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.)
Stevenson's Siroky Surges Amid Challenges, Skates & Swims to Stardom
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
January 13, 2022
McKenzie Siroky isn't the first female athlete to compete on a boys hockey team in Michigan, but she might well be the best.
Siroky's decision to try out, and be selected, for the Livonia Stevenson boys hockey team this season required a firm commitment and a hefty dose of courage. Siroky easily could have remained on the elite HoneyBaked AAA team she had been a member of for four years but she saw this, competing with and against the boys, as an opportunity.
And Siroky has never been one to back down from a new challenge. Besides, competing against the boys is nothing new for her – she has three older brothers who came through Stevenson coach David Mitchell's program – and she's confident it will eventually lead her to becoming a better player as she prepares to compete at the next level.
Siroky, 16, is a junior forward and arguably one of the top all-around female athletes in Michigan, perhaps the Midwest, over the last 10 years. She recently committed to play hockey at Minnesota-Duluth, one of the country's top programs, and two months ago she set the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls Swimming & Diving Finals record in the 100-yard breaststroke.
As a sophomore in 2020, Siroky won the Division 1 title in the breaststroke with a time of 1:01.45. At the Holland Aquatic Center this past November, Siroky won the event with a time of 1:00.85. Her 1:00.48 in the prelim set the MHSAA Finals all-class, all-division record, besting the 1:00.56 swam by Miranda Tucker of Waterford in 2014.
Siroky also was a member of relay teams that finished fourth in both the 200 medley and 200 freestyle.
Although hockey has always been her main sport, Siroky said she intends to compete in swimming next fall.
“I want to be the first to break the 1-minute (mark),” she said.
Given Siroky's track record, it shouldn't surprise anyone if she did. It's that challenge thing.
Sure she's talented, but there's so much more to Siroky than pure ability. She's had to overcome obstacles and heartaches most only hear about – and her work ethic and willingness to sacrifice have Siroky on the road to success.
Siroky said she started skating when she was about 5 years old. A year later, as a first grader, she played on her first organized hockey team, the Livonia Sharks, and she could hardly contain her joy.
“I remember going to school wearing my jersey,” she said. “I was so proud. I wore it all day.”
Siroky has been hooked ever since. But before hockey, there was swimming.
Her mother Michele Siroky also attended Stevenson and was a three-time Class A Finals champion, twice as part of relays and in 1987 in the 200 freestyle, before competing at Michigan State. Michele, who was a teammate of Olympic Gold medalist Sheila Taormina at Stevenson, introduced her eldest daughter to swimming and, although it was more of a summer activity at first, McKenzie’s love for the sport grew.
Michele's maiden name was McKenzie, hence her daughter's name. She coached at a handful of places including Stevenson and was an occupational therapist before working for Livonia Public Schools. In 2012, she was diagnosed with brain cancer. Three years later she developed breast cancer and beat that, but succumbed to the brain cancer and died on July 26, 2017.
“She got me in the pool,” Siroky said. “She coached me for five or six years until she couldn't anymore. She also swam the breaststroke. I got most of my training (in that event) from her.
“She gave me motivation. She gave back to the community by coaching at Burton Hollow (Swim Club) and other ways.”
Michele was an exceptional person. She devoted herself to the care of children and her family. She made a seamless transition from being a swim mom to a hockey mom, driving her children to practice, preparing meals and keeping a sharp eye on their schedules.
For Siroky, a day doesn't pass without thoughts of her mother, who was her mentor, teacher and friend. She continues to draw strength from her and remains a driving force in her life.
As much as Siroky enjoyed being in the pool, and having her mother as a coach, hockey has always been her favorite sport. Perhaps it was watching her bothers (Alex, Kyle and Jack) play and compete so well that made such an impact on her. Or perhaps the realization that she was good at it, and enjoyed every minute on the ice, playing or practicing.
As she advanced from the Sharks to the Livonia Knights, Siroky ran into disappointment – and it proved beneficial.
The girls program placed two age groups per level. When Siroky was 9, she tried out for the 10-and-under team and was cut as the coaches leaned toward keeping the older players, leaving fewer spots for the younger ones. Undeterred, Siroky went to nearby Farmington where there was a team for her age group.
