Cranes Dominate D3 in Record Fashion
March 14, 2015
By Dan Stickradt
Special for Second Half
ROCHESTER HILLS — There was no one denying Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood’s repeat performance Saturday.
No one was even close.
After winning its first boys swimming and diving MHSAA championship in 2014, Cranbrook Kingswood made quite a statement in capturing its second straight Lower Peninsula Division 3 boys swimming and diving title at Oakland University.
Behind an uber-dominating team performance, Cranbrook Kingswood compiled an impressive 430 points and won by 130.5.
“It was a little more difficult this season, a lot more pressure,” said Cranbrook Kingswood coach Karl Hodgson, who has guided the Cranes to four top-five finishes in his stint at the school. “I knew we had a shot coming in, and we were in good position after the prelims. But I never thought we’d do this well. We had some incredible performances. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Not too many teams have won by that many and scored this many points.”
Since the MHSAA split from two divisions to three for boys swimming in 2008, the previous record for D-3 Finals points was East Grand Rapids’ 373 in 2008. Cranbrook scored 297 points in winning its first MHSAA title in 2014. No other D-3 school has eclipsed the 300-point barrier.
Chelsea finished in the runner-up slot for the second straight year, collecting 299.5 points. East Grand Rapids was third with 248 points, while Hamilton (215), Grand Rapids Christian (124), Milan (111), Detroit Country Day (104), Grand Rapids Catholic Central (94), Tecumseh (90) and Otsego (86) rounded out the top 10 in a field where 29 schools scored.
Cranbrook dominated from start to finish, opening the meet with an LPD3 meet record in the 200-yard medley relay and capping the day with another meet record in the 400 freestyle relay.
On the day, Cranbrook scored in 11 events, captured first places in five, had a runner-up finish, five third-place finishes and a trio of fourth-place finishes to showcase its top-tier talent.
The Cranes also had 14 of 16 competitors score points during their repeat performance.
“We came out and won the first relay, and it kind of amped us up,” admitted senior Frankie Misra. “We kind of (fed) off that energy. We wanted to win it again. We knew we had a strong team coming in, and we had some incredible swims in the prelims. I am so proud of our team — and even prouder today. I don’t think we could have imagined us doing so well.”
Misra, Mitch Buccalo, Andrew Guam and Giorgio DelGrosso joined forces for a 1:33.89 clocking in the 200 medley relay to set the tone. The Cranes continued to pile on the points after that point. Out of 176 total slots, Cranbrook had 27 placers spread over all events.
Buccalo set another LPD3 Finals mark in winning the 200 IM (1:50.55). Andrew Trunsky took first in the 500 freestyle (4:37.12), building a large lead by the midpoint and cruising to a win by nearly 3.5 seconds, while DelGrosso pulled away for a win in the 100 breaststroke (56.58).
Showing a three-second advantage at Friday’s prelims, the unit of Guam, Alessandro Guttilla, Misra and Buccalo put the finishing touches on the team title by winning the meet-ending 400 freestyle relay in 3:06.15, yet another LPD3 meet record.
“I think when us seniors came in, we helped take the program to another level, and now we have so many good swimmers on this team,” Buccalo said. “We trained so hard for this. We were second two years ago, and we won it this year and last year. We’re not just a (tennis and hockey school), yes sir. Our swimming program is very strong.”
East Grand Rapids’ Andy McGregor was in on three victories on the day, touching first in both the 200 freestyle (1:40.96) and 100 freestyle (46.09), while he teamed up with Braden Wiener, Christian Bart and Jack Filion for a meet-record time of 1:26.06 in the 200 freestyle relay.
“It’s pretty special being up there representing our school and coming in here and doing so well,” said MacGregor, who had a slow start in the 200 free only to pull ahead in the final two lengths. He also anchored the winning relay.
“I think the sprinting part is my strength. I always pick it up to finish strong,” added MacGregor.
Chelsea sophomore Joey Mangner won the 50 free (21.27), an event where six competitors broke 22 seconds.
