![Northview swimming](/sites/default/files/2021-09/210924_swim_2H.jpg)
Northview Returning Champ Looking to Build on Stellar Finals Debut
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
September 24, 2021
GRAND RAPIDS – Addy Forbes made a splash in her debut at last year’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 Swimming & Diving Finals.
The Northview sophomore standout will not go unnoticed this year.
In her first trip to the Finals, Forbes won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 56.15 seconds.
“She’s currently following the plan similar to last year, but she’s not going to come out of nowhere so we have to do the work,” Wildcats swimming & diving coach Rob Damuth said. “She’s a highly-driven kid, like a lot of our top swimmers are, and she’s just relentless in practice. She had a great taper, and our goal this year is to progress.”
Last season’s Finals weren’t held until mid-January due to a pause from the pandemic.
The chaos of the season didn’t affect Forbes’ performance.
“I kind of hoped that I would get first, but it was still surprising,” Forbes said. “I train in the offseason, so it was a pretty big drop from my last meet because of COVID and the break. It was just amazing to drop that much time and place the way I did.”
Forbes also finished fourth in the 200 individual medley at the Finals while helping a pair of relay teams (200 medley and 400 free) place among the top five at the championship meet.
While the backstroke is her strongest event, Forbes is consistently working to improve in others.
“We’ve focused on her off events, the 200 free and 100 fly, and she really likes swimming the fly,” Damuth said. “We need to improve her under water a bit for that event, but those are things we are focusing on other than the IM and back.
“Her bread and butter has been the backstroke, and her breaststroke is improving. Her IM is going to improve, too, and as she comes along with three years left she’s really going to pop in the IM. As she starts looking to swim in college, she has got to have events other than just in back.”
Forbes is looking forward to becoming more versatile and swimming faster times with all of her strokes.
“My 200 IM is my next best event, and I think I'm a little bit off of my USA cut so I would like to see that and just keep improving with every swim that I do,” Forbes said. “It would be awesome if I could do that and hopefully drop times in the other events.”
Forbes also has begun weight training three times a week.
“It’s very important for athletes if they are old enough to do weight training, and it's definitely a huge change from swimming,” she said. “I like swimming more, but it’s important for me to build the muscles outside of the pool because you can't really do that with just swimming.”
Damuth said the weight training can affect times, but will pay off down the road.
“Her body is beat down a little bit now, but she’s going to be stronger and her times are going to come down,” he said. “I think she’s going to have a great state meet, but it’s just getting through these dog days of September and early October where they are kind of beat down and not necessarily swimming that fast.”
Forbes, who comes from a swim family, knows the season is a marathon and not a sprint.
“It’s pretty early, but the entire team has been working their butts off to get that base for the season,” Forbes said. “I haven’t hit all my times, but I’m more focused on the process and doing well in my form, my turns and my breathing pattern.”
Forbes enjoys the camaraderie of swimming in the relays with her teammates.
“I definitely like relays better, and I just love the bonding and the connection between the team that you have in the relays where everybody needs to know when they are going and where they are,” Forbes said. “It’s awesome just to be able to finish and know that I did well for my team and I get to see those ladies pushing their hardest to try and do the best we can.”
While expectations will be increased, Forbes is taking them in stride.
“It’s definitely a little more nerve-wracking because people expect me to get first again,” Forbes said. “I hope to do that, but there is more pressure and I just want to keep improving in my other races and maybe get a few more records.”
Northview placed third as a team at last year’s Division 2 Finals, and with the plethora of returning talent, hopes to place among the top teams again in November.
“We returned everybody except for our diver, so we have a hole there, but we have all of our swimmers back and we gained a freshman sprinter that already qualified in the 50 so we have an added piece there,” Damuth said. “Division 2 is really deep this year, but we’re excited to get to the state meet and see what we can do.”
Forbes also is thrilled about the potential of this year’s team.
“I’m super excited because last year’s state finals team were juniors or underclassmen, so this year we have everyone back,” she said. “We’re definitely going to get more girls qualified for the state team, which will help build our numbers. We have some pretty awesome relays this year that I think are going to be pretty impressive.”
