Rockford Rises to Edge East-Side Powers
December 7, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Those who follow high schools swimming & diving closely can appreciate even more what Rockford accomplished this fall.
The Rams won their first MHSAA team championship, a big deal on its own. But consider this as well:
Over the previous 40 Lower Peninsula Division 1 or Class A Finals in the sport, 37 had been won by teams from the southeast region of the state that traditionally draw from powerful feeder programs in the Ann Arbor (Club Wolverine) and Oakland County (Oakland Live Y’ers) areas.
Rockford – the Applebee’s Team of the Month for November – this fall joined Holland West Ottawa in 2012 and the Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central teams of 1993 and 1994 in breaking that hold on the MHSAA’s largest-schools championship.
The Rams edged eight-time title-winner Farmington Hills Mercy 249-239 to take the top spot Nov. 19 at Oakland University.
“We just have so much respect for what they’ve built,” said Rockford coach Tom Parks of the southeast Michigan powers. “It just seemed to me a long time ago, how is anybody going to upset that balance?
“We’ve had depth for a long time, and I think we could’ve done well against those teams in a dual meet. But at the state meet, it’s only the top-end kids. We’ve always had one or two top-end kids, but this year we had three very legit All-American kids and a diver who did extremely well, and a bunch of other kids that just filled in spots really well and made our relays strong.”
Senior Sydney McDowell was the team’s lone individual champion at the Division 1 meet, finishing first in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:01.94 – the fourth-fastest time in the event in MHSAA Finals history.
McDowell teamed with seniors Hunter Ignasiak and Meegan Snyman and junior Peyton Rayburn to win the 200 freestyle relay in 1:34.37 – a full second faster than their preliminary time from the day before and two seconds faster than their seed time in the event. Their time also was the fourth-fastest in MHSAA Finals history, all divisions and classes combined, and set an LP Division 1 Finals record. (Girls swimming & diving switched to divisions from classes in 2002.)
As a team, Rockford broke nine school swim records and both diving records this fall. McDowell’s breaststroke time qualified for All-America honors automatically from the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association, and she also set the Rams' record with a 2:04.36 in the 200 individual medley, finishing fifth in that event at the MHSAA Final. Rayburn earned All-America with her Finals runner-up time of 50.19 seconds in the 100 freestyle (10th-fastest in Finals history) and also set a school record of 1:49.88 in finishing third in the 200 freestyle. Sophomore Morgan Kraus earned All-America honors with both her third-place finish in the backstroke (55.42) and her best time this season in the butterfly (54.40); she finished runner-up in the latter race at Oakland.
Freshman Masy Folcik swam a 1:04.36 in the breaststroke prelim to earn All-America consideration and went on to finish seventh in that event, and sophomore diver Elise Jendritz earned the same consideration with her top 11-dive score this season (a school-record 460.75) and went on to finish seventh at Oakland as well.
In addition to those individual standouts, the 200 freestyle relay earned All-America honors, as did the 400 freestyle relay of Ignasiak, Kraus, senior Sara Fredricks and Rayburn (second at the Final in 3:26.55) and the 200 medley relay of senior Kallen Wolfer, McDowell, Kraus and Snyman (fourth at the Final, with a prelim time 1:45.25). The 400 relay time was the ninth-fastest in Finals history.
“We knew the 500 and the backstroke, we knew that’s where Mercy was going to hurt us. Scoring out from the prelims, we were about 12 points down from being able to tie them (at that point), and we had a conversation about that,” Parks said. “We gained some, we lost some … but if we did get to that point, (we told our girls) if we want a shot at this we have to win the 200 free relay. … They swam out of their heads … and then the momentum just changed. Our backstroker went nuts, our two breaststrokers did well, and our 400 relay – we considered that our weak relay all year of the three, and their 3:31 (in the prelims) was the fastest we’ve ever been – and they dropped five seconds from the prelims to the Finals."
Parks, who took over the program in 2000 and also previously coached the Rockford boys, will graduate four seniors who set individual school records or were part of record-setting relays this fall. But he thinks this year’s momentum combined with improvement from his community’s age group program as well could lead to more title contention to come.
Leading to this fall’s championship, Rockford improved this decade from 14th in 2011, to sixth in 2012, fifth in 2013 and third in 2014 before dropping back only slightly to fourth in 2015.
“Knowing the ins and outs of our sport,” Parks said, “it was such an accomplishment, what we were able to do.”
Past Teams of the Month, 2016-17
October: Rochester girls golf - Report
September: Breckenridge football - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) Rockford’s Sydney McDowell swims the breaststroke during the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final last month. (Middle) The Rams pose with their first MHSAA team championship trophy in the sport. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Preview: Surging In Uncharted Waters
January 14, 2021
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Swimming may be the sport most reliant on a training schedule, with athletes purposefully prepping for a specific championship day.
