Marquette Dominates to Run Streak to 3
February 20, 2016
By Keith Shelton
Special for Second Half
MARQUETTE – Overwhelming favorites to begin the day, the Marquette Redmen might have surpassed even their own lofty expectations Saturday at the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Swimming and Diving Finals in their home pool.
Marquette dominated to the point that they rendered the day a competition for second place, winning their third straight U.P. title with 326 points, followed by Houghton with 208 and Sault Ste. Marie with 205.
"We knew if they didn't disqualify in starts or turns, that they would dominate," Marquette coach Nate McFarren said. "We expected a lot from them this year, and they really tore it up today. It was pretty cool."
Senior Sam Williams had a day that any senior would love in his final sporting event. Williams broke three Upper Peninsula Finals records while capturing firsts in the 200-yard individual medley (1:57.11), 100 breaststroke (58.02) and as part of the 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams. His 200 IM time was nearly three seconds faster than the previous record, and his 100 breaststroke time was a full two seconds faster than the previous best in that event and six seconds ahead of his closest competitor. Williams also set the U.P. Finals record for the 100 freestyle while swimming on the 400 freestyle relay, with a time of 48.39.
Of the breaststroke, an event that proves difficult for many swimmers, Williams said, "The thing a lot of people don't understand is the breaststroke is not as much about power and speed. It's about decreasing the resistance. If you can get a good body line on every stroke, you're going to be better off than most people."
Williams began swimming competitively at age 10 and had a goal even then to win a U.P. title at the high school level before going on to swim in college. According to McFarren, the second part of Williams' goal is likely to be realized as well.
"Sam was quite a bit ahead of his closest competitor today, so we focused on him getting used to swimming by himself and visualizing his race with someone swimming next to him," McFarren said. "He's a very bright individual outside of swimming. He's number one in his class. To be with him for four years and watching him grow from a freshman to a senior, it's been my honor."
Marquette also had a standout in junior Andrew Kilpela, who earned a first as part of the 200 medley relay and was second in the 100 backstroke, arguably the best event of the day.
Gladstone junior Matthew LeClaire had an outstanding performance, highlighted by his victory in the 100 backstroke (54.33), which broke the previous U.P. Finals record of 54.91. Kilpela also broke the U.P. record with his time of 54.72. Throughout the race the two rivals pulled a hair ahead of one another, and the final 25 yards were neck and neck.
"Matt works very hard, and when he comes to this meet and swims against Andrew, that just seems to fire him up," said Gladstone coach Tom Desy. "That was about as close of a race as you can get. It was back and forth, definitely the race of the meet."
LeClaire, who will continue his rivalry with Kilpela next year, said he was battling his own thoughts prior to the race.
"It was tense getting ready for the race," LeClaire said. "The kid from Marquette was seeded ahead of me, and it was in my head. I was thinking oh man, I don't want to lose this; I can't lose this. I tried to hold it down and keep going."
LeClaire also won the 100 freestyle (50.64), which Williams did not race, and was part of the Braves' 200 medley relay team, which placed second.
Marquette's depth, however, was so pronounced that most of the other schools were simply seeing red for most of the day. The Redmen even had a 1-2 finish in the 200 IM, with Matt Kurin finishing second to Williams. Ben Luke won the 100 butterfly (57.77), Matthew Nykanen placed third in the 100 breaststroke and 100 freestyle, and Ryan Glover was third in the 100 backstroke. The Redmen also won all three relays.
"We're lucky to have some serious depth on the boys team," said McFarren. "Some finished second or third to their own teammates. Being able to put together three relays that win isn't always heard of.
"I was really nervous about our relays today because I spread our talent out," added McFarren. "I wanted to go after it in all three relays, and I probably couldn't have done it without the help of Andrew and Sam. Having Sam lead off two relays and lead us to victory, and break that individual record in a relay, is pretty cool."
Marquette will lose Williams to graduation, but with its superior depth, will be in good position to go for a fourth straight title next season.
"Sam will be a huge loss, but we're only losing two seniors, and we had a really talented team this year, outside of Sam," McFarren said.
PHOTOS: (Top) A swimmer leads the butterfly during Saturday's Upper Peninsula Finals at Marquette. (Middle) Swimmers launch for another race. (Click for more from Jarvinen Photography.)
