Preview: Final Salute to Speedy Seniors
November 20, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA will say good-bye to an accomplished group of seniors at this weekend's Lower Peninsula Swimming & Diving Finals.
But not before giving that elite group a few more opportunities to add to their combined collection of 24 individual championships.
Waterford's Maddie Wright and Holland's Taylor Garcia, in particular, will race for their seventh and eighth individual titles. They're joined by Waterford senior Miranda Tucker, Ann Arbor Skyline junior Katie Portz and Bloomfield Hills Marian senior Mollie Pulte as current MHSAA Finals record-holders looking to go faster still.
See below for team contenders and individuals to watch at all three of this weekend's meets. Preliminaries are Friday with championship races and diving Saturday; click for a full schedule, qualifiers for each meet and a schedule with links for all prelims and final events to be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv.
LP DIVISION 1 at Eastern Michigan University
Team contenders: Top-ranked Farmington Hills Mercy is the reigning champion, finished second in 2012 and also won in 2011, while No. 2 Saline was the champion in 2009 and 2010 and runner-up in 2011 and 2013. All three of Mercy’s relays are seeded among the top two in those races, and the team also has 17 top-16 individual seeds (plus 10 more seeded outside of scoring range). Saline’s relays are all seeded among the top nine, respectively, with 10 more top-16 individual seeds and two divers competing. Rockford, Holland West Ottawa and Lake Orion as well could push for the top three.
Ellyse Conn, Farmington Hills Mercy junior – Finished 11th in the 200-yard individual medley and seventh in the butterfly in 2013 but enters this weekend seeded seventh in the IM (2:07.57) and first in the 500 freestyle (4:56.77) by six seconds. She’ll also swim on all three relays.
Roxanne Griffore, Farmington Hills Mercy senior – Last season’s 50 freestyle champion is seeded third in that race (23.87) and fourth in the 100 (52.40) and also will swim on all three relays.
Erin Hudson, Rockford senior – Enters with top seeds in both the 50 (23.45) and 100 (51.20) after finishing second and seventh, respectively, in those races last season. She also will swim on all three relays, all seeded among the top four.
Miranda Tucker, Waterford senior – Reigning champion in the IM and breaststroke and the top seed in both of those races again with a breaststroke time (1:00.78) that would break her all-division Finals record set last season and an IM time (1:59.70) that’s only three hundredths of a second off the LP Division 1 record.
Laura Westphal, Northville sophomore – Finished first in the 500 as a freshman last year and 10th in the IM, she’s seeded second to Conn in the 500 (5:02.93) and also will swim the 200 freestyle and on all three relays including two seeded among the top three.
Maddie Wright, Waterford senior – Seeking to finish her high school career with two more individual championships to go with six won over the last three seasons. She’s again seeded first in those races, the 200 freestyle (1:50.52) and butterfly (54.89) and set the all-division record in the latter in 2013.
Farmington Hills Mercy 200 medley relay – Finished second last season with Conn, Griffore and two seniors, and enters with a seed time (1:44.66) that is 2.54 seconds faster than that runner-up finish and 21 hundredths of a second off the LP Division 1 record set last season by winner Ann Arbor Skyline. Griffore is joined this time by sophomore Alaina Skellett, freshman Katie Minnich and senior Maddy Loniewski, the IM champion at the 2012 Final.
Amy Stevens, Saline sophomore – Won LP Division 1 diving last season as a freshman with a score of 462.70, ahead of Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Christina Lu and teammate Miranda Eberle. Stevens’ top competition this time again could be Lu and sophomore teammate Camryn McPherson, their Regional's champion by nearly 19 points.
LP DIVISION 2 at Holland Aquatics Center
Team contenders: Holland has won the last three LP Division 2 titles but is ranked No. 8 coming into this weekend. Ann Arbor Skyline finished third in LP Division 1 last season and enters this weekend top-ranked in Division 2. The Eagles have all three relays plus 10 individuals seeded to score, including six top-four seeds. No. 2-ranked Portage Central is in similar position with all three relays and 10 individuals seeded to score. Bloomfield Hills Marian, third last year and ranked No. 3, has three relays and 11 individuals seeded to score including six top seeds.
Emma Cleason, Ann Arbor Skyline sophomore – Finished third in a strong 200 freestyle field at last season’s LP Division 1 Final and ninth in the butterfly. She has the top IM seed time (2:06.12) and second-fastest in the butterfly (57.29) and will swim on three top-five relays.
