Team Effort Earns Mercy Team Title

November 18, 2017

By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half

ROCHESTER – Farmington Hills Mercy certainly perfected the notion during Saturday’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals that you don’t have to win events to become a swimming & diving champion.

The Marlins didn’t have an individual finish first in any event and had runner-up finishes in just two, but they still left Oakland University happier than anyone.

For the first time since 2013 and eighth time in school history, Mercy won an MHSAA Finals championship after collecting a meet-best 277 points, 29 ahead of runner-up Saline’s total of 248.

Farmington/Harrison was third with 192, Ann Arbor Skyline was fourth at 191 and Rockford rounded out the top five with 156.

“I tried to get them to believe that you can win a state meet without winning a single event,” Mercy head coach Mike Venos said. “We had the team that could do that. We knew Saline was going to run with their top-end kids. We just had to offset that with our depth.”

Depth indeed prevailed for Mercy, which had a finisher in the top 10 in 10 of the 12 events.

The best for the Marlins were a second-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke by senior Katie Minnich and a second-place finish by the 400 freestyle relay in the meet’s final race.

The Marlins also had two third-place finishers, two fourth-place finishers, a fifth and a sixth-place finish.

It was the first time guiding a girls team to an MHSAA title for Venos, the longtime head coach at Brother Rice who has led the Warriors to the last four championships in LP Division 1 and six overall.

Venos is in his second year as head coach at Mercy.

While his team ended a four-year title drought, Saline fell just short in an attempt to win its first title since 2014.

The Hornets saw their 200 medley relay win the title with a time of 1:43.60 and junior Maddie Luther win the 200 freestyle in 1:47.69, but Saline couldn’t win another event to further negate the depth Mercy showcased.

It was the fourth runner-up finish for Saline since 2011.

“They had more swimmers and everywhere you looked, they had somebody,” Saline head coach Todd Brunty said. “We just keep knocking on that door trying to stay relevant. Every year, we try to make sure we stay in the conversation.”

The individual star of the Finals was Farmington/Harrison junior Ashley Turak, who found herself at the top of the podium in all four events in which she competed.

Going into the day, it was a repeat scenario for Turak, who like last year was seeded second in both the 50 and 100 freestyles.

Instead of finishing second in the 50 and fourth in the 100 like she did last year, Turak was first in those events this time.

Turak won the 50 freestyle in a meet record time of 22.38, and then won the 100 freestyle with a time of 49.79.

Turak then served as the first leg of Farmington/Harrison’s team that won the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:34.67.

In the final event of the day, Turak swam the anchor leg for the 400 freestyle relay team that also finished first with a time of 3:26.35.

“The mood I had going in as a junior was that I had some college offers, so I wanted to prove to everyone I could do it,” Turak said. “I don’t know where I want to go yet.”

Turak will have the coming months to sort through what should be plenty of college offers while also being a member of Farmington Hills Harrison’s last graduating class.

Harrison is set to close its doors following the 2018-19 school year.

“I love representing my school,” Turak said. “I get great academics and it has great sports there. Our football is going to the state finals next week, so that amps me up too. It’s a great atmosphere.”

In addition to Turak’s performance in the 50 freestyle, there were other record-setting performances.

Grand Haven sophomore Kathryn Ackerman set a meet record in the 200 individual medley, winning with a time of 1:57.92.

Rockford junior Morgan Kraus set a meet record with a time of 53.73 in winning the 100 butterfly. Grand Ledge sophomore Lola Mull set a meet record in the 500 with a time of 4:47.32.

Click for full results.

PHOTOS: (Top) A pair of Farmington Hills Mercy swimmers dominate an awards podium in helping the Mustangs win the team title Saturday. (Middle) Brighton celebrates a relay runner-up finish. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

Experienced Seaholm Takes Back Top Spot

November 23, 2019

By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half

ROCHESTER – Who says you can’t do any gardening in November?

It certainly worked for the Birmingham Seaholm girls swimming & diving team. 

Last season with a relatively young group, Seaholm finished runner-up at the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals, a result that stunned head coach Karl Hodgson in a good way and planted something special for 2019.

“That’s all we talked about from that point on,” Hodgson said. “Last year, we thought it was going to be a rebuilding year and it was kind of surprising we came in second. Right there, the seed was planted and they didn’t lose sight of that.”

That seed planted a year earlier turned into a championship trophy.

Seaholm captured its first Finals title since 2016, easily outdistancing the field with 304 points. 

Grosse Pointe South was the closest pursuer, finishing runner-up with 222 points. Birmingham Groves was third with 198. 

Seaholm entered the meet ranked No. 1, and lived up to that billing. 

The Maples started the meet with a win, taking first in the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 1:45.83 with the team of sophomores Isabella Vaughan, Lauren Louwers, Katherine Stanley and Eliza Dixon.

Seaholm also won the 200 freestyle relay in a time of 1:36.34 behind Dixon, sophomore Samantha Clifford and juniors Chloe Blake and Megan Clifford. 

Seaholm didn’t win any individual events, but showcased its depth by still accumulating plenty of points with high finishes. 

“We’re a heavy sophomore team, and I think that one year as freshmen (at the state meet) to develop, that’s a big deal,” Hodgson said. “At this meet, some can be overwhelmed, so you tend to do better in the sophomore and junior years.”

With Seaholm reliant on so many sophomores, as Hodgson pointed out, it seems like the “D” word might be on the horizon for the Maples.

But Hodgson wanted to pump the brakes temporarily on any talk of a dynasty. 

“These high school kids, you never know what they are going to do and what direction they are headed,” Hodgson said. “But I will tell you, the future does look good.”

There were three individual standouts who each won three events at the meet. 

Midland Dow senior Claire Newman once again dominated the sprints, repeating in the 50 (22.95) and 100 freestyles (50.23).

Newman, who will swim at University of Michigan, said it wasn’t hard to maintain her drive and hunger despite winning those events last year because of how much passion the Finals generates. 

“There have been a lot of ups and downs,” Newman said. “This is just a perfect way to end my last one. I’m really thankful, more so than anything. Of course, there’s joy. But more so I’m thankful.”

Farmington junior Madeline Greaves won the 200 individual medley (2:04.35) and 500 freestyle (5:00.13), while Fenton sophomore Gracie Olsen won the 200 freestyle (1:48.98) and 100 butterfly (54.62). 

The other individual winners were Dexter freshman Lily Witte in diving with 468.40 points, Dexter junior Charlotte Schultz in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.42, and St. Clair Shores Lakeview sophomore Elly Belmore in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:04.32.

Click for full results.

PHOTOS: (Top) Lauren Louwers powers through one of her swims in helping Seaholm to the team title Saturday at Oakland University. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)