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.
Preview: Success Stories Soon to Be Told
November 15, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This season’s Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals all have fascinating storylines – and all three are vastly different entering the weekend.
In Division 1, in what might be a first, every individual champion is back from 2017 – and last season’s team champion is the top-ranked contender. In Division 2, only one 2017 individual champion is back – and the favored team is competing for its first MHSAA title in this sport.
In Division 3, we have some of both. A handful of reigning title winners return – plus powerful East Grand Rapids, back in Division 3 after winning Division 2 a year ago.
The Division 1 Finals will be competed at Eastern Michigan University, with Division 2 at Oakland University and Division 3 at the Holland Aquatic Center. Preliminaries are Friday and Finals are Saturday, with action beginning at noon for both. All three Finals will be streamed live and can be watched with subscription on MHSAA.TV. Click for lineups and seed times for all three meets.
LP Division 1 at Eastern Michigan University
Reigning champion: Farmington Hills Mercy
2017 runner-up: Saline
2018 top-ranked: 1. Farmington Hills Mercy, 2. Farmington/Harrison, 3. Brighton.
Mercy has won three Division 1 championships this decade and also finished runner-up three times. The Marlins don’t have highly-seeded individual favorites but will bring all three relays, six individual event top-16 seeds and a diver to EMU. Farmington/Harrison finished third a year ago and brings more star power with three top seeds among nine individuals and two relays seeded to score. Brighton is looking to move up from sixth last season with 14 individuals and two relays seeded to score.
Kathryn Ackerman, Grand Haven junior: Last season’s champion and meet record-setter (1:57.92) in the 200 individual medley enters with the top seed time in that race of 2:01.57. She’s also seeded fifth in the 100 butterfly (56.15) after finishing third in that race in 2017.
Casey Chung, Ann Arbor Skyline junior: After winning last season’s backstroke championship and coming in sixth in the 50 freestyle, Chung is seeded first in the backstroke (55.14) and just behind Ackerman in the IM (2:04.32).
Morgan Kraus, Rockford senior: She set a meet record of 53.73 in winning the butterfly last season and has the top seed this time at 54.33. She also finished fourth in the 50 a year ago and is expected to swim on the top-seeded 200 medley (1:45.90) and 200 freestyle relays (1:36.03) and third-seeded 400 (3:30.41).
Maddie Luther, Saline senior: Similar to her winning the 200 freestyle last season and finishing third in the 500, Luther is seeded first in the 200 (1:49.57) and third in the 500 (4:57.23) heading into this weekend.
Lola Mull, Grand Ledge junior: Mull is seeded first in the 500 (4:53.39) after winning and setting the meet record of 4:44.47 (in the prelim) last season, and she’s seeded seventh in the 200 free (1:53.02) after taking second to Luther in that race a year ago.
Ashley Turak, Farmington/Harrison senior: Turak won the 50 and 100 freestyles last season and was on the winning 200 and 400 free relays as well. She’s seeded first in both the 100 (49.81) and 50 (22.75) after setting the meet record of 22.38 in the latter last year.
Claire Tuttle, Hudsonville junior: The reigning 100 breaststroke champion is seeded first in that race (1:02.43) and fifth in the 100 freestyle (51.95) after coming in fourth in the latter in 2017.
Zain Smith, Ann Arbor Skyline senior: Last season’s Division 1 diving champ won her qualifying meet by 21.4 points with a score of 493.50.
Gracie Sleeman, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern senior: Sleeman finished just 10.25 points behind Smith in taking second place a year ago, and she won her qualifying meet by nearly 32 points with an all-regions Division 1-best 494.45.
LP Division 2 at Oakland University
Reigning champion: East Grand Rapids
2017 runner-up: Dexter
2018 top-ranked: 1. Rochester Adams, 2. Birmingham Seaholm, 3. Dexter.
East Grand Rapids is back in Division 3, and Adams has moved in as the favorite to win its first Finals championship after taking third a year ago. The Highlanders have all three relays and 15 individual entries seeded to score, with a pair of top seeds. Seaholm was the 2016 champion and finished fourth a year ago. The Maples have all three relays and 13 individual entries seeded to score, plus a diver. Dexter has finished runner-up the last two seasons and hopes to take the next step after last winning this meet in 2015, but will need top swims to make a run with only three relays and five individuals seeded to score, plus a diver.
Michaela Briggs, Byron Center senior: Last season’s backstroke runner-up is seeded first this time (56.84) and also seventh in the IM (2:09.83) after finishing third in that race a year ago.
Clarice Fisher, Grosse Pointe South senior: She’s expected to move up after finishing third in the butterfly and sixth in the IM in 2017, entering this weekend the top seed in the butterfly (56.63) and third in the IM (2:08.65).
