Panthers Make History Close to Home
November 17, 2012
By Alan Babbitt
Special to Second Half
HOLLAND – Senior Colleen Vande Poel did not realize at first the added significance of her West Ottawa girls swimming & diving team’s achievement.
Saturday's breakthrough went far beyond the pool for the Panthers.
Forty years after Title IX legislation was passed, West Ottawa claimed its first team MHSAA championship in any girls sport by winning the Division 1 meet at Holland Community Aquatic Center.
The Panthers cruised to a first-place score of 298.5 points in their own backyard — approximately five miles from their high school. They finished 26.5 points ahead of runner-up Farmington Hills Mercy.
“It didn’t really hit me we were champs until they announced our names,” Vande Poel said. “It’s really exciting. I didn’t even know that we were the only ones. It feels super special knowing that in the future people know that if they work hard enough and have their minds set, they can do it.”
Vande Poel and her teammates made history in record-setting fashion.
The Panthers set eight school records, one Division 1 meet record and one pool record during the two-day Final. They also won three events: senior Dani VanderZwaag in 1-meter diving, the 200-yard medley relay and the 200-freestyle relay.
West Ottawa applied lessons throughout the season the Panthers learned the hard way during a disappointing seventh-place finish in 2011, VanderZwaag and coach Steve Bowyer said.
“I think we knew we needed to work hard this year, and we needed to change some things we did last year that weren’t working for us,” Vande Poel said. “We worked harder. We just wanted to do it. We came here and did that.”
West Ottawa started the meet fast on Saturday.
The Panthers won the 200 medley relay in a near meet-record time of 1 minute, 45.14 seconds from Vande Poel, Chelsea Rish, Anna Battistello and Caroline Fender.
They came within two one-hundredths of a second of the Final and school record they set during Friday’s preliminaries.
West Ottawa’s second winning performance came in the fifth event.
VanderZwaag, a junior, secured a first-place diving score of 425.45 points on the final dive — a successful back somersault with a 1½ twist.
“I knew I could do it. I just took a deep breath and did it,” VanderZwaag said. “This team means so much to me. I love them all. We just keep working hard this season, trying our hardest.”
The Panthers came in first again in the ninth event. Anna Babinec, Lauren DeShaw, Fender and Elizabeth Fris won the 200 freestyle relay with a school- and pool-record time of 1:35.58.
The performance gave West Ottawa a cushion against expected push from Farmington Hills Mercy in the backstroke, Bowyer said.
“I felt the 200 free, if we could win that relay, we would put ourselves in position to win the meet,” Bowyer said. “We went amazing fast in that relay.”
The Panthers then needed a seventh-place finish in the finale — the 400 freestyle relay — to clinch the team title.
They avoided any nerves and a costly disqualification, instead setting a school record with a second-place effort of 3:30.53 from Babinec, Vande Poel, DeShaw and Fris.
They finished behind only Saline’s American Armstrong-Grant, Melanie Schroeder, Allison Eppinga and Maddy Frost, who won in 3:29.13.
Bowyer, also named Division 1 Coach of the Year by his peers, saw the fruition of a goal that started one year ago.
“I think we learned if you don’t put in the work, you’re not going to be rewarded at the end of the year,” Bowyer said. “We worked hard last year, but quality yards weren’t there. The focus each and every day wasn’t there.
“If you want to have success, you have to make sure you put in the work every day. This year, our seniors came ready to do that.”
Waterford Kettering sophomore Maddie Wright was named Division 1 Swimmer of the Year by the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association after winning two events, setting one Division 2 meet record and one pool one.
“I couldn’t be happier with my swims,” Wright said. “It feels amazing. After a long season, it’s a good feeling to see it all paid off.”
Wright established a new Division 2 best in the 100 butterfly by going 54.13 during the finals. She came within 0.15 of a second of the all-division Finals record of Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Margaret Kelly from 2005.
Wright also won the 200 freestyle by four seconds — finishing in 1:48.01.
“Support from my teammates helped,” Wright said. “I picked it up a lot when I realized what I had to do to swim fast. (I) just practiced every day.”
Hudsonville senior Danielle Freeman also set a Division 1 meet record in the 50 freestyle by going 22.96.
