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.
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.)
Preview: Success Stories Soon to Be Told
November 15, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This season’s Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals all have fascinating storylines – and all three are vastly different entering the weekend.
In Division 1, in what might be a first, every individual champion is back from 2017 – and last season’s team champion is the top-ranked contender. In Division 2, only one 2017 individual champion is back – and the favored team is competing for its first MHSAA title in this sport.
In Division 3, we have some of both. A handful of reigning title winners return – plus powerful East Grand Rapids, back in Division 3 after winning Division 2 a year ago.
The Division 1 Finals will be competed at Eastern Michigan University, with Division 2 at Oakland University and Division 3 at the Holland Aquatic Center. Preliminaries are Friday and Finals are Saturday, with action beginning at noon for both. All three Finals will be streamed live and can be watched with subscription on MHSAA.TV. Click for lineups and seed times for all three meets.
LP Division 1 at Eastern Michigan University
Reigning champion: Farmington Hills Mercy
2017 runner-up: Saline
2018 top-ranked: 1. Farmington Hills Mercy, 2. Farmington/Harrison, 3. Brighton.
Mercy has won three Division 1 championships this decade and also finished runner-up three times. The Marlins don’t have highly-seeded individual favorites but will bring all three relays, six individual event top-16 seeds and a diver to EMU. Farmington/Harrison finished third a year ago and brings more star power with three top seeds among nine individuals and two relays seeded to score. Brighton is looking to move up from sixth last season with 14 individuals and two relays seeded to score.
Kathryn Ackerman, Grand Haven junior: Last season’s champion and meet record-setter (1:57.92) in the 200 individual medley enters with the top seed time in that race of 2:01.57. She’s also seeded fifth in the 100 butterfly (56.15) after finishing third in that race in 2017.
Casey Chung, Ann Arbor Skyline junior: After winning last season’s backstroke championship and coming in sixth in the 50 freestyle, Chung is seeded first in the backstroke (55.14) and just behind Ackerman in the IM (2:04.32).
Morgan Kraus, Rockford senior: She set a meet record of 53.73 in winning the butterfly last season and has the top seed this time at 54.33. She also finished fourth in the 50 a year ago and is expected to swim on the top-seeded 200 medley (1:45.90) and 200 freestyle relays (1:36.03) and third-seeded 400 (3:30.41).
Maddie Luther, Saline senior: Similar to her winning the 200 freestyle last season and finishing third in the 500, Luther is seeded first in the 200 (1:49.57) and third in the 500 (4:57.23) heading into this weekend.
Lola Mull, Grand Ledge junior: Mull is seeded first in the 500 (4:53.39) after winning and setting the meet record of 4:44.47 (in the prelim) last season, and she’s seeded seventh in the 200 free (1:53.02) after taking second to Luther in that race a year ago.
Ashley Turak, Farmington/Harrison senior: Turak won the 50 and 100 freestyles last season and was on the winning 200 and 400 free relays as well. She’s seeded first in both the 100 (49.81) and 50 (22.75) after setting the meet record of 22.38 in the latter last year.
Claire Tuttle, Hudsonville junior: The reigning 100 breaststroke champion is seeded first in that race (1:02.43) and fifth in the 100 freestyle (51.95) after coming in fourth in the latter in 2017.
Zain Smith, Ann Arbor Skyline senior: Last season’s Division 1 diving champ won her qualifying meet by 21.4 points with a score of 493.50.
Gracie Sleeman, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern senior: Sleeman finished just 10.25 points behind Smith in taking second place a year ago, and she won her qualifying meet by nearly 32 points with an all-regions Division 1-best 494.45.
LP Division 2 at Oakland University
Reigning champion: East Grand Rapids
2017 runner-up: Dexter
2018 top-ranked: 1. Rochester Adams, 2. Birmingham Seaholm, 3. Dexter.
East Grand Rapids is back in Division 3, and Adams has moved in as the favorite to win its first Finals championship after taking third a year ago. The Highlanders have all three relays and 15 individual entries seeded to score, with a pair of top seeds. Seaholm was the 2016 champion and finished fourth a year ago. The Maples have all three relays and 13 individual entries seeded to score, plus a diver. Dexter has finished runner-up the last two seasons and hopes to take the next step after last winning this meet in 2015, but will need top swims to make a run with only three relays and five individuals seeded to score, plus a diver.
Michaela Briggs, Byron Center senior: Last season’s backstroke runner-up is seeded first this time (56.84) and also seventh in the IM (2:09.83) after finishing third in that race a year ago.
Clarice Fisher, Grosse Pointe South senior: She’s expected to move up after finishing third in the butterfly and sixth in the IM in 2017, entering this weekend the top seed in the butterfly (56.63) and third in the IM (2:08.65).
