Dexter Makes Good as Favorite in 3-Peat
March 10, 2018
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
ROCHESTER – If ever a championship gave the winning team more feelings of relief than exuberance, such was the case for the Dexter boys swimming & diving team Saturday after winning its third straight Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals.
Dexter was a favorite going into the meet at Oakland University, which made coach Mike McHugh uncomfortable.
“It’s never fun being the target,” McHugh said. “But we were able to overcome that and embrace that a little bit.”
Dexter sure did, capturing its third straight title by scoring a meet-best 241.5 points, 21.5 points ahead of runner-up Rochester Adams.
Birmingham Groves was third with a final total of 191, Warren DeLaSalle fourth at 190 and Birmingham Seaholm rounded out the top five with a score of 183.
Leading the way for Dexter was junior Niklas Eberly, who won the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 1:40.16 and the 100 butterfly in 48.83.
Eberly finished runner-up in both events last year and was seeded only fifth in the 200 freestyle, but that didn’t deter him from going a step further than last year in both events.
“Basically, all season long I knew I wasn’t swimming my best,” Eberly said. “Pretty much today and yesterday, I just threw it down.”
Eberly also was the lead swimmer on Dexter’s team that won the 200 freestyle relay in a time of 1:24.95.
The other individual standouts of the meet were Warren DeLaSalle senior Zach Milke and Fraser sophomore Alexander Capizzo.
Milke won the 100 freestyle (44.97) and 100 backstroke (49.63) before finishing off his high school career in grand fashion as the anchor leg of DeLaSalle’s 400 freestyle relay team.
Entering the pool more than a second after the leader, Milke rallied and touched the wall first to give the Pilots the title with a time of 3:07.28.
“I knew it was going to be close, but it was my last meet with the boys and I had to make them proud,” Milke said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better day. In my hotel this morning, I was freaking out. But once I got here in my element, nothing could stop me.”
Capizzo successfully repeated in the 200 individual medley (1:50.42) and 500 freestyle (4:27.48) despite missing a good portion of this season with a broken ankle.
Capizzo also said this was his last high school meet, as he will swim exclusively with his club team during his junior and senior seasons, and that he will always cherish swimming for his high school team the last two years.
“All the people on my swim team were amazing,” Capizzo said. “They cheered me on, I cheered them on and they were always there when I needed them.”
The other individual winners were Birmingham Seaholm senior Michael Arpasi in the 50 freestyle (20.83), Okemos sophomore Hunter Hollenbeck in diving (503.15) and Grosse Pointe South senior Matthew Koueiter in the 100 breaststroke (56.71).
Groves started off the meet by winning the 200 medley relay (1:33.65).
PHOTOS: Dexter's Clayton Kinnard races during Saturday's LP Division 2 Finals. (Middle) Portage Northern's Marco Pastrana cruises just beneath the water's surface during the backstroke consolation final. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
High 5s - 2/28/12
February 28, 2012
Every Tuesday, Second Half honors 2-4 athletes and a team for its accomplishments during the current season.
Have a suggestion for a future High 5? Please offer suggestions by e-mail to [email protected]. Candidates often will have accomplished great things on the field of play -- but also will be recognized for other less obvious contributions to their teams, schools or the mission of high school athletics as a whole.
Alec Mooradian
Detroit Catholic Central senior
Wrestling
Mooradian won two matches by pin and a third by decision during last weekend's MHSAA Division 1 Team Finals as Detroit Catholic Central won its second championship in three seasons. This weekend, he can become the 16th wrestler in MHSAA history to claim a fourth Individual Finals championship. He's 44-2 this season and will wrestle this weekend at 152 pounds. His previous championships came at 112, 119 and 135. (He could also become the 17th to accomplish the four-peat, depending on when his championship match ends. St. Johns' Taylor Massa also is going for a fourth individual title.) Mooradian has signed to wrestle next season at Columbia.
Up next: "I plan on studying business/economics at Columbia, but I am not quite sure of what I want to do as an occupation."
I learned the most about wrestling from: "My coach Mitch Hancock. He also instilled in me a great work ethic that is much more important than anything else I have learned in this sport."
I look up to: "My father. He has made countless sacrifices to put me where I am at now in my life as a wrestler and as a person."
What I enjoy most about wrestling: "... is seeing the countless hours of work I put in pay off at the end of each season. I attribute the success I have had the last four years to working extremely hard and making good decisions on and off the mat."
Colin MacQuarrie
Sault Ste. Marie senior
Swimming
MacQuarrie set two U.P. Finals records – he won the 50-yard freestyle in 20.85 seconds (breaking the former record of 22.18 set by his school’s Peter Stevens in 2003) and the 100 butterfly in 52.80 (former record was 53.62, set by his school’s Thomas Stabile in 1988). The previous butterfly record was the oldest in the U.P. Finals section of the MHSAA record book, and his 50 times qualified for All-America honors from the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association. He also played football and runs track.
"I have a passion for swimming that goes back many years. I love the thrill of competition, watching my times improve makes me want to continue swimming."
Up next: MacQuarrie hopes to continue swimming and college level and plans to study aviation with a major in air traffic control management or aviation administration. "I hope to be an Air Traffic Controller and help ensure safety and efficiency for travelers."
I learned the most about swimming from: "I have had a handful of coaches, assistant coaches, and fellow swimmers throughout the years that have developed me into the swimmer I am today. ... Each person has played an important role."
I look up to: "My fellow teammates and other athletes at my school who push me to be my best and work hard with me in practice."
Before a race: "I prepare myself mentally by visualizing my race. I also listen to a lot of hip-hop music to pump myself up."
St. Johns wrestling
The Redwings get the slight edge over the other three MHSAA champions from the weekend because of their status as arguably the best team, regardless of division.
St. Johns defeated Lowell 41-18 in the Division 2 Final, and beat its three weekend opponents by a combined score of 161-35.
The Redwings haven't lost to an in-state opponent since 2010. They finished 25-1 this season, with that lone loss to Ohio powerhouse Lakewood St. Edward, and also beat eventual Division 1 champion Detroit Catholic Central earlier this winter. St. Johns should shine again this weekend, with 13 Individual Finals qualifiers including three reigning champions and two who finished runners-up at their weights in 2011.