Sault Claims 1st Title with Record-Setting Performances
By
Ryan Stieg
Special for Second Half
March 13, 2021
MARQUETTE – To get its first Upper Peninsula Finals championship, the Sault Ste. Marie girls swimming & diving team needed to be at its best Saturday afternoon.
In the end, the Blue Devils also set a few U.P. records while outlasting Marquette 347-313 to claim the title and end the Redettes’ two-year winning streak.
“It’s history,” Blue Devils head coach Steve Habusta said. “We’ve never done it. It’s history for these kids to be able to be part of it and say that they’ve done it. It’s a special day, a special feeling and this is all about the kids. They did a fantastic job today, really put in the work all season.”
The Blue Devils ended up setting four meet records, as senior Aliah Robertson broke her own marks in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke. Robertson was also part of the record-setting 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays. Joanne Arbic was also on both and won two more events, the 50 and 100 freestyles.
Even though they ended up coming up short in their quest for a third-straight title, the Redettes still had a successful day. They won the 200 free relay and took three individual events with Lexi LaCombe winning the 200 free, Grace Sobczak finishing first in the 500 free and Haddie Ketzenberger coming out on top in the 1-meter diving competition on Friday.
“They showed up too; they were amazing,” Marquette head coach Nathan McFarren said. “Lexi was seeded second and ended up winning the 200 free. She had a personal best in her 100, her 50 free split. We had Grace, pretty special as a freshman to runner-up (200 IM) and win her individual in the 500 and the relay. And then our diving. That started us out with a 1, 3, and 8 finish. That was pretty special too. We can’t hang our heads. We just didn’t have the depth this year.”
Kingsford’s Adelaide McRoberts was the other individual champion as she set a meet record in the 100 butterfly and also won the 100 backstroke.
PHOTOS: (Top) Sault Ste. Marie's Joanne Arbic celebrates her win in the 50 freestyle Saturday at Marquette High School. (Middle) Kingsford's Adelaide McRoberts, middle, launches at the start of the backstroke final. (Photos by Daryl Jarvinen.)
Title IX at 50: Marquette Ties Record for Swim & Dive Finals Success
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 22, 2022
With its Upper Peninsula Finals championship won Saturday, the Marquette girls swimming & diving team tied the MHSAA Finals record for most team championships in the sport – matching the 24 titles won by East Grand Rapids.
The first MHSAA Finals for girls swimming & diving were hosted in 1972. Finals were separated into Upper and Lower Peninsula meets in 1980, with Upper Peninsula girls teams competing during the winter and Lower Peninsula teams continuing to compete during the fall.
The Marquette girls won that first Upper Peninsula Finals in 1980 and the next season’s as well, then finished second four times before claiming their third championship in 1989. In addition to their 24 championships, they’ve also finished Finals runner-up 12 times. They strung together a record 12 straight titles from 2002-12.
Among individual standouts, Jenny Laughna’s UP Finals record in the 500-yard freestyle (5:13.60) from 1994 continues to stand, and she at one time also held meet records in the 200 individual medley, 100 butterfly, 100 freestyle and 100 breaststroke.
Hanna Cowley is another interesting notable – her 2008 UP Finals record in the 100 freestyle stood until last winter, and her 50 freestyle record from 2008 wasn’t broken until 2020. She was a freshman for Marquette that 2008 season, and after her family moved downstate she won six more individual championships (three in the 100 and three in the 200 freestyle) and swam on four championship relays, all in Lower Peninsula Division 1 for Ann Arbor Pioneer.
Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.
Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights
Feb. 15: Jaeger's 2004 Winter Run Created Lasting Connection - Read
Feb. 8: Marian's Cicerone to Finish Among All-Time Elite - Read
Feb. 1: WISL Award Honors Builders of State's Girls Sports Tradition - Read
Jan. 25: Decades Later, Edwards' Legend Continues to Grow - Read
Jan. 18: Iron Mountain Completes Championship Climb - Read
Jan. 11: Harrold's Achievement Heralds Growth of Girls Wrestling - Read
Dec. 20: Competitive Cheer Gives Michigan Plenty to Cheer About - Read
Dec. 14: Evelyn's Game Had Plenty of Magic - Read
Dec. 7: Council Term Ends, But Leinaar Leaves Lasting Impact - Read
Nov. 30: Basketball Season Ready to Add to Rich Tradition - Read
Nov. 23: Marysville Builds Winning Streak Yet to be Challenged - Read
Nov. 16: Wroubel Has Championed Girls School Sports from Their Start - Read
Nov. 9: Pioneer's Joyce Legendary in Michigan, National Swim History - Read
Nov. 2: Royal Oak's Finch Leading Way on Football Field - Read
Oct. 26: Coach Clegg Sets Championship Standard at Grand Blanc - Read
Oct. 19: Rockford Girls Set Pace, Hundreds After Have Continued to Chase - Read
Oct. 12: Bedford Volleyball Pioneer Continues Blazing Record-Setting Trail - Read
Oct. 5: Warner Paved Way to Legend Status with Record Rounds - Read
Sept. 28: Taylor Kennedy Gymnasts Earn Fame as 1st Champions - Read
Sept. 21: Portage Northern Star Byington Becomes Play-by-Play Pioneer - Read
Sept. 14: Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well - Read
Sept. 7: Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read
PHOTO The 1995 Marquette girls swimming & diving team won the program's eighth Upper Peninsula Finals championship. (MHSAA file photo)