4-Time Champ Rijnovean Set to Pursue Another Title Pair to Close Seaholm Career
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 6, 2026
BIRMINGHAM — Growing up, Birmingham Seaholm senior Elliot Rijnovean was involved in a lot of sports, whether it was soccer, basketball, hockey, tennis or anything else that got him moving.
Eventually though, there was one important intangible that swimming ended up providing.
“I started winning in swimming, and I wasn’t winning in other sports,” he said. “So I was like, ‘You know, I’m going to stick with this because this could be my thing.’ It turned out that it was.”
It indeed has been Rijnovean’s thing, given he has done a lot of winning during a terrific high school career.
Next week at the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals, Rijnovean will pursue his fifth and sixth individual championships.
Two years ago as a sophomore, he won the 100-yard backstroke (48.69) and 100 butterfly (48.83). He pulled the feat off again last year, capturing the 100 back in 47.10 and the 100 butterfly in 47.85.
Rijnovean enters this Finals in good form, having set a personal best of 46.72 in the 100 back last week at the Oakland Activities Association Red championships.
While he excels in both races, he started first with backstroke as a young swimmer and is a little more comfortable in that event.
“When I was 8, I won our summer championship in the 25-meter backstroke, so I’ve always been a backstroker,” Rijnovean said. “But I kind of picked up the fly a little later, my freshman year. Obviously, my sophomore and junior year I ended up swimming fly and won both times. It kind of complements backstroke because they’re both similar in terms of how the event is swum. Basically, it’s like an underwater focus. Underwater dolphin kicks, those go hand in hand together for me.”
As it turns out, taking up the butterfly might serve Rijnovean well beyond high school. Committed to Indiana, Rijnovean said coaches for the Hoosiers have emphasized there might be more opportunities in the butterfly once he gets to Bloomington.
“Coach Ray Looze, the head coach of Indiana, said that they needed butterfly,” said Rijnovean, adding that Indiana coaches want him to keep improving and be ready in both strokes. “I really wanted to swim butterfly because he said Indiana needs it, so that’s why I kept pushing for butterfly last year.”
Before he worries about college, Rijnovean wants to make the final week of his high school career as memorable as possible.
Seaholm has a first-year coach in Casey Sreenan, who from a swimming perspective felt like he inherited a mansion getting to coach Rijnovean to start off his tenure.
Knowing what Rijnovean has meant to the program and how much teammates look up to him, Sreenan said there have been times he’s made Rijnovean a de facto coach and let him run drills during practices.
“One day I was just like, ‘If there’s anything you want to work on or if you have a suggested workout, let me know,’” Sreenan said. “He would send me sets, and we would redo them. And the whole team would do them. We got great results. He’s got a great work ethic and great technique, obviously. It was easy to kind of have days where the focus was on things he wanted to work on. It benefitted the team as a whole.”
As is the case with a lot of nationally-acclaimed swimmers, there was temptation for Rijnovean to focus solely on club and not bother with high school athletics.
But he was having none of that and will leave Seaholm eternally grateful for his high school experience.
“It’s so different from club,” he said. “It’s more like a brotherhood. Swimming really is an individual sport. You swim, you do your best, you get your time, you win. It’s kind of all about you. But for high school, it’s more like brothers you train with and you just get through hard times with. When you win with them, it felt so much better.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Birmingham Seaholm’s Elliot Rijnovean swims to a championship in the backstroke at last year’s LP Division 2 Finals. (Middle) Rijnovean stands atop the podium after receiving his medal. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Preview: Parade of Champions Set to Feature Several New Standouts
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 13, 2025
We’ve become accustomed to frequent favorites often finishing at the top of our three MHSAA Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming & Diving Finals.
But changing leaderboards could be the theme of this weekend’s meets.
Although Ann Arbor Pioneer in Division 1 and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in Division 3 are returning champions and ranked No. 1 in their respective divisions, both could face stronger competition this time. A possible first-time champion appears most in play in Division 2, as top-ranked Detroit U-D Jesuit and No. 2 Byron Center are both seeking first team Finals titles.
Individually, only four 2024 champions will swim this weekend – guaranteeing plenty more opportunities for new stars to climb the podium.
Preliminaries at all three Finals sites begin at noon Friday, with Saturday championship events starting at noon as well. Both days of all three meets will be streamed live and viewable with subscription on MHSAA.tv. For information on purchasing tickets, plus psych sheets, dive orders and more, visit the Boys Swimming & Diving page – and see below for a glance at several team and individual contenders to follow.
