Cranbrook Completes 4-Peat; Farner, Smith & Higgins Double Up Again
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 14, 2026
HOLLAND – Liam Smith never takes winning for granted.
Not even after the Otsego senior added two final championships to an impressive swim resume at Saturday's Lower Peninsula Division 3 Swimming & Diving Finals at the Holland Aquatics Center.
Smith won the 200-yard individual medley (1:47.38) and the 100 butterfly (47.80) to run his four-year run of individual Finals titles to seven.
It wouldn't be a stretch to wonder if all the championships would seem to blend together in Smith's mind, but nothing could be farther from the truth, he said. Being an annual target for other swimmers combined with not wanting to let teammates down have left Smith, headed to the University of Florida next season, savoring all of his four butterfly and three individual medley championships.
"That's part of it," Smith said of shrugging off being the competitor others are chasing. "When you're at the top everyone wants to beat you, and that's okay. But all those early-morning practices, the late ones and working in the summer and offseason, that all comes with sacrifice. If you want to be good, you face that sacrifice. It all pays off."
While Smith finished off his individual career with a bang, so did Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, which collected its fourth-straight team title by amassing 261 points. Holland Christian was second with 214 points, East Grand Rapids third with 196, Spring Lake fourth with 165 and DeWitt fifth with 141 points.
Much like Smith who believes each Finals win is a different story, Cranbrook Kingswood coach Paul Ellis said each of his last four teams has been different. The current team has only two swimmers – A.J. Farner and Blake Schwab – who've been on all four teams. This Cranes team graduated seven seniors from a year ago, is a bit on the younger side, and also will lose seven seniors from the roster.
"I was a little worried (Friday), but we set ourselves up for today," he said. "Our seniors four years ago were an example to our younger swimmers, and now our seniors this year were, too. They set an example for others. All the teams have been very different in personality, talent, preparation and how they conduct themselves.
"All teams have their ups and downs, but keeping your focus and honing in are everything and they did that right."
Farner had a big meet for the Cranes, winning the 200 free (1:39.12) and 100 breaststroke (55.83). Headed to Georgetown next season, he has been swimming since he was 8. He said each of his first places has presented different challenges, ranging from being a challenger to having to defend titles.
"Maybe a little because of experience and performing for the team and coach," he said. "At the end of the day you're excited. The main goal is to win so you help the team. That's always the main focus."
Cranbrook Kingswood's 200 medley relay team also took a first (1:33.13).
One of the most interesting stories from the Finals came from Adrian senior Kade Opsal, who broke his wrist in a soccer accident last fall, underwent surgery, and wound up missing the first third of this season. He finally returned and proceeded to go unbeaten in the 100 backstroke, including capturing that event (49.20) on Saturday. He had finished second and ninth in that event as a junior and sophomore, respectively.
"I didn't know how it was going to work out, only that I was hungry after last year," said Opsal, who is headed to Ball State next season. "I just laid down the hammer, and now here I am. I was heartbroken. I took 16 weeks off and didn't even know if I'd swim again."
Detroit Country Day's Jack Higgins was a double winner in the 50 free (28.79) and 100 free (45.72). The two firsts meant Higgins finished his career with eight top-four finishes in those events, including four firsts, over his four years. Higgins, who will not continue swimming at the college level but focus on pursuing a business career, said he won't necessarily remember his career entirely for its successes.
"I met so many people who became my friends, but now I have a new purpose," he said. "As my career comes to an end, I think of the people I've met through swimming. It's been a journey, for both the team and myself. I suppose I'll look back in 20 years and say I was a state champ and helped my team."
Holland Christian diver Charlie DeHaan won that event with a score of 537.60. The junior has previously finished seventh as a freshman and third a year ago.
"I like to say just go out there and lace 'em up regardless of how I feel," he said. "Even when you don't feel like it, you put the time in. It's got to be a clear focus. Whether you try once, twice or three times – even if you don't want to be there – you tell yourself you can do it."
The other Finals champs Saturday were Plainwell's Sam Harper in the 500 free (4:32.14), Holland Christian's 400 free relay team (3:08.77) and Spring Lake's 200 free relay (1:26.03).
PHOTOS (Top) Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood stands on the podium Saturday with its latest team championship trophy. (Middle) Swimmers launch during the start of a race. (Below) Hamilton’s Jayden Bierschbach competes in diving. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Brother Rice Rides Momentum To Top of D1
March 8, 2014
By Geoff Mott
Special to Second Half
UNIVERSITY CENTER – Birmingham Brother Rice coach Mike Venos realized his boys swimming and diving team had the talent to win an MHSAA title after the Warriors finished runner-up to four-time champion Saline at last year’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals.
“The way we ended last year gave us some big momentum,” Venos said. “You saw the look in their eyes. They were committed from that point into doing something special.”
Brother Rice cruised to its first LP Division 1 championship since 2007 on Saturday at Saginaw Valley State University’s Gerstacker Regional Aquatic Center, winning with 345 points. Livonia Stevenson finished runner-up with 202 while Holland West Ottawa finished third (191), Ann Arbor Pioneer fourth (185) and Bloomfield Hill fifth at 136 points.
Brother Rice won all three relays and took advantage of depth throughout its lineup to win the third championship in Venos’s 16th season as the Warriors coach. It’s the eighth boys swimming and diving title in Brother Rice history.