“Last year I was 12th in the 50. I didn’t make it to the fast heat,” said Mangner. “Coming back this year I really wanted to get it, at least try to contend for the title.”
Chelsea’s Joe Smith captured the one-meter diving event (492.95 points), rising up from the second position after Friday’s prelims. The Bulldogs had four of the top 16 finishers in diving, including two of the top three placers.
“I really felt good in the Finals. It was one of my best performances,” Smith said. “I think it’s really special to have four of us from one team place at states in diving. I think it really helped push our team into second place.”
As a team, Chelsea put together another fine outing but still not enough to catch top-ranked Cranbrook. The Bulldogs still placed in the top 10 for the 24th time in 27 seasons.
“They are very good, very deep,” said Chelsea coach Dave Jolly about finishing second to Cranbrook for the second straight season. “We knew we could challenge for second but knew we couldn’t match up with their depth. But I am very pleased with how we competed. We had everyone swim season bests, and we did very well in diving. Having the best diving coach in the state of Michigan (Eric Burris) sure helps. This is the second straight year we had a state champion in diving. Being strong in that event really helped us finish second. We scored (50) points in that event alone.”
Hamilton’s Alec Nyboer repeated in the 100 butterfly, establishing a new LPD3 meet standard with a 49.15 clocking. Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Joey Puglessi won the 100 backstroke (50.45) to round out the winners.
“This was the goal all along,” Nyboer said. “I won it last season, too, and I have been down close to 50 (seconds) all season, so it was nice to go under and get the record. I think it would be sweet to get the all-division record next year. I have about two more seconds more to shave off. A lot of work to do.”
Puglessi earned his second title, pulling away during the last length to win by nearly a second. He also won the backstroke as a freshman in 2013.
“I really tried to challenge in my race and see what I could do,” said Puglessi. “I set some high standards for myself and it seemed to pay off today. It’s nice to see all of the hard work pay off and to represent your school in this way.”
Click for full results.
PHOTOS: (Top) Cranbrook Kingswood’s Giorgio DelGrosso moves ahead of the pack during Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals. (Middle) Chelsea’s Joe Smith prepares to touch water during one of his title-winning dives. (Below) Hamilton’s Alec Nyboer repeated and set a meet record in the 100 butterfly. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Byiringiro's Journey Now Includes Arrival Among State's Diving Champions
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 20, 2025
KENTWOOD – Fidele Byiringiro remembers lounging in a middle school lunchroom shooting the breeze with friends and discussing the range of topics that interest most teenage boys.
Stuff about the toughest class in school. A favorite teacher. Who had a couple extra bucks they could blow. Maybe a serious conversation of who the cutest girl at Valleywood Middle School happened to be.
But when a few of Byiringiro's buddies began extolling the virtues of being on the school’s swimming & diving team, they might as well have been talking about what it’s like to live on Mars.
Born in a Rwandan refugee camp in the Republic of the Congo, Byiringiro said water was thought of more as a critical life-saver than something associated with sports. Still, talk of diving’s somersaults, twists and flips intrigued Byiringiro, who at the time had designs on becoming a professional soccer player.
"I heard about it at a lunch table, and I said, 'I can do that,'" he said.
So Byiringiro, whose parents escaped the horrors of the Rwandan genocide which by several estimates claimed nearly 1 million lives in 1994, decided to follow up on this diving idea. He joined the Kentwood Middle School swim team as an eighth grader and quickly became hooked on the sport.
"I just liked flipping," Byiringiro recalled of why he opted to dive. "I'd do it in my free time after practices. I just kept doing flips."
And how's this for a flip: Five years later, Byiringiro has gone from complete novice to just the second boys diving Finals champion during the 50-plus year history of East Kentwood High School, and the first since 1997.
As he climbed the Holland Aquatic Center podium at Saturday’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 meet to receive his first-place medal, Byiringiro capped a story few athletes in any sport can match.
