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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.)
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Dexter Secures D2 Title in Final Race
November 21, 2015
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
ROCHESTER HILLS — All of her obligations for the weekend were complete.
Sophomore Annette Schultz won three events and anchored the championship-clinching relay performance as Dexter edged East Grand Rapids by five points for the team title in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 meet Saturday at Oakland University.
She went through all of the post-meet celebrations, standing on the podium with her teammates to accept the trophy, diving into the pool with them and their coaches (still in street clothes), posing with the trophy and conducting an interview.
Everything started to sink in as Schultz picked up her belongings from the pool-side bleachers, the last Dexter swimmer to depart the deck.
"Whew!" she said. "What a fun week!"
Fun, indeed.
Schultz started the finals popping off Dexter's winning 200-yard medley relay team, won the 200 and 100 freestyle races and capped the championship by securing third place for the Dreadnaughts in the 400 relay.
Dexter needed to finish in the top five in the final event, which East Grand Rapids won. The 32 points the Dreadnaughts received for taking third gave them a 256-251 victory over the Pioneers, who moved into Division 2 after winning the Division 3 title the last two years.
It is the second MHSAA title for Dexter, which won Division 2 in 2002. The Dreadnaughts have been second seven times, including three times to East Grand Rapids, which has a record 19 MHSAA championships.
How much did it bother Schultz that she didn't win all four of her events?
"It's not a problem at all," she said with a smile. "I'm very proud of getting that third, because we got first overall."
Schultz's two individual victories came in stacked fields that featured swimmers with MHSAA titles on their resumes.
With a time of 1:47.89 in the 200 freestyle, Schultz won by a sizeable margin of 3.35 seconds over Rochester Adams senior Claire McGinnis, who would go on to win the 500 freestyle. Taking third was East Grand Rapids senior Emily Converse, who was on two winning relays Saturday after winning seven of her eight events the last two years in Division 3.
In the 100 freestyle, Schultz won in 50.34 seconds to edge Bloomfield Hills Marian junior Sophia Schott by 0.33 seconds. Earlier, Schott won the 50 freestyle. Taking third was East Grand Rapids' Gabby Higgins, who won four events in Division 3 last year and two relays on Saturday. Fifth-place Lexus VanHoven of East Grand Rapids has five career MHSAA victories in relays.
"The 100 freestyle was anyone's game," said Schultz, who was named the Division 2 Swimmer of the Meet by the coaches association. "That was a race to the death on that one. I was so glad I got that third one. That was cool. All those girls pushed me to get there."
With two events remaining, Dexter was in third place with 188 points, 20 behind East Grand Rapids. The Dreadnaughts' comeback started in the 100-yard breaststroke, which Dexter senior Lizzy Merriman won in 1:03.68. Senior Kate Mesaros picked up 16 crucial points by taking third in 1:04.15.
"I was really nervous going in, because last year I was seeded second going into the finals and ended up getting sixth," Merriman said. "It was good to have one of my teammates next to me racing me. I have to give some credit to her, because she's my building block, I guess. It was pretty painful, but still good."
The performances of Merriman and Mesaros gave Dexter a one-point lead over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and a 13-point cushion over East Grand Rapids.
The Dreadnaughts closed the deal when the 400 freestyle relay team of senior Sarah Lynch, sophomore Sarah Zofchak, sophomore Amelia Kinnard and Schultz took third. Schultz closed with a 100-yard leg of 49.61 seconds, the fastest split in the event.
"I gave them the game plan," Dexter coach Cory Bergen said. "Safe starts and go like (crazy) when you hit the water. I went over it about 1,000 times, so they knew. I have the fastest freestyler in the meet at the end; we knew what we had to do."
Forest Hills Central was also in contention heading into the final event, finishing third with 247 points. A remarkable 80 of those points came in diving, as the Rangers swept the first four places and added another all-state finish with a seventh.
Junior Erin Neely repeated as the diving champion with a score of 485.20 points, a Division 2 meet record and only 4.35 points shy of the Lower Peninsula all-Finals mark set by Albion's Elyse Lee in 2003.
"I just felt like it was any other meet," Neely said. "Just go in there and dive."
Sophomore Colleen Kramer was second, junior Nicki Bailey third, senior Allison Fitzgerald fourth and junior Nicole Carlson seventh for Forest Hills Central.
"We really push each other to do our best," Kramer said. "It's nice to compete against them, because I'm always trying to do better and better."
No other team has swept even the top three places in the Lower Peninsula Finals. By putting five divers in the top seven, Forest Hills Central eclipsed the five divers in the top 10 by Birmingham Groves at the 1983 Class A meet.
"All of them increased their (personal records) by at least 30 points, which is so cool to watch as a coach," said Forest Hills Central diving coach Jasmine Ramahi, a former diver for Grand Valley State University.
"What's so great is they're all so close competitively diving-wise, but they can put that aside and be friends. It's really cool to watch how they push each other, because they know they're each other's best competition."
Proving that the Rangers' program isn't one-dimensional, sophomore Felicity Buchmaier took to the pool in the first event after diving and won the 100 butterfly in 55.60 seconds. Buchmaier was third last year behind senior Taylor Garcia of Holland and sophomore Emma Cleason of Ann Arbor Skyline, which moved into Division 1.
"I had a little bit of a feeling, because Skyline had left to go to Division 1 and Taylor Garcia graduated," Buchmaier said. "I came in third last year, so subconsciously I guess it was in my mind, but I had never dreamed it. I started crying yesterday when I knew I was the first seed; it was crazy."
Senior Claire Young became the first Grosse Pointe South swimmer to win two events in the same MHSAA Finals, taking the 200 individual medley in 2:04.78 and the 100 backstroke in 55.20 seconds.
"It's amazing," Young said. "It's been four long years training and working with awesome teammates helping me through it."
Defending-champion Marian finished in fourth place with 214.5 points. Leading the Mustangs was one of the stalwarts from their championship team, junior Sophia Schott. She repeated as the 50 freestyle champion in a personal-best 22.99 seconds. She won in 23.66 seconds last year, and has five MHSAA titles to her credit.
"It was my goal this year to break 23," Schott said. "I'm so happy I did it. I know I could never have done it without my teammates' support. Right before a race when you're super, super nervous, like so scared, you just look at your teammates, take a deep breath and it's like, 'I can breathe; they're all supporting me.'"
Rochester Adams’ McGinnis, who competed in club swimming during the fall until this year, won the 500 freestyle in 4:59.18.
"I just wanted to have fun my senior year," said McGinnis, who will swim for the University of Miami (Fla.) next year. "I thought it'd be fun to come out and try to win the 500. I wanted to be more part of a team, too. It's been really fun. It's a different dynamic, but I'm really happy I got to be part of something like this."
East Grand Rapids put itself in a position to win by winning the 200 and 400 freestyle relays with the quartet of VanHoven, Hanna Sanford, Converse and Higgins.
PHOTOS: (Top) Dexter celebrates its Division 2 championship from the top of the awards stand Saturday. (Middle) Swimmers launch into the pool for the backstroke championship race. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)