MHSAA Finals primer
December 16, 2011
East Grand Rapids, Holland and Farmington Hills Mercy are among the usual contenders who should again make runs at MHSAA girls swimming and diving championships this weekend.
But competitors from places like Dundee, Walled Lake Western and Waterford will be pushing the annual powers at three Finals located across the Lower Peninsula.
Eastern Michigan University will host the Division 1 Final, with Division 2 at the Holland Aquatics Center and Division 3 at Oakland University. Preliminaries are Friday and championships will be decided Saturday.
Tickets cost $8, and competition begins at noon both days. Saturday’s championship races will be streamed live at FoxSportsDetroit.com and MHSAA.tv. Click for a full schedule and lists of qualifiers, their seed times and diving orders.
Here are some the teams, relays and individuals who could make the biggest waves:
Power struggles
The contending teams haven’t changed much over the last few seasons. Here’s how the annual favorites are stacking up against each other.
Division 1: Saline vs. Farmington Hills Mercy vs. Holland West Ottawa – Saline has claimed the last two MHSAA championships in this division after ending Ann Arbor Pioneer’s nine-year title run, and will have 21 individual entries this weekend. West Ottawa, last season’s runner-up, comes in with 19. But Mercy, which has won the last four Division 2 championships, will bring in 31 individual entries.
Division 2: Birmingham Groves vs. Holland – Mercy moving into Division 1 opens this meet up for a new champion, and Holland brings in 30 individual entries after finishing runner-up each of the last three seasons. But Groves also should be in the mix. The Falcons won four straight from 2003-06 and has 29 individual qualifiers.
Division 3: East Grand Rapids vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood – Two-time reigning champion East Grand Rapids is bringing 32 individual entries. But two-time reigning runner-up Cranbrook-Kingswood will try to overtake the Pioneers with its 25.
Pass the baton
At least one relay in each Final has a chance to make a run at a specific meet or overall record.
Hudsonville 200 freestyle – Seniors Michaela Rookus and Audra Thornton, sophomore Makayla Myers and junior Danielle Freeman have nearly a two-second edge coming in with a seed time of 1:35.82. Cutting just 14 hundredths of a second would put them on the record book list with the seventh-fastest Finals time.
Holland 200 medley – Senior Courtney Bartholomew, junior Melissa Vandermeulen, freshman Taylor Garcia and sophomore Molly Horren have swam this race in 1:45.26, which would rank fifth-fastest in MHSAA Finals history.
Holland Christian 200 freestyle – The team of senior Kaylie Wierda, sophomore Ashlee Sall, senior Kelsey Weener and freshman Sydney Asselin posted a seed time of 1:38.73. They’ll need to cut less than a second to beat Marian’s Division 3 meet record of 1:37.87 set in 2008.
Athletes to Watch
Courtney Bartholomew, Holland senior – The standout Dutch swimmer will attempt to add to her three individual MHSAA championships and four as part of relays. She has the top seed time in the 100 backstroke (54.53) and second-best in the 200 individual medley (2:05.13) – the two races she won in 2010. She holds the backstroke overall Finals record of 52.45.
Ines Charles, Bloomfield Hills Lahser sophomore – Is seeded first in Division 3 in both the 100 butterfly (57.36) and 100 backstroke (58.38), and also is part of three Lahser relays all seeded among the top four in her meet.
Brooke Edwards, Dundee senior – Will try to add to last season’s Division 3 championship in the 200 freestyle and fourth-place finish in the 100. She has the third-best seed time in the 200 (1:58.77) and sixth-best in the 100 (54.77) coming into this weekend.
Olivia Kassouni, East Grand Rapids junior – Hopes to defend her Division 3 diving championship after winning by 9.3 points in 2010 with a score of 435.80.
Annie Lazor, Birmingham Groves senior – She’s got the top Division 2 seed time of 1:03.69 in the 100 breaststroke amd will be going for her fourth championship in that race; she also holds the overall Finals record of 1:02.10. She’s also seeded first in the 200 IM (2:03.96) and will attempt to add that title as well after finishing second to Bartholomew last season.
Allie Murphy, Walled Lake Western junior – Is back at the Division 2 Final after winning last season’s diving championship with 410.45 points, three more than the runner-up.
Kylie Powrie, Cranbrook-Kingswood junior – Will try to repeat as the 500 freestyle Division 3 champion and has the top seed time in that event of 5:15.11. Her seed time of 2:00.13 in the 200 freestyle is 10th-best coming in.
Sami Stelpflug, Clarkston sophomore – Posted the top Division 1 seed times in both the 200 IM (2:04.14) and 100 breaststroke (1:04.85).
Anna Stephens, East Grand Rapids sophomore – Posted the top Division 3 seed time in the 100 breakstroke (1:06.40) after winning that race in 2010, and is third in the 200 IM (2:13.36).
