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Preview: Champs Return for More
November 17, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A total of 17 past MHSAA individual champions will lead the charge into this weekend's Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals, which begin with preliminaries at noon today.
Among those reigning winners, 10 seniors are hoping to finish by climbing the awards podium one more time – and they and many more will attempt to do so with their teammates as well.
Below is a look at team contenders and top individuals to watch at all three Finals. All three will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and covered with stories posted to Second Half later Saturday evening. Click for full meet information including times and event orders.
LP DIVISION 1 at Oakland University
Farmington Hills Mercy finished first or second every season from 2011-14 before falling back to third place last fall, but could be the favorite as it seeks a ninth MHSAA Finals championship. The Marlins have 12 individual swim entries and two relays seeded in scoring range among the top 16 in their respective events, plus a diver competing. Reigning champion Ann Arbor Skyline has similar numbers going for it – 11 individuals and three relays in scoring position (including a top seed) and a diver. And Saline should also be in the mix again after finishing second last season, 2013 and 2011 and winning in 2009, 2010 and 2014. The Hornets have the reigning champion diver plus all three relays and seven individuals seeded among the top 16 – and four of those swim seeds are ranked first in their events.
Emma Cleason, Ann Arbor Skyline senior – Last season’s champion in the 200-yard individual medley (and fourth-place finisher in the 100 butterfly) enters this weekend seeded sixth in the IM (2:06.13) and fourth in the butterfly (56.13).
Emma Curtis, Grand Blanc senior – Curtis has won the 50 freestyle the last two seasons and also was fifth in the 100 last season; she’s seeded third in the 50 (23.33) this time and fifth in the 100 (51.28).
Morgan Kraus, Rockford sophomore – After finishing 10th in the butterfly and eighth in the backstroke in 2015, Kraus is expected to make a big jump seeded fourth in the backstroke (56.75) and first in the butterfly (54.40); she also swims on the top-seeded 200 medley relay (1:45.33).
Maddie Luther, Saline sophomore – She posted a strong freshman finish in the distance events placing sixth in the 200 and fourth in the 500 last fall, and enters this weekend seeded second in the 500 (4:52.6), first in the 200 (1:49.83) and swimming on the top-seeded 200 freestyle (1:36.19) and 400 freestyle (3:29.69) relays.
Katie Minnich, Farmington Hills Mercy junior – Minnich has won the backstroke the last two seasons and also was seventh in the IM last season. She’s seeded first in the backstroke (55.51) and fifth in the IM (2:05.70) this time.
Georgia Mosher, Ann Arbor Skyline junior – The reigning champion in the 500 also finished third in the breaststroke last fall; she’s seeded first in the 500 (4:51.2) and third in the breaststroke (1:04.17) this weekend.
Sydney McDowell, Rockford senior – The reigning breaststroke champion (and 12th-place finisher in the IM) will look for a strong finish seeded fifth in the breaststroke (1:04.43), eighth in the IM (2:07.36) and while competing as part of that top-ranked 200 medley relay with Kraus.
Nicole Pape, Rochester Adams senior – The Division 2 IM champion in 2014, she finished second in that race and the butterfly last season in Division 2 as well and is seeded third in the IM (2:04.98) and sixth in the breaststroke (1:05.15) this time in Division 1.
Taylor Seaman, Brighton senior – The 2014 champion in the 100 freestyle came in second in that race and fourth in the 200 last season, but is seeded this time second in the 100 (50.81) and first in the 50 (23.21).
Lizzy Spears, Saline junior – She’s another expected to make a big jump after finishing 10th in the breaststroke and fourth in the IM in 2015; she’s seeded first in the IM (2:02.58), fourth in the breaststroke (1:04.40) and will swim on the top-seeded 400 free relay with Luther.
Erin Szara, Northville senior – She finished 11th in the breaststroke last season, but is seeded first in that event (1:03.57) with a time three seconds faster than what she raced at the 2015 Final; she’ll also swim the IM.
Ashley Turak, Farmington Hills Harrison sophomore – She finished fourth in the 50 and sixth in the 100 freestyle in Division 2 last season, and with the jump to Division 1 also has jumped to the second seed in the 50 (23.32) and top seed in the 100 (50.62).
