Preview: Racing Toward Greatness Again
November 21, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This weekend’s Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals will welcome a handful of reigning title winners and even a few record holders from past championship meets. As is often true, the team races will feature annual powers among the forecasted contenders.
But if there’s a more intriguing common theme connecting all three Finals, it’s the large group of individual contenders who have been on the verge of reaching the podium’s top step – and will have their best opportunities yet to finish the climb for the first time.
The Division 1 Final will be hosted by Holland Aquatic Center, while Divisions 2 and 3 both will be competed at Oakland University. Preliminaries are Friday and Finals are Saturday, and all three Finals will be streamed live and can be watched with subscription on MHSAA.TV. Division 1 competition begins at noon both days, while Division 3 begins at 10 a.m. Friday and Saturday and Division 2 begins at 5 p.m. both days. Click for lineups and seed times for all three meets.
LP Division 1 at Holland Aquatic Center
Reigning champion: Farmington Hills Mercy
2018 runner-up: Brighton
2019 top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2. Farmington Hills Mercy, 3. Saline.
Pioneer is seeking its first team championship since ending a string of nine straight in 2008, and after finishing seventh at a close meet in 2018 that saw the top seven teams separated by just 39 points. The Pioneers have three relays and 13 individuals seeded to score (among the top 16 in their events). Mercy has won the last two LP Division 1 championships to bring its total this decade to four, and the Marlins have a returning placing diver, three relays and nine individuals seeded to score – with a number of additional individuals seeded just outside the top 16. Saline is seeking its first title since 2014 and will bring two relays and 12 individuals seeded to score, plus four divers after coming in fifth in 2018. Fourth-ranked Rockford was the 2016 champion and came in fourth last season. The Rams enter this weekend with all three relays and seven individuals seeded to score, but might get an additional boost because it should compete for at least a handful of championships – two of three relays are top-seeded.
Kathryn Ackerman, Grand Haven senior: The three-time Finals champion is looking to finish with at least two more individual titles while also swimming on two relays. She’s the top seed in the 200-yard individual medley (2:01.65) after winning that race the last two years and swimming the all-Finals record (1:57.25) in 2018. She’s also the fourth seed in the 100 backstroke (57.22); last year she also swam and won the butterfly.
Greta Gidley, Farmington Hills Mercy junior: As a sophomore, Gidley finished sixth in the 100 freestyle, 16th in the 200 free and swam on two placing relays. She could take things up a notch or two entering as the top seed in the 100 (51.02) and the second seed in the IM (2:06.06) while again expecting to swim on two contending relays.
Allison Haak, Ann Arbor Skyline senior: Haak is another returning placer expected to make a jump this weekend after coming in fifth in the 100 and sixth in the 200 free and swimming on two placing relays in 2018. She’s seeded first in the 200 (1:50.68), second in the 500 (4:58.60) and set to swim again on two contending relays.
Amelia Hayes, Saline sophomore: Hayes is the top seed in the backstroke (56.26) after finishing third in that race as a freshman, and 12th in the IM after just missing the final heats last year. She did swim on two top-three relays at the 2018 Final, and her two relays this time are both seeded sixth or higher.
Brady Kendall, Plymouth sophomore: Kendall was another standout freshman a year ago, finishing third in the 50 and fifth in the butterfly and swimming on two consolation relays. She’s seeded second in the 50 (23.42) and first in the butterfly (54.53) this weekend, her latter time eight tenths of a second off the all-Finals record swam in 2017.
Lola Mull, Grand Ledge senior: Mull is seeking a three-peat in the 500 and seeded first (4:54.42) as she also goes after her all-Finals record time of 4:44.47 swam two years ago. She also was runner-up last year in the 200 free and is seeded third (1:52.37) in that race.
Claire Tuttle, Hudsonville senior: Tuttle also is swimming for a three-peat after winning the breaststroke the last two seasons. She’s seeded first in that race (1:01.55), just under a second off the all-Finals record time swam in 2014. Tuttle also is seeded first in the 50 (23.34) after finishing fourth in the 100 last year, and is expected to also swim on two top-four relays.