Maddie Wright, Waterford United freshman – Enters her first MHSAA Final with the top Division 1 seed times in the 200 freestyle (1:50.26) and 100 butterfly (55.16).
PHOTO
Dive in: Holland senior Nicole Cordero is among those hoping to lead the Dutch to the Division 2 championship. She'll swim the 50 and 100-yard freestyles and on two relays.
Pioneer Puts Emphatic End to Title Wait
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
January 16, 2021
HUDSONVILLE – It was a moment that was long overdue for the Ann Arbor Pioneer girls swimming & diving team.
And this time, they left nothing to chance.
The Pioneers rolled to a decisive victory at Saturday’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals at Hudsonville High School.
They won their first Finals since 2008 and avenged a heartbreaking half-point loss to Farmington Hills Mercy at last year’s championship meet.
“I know they were looking forward to coming back as soon as we got on the bus last year,” Pioneers coach Stefanie Kerska said. “This journey that they’ve been on for the last year has made them really appreciate and never take for granted simple things again. I know that this means a lot to them.”
Ann Arbor Pioneer tallied 368 points, while 2019 champion Farmington Hills Mercy placed runner-up at 184. Northville (164) was third and Brighton (159) finished fourth.
The top-ranked Pioneers were the favorites entering Saturday with a majority of their team returning from 2019. They lived up to that billing by winning all three relays.
“They swam really tough,” Kerska said. “They started the season tough out in a lake when it was freezing and they finished up really strong and they just never took their foot off the gas. It was a combination of discipline and desire for them, especially during the hiatus.
“As trying as it was, I think everyone is so grateful for everything everyone did to put this on to finish the season. We’ve been going since June, and they put the time and effort in to make this happen.”
Mercy coach Mike Venos knew Ann Arbor Pioneer was determined to overcome last year’s near miss.
“They are an absolute class organization, they are one of the best coached teams in the state and I’m happy for them,” Venos said. “I saw the looks on their faces. As happy as we were last year, I saw the disappointment on their faces. We knew they were coming. Stefanie and the gang are building a nice powerhouse over there again.”
Ann Arbor Pioneer junior Vivian VanRenterghem took top honors in the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 1 minute, 52.34 seconds. She placed runner-up in the event last season.
“We had so much motivation this season,” VanRenterghem said. “We were so excited and so ready. It’s been a long season, but we’ve had a really great time. Last season was rough, but this is something we’ve been working toward for a long time. It’s a great team, our coaches are amazing and there’s no group of girls I’d rather do it with.”
Pioneers’ freshman Stella Chapman was a welcomed addition to the program and made an instant impact with a win in the 100 backstroke (55.36). She also was a part of the winning 200 medley and 400 free relays.
“I’m really proud of myself and the team for what we’ve done today,” Chapman said. “I understand that it was disappointing last year, but I know how hard everyone worked for this and we pushed through.”
Kerska was a former swimmer at Pioneer under longtime coach Denny Hill and his wife, Liz. They guided the Pioneers to 16 Finals crowns over four decades.
“They’ve both done so much for Ann Arbor Pioneer swimming and I have a picture of both of them in my office,” Kerska said. “I see them every day, and it was really important for us to bring that back to Pioneer.”
Mercy senior Greta Gidley capped off her career with a pair of individual titles in the 200 IM (2:00.69) and 500 free (4:58.52).
“Going into the last two weeks of the season I was kind of focused more on taking in the final times that I was going to get to have with this team,” Gidley said. “This team is so special that coming here and spending time with everyone was just amazing.
“Getting to spend an extra few months with these girls because our season got delayed was really a blessing in disguise. It was fun to win, but it was really fun to spend time with my best friends.”
Gidley was the reigning 100 freestyle champion. She finished runner-up in the IM a year ago.
“She’s been the heart of this team for a while now, and she's leaving a really nice legacy,” Venos said. “Our girls swam very well, and I just got done telling them that their mental aspect today is what brought it because physically, with the amount of time that we had off there, there was no reason to swim as fast as we did. It was their mental approach.”
Plymouth junior Brady Kendall also collected a pair of championships.
Kendall won the 50 freestyle (22.98) and then followed with a victory in the 100 butterfly (54.35).
West Ottawa senior Lilly Brandt raced to a win in the 100 freestyle (51.53) and also took second in the 50 free behind Kendall.
The diving finals were held Friday and resulted in an upset as Mercy senior Ciara McCliment won ahead of 2019 champion Annie Costello of Ann Arbor Huron.
McCliment scored 399.70 points, while Costello was runner-up with 363.75.
PHOTOS: (Top) Ann Arbor Pioneer's Amelia Weyhing pushes toward the finish of her breaststroke heat Saturday. (Middle) Farmington Hills Mercy's Ciara McCliment performs a dive during Friday's competion. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)