Laura Westphal, Northville senior – She finished second in the 500 last season to Mosher after winning that race at both the 2013 and 2014 Finals. Westphal also finished second in the 200 freestyle and enters this weekend seeded second in that race (1:50.86) and eighth in the 500 (5:01.82).
Camryn McPherson, Saline senior – McPherson moved up from runner-up in 2014 to diving champion in 2015 and will seek a repeat after posting the best Regional score in Division 1 by 28 points.
LP DIVISION 2 at Eastern Michigan University
Dexter emerged last season for its first team championship since 2002 and looks good to double the celebration. All three relays are seeded among the top seven, and nine individuals are seeded among the top 16 with two top seeds plus a diver competing. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central is seeking its first MHSAA title since 1994 and first top-two finish since 2007. All three Rangers relays and 11 individuals are seeded to score, and divers took the top two spots and three of the top eight at their Regional. Forest Hills Central finished third last season and Birmingham Seaholm was fifth, but the Maples could make a move toward their first title since 1997. All three relays are seeded sixth or higher (including one seeded first), 16 individuals are seeded among the top 16 in their events (with two tops seeds) and two divers also will be in the mix.
Julia Boswell, Royal Oak junior – After finishing fifth in the 500 and 12th in the IM in 2015, Boswell enters this weekend seeded second in the IM (2:08.34) and first in the 500 (5:03.43) by nearly five seconds.
Felicity Buchmaier, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central junior – The reigning champion in the butterfly and runner-up in the backstroke is seeded second in the butterfly (56.46) and sixth in the backstroke (57.39).
Haley Dolan, Birmingham Seaholm junior – Dolan swam on two top-three relays last season but didn’t make the championship heats in her individual event, the 50 free. But she’s now the top seed in the 50 (24.25) with a time more than a half-second better than what she swam at the 2015 Final, and will also swim the 100 freestyle (54.62) and on all three relays including the top-seeded 200 freestyle (1:38.25).
Freyja Garbaccio, Okemos senior – She finished fourth in the butterfly and ninth in the backstroke last season, but this season is seeded first in the butterfly (56.29) and also will swim the IM (2:12.85).
Vicki Postmus, Byron Center senior – After finishing eighth in the IM and 11th in the butterfly in Division 1 last fall, Postmus moves to the Division 2 meet as the top seed in the IM (2:06.78) and fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.87).
Gabby Rosely, Walled Lake Northern junior – Rosely finished fourth in both the backstroke and IM last season and is seeded to improve as third in the IM (2:09.46) and first in the backstroke (55.87).
Allie Russell, Birmingham Seaholm senior – Russell finished fifth in the IM and just missed winning the breaststroke, coming in 17 hundredths of a second out of first place to finish second last season. She’s seeded sixth in the IM (2:11.06) and first in the breaststroke (1:05) this time.
Annette Schultz, Dexter junior – Schultz was voted “swimmer of the meet” by coaches last season after winning both the 100 and 200 freestyles and swimming on the winning 200 medley relay; she’s seeded first in the 100 (52.33) and 200 (1:51.41) and will swim on two top-seven relays this weekend.
Anna Hansen, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central sophomore – Two-time reigning diving champion Erin Neely has had to miss her final high school season with an injury, but teammate Hansen could keep the championship with the Rangers after posting the highest Regional score in Division 2 (416.65).
LP DIVISION 3 at Holland Aquatics Center
Division 3 has a different look this fall with East Grand Rapids and Bloomfield Hills Marian back in the mix after finishing second and fourth, respectively, in Division 2 in 2015. The Pioneers won Division 3 in 2013 and 2014 and come in with all three relays and an incredible 26 individual seeds among the top 16 in their events – including two top seeds – plus five divers. Marian is right there too with two top-seeded relays and the third with a third seed, plus 19 individual top-16 seeds including four more tops in those events. Pushing for another strong finish is reigning champion Grand Rapids Catholic Central; all three relays are seeded to score, as are seven individual entries (one top seed).
Lauren Biglin, Bloomfield Hills Marian junior – Marian’s distance standout was third in the 500 and fifth in the 200 at last season’s Division 2 meet, and enters Division 3 as the top seed in both (5:03.23 and 1:53.35) plus a contributor on top-seeded 200 and 400 free relays.