Rockford 200 medley relay: Seniors Masy Folcik and Rachel Gamm, junior Sara Kraus and sophomore Ashley Lund enter with a top seed time of 1:43.84 and could make a run at the LPD1 Finals record of 1:43.10 swam in 2016. Kraus, Folcik, Lund and then-senior Morgan Kraus won the race last season in 1:43.72.
Annie Costello, Ann Arbor Huron junior: Costello finished fourth in diving at the Final as a freshman and runner-up a year ago, less than eight points off the lead. Her 431.40 winning score was more than 27 points higher than anyone’s in LPD1 at any of the three qualifying meets last week.
LP Division 2 at Oakland University
Reigning champion: Rochester Adams
2018 runner-up: Birmingham Seaholm
2019 top-ranked: 1. Birmingham Seaholm, T-2. Birmingham Groves, T-2 Grosse Pointe South.
Seaholm missed out on a second championship in three seasons last fall by 30 points, but enters this weekend the favorite with all three relays seeded second in their races and 16 more individual seeds among the top 16 in those respective events. Groves hasn’t finished among the top two at a Final since winning four straight Division 2 titles from 2003-06, but this could be the year for serious contention again. Groves has all three relays and seven individuals seeded to score, plus three divers including a 2018 placer. Grosse Pointe South is seeking its first top-two finish after missing by six points last season while placing third. The Blue Devils could be a force for the next few years; this weekend they bring three relays and 12 individuals seeded to score, plus two divers, and nearly all of their contenders are underclassmen.
Elly Belmore, St. Clair Shores Lakeview sophomore: Belmore finished fifth in the breaststroke and ninth in the IM last season as a freshman, and could have an even more memorable weekend this time. She’s seeded first in the breaststroke (1:06.25) and second in the IM (2:07.37).
Sage Gettings, Holland senior: After finishing fourth in the 50 and third in the butterfly a year ago, Gettings is seeded first in the butterfly (56.66) and also will swim the 100. She’s also part of two top-11 seeded relays.
Madeline Greaves, Farmington junior: Greaves finished third in both the IM and butterfly in Division 1 last season as part of the Harrison/Farmington co-op. She’s seeded first in both of her races this weekend, but a different combination – the IM (2:05.38) and 500 (5:00.26).
Claire Newman, Midland Dow senior: The Chargers’ standout will look to add a few more titles to last season’s championships won in the 50 and 100 freestyles. She’s seeded first in both races (23.00 and 50.40, respectively), with her 100 time 81 hundredths of a second off the meet record swam in 2017. She’s also part of top-seeded 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
Gracie Olsen, Fenton sophomore: Olsen had a memorable freshman year meet last year winning the IM, finishing second in the butterfly and swimming on two scoring relays. This time she’s seeded fourth in the butterfly (57.43) and second in the 200 free (1:52.49), with spots on two seventh-seeded relays.
Charlotte Schultz, Dexter junior: After swimming to a fifth place in the 500, sixth in the 200 free and on two scoring relays last season, Schultz is seeded first in the backstroke (58.81) and also sixth in the 200 (1:55.51). She’ll also swim on two top-seven seeded relays.
Hannah Williams, Portage Northern freshman: Williams enters her first MHSAA Final as the top seed in the 200 free (1:51.21) by more than a second. She’s also seeded ninth in the 100 free (53.62) and will swim as part of two top-six seeded relays.
Kamila Podsiadlo, Walled Lake Western junior: Podsiadlo rose from sixth as a freshman to champion last season, winning the title by more than 16 points. She finished second at her Regional to Dexter’s Lily Witte (see below).
Lily Witte, Dexter freshman: Witte has won five junior national championships and earned fourth and sixth places at the 2019 Junior Pan American Championships. Her qualifying meet score last week of 467.90 was more than 25 points higher than anyone else’s in Division 2.
LP Division 3 at Oakland University
Reigning champion: East Grand Rapids
2018 runner-up: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
2019 top-ranked: T-1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, T-1. Bloomfield Hills Marian, 3. East Grand Rapids.
