grand Rapids Northview was third with 174.
"We have numbers and talent," Hodgson said. "We have been fortunate to have a lot of talented kids. We knew we would be in the hunt. We had a lot of our team back, so we definitely knew we'd be in the hunt. The strength to our team is relay, and depth."
Seaholm's roster Saturday included eight seniors from a team of 56 swimmers. Hodgson said a season which included two stoppages, week-to-week workouts and virtual meetings was difficult, particularly at the end.
"I'll be honest, some girls didn't want to do this," he said. "They had already moved on, so this was tough."
Williams wasn't the only Portage Northern swimmer to win a title as junior Angelina Baker won the 500 free (4:57.15).
Other winners included Grace Albrecht of Jenison, who won the 50 free (23.90), Fenton's Gracie Olsen in the 100 butterfly (55.18) and Abby Forbes of Grand Rapids Northview, who won the 100 backstroke (56.15).
Albrecht, just a freshman, went from success in the USA swim program "JAWS" a year ago to her title.
"Obviously it was difficult," she said. "You just try to motivate yourself as much as you can. I just tried to beat my best time and not look at placing."
Unlike Williams and Albrecht, who were making their Finals debuts, Olsen had won three individual events in her first two trips as a freshman and sophomore.
"Each year is as fun as the year before," she said. "Experience helps. You recognize what is around you and what to expect. There is still pressure, but you get used to it."
Forbes, a conference winner in the 100 backstroke and 200 IM, said her personal expectations have grown each season.
"As a freshman you're just swimming to get a personal best. But I have confidence in myself and I wanted to finish first or second," she said. "This was just awesome. I set some goals and I had confidence I could make them."
Division 2 champions also included Rochester Adams in the 200 medley relay (1:45.65). Lily Witte, a sophomore from Dexter, repeated as the diving champion with 486.95 points – an LPD2 Finals record.
PHOTOS: (Top) Birmingham Seaholm's Samantha Clifford, top, swims toward one of her four top-three individual or relay finishes at Saturday's Division 2 Finals. (Middle) St. Joseph's Sylvia Park swims her leg of the 200 medley relay. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)