Third-place Saline (266) and fourth-place Zeeland (150) also took home trophies. It was the final high school girls meet for longtime Zeeland coach Mike Torrey.
PHOTO: Holland West Ottawa senior Colleen Vande Poel swims one of her events Saturday in helping Holland West Ottawa to the LP Division 1 championship. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Performance: Sault Ste Marie's Aliah Robertson
February 23, 2018
Aliah Robertson
Sault Ste. Marie freshman – Swimming
At her first Upper Peninsula Finals on Saturday, Robertson didn’t just break two records – she “obliterated” them, quoting Sault Ste. Marie coach Steve Habusta’s description of the performance. Robertson swam the 100-yard butterfly in 59.27 seconds and the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.31, knocking more than two seconds off both previous meet records to earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
The breaststroke record Robertson broke had stood since 1994, while the previous best in butterfly was posted in 2006. Robertson also contributed to her team’s 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays, with her 50 to start the latter faster than the championship time in that sprint earlier in the meet. Both of her individual event times were Sault Ste. Marie program records as well, and Robertson also has the school’s fastest 200 individual medley in 2:16.28 – which, if swam Saturday, would have won another U.P. Finals title. She also has broken pool records all over the Upper Peninsula during her first high school season.
Robertson plays volleyball during the fall and this spring will join the track & field team and compete in pole vault. She also carries a 4.0 grade-point average. She said she enjoys a good challenge – and should be fun to follow the next three seasons as her times continue to pace the Upper Peninsula and approach the fastest in the Lower Peninsula as well.
Coach Steve Habusta said: “What makes Ali so special as a swimmer isn't her accomplishments. What makes her special is her drive and her character. Ali works as hard as any swimmer I have ever coached. She never complains, misses a set or even an interval. She works through pain, disappointment and fatigue and presses on to accomplish her goals. Her character is second to none; she always has a smile on her face, supports and leads her teammates and is a wonderful all-around kid. What Ali accomplished in the water this year is absolutely remarkable, but pales in comparison to who she is outside of the pool. … Ali's performance at U.P. Finals may be the best individual swimming performance in the history of the U.P., cementing her place as not just one of the best swimmers in the U.P. but one of the best female high school swimmers in all of Michigan.”
Performance Point: “I was pretty confident in what I could do, but I wasn't expecting to do as well as I did,” Robertson said. “I knew I was seeded first in everything, but I wasn't expecting to get the times that I did. I was really shocked. I've never swam that fast.”
Reaching expectations … and then some: “I was kinda just expecting to come in and swim, and next year or the years after that do a little bit better. … It just feels good to be the first one to do something like (breaking those records) in a long time. I'm really excited for the next couple years because there are a lot more freshmen coming up, so I think our relays are going to be pretty good.”
Thank you seniors: “The seniors on our team, they're really fun to be around. They’re really encouraging, so they're my role models on the team.”
Bright future: “Most of the time, the people from downstate are faster than the U.P., so it's good to be that close to the other times. My 100 breast, I really want to improve on that one. I'll probably stay with those two (events), but I want to try to do the 500 free. (My first 500 try) was an interesting race. I'm not really a distance swimmer. I'd like to try it again and see how much better I can do with it.”
Fearless in the pool or pole vault pit: “It's nice to be able to think that you can do things that not many other people can do. It just gives you a rush when you can complete something like that.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
February 16: Austin O'Hearon, Eaton Rapids wrestling - Read
February 9: Sophia Wiard, Muskegon Oakridge basketball - Read
February 2: Brenden Tulpa, Hartland hockey - Read
January 25: Brandon Whitman, Dundee wrestling - Read
January 18: Derek Maas, Holland West Ottawa swimming - Read
January 11: Lexi Niepoth, Bellaire basketball - Read
November 30: La'Darius Jefferson, Muskegon football - Read
November 23: Ashley Turak, Farmington Hills Harrison swimming - Read
November 16: Bryce Veasley, West Bloomfield football - Read
November 9: Jose Penaloza, Holland soccer - Read
November 2: Karenna Duffey, Macomb L'Anse Creuse North cross country - Read
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City Central golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Sault Ste. Marie’s Aliah Robertson swims a record-setting butterfly during Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Finals. (Middle) Robertson also set a meet record in the breaststroke. (Photos by Shari Robertson.)