Ileah Doctor, East Grand Rapids junior – Doctor finished second in the 50 and fourth in the 100 for Jenison in Division 2 last fall but enters third in the 50 (23.66) and first in the breaststroke (1:05.36) this time.
Gabby Higgins, East Grand Rapids senior – After winning both the 100 and 50 in Division 3 as a sophomore, Higgins finished third in both races in Division 2 last season while also helping winning 200 and 400 relays. Back in Division 3 again, she’s seeded fourth in the 50 (24.10), third in the 100 (52.82) and will swim on both relays, which are both seeded second.
Riley Kishman, Grand Rapids Catholic Central senior – Kishman owns two championships in the IM, two in the breaststroke and last season won the latter and the 200 freestyle plus swam on winning 200 and 400 free relays. She’s seeded second in the breaststroke (1:06.15) and 200 freestyle (1:55.82) this time and will swim on the 400 free and 200 medley relays.
Susan LaGrand, Grand Rapids Catholic Central junior – LaGrand won the butterfly as a freshman and then both the butterfly and IM and swam on the first-place 400 freestyle last season; she's seeded to repeat in the IM (2:09.81) and sixth in the butterfly (58.77).
Karlee Marsh, Tecumseh senior – After winning the 100 and finishing second in the 200 freestyle last season, Marsh is seeded fourth in both (53.59 and 1:57.63) and will swim on two top-seven relays.
Meghan Peel, Spring Lake senior – Peel finished fourth in both the 100 freestyle and backstroke last season but enters this weekend seeded first in the butterfly (57.84) as well as the backstroke (58.40).
Sophia Schott, Bloomfield Hills Marian senior – She won the 50 in Division 2 the last two seasons and was second in the 100 a year ago; now in Division 3, she’s seeded first in the 50 (23.46) and 100 (52.10) and will join Biglin on the two top-seeded relays.
Evelyn Vandemark, Alma senior – The reigning champion in the 500 also finished seventh in the butterfly last season; she’s seeded fifth in the 500 (5:21.48) this time and also will swim the 200 (2:00.81).
Mackenzie Crawford, Milan sophomore – Crawford posted the top Division 3 Regional diving score by 19 points and finished 29.45 ahead of the field at her event.
PHOTO: Grand Rapids Catholic Central's Riley Kishman pushes toward the finish in winning the 100 breaststroke at last season's Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
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Pioneer's Hills Leave 'Lasting Impression'
April 25, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
More than 40 years coaching some of Michigan’s top high school athletes has earned Denny and Liz Hill thank-yous from a variety of sources now that they've announced their job is finally done.
Like from the former swimmer now in Washington, D.C., who wrote to Denny to explain – tongue-in-cheek, of course – how swimming at Ann Arbor Pioneer prepared her to handle the long hours and grouchy bosses that come with being a lobbyist in the nation’s capital.
Or from the group of parents who saw the Hills at a recent restaurant opening and thanked them for showing their kids that they too were key parts of Pioneer’s swimming and diving teams – even though those athletes weren't among the many MHSAA championship or All-America-level contributors.
“You get notes from people explaining the wonderful things you did for them, and you didn't realize what you’d done,” Denny Hill said. “I kept telling Liz (again, tongue-in-cheek), I don’t understand why all these kids come out. I’m mean to everybody. ... But I’m getting that (appreciation) back from kids, and mostly parents. The parents kept saying that no matter how good (their kids swam), they were part of the team, and we felt good about that. I think that’s important, especially at the high school level.”
All joking aside, there are few who have helped push an entire sport, statewide, to an elite level while keeping those high school values in mind like the first couple of Michigan high school swimming.
The Hills retired as Pioneer’s boys swimming and diving coaches during this winter’s postseason banquet. Denny served as head coach of the boys team for 45 years and the girls for 38 before leaving the latter after 2010 – combined, he has a dual meet record of 1,011-128-2 and led the boys team to 15 MHSAA championships and the girls team to 16. He also guided 240 athletes – including eventual Olympic medalist Kara Lynn Joyce – who earned All-America honors from the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association.
Liz, his wife of 31 years, served as his boys assistant for 14 seasons and co-head coach for seven and girls assistant for 23 years and co-head coach of that team for four. She was part of all the girls championships and the majority won by the boys.