This season’s plan dissolved in November for Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals participants – but in its place, contenders will compete this weekend under historic circumstances after a two-month pause due to COVID-19.
The Division 1 Final will be hosted by Hudsonville High School, with Division 2 at Grand Rapids Northview and Division 3 at Lake Orion. Diving begins Friday at 5:30 p.m., with all swimming starting at 2 p.m. Saturday. All races will be timed Finals – there will be no preliminaries or final heats, but results will be a combination of the fastest times from all heats.
Spectators are not allowed at this weekend’s Finals, but all three will be streamed live and can be watched with subscription on MHSAA.TV. Click for lineups and seed times for all three meets.
Lower Peninsula Division 1 at Hudsonville
Reigning champion: Farmington Hills Mercy
2019 runner-up: Ann Arbor Pioneer
2020-21 top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2. Saline, 3. Northville.
Farmington Hills Mercy has won the last three Division 1 championships but was only fifth in the most recent rankings from November. Pioneer finished just a half-point behind the Marlins in 2019 and is the favorite to win its first championship since 2008. The Pioneers have an extraordinary 22 entries seeded to score, with six top seeds (including all three relays), plus a diver. Saline, third a year ago, is seeking its first championship since 2014 and first top-two finish since 2017. The Hornets have 13 entries seeded to score including one top seed, plus three divers competing.
Kotoko Blair, Novi junior – She’s the top seed in the 100-yard freestyle (51.56) and second in the 50 (23.67) after finishing third in the 50 and sixth in the 100 in 2019.
Stella Chapman, Ann Arbor Pioneer freshman – One of many Pioneer standouts, she’s seeded first in the backstroke (56.30) and third in the 200 individual medley (2:04.25).
Greta Gidley, Farmington Hills Mercy senior – The reigning 100 freestyle champion and runner-up in the IM has switched up events a bit and is seeded second in the 500 (5:01.86) and fourth in the IM (2:04.33).
Edwina Jalet, Ann Arbor Pioneer junior – She came in fifth in the backstroke and 15th in the IM a season ago, but returns as the top seed in the breaststroke (1:03.00) and sixth in the IM (2:05.34).
Brady Kendall, Plymouth junior – Kendall was third in the butterfly and fifth in the 50 last season and is expected to make a jump – she’s top-seeded in both races with times of 54.53 and 23.22, respectively.
Emily Roden, Northville sophomore – Last season’s butterfly champion (and third-place finisher in the 200 freestyle) as a freshman, Roden should be back in the mix in both seeded second in the butterfly (56.04) and third in the 200 (1:53.15).
Kiersten Russell, Saline senior – Russell could have a memorable last Finals after finishing third in the backstroke and 11th in the IM as a junior. She is the top seed in the 500 (4:59.33) and fourth in the backstroke (56.87).
Annaliese Streeter, Ann Arbor Huron senior – After finishing eighth in both the IM and breaststroke in 2019, Streeter enters this meet the top seed in the IM (2:03.40) and second in the breaststroke (1:03.18) with the latter less than two tenths of a second off the top rank.
Vivian VanRenterghem, Ann Arbor Pioneer junior – She’s seeded first in the 200 freestyle (1:52.82) and seventh in the backstroke (57.89) after finishing second in the 200 and tying for ninth in the 100 free a season ago.
Annie Costello, Ann Arbor Huron senior – Last season’s Division 1 diving champion won with a score of 425.40 and won her Regional this fall by 41 points with a 436.05, the only Division 1 score at any Regional to break 400.
Lower Peninsula Division 2 at Grand Rapids Northview
Reigning champion: Birmingham Seaholm
2019 runner-up: Grosse Pointe South
2020-21 top-ranked: 1. Birmingham Seaholm, 2. East Grand Rapids, 3. Rochester Adams
Seaholm is seeded to win its second-straight championship and third in five seasons. The Maples have 28 entries seeded to score with the top seeds in all three relays plus a diver competing. But this race also changed up quite a bit with East Grand Rapids opting out – the Pioneers won Division 3 last season and were riding a four-season streak of team Finals titles in either Divisions 2 or 3. Adams won Division 2 in 2018 and then finished sixth in Division 1 last season. With 23 entries seeded to score and a diver, the Highlanders should be in the mix again.
Grace Albrecht, Jenison freshman – She’s set to make an impressive Finals debut as the top seed in the 50 (23.76) and fourth seed in the 100 free (52.82).
Elly Belmore, St. Clair Shores Lakeview junior – Last season’s breaststroke champion is slated to swim that race and the IM, entering as the 14th and 12th seeds, respectively, in those races.