Opsal Overcomes Potential Season-Ending Injury to End Season as Champion
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 24, 2026
You couldn't blame Kade Opsal for being a little teary-eyed as he stood quietly on the medal stand at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Swimming & Diving Finals earlier this month at Holland Aquatics Center.
By rights, you could easily make the case he shouldn't have been there.
It wasn't through a lack of talent for the Adrian senior, who was undefeated in four years of conference championship meets in the 50-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke while taking second in Division 3 in the 100 backstroke as a junior. Talent wasn't the problem.
The problem was the freak accident Opsal had suffered six months ago which doctors feared could cost him his final year of swimming.
So as Opsal waited anxiously on the stand for a medal to be hung around his neck, he found himself fighting a flood of emotion.
"My coach handed out the medal, and I heard my name over the public address system," he said. "I leaned down and my coach said, 'You really did it.' I got a little emotional, I cried a little. I was so full of emotion. I was glad I had finished my career how I did."
Opsal's dream for his final year of high school swimming was simple: win a Finals championship. But that goal seemed potentially unattainable after an accident on the soccer field in early September.
After having been convinced by friends to go out for soccer when Adrian needed a goalkeeper, Opsal stepped up to fill the void. But during a practice session, Opsal faced shot from a teammate less than a dozen feet away. He stuck his hand in front of his face to shield himself from the shot, but the ball crashed into Opsal's wrist, causing a fracture of the scaphoid bone near where his wrist and thumb meet.
It was the second time Opsal had broken the bone. The first was during the swim Finals as a freshman when he slammed his hand into the end of the pool at the end of a race. He spent 16 weeks in a cast.
But while Opsal dodged surgery three years ago, this time doctors diagnosed a displaced fracture which resulted in surgery, screws inserted in the wrist and a bone graft. Qualifying for the Finals and fulfilling a lifelong dream at that point seemed miles away, Opsal admitted.
"I went into a spiral," he said. "I thought I was going to miss the whole season. It was terrible."
Doctors weren't exactly in disagreement with that prognosis. After surgery Oct. 12, doctors encased his hand in a nine-pound cast, basically a club, Opsal said. He spent two weeks in the cast, had a checkup, spent four more weeks in a cast, then was placed in a removeable cast. By now it was the second week of December, this season’s Finals were three months away, and Opsal had yet to enter the water. By Jan. 9, Opsal was finally pronounced ready to swim by doctors, but he was seriously behind in his attempt to simply qualify for the Division 3 championship meet, let alone be in the hunt to win a race there.
Still, Opsal wasn't ready to toss in his goggles.
"I knew I could do something with the little time I had left," he said. "I knew I had put in a lot of work over the summer and had gained like 30 pounds of muscle. But I didn't know how all that would translate in the final two months of the season. I did know that every practice and meet had to count."
By the MISCA meet in early February, there was a ray of light. Opsal swam a 21.2 in the 50 free and a 50.4 in the 100 backstroke. Suddenly there was hope that he still had a shot at his dream.
Opsal continued to pick up the pace until the Division 3 Finals prelims March 13. He wound up seeded first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 50.1 and was third in the 50 free.
There was, Opsal told himself, hope.
One day later, he began his Finals by helping Adrian's 200 medley relay to a ninth-place finish. Then, in his first attempt at a title, he finished runner-up in the 50 free with a time of 20.87.
Opsal's championship dream had come down to the 100 backstroke. He finally turned that dream into reality when he outdistanced Spring Lake's Dane Trask to win the event, swimming a lifetime-best time of 49.20 to nudge the 50.46 by Trask.
Tears aside on the medals stand, all Opsal could think about was advice he received from family members.
"I thought about my grandfather who always reminded me about that Vince Lombardi quote that winning wasn't everything, it was the only thing," he said. "I had thought I had a shot at it and I kept telling myself this was my senior year and I wanted to go out with a bang."
Considering his two broken hands and a fractured patella he suffered as a youngster, Opsal can now laugh at the obstacles he's had to overcome.
"My mom has definitely made comments that they need to bubble wrap me," he said. "I've been around the block in getting hurt."
PHOTOS (Top) Adrian’s Kade Opsal stands on the medal podium after winning the 100-yard backstroke at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals in Holland. (Middle) Opsal swims to his championship. (Action photo by High School Sports Scene.)