East Grand Rapids has won six of the last 10 Division 3 championships, plus a seventh in Division 2 in 2017 to make the Pioneers’ current streak three Finals titles in a row. They scored 330 points last year to win by 46, and enter this weekend with all three relays and 14 individuals seeded to score plus a returning placer in diving. Cranbrook won three of the four Division 3 titles EGR didn’t over the last decade and enters with all three relays and 12 individuals seeded to score – including three tops seeds – plus a placing diver from 2018. Marian was fourth last season after finishing runner-up in 2016 and 2017. The Mustangs will be in the mix of what could be a close meet with three relays and 13 individuals seeded to score.
Ellie Frost, South Haven junior: Frost won the 50 and finished third in the 100 freestyle last season, and she’s expected to score big in both again. She’s seeded first in the 50 (23.83) and sixth in the 100 (53.65).
Justine Murdock, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood junior: After winning the backstroke championship a year ago, she’s seeded first in that race (57.58). She’s also seeded second in the IM (2:10.05) after finishing fifth last season, and is part of top-seeded 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.
Riley Nugent, Plainwell sophomore: Last season’s 500 champion also came in seventh in the 200 free and swam on a scoring relay. She’s seeded first in the 500 (5:01.89) and 200 (1:53.28) this time and swimming on two relays seeded to score.
Mary Snyder, Bloomfield Hills Marian sophomore: Snyder started her high school Finals career by finishing fourth in the breaststroke, eighth in the IM and as part of two scoring relays including the champion in the 200 medley. She’s seeded first in the IM (2:09.87), second in the breaststroke (1:06.86) and will swim on two second-seeded relays.
Emily Solarski, Tecumseh senior: Solarski will look for a strong finish to her high school career seeded first in the butterfly (56.89) and also swimming the 50 and as part of two top-five seeded relays.
Alysa Wager, Battle Creek Harper Creek senior: Wager posted a second place in the butterfly and third in the breaststroke and also swam on two scoring relays last season. She’s seeded first in the breaststroke (1:06.27) and seventh in the butterfly (58.13), plus will swim on two relays seeded to score.
Delaney Wesolek, Bay City John Glenn senior: After finishing ninth in the 100 free and 14th in the backstroke and swimming on two scoring relays in 2018, Wesolek is expected to score even more in her final high school meet. She’s seeded first in the 100 (52.86), third in the 200 free (1:55.16) and as part of the top-seeded 200 free relay and third-seeded 400 relay.
Gwenyth Woodbury, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood junior: She finished second in both the 100 and 200 freestyles last year but won both races as a freshman. She’s seeded second in the butterfly (57.18) and 200 free (1:53.67) this weekend and will swim as part of two top-three seeded relays including the favorite in the 400.
Rayah Blood, Hamilton junior: Blood moved up from third as a freshman to second last season, and her 446.20 score to win her diving qualifier last week bested the entire Division 3 field by nearly 18 points.
PHOTO: Ann Arbor Skyline's Allison Haak swims to a fifth-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle at last season's LPD1 Finals. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Official's List of 'Favorite' Sports Grows with Dedication to Making Our Games Go
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
April 8, 2022
Any season. Any MHSAA sport.
Well, almost any.
You name it, and likely Jeff Brunner has officiated it. He may even have been selected to officiate an MHSAA Final in the sport as well.
He first started as a baseball umpire right out of high school. Family and work life created a 20-year absence from officiating for the 1979 grad of Romeo High, where he had played baseball for the Bulldogs.
Brunner, a 20-year MHSAA registered official, is about to work his favorite sport – softball – again. But, the 60-year-old readily admits he loves games so much, the favorite sport can change regularly for him.
“It’s kind of whatever is in season,” Brunner said of naming a favorite. “I love the pace of the game of softball, and I am a big proponent of providing as may opportunities for girls to play sports, whatever that sport may be.
“For that reason I gravitated towards softball.”
He’ll have to wait though to get on the field. Both of his games were cancelled this week due to weather-related complications.
