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Today In The MHSAA: 11/12/21
November 12, 2021
1. VOLLEYBALL No. 2 Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central needed to come back from a 2-1 deficit to get past honorable mention Brooklyn Columbia Central in a Division 3 Regional Final – Monroe News
2. VOLLEYBALL No. 3 Battle Creek St. Philip came back from a 2-1 deficit to get past No. 2 Athens in five and win a Division 4 Regional title – Battle Creek Enquirer
3. VOLLEYBALL No. 4 Rockford advanced to next week’s Division 1 Quarterfinals with a sweep of No. 6 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central – FOX 17
4. VOLLEYBALL After defeating No. 4 Bronson in the Regional Semifinal, Watervliet finished a Regional title run with a win over honorable mention Kalamazoo Christian – WWMT
5. VOLLEYBALL No. 9 Reese came back after losing the first set to defeat No. 8 Cass City 3-2 in Division 3 – Saginaw News
6. VOLLEYBALL Indian River Inland Lakes claimed its first Regional title since 1995 with a 3-1 win over Rudyard in Division 4 – Cheboygan Daily Tribune
7. VOLLEYBALL Davison won its first Regional title since 1995, sweeping Traverse City West in a matchup of Division 1 honorable mentions – Flint Journal
8. VOLLEYBALL Allen Park Inter-City Baptist avenged its pair of regular-season losses to No. 8 Plymouth Christian Academy with a four-set Division 4 Regional Final win – Southgate News-Herald
9. VOLLEYBALL No. 7 Northville advanced in Division 1 with a sweep of honorable mention Saline – Ann Arbor News
10. VOLLEYBALL Honorable mention McBain avenged last season’s Division 3 Regional Final loss to Beaverton with a sweep – Cadillac News
![Birmingham Groves senior Zach Lezovich races for the eventual team champion; he scored points in three events Saturday.](/sites/default/files/2024-03/240309_D2s_2H.png)
Groves Rallies from 1st-Event DQ to Win Final Race, Repeat Finals Title
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
March 9, 2024
YPSILANTI — Repeating as a Finals champion is never easy.
But the Birmingham Groves boys swim & dive team took it to a new level Saturday.
The Falcons, who won the Lower Peninsula Division 2 title by seven points last year, endured a disqualification in the 200 medley relay this time but battled back to win by a point after finishing first in the final event of the day, the 400-yard freestyle relay.
“I think it might have been the most up-and-down day of my life,” Groves first-year coach Nick Valise said. “I’ve never been in this position before. I still don’t believe it.”
Groves trailed until the final event but finished with 245 points, one point better than Seaholm and Farmington, which tied for second.
Groves did get a key break when crosstown rival Birmingham Seaholm also had a DQ, in the 200 free relay. But the key to the Falcons’ comeback was its resilience.
Joey Stebbins, one of the team’s senior leaders, set the tone after being responsible for the false start that led to the disqualification.
‘Honestly, I just had to shake it off,’ he said. “I knew I messed up as soon as I got in (the pool). I knew I DQ'd it. I'm like, I'd own up to it (and) shake it off.”
“I must say, I’ve never met a group of boys who handled something like that so well,” Valise noted. “I mean, right after the DQ, heads picked right up, (they) put their foot down, kept fighting. Gave us a chance at the end of the meet.”
Groves, Farmington and Seaholm were ranked in that order at the top of LPD3 entering the meet.
Seaholm won four events, including the 200 medley relay. Sophomore Elliot Rijnovean, who was on that relay, also won the butterfly and backstroke, while freshman Quinn O’Neill won the 500 freestyle.
Senior Gus MacDonald won the breaststroke and individual medley for Groves and swam on the winning 400 free relay.
“I knew it'd be close,’ he said. “I knew we had to win that final relay to win the meet. I didn't know the logistics of it. But finally hearing that we won was the best feeling in the world.”
Saturday’s meet was a standout chapter in the long crosstown rivalry.
“I go to class there once a day,” Stebbins said. “It's really, really good to go against them. It always pushes you up. It’s a friendly rivalry. Love those guys down the road.”
It was certainly a day to remember.
“A little surreal, actually,” Valise said. “But I got gifted a group of an amazing 25 boys that could not have worked harder and been more focused on the goal.”
Also winning championships Saturday were Grand Rapids Northview senior Caleb Howe in the 200 and 100 freestyles, Grosse Pointe South senior Troy Liu in the 50 free and Jenison senior Robby Russo in diving. Farmington won the 200 freestyle relay.
PHOTOS (Top) Birmingham Groves senior Zach Lezovich races for the eventual team champion; he scored points in three events Saturday. (Middle) Seaholm’s Elliot Rijnovean, bottom, holds off Ann Arbor Skyline’s Lucas Caswell to win the butterfly. (Below) Groves’ Gus MacDonald swims to the victory in the individual medley. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)