His parents and siblings had fled Rwanda to the refugee camp, where his mother worked as a nurse and his father repairing water distribution facilities. Byiringiro was born in the camp, and with the help of Christian organizations, eventually immigrated with the family to Philadelphia in 2015. The family wound up in Grand Rapids, and Byiringiro entered school in the Kentwood system and was encouraged by friends to join the swim team.
Since he had never been around lakes or pools in Rwanda, adapting to water wasn't exactly a stroll in the park. But guided by his fascination with turning flips, he eventually became good enough to place in a couple middle school events.
At first, Byiringiro by his own admission wasn't very good. But he stuck with it, eventually getting hooked up with Falcons diving coach Eric Gale as a freshman. While Gale could plainly see Byiringiro was raw, he also believed that with a little teaching, dedication and experience-building – both mentally and physically – there might be something there.
"Things like a half-somersault and maybe adding a twist," Gale said of his first impressions of Byiringiro.
So Byiringiro began to get serious about the sport and slowly improved. He scored at the conference meet as a freshman, qualified for the MHSAA Finals but didn't place as a sophomore, and last year took eighth in Division 1 while placing fourth in the conference.
Nice credentials to be sure, but nothing yet to indicate visions of a state title.
Even the start of his senior year wasn't enough for Byiringiro to become a household name among state divers. It wasn't until he swept the conference meet and finished first at his Regional qualifier at the end of the season that the first tepid thoughts of a Finals title emerged. Byiringiro said the difference between his first 3½ varsity seasons and the final couple of weeks before the LPD1 championship meet can be summed up in a single word.
"It was mental," he said. "Coach has told us never go into a meet focused on winning. Go in and just do what you're capable of. At the conference meet I learned how to believe in myself and what confidence can do for you. It begins with confidence."
So true, Gale said.
"I saw at least a year earlier that the talent was there and that he wanted to get better," said Gale, East Kentwood's diving coach for 37 years and still the school's record holder in the 6 and 11-dive events.
"I would see greatness every day, and I just kept harping to him to be more consistent."
Right up until the Finals meet, there were doubts Byiringiro would pull off his rags-to-riches story. But a late conversation with legendary Falcons swim coach Jock Ambrose boosted his confidence level. He said Ambrose talked about being surrounded by greatness, and while athletes are constantly plagued with the "what if" question, Ambrose stressed "why not?"
"He said there was no reason not to do my best," Byiringiro said. "It kind of woke me up."
Based on season finishes, Byiringiro was the 34th of 36 divers to participate in Friday's prelims. He had an outstanding prelim with 321 points which seeded him first going into the final rounds. With three dives to go Saturday, the title was Byiringiro's to lose.
He proceeded to nail a front one-and-a-half twist, an inward one-and-a-half and finished off his day with an inward two-and-a-half. He won the meet with a 448.80.
"I knew I wasn't favored to win," he said, "but I knew anything could happen."
Like many athletes who compete individually at a high level, Byiringiro said he was flooded with emotion as he stood on the Holland podium. He flashed for a second on how far he'd come from a Rwandan refugee camp, an unlikely original attraction to diving, putting in hours of hard work and ultimately walking away with the top prize in high school diving.
His reaction was predictable.
"I was probably more relieved than happy, but I definitely was happy. Things all went blurry," he said. "It took a couple days to sink in."
There could be a couple chapters left in Byiringiro's story. He wants to dive in college and schools such as Oakland University, Grand Valley State University, Davenport University and Kalamazoo College have recruited him.
Gale said any of those schools would be getting a diver who works diligently to improve his craft. That attitude, Gale said, should lead to additional success at the next level.
"He got a late start to diving, so he really hasn't bloomed yet," Gale said. "Each year he's gotten better, and we're just now seeing what he can do. With good coaching, he could really blossom."
PHOTOS (Top) East Kentwood’s Fidele Byiringiro stands for a photo recently at his school’s pool. (Middle) Byiringiro dives during last weekend’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals at Holland Aquatic Center. (Click for more Finals photos from High School Sports Scene.)