Those accomplishments rightly have highlighted the tributes both have received locally and beyond over the last two months – including when Denny was inducted into the NISCA Hall of Fame in March. But they tell only one side of their contributions to the sport they've lived for half a century.
“Denny and Liz have left a lasting impression on high school swimming, both locally and nationwide. Their accomplishments with their teams can be seen in the trophy cases and record boards across the state, but they have done so much more for the swim community,” said Bloomfield Hills’ girls coach David Zulkiewski, who also serves as president-elect of the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association.
“They have volunteered and dedicated hours to the improvement of the sport and to benefit current and future athletes. Their leadership roles with MISCA and NISCA have provided us with instruction, inspiration and guidance that will last into the future.”
Been there, seen it all
Denny Hill has seen it all, and Liz has seen most of it during their decades in the pool.
Denny graduated from Lansing Eastern High School in 1962, and then swam at Michigan State University until graduating in 1966. After a year of student teaching at Jackson Parkside and then 1967-68 as boys coach at Ferndale, Denny took over the Pioneer swimming and diving program. He also taught chemistry until retiring from the classroom in 2007.
(Side notes: Denny’s father Harry Hill was a highly-respected labor leader and education activist Lansing and had a high school on the city’s south side named after him posthumously in 1971. Denny’s mother Berniece served as Lansing’s postmaster general during the late 1960s and 1970s.)
Liz, formerly Liz Lease, was a standout sprinter for the Pioneers until graduating in 1976, and then earned All-America honors at the University of Michigan before finishing studies in 1980.
She taught and coached in Texas for two years before returning to Ann Arbor, marrying Denny in 1983 and helping his teams from time to time until becoming an assistant for good a few years later.
Coaching together, they created a fine-tuned system. Liz would work with the younger or less experienced swimmers, and Denny worked with the advanced group. One year Liz had 44 girls in hers; often, Denny would work with 22-28. They’d come together to practice starts and turns and for meets, all getting a chance to compete in some fashion be it in additional heats or junior varsity competition.
After two runner-up MHSAA Finals finishes in three seasons from 1974-76, Pioneer’s boys won their first Class A title under Hill in 1977 – which ended up being the first of six straight championships and eight in nine seasons. The girls followed back-to-back runner-up finishes in 1983-84 with their first championship in 1985, and that win started a string of six in eight seasons. Pioneers’ girls also won Class A/Division 1 titles from 2000-08, the last two with Denny and Liz officially as co-coaches.
Pioneer athletes continue to hold all-MHSAA Finals records in the 50 and 100 freestyles (both by Joyce) plus the 200 and 400 relays.
“The thing that sticks out in my mind about Denny is that he always had a bigger vision of everything. His vision of a particular athlete’s potential, in and out of the pool, exceeded theirs,” said Eastern Michigan University men’s swimming coach Peter Linn, who has led the Eagles to 21 Mid-American Conference championships and swam for Denny Hill’s club teams as a youth and against Pioneer as a high school coach in Upper Arlington, Ohio; he also coached the Hills’ son Steven at EMU. “His vision of being the best high school team was more than just being state champions; it was about being national champions. He held everyone including himself accountable to the pursuit of that vision.
“In doing this, he and Liz not only succeeded in producing amazing teams and terrific individuals at Pioneer and in Ann Arbor, but they also raised the bar on high school swimming in Michigan – and the results were instrumental in raising the overall level of swimming in the state. They left you two choices: rise to the occasion and be your best, or get left behind.”
Far-reaching impact
The Hills and Linn’s friendship is like many in swimming – no MHSAA sport, arguably, has as many long-serving coaches and long-cultivated connections.
Maureen Isaac knew the Hills long before agreeing to coach the girls swimming and diving program at brand-new Ann Arbor Skyline in 2008 – her husband Stu Isaac was Liz Hill’s coach at U-M. But Maureen also ended up with four athletes who previously would've gone to Pioneer, and yet – “never once did (the Hills) not help me,” she said.
She first called Denny right after getting the job. That turned into him sending her all of Pioneer’s meet results from the previous year so she had some background on opponents coming into that first season. He and Liz continued to welcome Skyline athletes to their annual summer program, and never ran up the score against Skyline’s teams – although Pioneer could’ve won big those first few seasons.