Taylor Garcia, Holland senior – Garcia too will attempt to add two more individual titles to her six over the last three seasons. She’s also been on six relay winners and owns the three fastest butterfly times in LP Division 2 Finals history and three of the top five in the backstroke; she’s again seeded first in backstroke (54.80) and butterfly (55.13).
Krissy Harmon, Bay City Western senior – Last season’s 500 freestyle champion and third-place finisher in the 200 is seeded first in the 500 (4:58.43) and third in the 200 (1:53.20).
Katie Portz, Ann Arbor Skyline junior – Won the 100 freestyle and finished second in the 200 freestyle, and swam on three winning relays at last season’s LP Division 1 Final. She’s seeded second in the 200 (1:49.17) and 100 (51.12), and her two relays are seeded among the top three in their races.
Mollie Pulte, Bloomfield Hills Marian senior – Set records in the 200 and 100 freestyles as a junior and owns three individual and one relay championship overall. She’s seeded ahead of Portz in the 200 (1:48.34) and 100 (50.49) and swims on all three top-seeded Marian relays.
Madison Umberger, Portage Central senior – Won the IM in 2013 and is seeded third in that race (2:07.51) and the 100 backstroke (57.20) after finishing second in the latter to Garcia last season.
Bloomfield Hills Marian 200 freestyle relay – The Mustangs set the meet record at 1:35.24 last season and three of those swimmers return – Pulte, senior Hannah Richard and sophomore Sophia Schott. Their top-seed time this fall is 1:34.41.
Erin Neely, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central sophomore – Finished third in diving last season behind two seniors and posted the top Regional score in LP Division 2 last week by 36.5 points at 486.20.
LP DIVISION 3 at Oakland University
Team contenders: Reigning champion East Grand Rapids has won three of the last five seasons, with Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood winning the other two years and finishing runner-up when the Pioneers won all three titles. East Grand Rapids is ranked No. 1 and has numbers on its side with all three relays and 18 individual seeds among the top 16, plus another 17 individual swim qualifications and four divers. Grand Rapids Catholic Central, sixth last season and ranked No. 2, has three relays and 10 individuals seeded to score including five top seeds. Cranbrook enters ranked No. 3 and with three relays and eight individuals seeded to score.
Sydney Asselin, Holland Christian senior – Finished eighth in the 500 freestyle last season but also swam on three top-nine relays including two that finished among the top three (and she was part of a relay champion as a freshman). She’s seeded second in both the 200 (1:55.45) and 500 (5:12.47) freestyles, and all three relays are seeded among the top 14 in their events.
Emily Converse, East Grand Rapids junior – Owns top seeds in both distance races ahead of Asselin with a 1:55.20 in the 200 and 5:10.37 in the 500 and will swim on two second-seeded relay. She won the 500, was second in the 200 and swam on two winning relays last season.
Rileigh Eding, Hamilton junior – Expected to move up one spot to first in the 100 backstroke (58.53) after finishing second last year and is seeded fifth in the 200 freestyle (1:57.02) after placing ninth in that race. Her 200 free relay is top-seeded, and her other two relays are seeded among the top 16.
Gabby Higgins, East Grand Rapids sophomore – Placed second in both sprints and swam on two championship relays last season. She enters with the top seed in the 50 (23.87) and 100 (52.53) freestyles and as part of three top-five relays.
Stephanie Johnston, Hamilton senior – Finished just ahead of Higgins to win both sprints last season and is seeded second in the 50 (24.17) and third in the 100 (52.71) while swimming on the same relays at teammate Eding.
Riley Kishman, Grand Rapids Catholic Central sophomore – Debuted last season with a championship in the IM, runner-up finish in the breaststroke and two top-six relay places. She returns as the top seed in the IM (2:09.25) and breaststroke (1:06.30), and her medley and 400 free relays also are top-seeded.
Lara Kokubo, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood senior – Earned an individual championship and swam on three winning relays during her first two seasons and added two seventh-place individual finishes and two fourth-place relay finishes in 2013. She’s the fifth seed in both the 50 (24.86) and 100 (53.86) freestyles and will swim on two top-nine relays.
Susan LaGrand, Grand Rapids Catholic Central freshman – Kicks off her MHSAA Finals career as the top seed in the butterfly (58.75) and second seed in the backstroke (58.56) while competing on two top-seeded relays.
Taylor Hosein, Milan junior – Won last season’s diving championship by 35.15 points with a score of 425.60 and won her Regional with the second-highest score in Division 3 on Thursday (457.15). Only Allegan junior Erin Isola, sixth last season, scored higher at an LPD3 Regional (462.90).
