Seaholm Finds Next Gear After Fast Start
November 19, 2016
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
YPSILANTI – Four events into the preliminaries Friday, Birmingham Seaholm girls swimming coach Karl Hodgson knew something special was brewing.
On Saturday, his pot boiled over as the Maples won the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 championship at Michael H. Jones Natatorium on the campus of Eastern Michigan University. Seaholm finished with 287.5 points to outdistance runner-up and reigning champion Dexter, which had 250. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central was third with 215.
It was the first MHSAA team title in girls swimming and diving for Seaholm since it ran off three in a row from 1995-97. Hodgson was an assistant coach on those teams.
“In the first four events on Friday, the medley relay did well and Allie (Russell) dropped two seconds in her I.M. to qualify first,” said Hodgson, who was named the Coach of the Meet by LPD2 coaches. “I had a 200 swimmer Hannah Erickson do her lifetime best, and in the 50 (Haley) Dolan and (Linnea) Anderson had lifetime bests.”
So, with that kind of performance Friday, it would seem Hodgson was relaxed and slept well Friday night.
“Not a chance,” he said with a chuckle. “Not with Dexter hanging around.
Actually, Hodgson said the start of this quest began last year when the Maples finished fifth as Dexter captured the title.
“That was when the girls realized that they had the talent to do it and that they could do it,” he said.
With the excellent performances from Friday behind them, the Maples began the finals portion of the meet in style Saturday by winning the 200 medley relay. The foursome of Nichole McMaster, Russell, Anderson and Dolan finished in 1 minute, 43.98 seconds to win by nearly 3 seconds.
“That was huge,” Hodgson said. “It told me that I had four kids who were on. We set a school record on Friday and came back and crushed it on Saturday. That really set the tone. It was a big deal.”
The swimmers agreed that the first event was a tone-setter.
“After that, everyone’s adrenaline was so up, and that’s when we knew we had a chance of winning,” said McMaster, a senior.
Russell, another senior, also felt the medley relay was the key.
“Our medley relay has always been kind of our strong suit,” she said. “So to lead off the meet with a win, I think that sort of set in motion what could happen.”
Dolan, a junior, had the only individual title for Seaholm. She won the 50 freestyle in 23.56 seconds. As a sophomore, she made it to the MHSAA Final but failed to qualify for the championship heat in the 50.
“This year I’ve been doing a lot of outside training with a trainer, and we worked with a lot of weights, and I think that helped a lot,” she said. “Karl is an amazing coach too, and last year I think I just had an off race.”
Dolan, who also was fifth in the 100 freestyle, was the only three-time Finals champion for Seaholm, which also won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:35.49 with a team of Anderson, Russell, Erickson and Dolan.
The Maples surrounded the three race victories with plenty of depth in the scoring. Russell had the lone runner-up finish as she was second in the 200 I.M.
“I couldn’t be happier,” she said. “I would rather win the state title with my team than as an individual.
“Our freshman year, the state meet was here and got it started for us without really knowing what we were doing, so to finish it off here in my senior year is great.”
Erickson chipped in with a third place in the 200 freestyle and fourth in the 100 freestyle, while Anderson was third in the 50 freestyle and fourth in the 100 butterfly.
“This is amazing; there is nothing like it,” Anderson said. “We knew we had a chance, and we knew we all had to do our best to win it.”
Runner-up Dexter was led by junior Annette Schultz, the swimmer of the meet a year ago when the Dreadnaughts won the title. She was no less spectacular Saturday as she repeated as champion in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle and also swam the anchor leg on the 400 freestyle relay team that finished first.
Schultz came close to breaking the Division 2 Finals records in both the 100 and 200 freestyles. Her time of 50.30 seconds in the 100 was just short of the record (49.87), and her 1:48.27 in the 200 threatened the record mark of 1:47.88. Schutz was joined by teammates Amelia Kinnard, Grace Kacmarek and Sarah Zofchak in the 400 freestyle relay, which won in 3:31.14.
Schultz was not too disappointed in failing to break a Finals record.
“I’m just hoping that next year I can improve on them and get a state record,” she said. “I dropped my time in the 100, and that was what I was looking for.
“I just wanted to get some best times, and I did. I got a best time.”
Olympic swimmer Allison Schmitt, who still holds two all-class Finals records, including in the 200 freestyle, attended the meet and was thrilled to watch the competition.
“Swimming for four years at the state meet was a great experience, and coming back and seeing these girls doing the same thing that I did eight years ago is great,” Schmitt said. “It’s great to be back.
“These girls were little girls when I was in high school, so to see them succeed doing what they are doing is amazing, and I’m cheering for my records to be broken just like everyone else.”
Felicity Buchmaier of Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central was named the swimmer of the meet by the LPD2 coaches. Buchmaier, a junior, won the 100 butterfly in 54.04, and she added the 100 backstroke in 55.30.
“It’s a big relief,” she said. “I felt like I had a lot of expectations from both myself and from other people.”
Buchmaier repeated as champion in the 100 butterfly.
“It was just as exciting as the last time,” she said. “I tried to block out as much emotion as possible, but my body started to hurt – as usual – and I had to get it in my head that it was just another race.”
Forest Hills Central also had the champion in diving, and it might have been the best finish of the meet. Anna Hansen, a sophomore who moved to Grand Rapids from Chicago last year, trailed by three points going into the final dive of the meet. She nailed a forward 2½ somersault in the tuck position – 2.4 degree of difficulty – to score 50.40 points and pass Taylor Shegos of Fenton.