Lily Cleason, Ann Arbor Skyline sophomore – After finishing 14th in the 200 free and swimming the backstroke in Division 1 in 2019, she’s seeded third in the 200 (1:53.56) and tops in the backstroke (56.63) at this Division 2 meet.
Samantha Clifford, Birmingham Seaholm sophomore – She was third in the 50 and fifth in the 100 free as a freshman, and could bring the Maples one or two individual championships as the second seed in both the 100 (52.07) and 200 free (1:52.22).
Allison Danko, Rochester Adams senior – As noted above she with her team also swam in Division 1 last season, finishing seventh in the 500 and 11th in the 200 free. She’s the top seed in the 500 (4:57.91) by nine seconds and the fourth seed in the 200 (1:53.97) this weekend.
Madeline Greaves, Farmington senior – After winning four Division 1 relay championships over her first two seasons with now-closed Farmington Hills Harrison, she added Division 2 individual titles last season for Farmington in the IM and 500. She’s seeded first in the IM (2:04.59) this weekend and also in the backstroke (1:04.74).
Gracie Olsen, Fenton junior – The Tigers standout has won individual titles in three events over her first two seasons, the IM as a freshman and the butterfly and 200 free as a sophomore. She’s seeded first in both of her 2019 title races, in 55.17 and 1:51.28, respectively.
Jordyn Shipps, DeWitt senior – She’s hoping to add a first Finals championship after taking fifth in the 200 and fourth in the 100 free in 2019; she’s seeded first in the 100 (51.12) by nearly a second and second in the IM (2:06.07).
Lily Witte, Dexter sophomore – The reigning diving champion cleared the Division 2 Regional field this time by more than 34 points with a 472.00. Her 468.40 at last season’s Final was the second-highest Finals score in Division 2 during the three-division era.
Lower Peninsula Division 3 at Lake Orion
Reigning champion: East Grand Rapids
2019 runner-up: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
2020-21 top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. Bloomfield Hills Marian, 3. Hamilton.
Even before East Grand Rapids opted out of the Finals, there was going to be a new champ in this division as EGR was slated to swim in Division 2. Cranbrook after winning this meet in 2017 finished second to the Pioneers the last two – last season by only 11 points. The Cranes enter this weekend with 17 entries seeded to score, including five top seeds, and two competing divers. Marian finished third last season and was runner-up in 2016 and 2017, and will make a run at this weekend’s championship with 14 entries seeded to score, two top seeds, and a diver. Hamilton could build on last year’s fifth-place finish, entering with nine entries seeded to score including one top seed, plus three divers.
Hannah Fathman, Hamilton senior – Fathman won the 50 last season after being part of a championship relay as a sophomore. She enters Saturday seeded second in the 50 (23.91) and fourth in the 100 free (52.92).
Ginger McMahon, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett junior – McMahon won the breaststroke as a freshman and returns this weekend as the top seed in that race (1:04.27) by more than three seconds and as the second seed in the IM (2:09.14).
Justine Murdock, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood senior – She’ll look to add to her three individual and one relay title won over the last two seasons. She’s the reigning champion in the backstroke and IM and the meet record holder in the former, and she arrives as the top seed in both in 56.76 and 2:08.19, respectively.
Riley Nugent, Plainwell junior – She’s won two straight championships in the 500 and also was second in the 200 free last season. She’s the top seed in the 500 (5:08.11) by nearly five seconds and the second seed in the 200 (1:54.95).
Julia Waechter, Bloomfield Hills Marian junior – She was part of a relay champion as a freshman and could be closing in on one or more individual titles as the top seed in the 50 (23.57) and second seed in the 100 free (51.57). She was fourth in the 50 and fifth in the 100 last season.
Gwen Woodbury, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood senior – Woodbury will finish a career that’s included three individual titles and four relay championships, including a win in the 200 freestyle with a runner-up finish in the butterfly as a junior. She seeded first in the 100 free (51.29) and also in the 200 (1:50.57), by four seconds.
Lara Wujciak, Flint Powers Catholic senior – She was fifth in the butterfly and swam the backstroke last season and should move up significantly in both. She’s seeded first in the butterfly (56.59) and fifth in the backstroke (59.27).
Abigail Sullivan, Otsego junior – After finishing third last season behind two seniors, Sullivan is the likely favorite also based on a strong Regional. Her 442.10 was 73 points higher than anyone else at a Division 3 qualifying meet.
PHOTO: Lindsay Orringer-Hau swims to a ninth place in the butterfly at last season's Division 1 Final, and will be among standouts looking to score big for Ann Arbor Pioneer this weekend. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)