PHOTO: Zeeland’s Morgan Bullock works to pull ahead of Ann Arbor Skyline’s Katie Portz (blue cap) during last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final in the 100-yard freestyle. Portz won the race by 57 hundredths of a second and will swim in Division 2 this weekend, while Bullock remains a contender in Division 1. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com)
For Emerging Cranbrook, Time is Now
November 18, 2017
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
YPSILANTI – A young team with a promising future became an MHSAA champion Saturday at the Michael H. Jones Natatorium at Eastern Michigan University.
The Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood girls swimming & diving team, led by four freshmen, a sophomore and three juniors, stormed to the Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship with 292 points while Bloomfield Hills Marian was second with 207 and Grand Rapids Catholic Central was third with 199.
Although Cranbrook Kingswood was ranked No. 2 coming into the meet, winning the title might have seemed a little out of reach.
“That’s what makes this even more special, because I don’t think they were expecting it,” said Cranes coach Chris Bagley, who was named the Coach of the Year by the state coaches association. “They didn’t know it was possible until we got here.”
Bagley conceded he wasn’t planning on winning the title this year, either.
“I knew these girls were coming, but I didn’t know this was coming,” he said. “We knew we had a fast group, and we knew we were going to be competitive, but to swim the way we did was just a genuine shock.
“We sort of had it played out in our head that we could get close to some team records and maybe win a relay if we were lucky, but to swim the way we did was a blessing.”
A turning point came early. After finishing second in the meet-opening 200-yard medley relay, freshman Gwen Woodbury edged senior Lauren Biglin of Bloomfield Hills Marian in the 200 freestyle in 1 minute, 51.77 seconds. Biglin was the defending champion in the event, and Marian came into the meet ranked No. 1 in Division 3.
“It was a big one and set the tone and said we can swim with anybody,” Bagley said. “It was her best time by over a second, too. We were really excited.”
Woodbury had a hand in all four of the Cranes’ race championships. In addition to two individual events, Woodbury swam the anchor leg on two relays and twice came from behind to win the event.
But it all started in the 200 freestyle.
“I didn’t think I was going to pull it out in the 200 free,” Woodbury said. “I was behind in the first 50, and we were head to head in the second 50. She began to come on in the third 50, and that last turn I had this energy inside of me. It wasn’t even like it was happening, it was like a dream, and I just put my head down and raced and I beat her.
“It boosted my confidence so much, and the team hugged me after, and I just started crying. It made me so happy and so confident.”
Her win gave the Cranes a shot of confidence as well.
“It was the momentum of the meet and the attitude,” said freshman Justine Murdock, who took second in the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke and also swam on the 200 medley relay that placed second. “When Jordan (Murrell) won the consolation final in the 200 free, then Gwen out-touched the Marian girl in the final, it gave the vibe for all of us to put in the work and get the outcome that we wanted.”
Woodbury added a first in the 100 freestyle (51.53 seconds). In the 200 freestyle relay, Woodbury was third when she hit the water, and she swam the last 50 in 23.46 seconds – the best leg of any swimmer in that relay and better than the time that won the individual 50 championship.
Woodbury then finished the meet in style. This time, in the 400 freestyle relay, she hit the water in second place, and her time of 51.36 seconds edged her winning time in the 100.
Clearly, she was on a mission in those relays.
“When we talk about swimming for the team, she’s the best at that,” Bagley said. “It is very easy to tell how much she loves this team. When she was on the middle school team, she did great on the end of the relays and she translated it to here and she’s doing great on the relays.
“She just loves swimming for Cranbrook and these girls.”
Although just a freshman, Woodbury has earned the respect of the more experienced swimmers on the team.
“I am amazingly proud of this girl,” said junior Camille Misra, who swam the third leg on the winning 400 freestyle relay team and the first leg on the second-place 200 medley relay, She also was fifth in the 100 backstroke and seventh in the 200 IM.
“I’ve been swimming with her for years and to see the results that she gets is because she is one of the most hard-working people I’ve ever seen,” Misra said. “To see what she accomplished as a freshman is unbelievable. She has the greatest future.”
Woodbury’s performance was impressive, but a team can’t win an MHSAA Finals title with just one swimmer. Murrell, a junior, won the consolation races in both the 100 and 200 freestyle to take ninth in each event, and she swam the first leg on both winning relay teams.
