Standish-Sterling Builds on Early Investment
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 19, 2019
Shawn Maison said he started to see things turn around for Standish-Sterling’s girls swimming & diving team when athletes who had come up through the youth program began to populate his team.
Now he’s doing what he can to make sure that keeps happening.
“Whenever we get these successes, I have all these posters on the wall with the conference championships. And the little kids see that, and maybe then they aspire to want to swim at that level and enjoy that success,” said Maison, who is in his seventh year leading the Panthers varsity.
“We gave the kids a picture and had all the girls sign it. We have a swim buddies thing, where they all write to each other back and forth, so all the different levels encourage each other. That’s just kind of the connection we want the youth to have with us, so they don’t forget about us.”
The Panthers recently wrapped up a second-straight perfect dual-meet season in the Independent Swim Conference and won their second straight conference meet. On Friday, they will send a school record five swimmers to the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals at Oakland University, where they’ll look to put an exclamation point on an already historic season.
“It’s been so much fun to be a part of all these girls coming up, and each year we’ve been getting better,” said sophomore Sierra Maison, Shawn’s daughter. “We’ve shot through so many barriers that haven’t ever been broken before by our swim team. Like winning our ISC conference two times in a row – before, the girls team was just struggling to even win a dual meet.”
Maison will be joined at the MHSAA Finals by Mady Ahleman, Savanna Kurchak, Sareena Kurchak and Emily Ratajczak. Maison, Ahleman and Ratajczak will swim with Savanna Kurchak in the 200-yard medley relay, and Sareena Kurchak in the 400 freestyle relay. Ratajczak also qualified for the 100 breaststroke, while Ahleman qualified for the 100 backstroke.
Sierra Maison – who has now been named ISC Swimmer of the Year in each of her first two seasons – qualified in the 200 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 100 butterfly, 100 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 100 backstroke. She will swim the IM and breaststroke at the Finals.
A year ago, Maison advanced to the consolation “B” final in the 200 IM, finishing 13th after placing 11th in the preliminary round. That was the highest ever finish for a Standish-Sterling swimmer, but she plans to break that record this year.
“Nobody has ever made it to the finals at the state meet,” she said. “Last year was a rough meet for me. This year, I’m hoping to redeem myself a little bit and get into that A final. It would be awesome. I’m really going for top three here. Training has been amazing so far.”
Maison is one of those swimmers who came up through the youth program. But while her arrival has helped take the Panthers to new heights, the rise didn’t start there.
“When some of the girls that had been with the youth program started to come up to the varsity level and had that structure at practice at all different levels,” Shawn Maison said of when he began to see the program turning a corner. “The first one was Emily Ratajczak (now a senior), then Mady Ahleman (now a junior), then Sierra. Really in the last three to four years we started to see long-term swimmers who had taken swimming seriously starting to show up on varsity. Now, 70 to 80 percent of the team is like that.”
Shawn Maison makes it abundantly clear that while those swimmers may have changed the direction of the program, all his athletes are playing a major part in the team’s success.
That goes beyond coach speak, as the ISC meet sees all swimmers score, making each race for each swimmer vital. This year’s meet came down to the final event (400 freestyle relay), and while the Standish-Sterling A team came out on top, it was the B team finishing among the top eight that clinched the meet.
“We cut the conference pretty close this year,” Shawn Maison said. “It’s come down to the last relay both years. I always say we would have lost if we wouldn’t have had any one of our team members. The beauty about a school our size is that kids know they’re valued by the team, and they can see that in the score at the end of the year.”
The future looks bright, said Maison, who mentioned there are several strong swimmers coming up through the youth ranks. Thanks to seven years of hard work put in by those before them, they’ll be strengthening an already solid core, and not having to pave their own way.
“I’ve gotten to be with him through the whole journey,” Sierra Maison said. “It’s been super cool to see how much the numbers have grown. It went from maybe five people when he first started to now a 20-member team.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) The Standish-Sterling girls swimming & diving team huddles up during a meet this fall. (Middle) Sierra Maison launches at the start of the 200 IM consolation final during last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals at Holland Aquatic Center. (Top photo courtesy of the Standish-Sterling girls swimming & diving program; middle by 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.)