“It worked out well,” she said. “I started playing at the Triple-A level there. In Livonia they only had Double-A. I feel eventually I would have gone over (to Farmington). Yeah, being cut, I always use that as motivation.”
Other than skating with her brothers, the first time Siroky competed against the boys took place at a developmental summer camp while attending Holmes Middle School in Livonia.
“I felt like I matched up well,” she said. “I was fine.”
This experience made the decision to switch from HoneyBaked to competing with Stevenson this season all the easier.
“It came down to where I was going to develop the most,” she said. “I was playing in an age group, and I had a discussion (with HoneyBaked coaches) to move up.
“Now that I'm on the team, I couldn't be more grateful. I'm trying to get better every day. That's what Coach Mitch says – work to get better every day. And the guys have been great, pushing me every day in practice.”
The more Siroky faces adversity, the more she's inspired to excel.
“Her whole motivation is to be challenged,” Mitchell said. “She's not one to back down. It comes down to how can she become better.”
In July, Siroky was one of 32 players, including five total from Michigan, invited to compete in the USA Hockey Girls U18 Select Player Development Camp in St. Cloud, Minn. This group represented the best of the best for the age group, and from them 23 were selected to the USA U18 women's national team that would compete in the 2022 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women's World Championships.
Earlier this month, those 23 players were officially named as members of the 2022 Olympic team that will compete in China in February.
Siroky didn't make the final cut, thus adding motivation and another reason to compete with and against the boys.
“We look at this as an opportunity,” Mitchell said. “Everyone knows McKenzie and the positive energy she brings. She's infectious. It's been a win, win, win for everyone.”
When her mother passed, Siroky found it difficult, at times, to concentrate on her schoolwork. Yes, swimming and hockey provided an outlet, something she could sink her teeth into, but her attention toward school took time. And she received help.
Two years ago, Siroky moved in with her grandmother, Barbara McKenzie, and it was just what Siroky needed. Her grandmother and the guidance she provided filled a gap.
“She does so much for me,” Siroky said. “It gets so busy for me. She'll take things off my shoulders, like some days I'll see that all my laundry is done. That really helps. She knows I like to eat fruits and vegetables, so she'll buy them. And she lives right across from Stevenson, so that saves me time, too.”
Perhaps not so coincidentally, Siroky's grades improved the last two years. She's earned all As.
Her schedule, especially in the fall when she competes in swimming and has hockey practice, is mind-boggling. Three times a week she'll go to swim practice in the morning before school. Then there's practice five days a week after school as well as Saturdays. After swim practice she'll take care of her homework assignments, have dinner, then go to hockey practice. No swim practice on Sundays, so those days are devoted to hockey.
She can't remember the last time she watched television. Energy drinks are a no-no, and she doesn't drink coffee or eat anything that has processed sugar.
“I'm living in the moment,” Siroky said. “I repeat to myself, over and over, ‘How bad do you want it?’”
The results are in full view with hockey and her education taking center stage. She achieved one major goal, that being to play in college. Another would be to make the U.S. U18 national team.
More immediate is this hockey season, which could prove to be quite successful for the Spartans. They started 1-1 (Siroky missed both games due to the swim Finals) and have won 10 of 11 since, including the last five. Stevenson's two losses are to Grosse Pointe South (3-2) and Birmingham Brother Rice (3-1).
“We lost 18 seniors from last year,” Mitchell said. “This group is phenomenal. It's been a high-character group.”
Tom Markowski primarily covered 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. He also is a former correspondent and web content director for State Champs! Sports Network. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Livonia Stevenson’s McKenzie Siroky helps her team to an 8-0 win over Trenton on Jan. 5 (Middle) Siroky sets the all-class/division MHSAA Finals record in the 100 breaststroke during the LPD1 preliminaries in November. (Below) Siroky and her grandmother Barbara McKenzie. (Top photo by Douglas Bargerstock, middle photo by High School Sports Scene, below photo courtesy of McKenzie Siroky.)