“Weather can create havoc with spring sports schedules – more so than any other season – so from an officiating standpoint, you have to count on some games being postponed or cancelled,” he acknowledged. “You just have to go with the flow and be ready to work when the weather allows.
“I feel a bit bad for softball and baseball players in particular, because those seasons are so short to begin with, and every contest date is important,” he went on. “When bad weather causes cancellations as a result of rain or the extension of winter, it makes the high school season that much shorter for the athletes.”
Brunner, a father of four grown children, is currently registered for softball, football, volleyball, swimming & diving and basketball. He once did lacrosse in addition to starting his officiating career with baseball.
“There is only so much time in the week,” he said. “I can’t do everything.
“I have at least one sport for each of the three sporting seasons,” he continued. “It’s fun.”
Brunner watched his three daughters grow up playing softball and competing in swimming. His son played baseball and competed in swimming. They all graduated from Traverse City St. Francis, swimming through a co-op program. His daughters were all pitchers for the Gladiators. Their first pitching coach was Dad.
His youngest daughter, Julia, just finished competing for Wayne State University at the 2022 Division II Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships in Greensboro, N.C.
It was his kids that got him into officiating, along with the extra money. But today, it’s just to be a part of a game.
“We were always around sports,” Brunner said. “I thought about officiating for a while.
“Originally I did it to maybe earn just a little bit of extra money, get a little bit of exercise, and kind of stay close to the game,” he continued. “Now, it is just plain fun — it’s fun to be around a game, whatever that game is.”
During his officiating career, Brunner has been selected to officiate MHSAA Finals in swimming & diving and football. He’s not likely to get the chance to umpire a baseball or softball Final as his other business obligations interfere with MHSAA spring postseason play.
While working a Final is a goal of most all MHSAA officials, Brunner said it is just another game once it starts. He sees the Final as a great experience for all coaches, participants, fans and officials.
“MHSAA always does a great job of putting on a Final,” he said. “It’s always special.
“You have a few butterflies prior the game or the meet, but once things start you started focusing on the game itself.
The longer Brunner officiate, whatever the sport is, he believes the key to making the right call often comes down to mechanics.
“Mechanics were drilled into me when I first started,” Brunner said. “A lot of making the right call in my opinion is having the right mechanics and knowing where to be.
“You need to be in a good position to make the call.”
Many veteran coaches have noticed Brunner prides himself on being in the right position, and more. It is noted game after game, season after season.
“Jeff Brunner is the consummate professional as an umpire,” said Dave Kennedy, Traverse City West’s varsity softball coach. “He is excellent with his calls and positioning, but he is most concerned about getting the call right.
“Every time I see I have Jeff as part of the umpiring crew for my games, I know the game is going to be very well officiated,” Kennedy continued. “We are lucky to have Jeff as one of our officials in Northern Michigan — he’s definitely one of the best.”
"As an umpire, Jeff's professionalism and easy demeanor are much appreciated,” Hawkins said. “He runs the games he works in such a way that the focus stays on the players.
“Jeff may not know every player on the field personally, but I'm convinced that Jeff takes on his job, which is a difficult one, for them – the players."
Brunner and his son Andrew’s high school baseball experiences made it easy for Jeff to jump into baseball — and the same was true for softball due to his pitching girls. Swimming & diving, though, has been perhaps the most challenging sport to learn how to officiate for Brunner.
Watching his four children compete in pools over the years was a big help. The physical aspect was much easier, but maybe not the rules.
“The hard part is knowing all the rules … knowing what is a legal stroke and what is not,” he said. “It was an easy transition — we had seen so many swim meets.”
Today Brunner is anxiously waiting to get back on the softball field. He’s got his gear ready in anticipation of calling his first pitch of the 2022 season.
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Official Jeff Brunner has his eyes on the action while officiating a football game. (2) Brunner monitors a starting block during November’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Swimming & Diving Finals at Calvin University. (3) Brunner and his wife Michelle support daughter Julie at March’s Great Lakes Interscholastic Athletic Conference championship meet. (4) Brunner’s gear sits ready for his first game this week before it was canceled due to bad weather. (Photos courtesy of the Brunner family.)