“I was really nervous,” Hansen said, “but I just focused on what I needed to do and nothing else.
“That is my favorite dive, so I was confident with it.”
Hansen’s victory extended the dominance in diving by Forest Hills Central. It was without two-time champion Erin Neely, who missed this season with an injury, but still had four of the top seven finishers.
“Erin is such a big supporter of the team,” Hansen said. “She really has pushed us, so it means a lot to take her place.”
Seaholm, Dexter and Forest Hills Central combined to win nine of the 12 events. The other three were won by Vicki Postmus of Byron Center in the 200 I.M., Charlotte Pierce of Birmingham Groves in the breaststroke and Julia Boswell of Royal Oak in the 500 freestyle.
But the day belonged to Seaholm.
“It’s so surreal I can’t believe it,” Doan said. “It’s so exciting. I think it has sunk in a little but later it’s really going to hit me. It’s crazy.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Birmingham Seaholm poses with its Division 2 championship trophy. (Middle) Anna Hansen of Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Gladstone Girls Claim first MHSAA Title
February 20, 2016
By Keith Shelton
Special for Second Half
MARQUETTE – In a deficit to begin the day, the Gladstone swimmers had their work cut out for them.
So when it got down to the final three events of the day, and the PA announcer read off the standings, the elation and excitement when Gladstone was called in first place for the first time was genuine – the result of a hard day's work with little room for error.
By the time the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, it was a victory lap for the Braves, who were crowned Upper Peninsula champions for the first time Saturday at the MHSAA Girls Swimming & Diving Finals at Marquette High School.
Gladstone, which practices at the Northern Lights YMCA of Delta County, does not have a diving team. So the Braves could only watch Friday as their competitors built an advantage.
"Knowing we don't have diving, and we were going to give up those points, I talked about building depth in the team," said Gladstone head coach Tom Desy. "If we were going to win, we had to be strong in all events, all the way through. The girls dedicated themselves this year to do that. I had a lot of girls step up and swim events that they normally don't like to swim, but they did it for the good of the team."
Gladstone won with 281 points, followed by Houghton with 244 and Marquette with 241. The relatively tight finish was even closer prior to the final events. Before the 17th event, the 200 freestyle relay, Houghton had a slim lead, followed by Marquette and Gladstone. All three teams were within eight points of each other.
But the Braves' saved their best for last. Their 200 freestyle relay team of Jesse Flath, Sydney Herioux, Kirsten Williams and Lindsey McCann finished first with a time of 1:48.98. Gladstone followed with a victory in the 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, and 400 freestyle relay, sweeping the final four events to surge past the competition.
"Marquette and some of the other teams were strong in the IMs, but I know our team is very strong in the back and the breaststroke," Desy said. "I kind of thought if we could stay close, when the back and the breaststroke came up, we could do well, and we did."
Katie Stephenson had an outstanding day for the Braves. The junior placed first in the 100 backstroke (1:04.15), the 50 freestyle (25.72), anchored the Braves winning 400 freestyle relay and was part of the winning 200 medley relay team, the latter of which had a time of 1:57.63, just four tenths of a second off setting a U.P. Finals record.
"It was just adrenaline today," said Stephenson. "I got out of the 100 backstroke and I was breathing so hard, I puked. But I hopped back in. I wanted to finish it (400 freestyle relay) for (senior teammate) Jesse (Flath)."
Herioux, a freshman, won the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:12.40, three seconds faster than her seed time. Sophomore Claire Tembruell placed second in the 100 butterfly and third in the 100 back, and Flath placed second in both the 200 and 100 freestyles.
"Everyone tried their hardest today; it was amazing," exclaimed Flath. "It's amazing considering it's only our fourth year as a team."
Houghton held the lead for a good part of the day, but coach Erik Johnson was satisfied with the runner-up finish, saying his team exceeded expectations.
"If you told me at the end of the meet last year that we were going to finish second, I would have told you, you're out of your mind," he said. "We had a phenomenal meet."
The Houghton girls captured a bevy of second and third-place finishes, with no individual winners, but used their depth and consistency in all events to stay in contention.
"Our girls were undefeated during the season. They knew what they had to do and really stepped up," Johnson said. "Sam Olson was third in the 200 free, and second in the 500, and that helped a ton. It doesn't always come down to winning events. It comes down to those kids that squeeze into sixth place."
The Gladstone swim team, which has a co-op with neighboring Escanaba, was ineligible to compete in the U.P. Finals its first two years, as a club program. But Gladstone’s team became varsity for the 2014-15 season and quickly made a splash with a runner-up finish.
Desy has been there to see his team grow. Prior to taking the coaching job with the Braves, he ran the feeder program at the YMCA for eight seasons.
"This is a proud moment," Desy said. "I'm proud for the Escanaba and Gladstone combined schools. I’m proud of the girls that were on this team, some of which may not have continued through the YMCA without a high school program in place. I'm also very proud of the work I did for the Y, because the Y does a great job with the swim program. Normally without a high school team, those kids would go on to other sports. Now they have a focus to keep swimming and trying hard."
PHOTOS: (Top) Swimmers launch during a race Saturday at Marquette High School. (Middle) A Gladstone swimmer points to the clock as her team made its first MHSAA championship run. (Click for more from Jarvinen Photography.)