Performance: Brighton's Taylor Seaman
September 30, 2016
Taylor Seaman
Brighton senior – Swimming & Diving
Seaman already will graduate next spring as one of the top swimmers in Brighton history. As a sophomore two seasons ago, she became just the second from her school to win an MHSAA championship in the sport, finishing first in the 100-yard freestyle at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final. Last week she helped the Bulldogs make more history, as they beat reigning LP Division 2 champ Dexter for the first time in 22 years, 98-88. Seaman won the 100 freestyle (51.62) and swam on winning 200 medley (1:51.97) and 200 freestyle (1:40.46) relays to earn the Michigan National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Brighton currently is ranked No. 9 in LP Division 1, while Dexter is No. 1 in LP Division 2. Seaman holds school records in the 50 freestyle (23.68 seconds), 100 free (51.59), 200 free (1:55.19), 200 individual medley (2:10.93) and 100 butterfly (58.91.) Her championship in 2014 was the Bulldogs' first at a Finals since Morgan Zebley won the 100 butterfly in 2010, and it helped them to a fourth-place team finish. Seaman finished second in the 100 to Ann Arbor Skyline’s Katie Portz at last season’s LP Division 1 Final, while also repeating her fourth place in the 200 freestyle and swimming on two top-four relays as Brighton finished fifth as a team.
A top-25 student academically in a class of more than 500, Seaman carries a 4.06 grade-point average and has taken college visits to Brown and Cornell and today began a visit at Ohio State. She’s interested in studying psychology while continuing her swim career at the next level. But first she’ll be a likely favorite in at least one race at this season’s Finals, Nov. 18-19 at Oakland University, with an opportunity to add to the accolades that have led Brighton to hang a poster of her alongside one of Zebley in their pool.
Coach Jason Black said: “Taylor is the type of athlete that not only brings her ‘A’ game to the swim meets but also to each practice. She attacks each set with an intensity knowing that the workout is going to make her faster at the end of the season. Taylor has helped transform Brighton swimming from a regional player to a state player as we have been a top-10 program the last two years with our eyes on a third year in a row with Taylor leading the way. She recently broke her own school record in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.68 and is swimming faster in the middle of the season than she ever has. Her work ethic and her drive help lead the team to ever bigger goals. It is going to be hard without Taylor next year, but her swimming has inspired the younger swimmers to be better – and I believe our team will still be reaching for higher goals after she graduates because of how Taylor has led by example.”
Performance Point: “Every year since I was a freshman, and obviously many years before that, it’s been really disappointing to lose to (Dexter),” Seaman said. “We always try our best, but it never seemed to work out, obviously. It would just ruin our week. Last week was just awesome. Jason (Black) told us we had a chance to beat them for the first time in 22 years. We were really motivated to do that. We knew they had lost a couple of good swimmers, and we knew we still had most of our state team from last year and had a few good girls come in as freshmen. I kinda cried when the score was announced at the end."
Pushing ahead: “I feel pretty good about my season at the moment. I, along with other people on the team, we’ve all been going faster right now than what we were doing last year at this time. I would obviously like to go for my best times, and if I could win (at the MHSAA Finals) again, that would be absolutely amazing. I know it will be tough competition; last year it was Katie Portz, but she graduated. I’m actually pretty good friends with her; we used to swim together in the offseason. Having great competition is good because they can push me, and especially when they are friends.”
Leaving a legacy: “I just remember when I was 8, swimming for Brighton Eels, I would see the Morgan Zebley picture on the wall being like, I want to be like her. Now, seeing my poster on the wall, people ask me all the time, ‘Is that you?’ It’s cool that poster will be up there for the next many years. … It’s interesting to see every day at practice. We’ve adjusted to it being there. At first (my teammates) would be like, ‘It’s you, watching yourself swim every day.’”
Going for gold: “I really look up to all of the Olympic swimmers, and how dedicated they are. Missy Franklin, I just love her positive attitude. She didn’t do great at the Olympics this year, but she still had an amazing attitude about it. Allison Schmitt (from Canton) used to swim for my same club team, and I actually broke one of her records – so obviously I want to be like her. She’s amazing.”
Mind on the future: “I would like to do something with psychology. I’m leaning toward the sociological aspects of psychology. I find that very fascinating. I love finding out why we as people do what we do, why we act certain ways in certain situations. Why, when there are multiple doors available, we all funnel into one door. I want to learn why we do that.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan 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 2016-17 honorees:
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Brighton's Taylor Seaman launches from the starting blocks. (Middle) Seaman will be competing this season to add to her 2014 MHSAA title. (Photos courtesy of the Seaman family.)