Lisa Lohner, Rochester Adams senior: The only returning champion at this meet won the 500 and finished second in the 200 freestyle in 2017, and is seeded first in both with times of 4:57.00 and 1:52.32, respectively.
Claire Newman, Midland Dow junior: Just missing her first two seasons, Newman will go for her first championships as the top seed in the 50 (23.31) and 100 (50.29) freestyles. She finished runner-up in both races as both a freshman and sophomore.
Gracie Olsen, Fenton freshman: The Tigers’ standout will enter her first Finals with the top seed in the IM (2:04.04) by more than four seconds and the third seed in the butterfly (57.70).
Jessica Schellenboom, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central senior: After finishing second in the breaststroke and fourth in the IM last year, Schellenboom will attempt to finish her career with a win entering as the top seed in the breaststroke (1:04.60) and 12th in the IM and as an option for all three relays.
Ellie Chalifoux, Birmingham Groves junior – After missing the semifinal cut a year ago, Chalifoux enters this weekend coming off a qualifying meet win where she posted the highest score in all of Division 2 at 418.60.
Lacey & Lexi Mirandette, Grand Rapids Northview seniors – Twins, the Mirandettes posted the second and third-highest qualifying scores in all of Division 2 (414.75 and 412.75, respectively) to take the top two spots at their qualifying meet. Lacey took fourth and Lexi fifth at the Finals a year ago.
Byron Center 200 freestyle relay: The group of senior Sydney Randall and juniors Maria Poll, Corrina Beecher and Emily Poll enter with a seed time of 1:32.30 – 1.1 seconds faster than the meet record swam by East Grand Rapids last season and 47 hundredths of a second faster than the all-Division Finals record by Ann Arbor Pioneer in 2002.
LP Division 3 at Holland Aquatic Center
Reigning champion: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
2017 runner-up: Bloomfield Hills Marian
2018 top-ranked: 1. East Grand Rapids, 2. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 3. Bloomfield Hills Marian.
The EGR/Cranbrook/Marian rivalry picks back up with the Pioneers back in Division 3 after winning the Division 2 title a year ago. East Grand Rapids won Division 3 in 2013, 2014 and 2016 and enters this weekend with all three relays and 11 individual entries seeded to score, plus three divers. Cranbrook Kingswood won last year’s title by 85 points ahead of runner-up Marian and has all three relays and 11 individual entries seeded to score, with one diver. That runner-up finish was Marian’s second straight, and the Mustangs and looking to add to the Division 2 title they won in 2014. Marian has contenders among the three relays and 10 individual entries seeded to score, and a diver competing as well.
Rhianna Hensler, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep junior: Hensler has won two butterfly championships plus the 50 freestyle title last season, and she’s seeded first in both races at 54.96 for the butterfly (which would break her meet record of 55.67 swam last season) and 23.74 in the sprint.
Sophie Housey, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett junior: Seeded first in the 200 freestyle (1:48.60) and second in the 100 (53.06), Housey could claim her first high school titles after competing at the Winter Junior Nationals East a year ago.
Sydney Higgins, East Grand Rapids senior: Higgins helped the Pioneers to the Division 2 team title last year with a third in the backstroke and 12th in the IM. Back in Division 3 – where she won the backstroke in 2016 – she’s seeded sixth in that race (59.34) and 10th in the IM and expected to swim on two top-four relays.
Riley Nugent, Plainwell freshman: Another standout freshman, Nugent enters her first Finals seeded first in the 500 (5:09.16) and fourth in the 200 free (1:56.55).
Olivia Olk, Chelsea junior: She took 16th in the IM and just missed the final heats in the butterfly last season, but is seeded first in the IM (2:09.57) and fourth in the butterfly (58.32).
Lauren Sielicki, Bloomfield Hills Marian junior: She scored big with a third in the backstroke and fifth in the butterfly a year ago, and could lead Marian this time entering with the top seed in the backstroke (58.30), eighth seed in the butterfly (59.29) and as part of the top-seeded 200 medley relay (1:47.57).
Alysa Wager, Battle Creek Harper Creek junior: Wager took seventh in the butterfly and 15th in the IM last season, but in the breaststroke this weekend she’s seeded first (1:06.63) and also second in the butterfly (57.13).
Gwenyth Woodbury, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: A two-time individual and multiple relay champion last season, Woodbury is looking to repeat in the 100 and 200 freestyles with the first seed in the 100 (52.06) and second in the 200 (1:52.74). Her 400 freestyle relay (3:33.08) also is top-seeded.
Mackenzie Crawford, Milan senior: The two-time reigning Division 3 diving champion scored 52 points more than anyone else in her division during the qualifying meets with a 465.45.
PHOTO: Cranbrook Kingswood's Gwenyth Woodbury powers to a victory in the 200-yard freestyle at last season's LP Division 3 Finals. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)