Division 1 at Holland Aquatic Center
Reigning champion: Ann Arbor Pioneer
2024 runner-up: Saline
2025 top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2. Northville, 3. Detroit Catholic Central.
Pioneer has won four straight Division 1 championships, last year by just 30 points ahead of rival Saline, with Detroit Catholic Central finishing third and Northville fourth and just 49 points separating those top four teams. Pioneer enters this weekend with all three relays and 10 individual entries seeded to score plus a diver competing. Northville, the runner-up in 2022, is seeking its first championship since 1973 and sending three relays and 15 entries seeded to score and a diver, and DCC is seeking its first team title and sending three relays and eight individual entries seeded to score. Pioneer and Saline shared the Southeastern Conference Red title this winter, and Saline is ranked No. 4 and also could make the big move sending all three relays and 16 individual entries seeded to score, plus three divers.
Elijah Almeida, Ann Arbor Pioneer sophomore: He swam the 100-yard breaststroke during his Finals debut a year ago and returns as the top seed in that race (56.99), sixth-seeded in the 100 butterfly (51.91) and likely to swim on top-seeded 200 freestyle and medley relays.
Sam Campbell, Milford junior: He’s seeded first in the 100 backstroke (49.45) and third in the 200 freestyle (1:40.64) and is expected to swim on two top-seven seeded relays.
Owen Stevens, Zeeland senior: He’s won the 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle championship the last two seasons. He is seeded first in both the IM at 1:49.54 and 500 at 4:28.69 and likely to swim on two top-11 relays.
Brady Stenson, Northville junior: He finished fourth in the 500 and seventh in the 200 freestyle last season and returns as the top seed in the 200 (1:39.30) and second in the 500 (4:31.40) and is expected to swim on two top-seven relays.
Camren Turowski, Detroit Catholic Central sophomore: The top seed in the 50 (20.69) and 100 freestyles (45.25) is also expected to swim on two top-three seeded relays. He finished second in the 50 and swam on two championship and one runner-up relay in 2024.
Diego Valdes, Saline senior: Last season’s fourth-place finisher in the IM and runner-up in the butterfly also swam on two top-three relays. He returns as the top seed in the butterfly (49.97) and 11th seed in the IM and is expected to swim on two top-four seeded relays.
Ann Arbor Pioneer 200 freestyle relay: The anticipated lineup of Almeida, senior Brighton Han and juniors Edward Zhang and Henry Baumhover enter with a top-seeded time of 1:25.91, with the meet record 1:23.25 swam in 2021.
Riley Brimm, Utica Eisenhower senior: He finished 15th in Division 1 diving last season but enters this weekend after posting the highest score in any Division 1 Regional qualification meet, 452.45.
Division 2 at Oakland University
Reigning champion: Birmingham Groves
2024 runners-up: Farmington, Birmingham Seaholm
2025 top-ranked: 1. Detroit U-D Jesuit, 2. Byron Center, 3. Birmingham Seaholm.
Last year’s finish certainly was among the most incredible in MHSAA Finals history, as Groves repeated as champion with 245 points but Farmington and Seaholm tied for second both with 244. The list of favorites is a little different this time, as Jesuit is expected to move up from fourth last year and Byron Center could also make a jump after finishing eighth. The Cubs are seeking their first Finals title and finished runners-up in 2022 and 2023, and they enter this weekend with all three relays and 15 individual entries seeded to score and three divers competing. Byron Center is seeking its first top-two Finals finish and also will bring a sizable lineup of three relays and 16 individuals seeded to score, and three divers. Seaholm most recently won Division 2 in 2021 and will look to three relays and eight individuals seeded to score, with one diver competing.
Will Cicco, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek senior: The top seed in the 200 (1:39.21) and 500 freestyles (4:31.02) is likely to also swim on two top-seven seeded relays.
Patrick Mackillop, Detroit U-D Jesuit senior: Last year’s third-place finisher in the breaststroke and 12th-place finisher in the IM is seeded first in the breaststroke (55.86), 10th in the IM and expected to swim on two top-four seeded relays.
Josh Martin, Mattawan senior: He’s seeded first in the butterfly (49.03) and fifth in the 50 (21.30) and will swim on two relays after finishing third in both the butterfly and 50 last winter.
Charlie McCuiston, Detroit U-D Jesuit sophomore: He debuted last season with a third place in the 200 freestyle and eighth place in the breaststroke, and will return as the top seed in the 100 free (45.57), second seed in the 200 free (1:40:60) and likely to swim on those two top-four relays with Mackillop.