“We don’t shoot for state championships,” Venos said. “We shoot for our best times. We can only control what we can control.
“Every practice was a state meet. They beat each other up, and it showed how hard they’ve worked for this today.”
Joe Krause earned the lone individual title for the Warriors, winning the 50-yard freestyle in 20.63 seconds. He joined juniors Gust Kouvaris and Mark Blinstrub and sophomore Bobby Powrie in winning the 400 freestyle relay. The group broke the MHSAA all-Finals record with a 3:02.06 finish.
Krause also teamed with Powrie, senior Bradford Jones and junior Jack Kennedy in winning the 200 freestyle relay in 1:25.10, outkicking the Ann Arbor Pioneer relay team by a tenth of a second.
“We don’t go looking to win meets, just go out and swim our fastest to do the best that we can,” Krause said. “We had a fast week of practice, and we just wanted to swim to the best of our ability. We’ve shown the ability to excel all season.”
Krause credits the leadership he learned as a freshman in helping shape this Warriors team into a championship contender. Of the 33 swimmers and divers on the team, 16 are freshman.
“It’s been seven years since we’ve won a title, so this is pretty awesome,” Krause said. “When I was a freshman, those seniors had great leadership skills and they knew what it would take to get us back to the top, and that helped.
“I tried to emulate the peers before me. We had a challenge with so many freshmen, and they were ready for it.”
Kouvaris, Blinstrub, Jones and Drew Grady kicked off the Finals with a championship in the 200 medley relay, winning in 1:32.77.
Matching up relays was Venos’ greatest challenge.
“We have a very deep team and there can be a number of different options with the relay teams,” Venos said. “It made it pretty fun because we had all those options.
“A turning point this season came at the Oakland County Meet. We stepped up and I was really surprised at what we could do as a team. Once we got to this weekend, as coaches, we just got out of the way and let these guys have fun.”
Livonia Stevenson senior Nick Arakelian recorded an all-Finals record in the 200 individual medley, winning with a 1:47.47 to edge the previous record by nearly four-tenths of a second.
Arakelian went on to win the 500 freestyle with an LP Division 1 Final record time of 4:24.84. He also helped the Livonia Stevenson 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay teams to runner-up finishes.
“The records were definitely a goal that I kept in mind, but when I get here I got relaxed and had fun with my team,” Arakelian said. “I knew I had a shot, and I was a little jumpy during preliminaries. But I settled down.”
Arakelian, who will head to Queens University in Charlotte, N.C., next year to swim collegiately, was in seventh place after completing the butterfly portion in the first event of the 200 IM. He tied the leader after the backstroke and easily pulled away through the breaststroke and freestyle.
“You don’t see much of a crossover (for swimmers) in the 200 IM and 500 freestyle, so I’m pretty proud of myself,” Arakelian said. “I realized I needed to relax out there, and it worked.”
Holland West Ottawa junior Tabahn Afrik captured a pair of Finals titles that eluded him as a sophomore. After runner-up finishes in the 50 and 100 freestyle events last year, Afrik won the 100 with an LP Division 1 meet record 43.9-second finish. He also won the 200 freestyle in 1:38.18 and helped West Ottawa to third-place finishes in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
The two individual titles were the first for West Ottawa’s program, and its third-place team finish was the highest in school history.
“Every single person has contributed to this,” Afrik said. “We are a big family at this school.
“And personally, I’m very proud of the two state championships because it’s never happened here. As a junior, I’ve helped push this team, and this day has been our goal. I’ve dreamed about this since I was a freshman, and the competition definitely helps. They pushed me to be my best today, and I’m grateful.”
The closest race of the day was the 100 backstroke, where Detroit Catholic Central junior Jack Walsh touched the wall four-hundredths of a second before Monroe sophomore Cameron Craig. Walsh won with in 49.08 seconds, while Craig – who set the LP Division I meet record with a 48.9 in the preliminary heat on Friday – finished with a 49.12.
“I felt like I was right next to him for the final 25 yards,” Craig said. “I had a couple people tell me that I had won. It was that close. Now I’ve got to train harder to beat him next year.”
Craig didn’t leave empty-handed. He won the 100 butterfly in 48.95, edging Brother Rice’s Kouvaris.
“I think I had a good finish,” Craig said. “I didn’t finish with my best times, but I put a lot of effort into this meet. I’ve been training since last year for it.”
Oakland University-bound John Schihl captured a 100 breaststroke in 55.39 seconds, missing the LP Division 1 meet record by eight hundredths of a second. Schihl finished second last year in the event in Division 3 while swimming for Lahser before it and Andover merged this fall.
“I had higher expectations, but this was bigger of a meet than we are used to,” Schihl said. “I did pretty well at keeping my focus. I knew this would be tough when we moved up to Division 1. It was a hard transition and a lot of practice to get here.”
Rockford sophomore Jake Herremans won the diving title with a personal-best score of 458, while Saline freshman Dakota Hurbis finished runner-up with 433.25 points. Herremans finished ninth at the meet as a freshman.
“I was one away from all-state and all-conference honors last year,” Herremans said. “I knew I’d be toward the top this year. I didn’t miss a dive after the preliminary dives.”
PHOTOS: (Top) A swimmer celebrates after finishing a race Saturday at Saginaw Valley State University. (Middle) The Brother Rice swimming and diving team celebrates with its championship trophy. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)