Isaac remembers in particular the first meet against Pioneer, when its swimmers stayed in the pool until the last swimmer for both teams finished a race. It’s a practice her much-improved program has adopted, among others she’s admired from across town.
“I called them up literally to beg them to stay,” Isaac said. “I’m as competitive as the next guy; I want to win as much as the next guy. But how they've done it ... you look at the Facebook postings, the responses from alumni when they found out (the Hills) were leaving, and not one person was talking about winning a state title. They talked about the amazing influences (the Hills) had on their lives.”
That influence extends far beyond Ann Arbor.
Denny and Liz’s athletes and former assistants have gone on to coach at high school and college levels in Illinois, Oregon and Ohio among other states, with the recent Michigan footprint including South Lyon boys and girls coach John Burch and Saline former girls and current boys assistant Pete Loveland.
The Hills also have long played significant roles in their state and national coaching associations and the national rule-making body. Denny was on the National Federation of State High School Associations' rules committee during the 1970s when it was coordinated by now-MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts. Denny also remains a NISCA director for the zone including Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin.
“For the 40 years I've been involved with high school swimming in Michigan, Denny Hill has been the coach that I have tried to emulate. His integrity and manner of coaching have been an inspiration to all of us,” said East Grand Rapids coach Butch Briggs, who has led boys and girls teams to a combined 28 MHSAA championships. “His quiet leadership and love for both the sport and his athletes has served as a model for all to aspire to. Although he will be missed, his legacy will continue to inspire those of us involved in Michigan high school swimming.”
The big picture
Liz Hill said she “just follows along in the shadows,” an extension of their program that has allowed more students to participate.
She’s being more than modest.
In addition to taking over as Pioneer’s co-coach, she continues to manage the Huron Valley Swim Club – which teaches and trains 300 aspiring swimmers. Denny and Liz have served as back-to-back presidents of MISCA – Liz is finishing up her term this spring – and she also will receive a NISCA outstanding service award next year.
Although swimming and diving is not in the public eye as frequently as more media-covered sports, it still has plenty of politics to hurdle. The Hills are known as voices of reason – voices the rest of Michigan and beyond has been wise to heed.
“A lot of times, people don’t always see the big picture. They think in terms of their own athletes, their own teams, and sometimes you have to look at what’s best for everyone,” Liz Hill said. “Denny has done so much for swimming, been involved for so long. Because he has had success, people tend to listen to what he has to say.”
Denny Hill said he likes to think that Ann Arbor has served as the capital of swimming in the state. He also played a giant role in the community’s non-school swimming scene, including starting Club Wolverine – recognized as one of the top programs of its type in the nation.
He’s taken high school teams all over Michigan, not only to have Pioneer face the best but hopefully to provide those opponents the opportunity to test themselves as well.
But even then, some of the favorite memories might be different than expected.
Like when former swimmer Eric Troesch, then an assistant coach, was able to jump into the EMU pool with the rest of the girls team after they won another MHSAA title – and despite suffering a serious spinal cord injury a year before that had left him temporarily paralyzed. Or this season’s boys team, which had a combined grade-point average of 3.6 and was made up, again, of the kind of students Denny would've taught in his chemistry classes.
This week, Hill remembered a conversation with Linn years ago that framed many of his and Liz's efforts.
“He said, ‘It sounds to me like we had more fun when we didn't have as good of teams than others we (had),’ and that hit home for me,” Hill said.
“I don’t think we have the pressure to win from the schools and parents; we’re not getting all the write-ups in the papers like for basketball and football, and the kids are doing it not so much for the glory of it, but for self-improvement. The kids look at the record book and it’s a motivation thing, and really for those kids they’re pretty motivated to go on and be the leaders of the country because they work hard, they strive for the team atmosphere type of thing, and they have a fine sense of community and helping people.
"I think that’s really neat.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Denny and Liz Hill (center) cheer on their team during the 2013 MHSAA Division 2 Finals. (Middle) The Hills are retiring after more than three decades coaching together at Ann Arbor Pioneer. (Top photo courtesy of HighSchoolSportsScene.com. Middle photo courtesy of Ann Arbor Pioneer Swimming and Diving.)