Quinn O’Neill, Birmingham Seaholm sophomore: The reigning champion in the 500 also finished seventh in the 200 free last year. He’s seeded eighth in the 500 and 11th in the 200 this time but is also expected to swim on top-seeded 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.
Elliott Rijnovean, Birmingham Seaholm junior: He won the butterfly and backstroke last season and also swam on the winning 200 medley and third-place 400 freestyle relays. He’s seeded first in the backstroke (49.35), fourth in the butterfly (50.73) and expected to swim on the same top-seeded relays with O’Neill.
Evan Tack, Detroit U-D Jesuit senior: Last year’s runner-up in the 200 freestyle and third-place finisher in the backstroke is seeded first in the IM (1:50.84) by more than five seconds and second in the butterfly (49.50). He’s also expected to swim on second-seeded 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.
Lucas Witham, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central junior: He finished fifth in the 50 and eighth in the 100 freestyle last season, and is seeded first in the 50 (20.83), second in the 100 (46.18) and will likely swim on two top-nine seeded relays.
Birmingham Seaholm 200 medley relay: The lineup of Rijnovean, O’Neill, senior Emmett Knudsen and junior Finn Murray enters with a seed time of 1:31.42, two seconds faster than the field and also faster than the meet record of 1:31.85 swam in 2022.
Farmington 200 freestyle relay: The anticipated group of seniors Jack Tomlinson, Luke Morden and Paul DeMartini and junior Joshua Luo has a top-seeded time of 1:25.13 and could approach the meet record of 1:23.72 swam in 2022.
Jack Olivier, Byron Center senior: He finished fourth in diving last season and posted this year’s highest Division 2 Regional qualifying score of 505 points.
Division 3 at Eastern Michigan University
Reigning champion: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
2024 runners-up: East Grand Rapids
2025 top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. Holland Christian, 3. East Grand Rapids.
It’s been Cranbrook first and EGR second the last two seasons, and the Cranes will pursue a third-straight title with three relays and 19 individual entries seeded to score, plus a diver in the mix. East Grand Rapids won the previous two titles before this Cranbrook run and will look to pile points with three relays and 11 individuals seeded to score, and a strong group of three divers competing. Holland Christian is another regular, most recently champion in 2018 and 2019, runner-up in 2021 and 2022 and third place a year ago. The Maroons will seek to contend with three relays and 15 individuals seeded to score, and a similarly highly-touted pair of divers.
Sam Harper, Plainwell junior: He finished fourth in the 500 freestyle last season and is seeded first in that race (4:39.61) and second in the 200 free (1:44.70).
Jack Langeland, Hamilton junior: He’s seeded first in the 200 (1:44.11) and fifth in the butterfly (52.56) and could swim on two top-three seeded relays. He finished 11th in the 200 and 12th in the butterfly last season.
Basilio Ledesma, Holland Christian senior: He finished sixth in the 50 and fourth in the butterfly in 2024 and returns as the top seed in the 100 free (47.53), fourth seed in the 50 (21.78) and expected to swim on the second-seeded 200 medley relay.
Kade Opsal, Adrian junior: He finished fifth in the 50 and 10th in the backstroke and swam on two high-placing relays last season. He’s seeded first in both the backstroke (50.20) and 50 (21.0) this weekend and will likely swim on two seventh-seeded relays.
Levi Rozema, Holland Christian senior: He’s seeded first in the breaststroke (57.64) and sixth in the IM (2:01.72) and is likely to swim on two second-seeded relays. He finished third in the breaststroke and 11th in the IM last year, also swimming on the third-place medley relay.
Liam Smith, Otsego junior: He’s won three Finals championships over his first two seasons – two in the butterfly and last year in the IM as well. He’s seeded first in the IM (1:52.44) and second in the butterfly (50.37) and will likely swim on two top-10 seeded relays.
Ethan Xu, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood sophomore: He and Smith may be racing repeatedly as he’s seeded second in the IM (1:54.99) and first in the butterfly (49.64) and may also swim on top-seeded medley and 400 freestyle relays. He finished fifth in the IM and eighth in the 500 last season.
Rowan Bishop, East Grand Rapids senior: Last season’s fourth-place diver scored 524.65 points at his Regional qualifier to set the pace for all of Division 3.
PHOTO Division 1 swimmers including Zeeland's Owen Stevens and Northville's Brady Stenson launch to begin a 500 freestyle race at last season's Finals. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)