“I am very amazed at the outcome of everyone’s hard work and the ability to swim so fast and come together like this,” she said. “I honestly did not think it would happen, and to have it happen like this and be just such a power grab, I love it.”
Charlotte Trunsky, another freshman, swam the second leg on both winning relays and was 12th in the 200 freestyle and 15th in the 100 freestyle. Junior Sydney Allison swam the third leg on the winning 200 freestyle relay and was the anchor on the second-place 200 medley relay team. She also was 12th in the 50 freestyle and 13th in the 100 butterfly.
Another freshman who scored for the Cranes was Hale Oal, who swam the second leg on the second-place 200 medley relay and was sixth in both the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke. Junior Cate Hofley won a pair of consolation races as she was ninth in the 200 IM and ninth in the 500 freestyle.
While Cranbrook Kingswood dominated, there were other great efforts. Grand Rapids Catholic senior Susan LaGrand was named Swimmer of the Year in the division by the coaches association after she swam the first leg of the winning 200 medley relay and won the 100 backstroke. The victory in the 100 backstroke was her third career individual Finals title over three different events. She also won two years ago in the 200 IM and 100 butterfly.
“I’ve gone through so many events trying to find what’s my thing, so I think it’s just kind of coming around and figuring out what I should have been doing all along,” said LaGrand, who is headed to Oakland University to swim. “Now, my favorite is the backstroke. I used to hate backstroke, but once I learned how to swim it this summer in my club season I came to love it.”
Freshman Lauren Ryle and seniors Hannah DeBoer and Nicole Rotelle joined LaGrand on the winning relay team.
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep sophomore Rhianna Hensler was a two-time champion and defended her title in the 100 butterfly and set a Division 3 meet record in 55.67 seconds, narrowly edging Milan senior Madelyn Cislo, who also broke the existing Division 3 record in 55.90. Hensler also won the 50 freestyle in 23.78.
“It feels so good because of all the training that’s gone into these two races and have it pay off like that,” Hensler said. “In the butterfly, it was pretty close. I just looked at the scoreboard at the end.”
While Cislo did not get the title in the butterfly, she did repeat as champion in the 200 IM as her time of 2:05.01 was more than four seconds faster than that of the runner-up Murdock.
“It is hard not having someone pushing you right next to you, but you just have to dig inside to find that power to keep you going,” said Cislo, who also finished second in the 100 butterfly and will go to Oakland and become teammates with LaGrand.
Biglin, whose bid to repeat in the 200 freestyle was foiled by Woodbury, did repeat as champion in the 500 freestyle as she won in 5:04.69.
“I felt like I let down my team in the 200, so I wanted to come back and show my team that we’re still in this to win,” Biglin said. “It’s great to know that all the hard work has paid off. I was just swimming out there for my team.”
St. Clair senior Molly Likins was the other individual winner in swimming, taking the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.88.
Milan junior Mackenzie Crawford repeated in diving with 463.75 points to outdistance runner-up Allyson Schafer of Wayland (418.79). With the title practically secured going into the final dive, Crawford nailed a forward 2½ somersault that had a 2.6 degree of difficulty. She scored 58.50 on the dive as one judge gave her an 8.0, another a 7.0 and the other five all were at 7.5.
“I always put that dive last because it needs a lot of adrenalin for me to hit, so when it’s last it really pumps me up,” said Crawford, whose coach Chelsea Laginess was named Diving Coach of the Year while Crawford was named Diver of the Year in the division. “I went in the water and had a huge relief. It’s so peaceful and quiet in the water, and it’s so loud in here. It’s stressful until I hit the water, and then it’s all quiet.
“Winning is way better this year. Last year, I was kind of young, but it feels like such a long time ago, and this year I’ve learned a lot of new dives, and I got to show them all off. This year it really felt like it paid off.”
Just like it all paid off for the young Cranbrook Kingswood team – a team that did not want to wait for its future promise to be fulfilled.
“There’s no time like the present,” said Cranes sophomore Murrell.
And no better place than Eastern Michigan University. Five years ago, Cranbrook Kingswood won the MHSAA title at the Michael J. Jones Natatorium, a place where the Cranes are making some fantastic memories.
“I don’t know if I ever thought I’d have a better team than that team, but this one outdid them,” Bagley said. “They broke all the records that were broke at that meet. Now we just have to stay the course.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Cranbrook Kingswood swimmer Gwen Woodbury high-fives an opponent after a race Saturday. (Middle) A Grand Rapids Catholic Central athlete swims the breaststroke. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)