Mercy's Minnich Races Toward Greatness
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
November 15, 2016
FARMINGTON HILLS – Maybe it was fate that brought Katie Minnich and Farmington Hills Mercy swim coach Mike Venos together this season.
Unbeknownst to Minnich, Venos had known Minnich a decade before she became one of the state’s top swimmers.
Minnich, a junior, is an emerging swimming superstar in a state that has produced such nationally renowned athletes as Olympian Allison Schmidt of Canton and, more recently, Waterford’s Maddie Wright, who now competes for the University of Southern California and was a semifinalist at the 2016 Olympic trials.
Minnich’s main event is the 100-yard backstroke. Her best time is 54.67. She placed first in that event at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals her freshman and sophomore seasons. In addition, she was a part of Mercy’s 200 medley relay teams that also took first place the last two years. Last season the relay team set an LP Division 1 Finals record with a time of 1:44.44.
Enter Venos. The longtime successful swim coach at Birmingham Brother Rice (his Warriors have won the last three LP Division 1 titles) took over the Mercy program this season for Shannon Dunworth and has the Marlins in position for a third MHSAA team title in the past six seasons. Mercy, under Dunworth, won LP Division 1 titles in 2011 and 2013 and was runner-up in 2012 and 2014.
This season’s Division 1 Finals will be held Friday and Saturday at Oakland University.
Minnich, encouraged by her mother, Toni Minnich, began swimming at age 3. A year later, Venos met Minnich through a mutual acquaintance.
“Jackie Smith was her babysitter,” Venos said. “Jackie graduated from Mercy (2002) and I knew her through the Village Athletic Club, where she swam.
“And my kids, my youngest two, swam with (Minnich). I have a son who’s a sophomore at Brother Rice and another who’s in the eighth grade at (Birmingham) St. Hugo.
“Swimming is a small community. Everybody smells like chlorine. But it’s a good community.”
Minnich credits her parents for opening the doors for her in the world of athletics. Her father, John Minnich, is a PGA professional and former head club professional at a few country clubs in the area including Indianwood Golf and Country Club in Lake Orion. He’s the current boys golf coach at Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood.
“My parents wanted me to be involved, be a part of a team and learn what that means,” Minnich said. “My mom wanted me to take (swimming) lessons. I was 3 then. She thought it would be a life skill.”
At this same time, Minnich also began playing soccer. She had fun playing both and made friends playing each. Two years later she began swimming competitively with the Birmingham Blue Dolphins. At age 7 she began competing year round.
“I’ve always been focused,” she said. “Skipping swim practice was never an option. I set my goals, for all different things. I set goals for times, (making) cuts for different U.S. meets.
“It’s hard to set goals because when you reach one, you set another. It’s hard to stay in one place.”
That’s the idea. Minnich is continually trying to get better. It’s not something she consciously thinks about. In the pool it’s all about repetition and concentration. Get distracted and the race could be lost. Minnich races against herself, not the swimmer next to her.
“I like to use the phrase, swim in your own lane,” Venos said. “She swims in her own lane. You don’t let anything affect you. You don’t think about the person next to you. The minute you get into trouble is when you’re trying to control those things you can’t control. If you’re in a place where you are in a process, doing the things you need to do, you’re in a good place.”
Venos said swimming is an odd sport. One reason: A swim team practices 16 weeks for one event – the MHSAA Finals. In Michigan there are no Districts or Regionals for which to qualify. Sure, there are invitationals and league meets, but no meets where a qualifying time is required. Venos likes it that way. He said some states use Regionals, much like in track & field, to qualify for the Finals.
Venos also noted the oddity when describing the individual aspect of the sport in relation to that of the team.
“Swimming is unique in that way,” he said. “It’s a stupid sport. You’re out there by yourself but you would not be as successful without being with your team.”
Minnich understands this and said she’s more proud of her relay team’s title in the 200 medley than she is of her backstroke titles. It gets back to why she swims. She has fun.
“What makes a great swimmer is they want to be great,” she said. “And (to reach that level) you have to allow others to help you to reach your goals. That’s why it’s special at Mercy. We’re like sisters.”
Nationally, Minnich, 16, has competed in the U.S. Junior Nationals in Minnesota and this past August she placed seventh in the backstroke at the 18-and-under YMCA Nationals in Greensboro, N.C.
This week all of her concentration is on the MHSAA meet and, hopefully, improving her times.
“I just want to swim as fast as I can,” she said. “You always want to compete against the best. You always want to see what your times are. We’re all just focused on winning.”
Tom Markowski is a columnist and directs website coverage for the State Champs! Sports Network. He previously covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTO: Farmington Hills Mercy's Katie Minnich launches into the backstroke during Friday's Detroit Catholic League championship meet. (Photo courtesy of the Farmington Hills Mercy girls swimming & diving program.)