Marquette Adds to Championship List As Newest Standouts Take Their Turns

By Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com

February 17, 2024

MARQUETTE – Marquette has won so many Upper Peninsula Boys Swimming & Diving Finals team championships, it’s running out of wall space to celebrate them as the boys list already runs from the high ceiling to just about pool level.

They added one more Saturday, their fifth straight title and 31st in school history, and did so in dominating fashion finishing ahead of runner-up Houghton 319-214. The day saw a Marquette sweep as the girls team also breezed to a U.P. championship with its list of championships running just about as far down the same wall.

“Last year, we graduated some real studs,” Marquette coach Nathan McFarren said. “If you would have told me that both teams would be here winning it today last year at this time, I would have said you’re crazy. But our boys that were B and C swimmers were ready to shine. They wanted their moment, and they got it today.”

Swimmers launch at the start of the 50 championship race. Marquette junior Trevor Crandell won the 50-yard freestyle, finished runner-up in the 100 butterfly and helped Marquette to wins in the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay.

“It’s so rewarding,” Crandell said. “When you’re first starting the year, it’s so demotivating, you’re not swimming any meets, you’re not doing any good times. But when you get to the U.P. Finals, you’re on that taper, you’re on that block, you’re just ready to go, it’s something special.”

“Super-quiet kid, but this year found the eye of the tiger and really went after it,” McFarren said of Crandell. “So exciting to watch. He wanted it so bad this year, proud of him.”

Junior Isaiah Youngren picked up Marquette’s other individual race win, in the 100 breaststroke. Junior Chase Thomsen was the top diver with a score of 198.15.

Manistique’s Nathan Schoenow won the 100 and 200 freestyle races.

The senior had been sick in his other U.P. Finals appearances.

“It feels good; a lot of hard work in the pool and out of the pool came into this,” he said. 

He looked to sprint through both races, including the 200.

Kingsford’s Joey Lundholm swims to a win in the 200 individual medley.“Earlier this season, I didn’t have a whole lot of endurance,” Schoenow said. “I tried to pace myself, maybe hold back a little. But for this meet, since it’s my last time ever doing the 200, I just decided to sprint the whole thing and see how that would work. It hurt a lot, I was really tired after, but it worked – I got my best time by 3.5 seconds.

“The other one (100), same thing, I tried to sprint as hard as I could and the second I felt tired, I would just try to will myself to go faster.”

Other individual winners included Kingsford’s Joey Lundholm in the 200 individual medley and 100 fly, Rudyard’s Keith McDowell in the 500 free and Houghton’s Beau Haataja in the 100 backstroke.  

Gladstone was third in the team standings with Kingsford fourth, Ishpeming/Negaunee fifth, Sault Ste. Marie sixth, Rudyard seventh, Manistique eighth and Ishpeming Westwood ninth.

McFarren made it a combined 17 Finals championships as coach for boys and girls for Marquette, tying Marquette’s Matt Williams for the meet record. 

Click for full results.

PHOTOS (Top) Marquette’s Trevor Crandell celebrates his victory in the 50-yard freestyle Saturday. (Middle) Swimmers launch at the start of the 50 championship race. (Below) Kingsford’s Joey Lundholm swims to a win in the 200 individual medley. (Click for more from Jarvinen Photos.)

Performance of the Week: Holland Christian's Levi Rozema

January 17, 2025

Levi Rozema headshotLevi Rozema ♦ Holland Christian
Senior ♦ Swimming

A Finals placer in two individual races and a relay last season, Rozema is surging toward a big finish to his high school career and enjoyed a highlight-filled week contributing to Holland Christian's first win over rival Holland West Ottawa since 1999 and then a victory at the weekend's D3 Invitational against a field that included several of the top-ranked teams in Lower Peninsula Division 3 this winter. 

Against West Ottawa, Rozema won the 200-yard individual medley (2:03.24) and 100 butterfly (55.24) and swam on the winning 200 freestyle relay (1:32.85) and 200 medley relay (1:41.76). At the D3 Invite, Rozema paced the top-ranked Maroons with a first place in the 100 breaststroke (58.39), second place in the IM (2:01.72) and as part of a meet record-setting 200 relay (1:37.23) with teammates Karsten Huisman, Josiah DeVries and Basilio Ledesma. Rozema swam with Ledesma, Miles Stock and Jake Shoemaker on the winning 200 free relay (1:29.71) as well. Rozema also previously played football and baseball at Holland Christian and will continue swimming next season at Grand Valley State where he’ll study general business or business finance.

@mhsaasports 🏊‍♂️POW: Levi Rozema #swimming #D3Invitational #meetrecord #HollandChristian #part1 #highschoolsports #tiktalk #interview #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA

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Previous 2024-25 honorees

Jan. 10: McRecco McFadden, Burton Bentley basketball - Report
Dec. 18:
Nash Leonard, Bay City Western hockey - Report
Dec. 11:
Blake Cosby, Dundee wrestling - Report
Dec. 4:
Keaton Hendricks, Zeeland West football - Report
Nov. 29:
Kate Simon, East Grand Rapids swimming - Report
Nov. 22:
Ella Kokaly, Essexville Garber volleyball - Report
Nov. 15:
Caroline Bryan, Grosse Pointe South swimming - Report
Nov. 8:
Kaylie Livingston, Whitmore Lake cross country - Report
Oct. 25:
Oliver Caldwell, Grand Rapids West Catholic tennis - Report
Oct. 18:
Alex Graham, Detroit Cass Tech football - Report
Oct. 11:
Victoria Garces, Midland Dow cross country - Report
Oct. 4:
Asher Clark, Bay City John Glenn soccer - Report
Sept. 26:
Campbell Flynn, Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball - Report
Sept. 19:
TJ Hansen, Freeland cross country - Report
Sept. 12:
Jordan Peters, Grayling soccer - Report
Sept. 6:
Gabe Litzner, Sault Ste. Marie cross country - Report
Aug. 30:
Grace Slocum, Traverse City St. Francis golf - Report

(Photos courtesy of the Rozema family.)