Lisa Lohner, Rochester Adams senior: The only returning champion at this meet won the 500 and finished second in the 200 freestyle in 2017, and is seeded first in both with times of 4:57.00 and 1:52.32, respectively.
Claire Newman, Midland Dow junior: Just missing her first two seasons, Newman will go for her first championships as the top seed in the 50 (23.31) and 100 (50.29) freestyles. She finished runner-up in both races as both a freshman and sophomore.
Gracie Olsen, Fenton freshman: The Tigers’ standout will enter her first Finals with the top seed in the IM (2:04.04) by more than four seconds and the third seed in the butterfly (57.70).
Jessica Schellenboom, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central senior: After finishing second in the breaststroke and fourth in the IM last year, Schellenboom will attempt to finish her career with a win entering as the top seed in the breaststroke (1:04.60) and 12th in the IM and as an option for all three relays.
Ellie Chalifoux, Birmingham Groves junior – After missing the semifinal cut a year ago, Chalifoux enters this weekend coming off a qualifying meet win where she posted the highest score in all of Division 2 at 418.60.
Lacey & Lexi Mirandette, Grand Rapids Northview seniors – Twins, the Mirandettes posted the second and third-highest qualifying scores in all of Division 2 (414.75 and 412.75, respectively) to take the top two spots at their qualifying meet. Lacey took fourth and Lexi fifth at the Finals a year ago.
Byron Center 200 freestyle relay: The group of senior Sydney Randall and juniors Maria Poll, Corrina Beecher and Emily Poll enter with a seed time of 1:32.30 – 1.1 seconds faster than the meet record swam by East Grand Rapids last season and 47 hundredths of a second faster than the all-Division Finals record by Ann Arbor Pioneer in 2002.
LP Division 3 at Holland Aquatic Center
Reigning champion: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
2017 runner-up: Bloomfield Hills Marian
2018 top-ranked: 1. East Grand Rapids, 2. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 3. Bloomfield Hills Marian.
The EGR/Cranbrook/Marian rivalry picks back up with the Pioneers back in Division 3 after winning the Division 2 title a year ago. East Grand Rapids won Division 3 in 2013, 2014 and 2016 and enters this weekend with all three relays and 11 individual entries seeded to score, plus three divers. Cranbrook Kingswood won last year’s title by 85 points ahead of runner-up Marian and has all three relays and 11 individual entries seeded to score, with one diver. That runner-up finish was Marian’s second straight, and the Mustangs and looking to add to the Division 2 title they won in 2014. Marian has contenders among the three relays and 10 individual entries seeded to score, and a diver competing as well.
Rhianna Hensler, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep junior: Hensler has won two butterfly championships plus the 50 freestyle title last season, and she’s seeded first in both races at 54.96 for the butterfly (which would break her meet record of 55.67 swam last season) and 23.74 in the sprint.
Sophie Housey, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett junior: Seeded first in the 200 freestyle (1:48.60) and second in the 100 (53.06), Housey could claim her first high school titles after competing at the Winter Junior Nationals East a year ago.
Sydney Higgins, East Grand Rapids senior: Higgins helped the Pioneers to the Division 2 team title last year with a third in the backstroke and 12th in the IM. Back in Division 3 – where she won the backstroke in 2016 – she’s seeded sixth in that race (59.34) and 10th in the IM and expected to swim on two top-four relays.
Riley Nugent, Plainwell freshman: Another standout freshman, Nugent enters her first Finals seeded first in the 500 (5:09.16) and fourth in the 200 free (1:56.55).
Olivia Olk, Chelsea junior: She took 16th in the IM and just missed the final heats in the butterfly last season, but is seeded first in the IM (2:09.57) and fourth in the butterfly (58.32).
Lauren Sielicki, Bloomfield Hills Marian junior: She scored big with a third in the backstroke and fifth in the butterfly a year ago, and could lead Marian this time entering with the top seed in the backstroke (58.30), eighth seed in the butterfly (59.29) and as part of the top-seeded 200 medley relay (1:47.57).
Alysa Wager, Battle Creek Harper Creek junior: Wager took seventh in the butterfly and 15th in the IM last season, but in the breaststroke this weekend she’s seeded first (1:06.63) and also second in the butterfly (57.13).
Gwenyth Woodbury, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: A two-time individual and multiple relay champion last season, Woodbury is looking to repeat in the 100 and 200 freestyles with the first seed in the 100 (52.06) and second in the 200 (1:52.74). Her 400 freestyle relay (3:33.08) also is top-seeded.
Mackenzie Crawford, Milan senior: The two-time reigning Division 3 diving champion scored 52 points more than anyone else in her division during the qualifying meets with a 465.45.
PHOTO: Cranbrook Kingswood's Gwenyth Woodbury powers to a victory in the 200-yard freestyle at last season's LP Division 3 Finals. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)