The Wildcats return the following swimmers who helped score points at last year’s Division 2 Finals: Jamie Forbes (200 and 500 freestyle), Peyton Oade (200 freestyle), Hasten Horling (50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke), Maddie Tay (50 freestyle) and Evan Arnold (100 freestyle).
Joining Addy Forbes with Finals cuts already this season are Jamie Forbes, Horling, Danika Fesseden and Lily Lindower.
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for four years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids Northview’s Addy Forbes prepares to launch into the backstroke. (Middle) Forbes is a returning LPD2 Finals champion. (Photos courtesy of the Grand Rapids Northview athletic department.)
![Farmington Hills Mercy celebrates its Division 2 championship at Holland Aquatic Center.](/sites/default/files/2023-11/231118_D2s_2H.jpg)
Full-Team Effort, Strong Saturday Swims Key Mercy's Latest Podium Climb
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
November 18, 2023
HOLLAND – Farmington Hills Mercy donned maroon Nike dunk low tennis shoes at the conclusion of Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 Girls Swimming & Diving Finals.
It seemed rather appropriate as the Marlins’ effort was an absolute slam dunk.
Mercy captured its first Finals since 2019 at the Holland Aquatic Center, and did so in dominating fashion, winning by more than 125 points.
The Marlins scored a whopping 326, while runner-up Birmingham Seaholm finished with 198. Grand Rapids Northview (172) and Ann Arbor Skyline (164) rounded out the top four.
“I don’t know if I thought it would be as dominating a performance as it was,” Mercy coach Mike Venos said. “We always kind of gear up for Friday and leave it all in the pool and kind of hang on on Saturday, but they stepped it up again today.
“In the 40 years I've been coaching, I don’t know if we've had a team that has swam as well on Saturday as we did this year. We brought 19 girls here, and it was truly a team effort.”
The 2022 champion, East Grand Rapids, moved to Division 3 this season, making way for a new champion to be crowned.
The Marlins were led by senior Amylia Higgins, who swam to victories in the 50-yard freestyle (23.57) and 100 freestyle (50.84).
“It’s been amazing competing with these girls the past two days, but it's never been about winning for us,” Higgins said. “Personally, my goal going into this meet was to savor the last few moments of wearing a Mercy cap and representing this team.
“We all swam for each other and the team is what powers us. Swimming for the team is what got us here.”
Mercy, which won the 200 freestyle relay as well, used its depth and talent to overwhelm the field.
“We worked really hard all season to make sure everyone was in a good mindset coming into this meet,” senior captain Elena Garza said. “The fact that we are all able to come together and do this as a team was really important. We couldn't have done it without each other and the support system we’ve built.”
Seaholm posted its best finish since winning three consecutive Division 2 Finals from 2019-2021.
“Today we were kind of flat, and we were phenomenal yesterday (Friday),” Seaholm coach Karl Hodgson said. “It was one of the best preliminaries I can remember. It was a special day, but I knew today would be difficult because Mercy has such good swimmers and an all-around team. They had swimmers everywhere, and we had holes.”
After the slow start, Seaholm gained momentum with a win by senior Kelley Hassett in the 500 freestyle.
She also was the 500 freestyle champion last year.
“It was my goal to win the 500, and I’m so proud of my team because we’ve come so far this year,” said Hassett, who also anchored the winning 400 freestyle relay. “Getting second is a huge deal to us.”
Fenton junior Tess Heavner claimed a pair of championships in the 200 IM (2:03.69) and 100 backstroke (55.86).
“I came in knowing I was seeded first in both of my events, so I was really excited to come out and race and see what I could do,” Heavner said. “I’m happy with how I swam, and it felt really good to get state titles in both events. I really like those events, and they are my better events.”
Byron Center senior Brooklyn Beauch ended a stellar career with a victory in the 100 butterfly (54.68), while Ann Arbor Skyline freshman Adrienne Schadler clocked a 1:49.88 to win the 200 freestyle. Farmington senior Mackenzie Bush earned the win in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.60), and Bella Emery of Holt won the diving state title with a score of 383.65.
(Action photos by High School Sports Scene.)