Moment: West Ottawa Clinches in Finale
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 31, 2020
Holland West Ottawa long has had one of the most renowned high school boys swimming & diving programs in Michigan. But MHSAA Finals team championships had been elusive – the Panthers fell just shy again with a second-place finish in Lower Peninsula Division 1 in 2018.
How much difference can a few tenths of a second make? On March 9, 2019, enough to see West Ottawa win its first Finals championship since 1971.
Jamahl Hogan, Sam Smith, Derek Maas and Khadin Soto swam the relay in 3:05.84, besting Detroit Catholic Central’s time by six tenths of a second and giving West Ottawa a final eight-point edge in the team standings over the runner-up Shamrocks.
Said Soto, who anchored the relay: “I knew the meet was within a few points, and I knew we had to win that race. I knew I had to beat the guy next to me, and I knew he was really fast. Since I didn’t win the 100 breaststroke like I thought I would, I just kept telling myself that I can’t get caught up in everything else. I just need to do what my teammates need me to do. Just swim like we have been all year. For the last lap I was telling myself I can’t be the one that loses it for everyone.”
Click for Second Half’s coverage – 6 Hundredths Seal West Ottawa’s Title Win – and watch the race below with coverage from the NFHS Network.
Performance of the Week: Grand Blanc's Baylor Perkins
January 22, 2026
Baylor Perkins ♦ Grand Blanc
Senior ♦ Swimming
The Bobcats’ standout set Genesee County Meet records Saturday at Fenton in the 50-yard freestyle (21.56 seconds) and 100 breaststroke (56.20) and swam on multiple winning relays including the meet record-setting 200 freestyle (1:30.98) to lead Grand Blanc to a team victory, its 34th at the annual meet. The breaststroke time also set school, pool and Saginaw Valley League records.
Perkins’ 50 time at Fenton ranks 11th among all divisions and ninth among Lower Peninsula Division 1 swimmers on the top times list this winter for that race, and his breaststroke time is the fastest statewide regardless of division. He finished 10th in the 50, sixth in the breaststroke and swam on eighth and 11-place relays at last season’s LPD1 Finals, as Grand Blanc finished 13th as a team. He is unsure what college he will attend after graduation, but is considering the possibility of swimming at the next level and intends to study to become a sports psychologist.
@mhsaasports 🏊POW: Baylor Perkins #grandblanc #swimming #highschoolsports #performanceoftheweek #MHSAA ♬ Bright and fun upbeat pops, Kids, Animals, Pets, Fun, Cute, Happy, Playful, Upbeat(1465232) - SAKUMAMATATA
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Previous 2025-26 honorees
Jan. 15: Delaney Vanier, Flint Kearsley bowling - Report
Jan. 8: Stevie Hall, Detroit Cass Tech basketball - Report
Dec. 18: Ethan Martha, Ishpeming Westwood basketball - Report
Dec. 11: Louis Smith, Three Rivers wrestling - Report
Dec. 4: Traverse Smith, DeWitt football - Report
Nov. 28: Elizabeth Eichbrecht, West Bloomfield swimming - Report
Nov. 20: Brady Kieff, Blanchard Montabella football - Report
Nov. 13: Ella Laupp, Battle Creek Harper Creek swimming - Report
Nov. 7: Hunter Eaton, Charlevoix cross country - Report
Oct. 31: Stephen Gollapalli, Lansing Christian tennis - Report
Oct. 23: Talya Schreiber, Pickford cross country - Report
Oct. 16: Avery Manning, Dexter golf - Report
Oct. 9: Brady Van Laecke, Hudsonville football - Report
Oct. 2: Sarah Giroux, Flat Rock volleyball - Report
Sept. 25: Sam Schumacher, Portage Central tennis - Report
Sept. 18: Kaylee Mitzel, Saline field hockey - Report
Sept. 11: Natasza Dudek, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country - Report
Sept. 4: Kate Posey, Big Rapids golf - Report
(Photos courtesy of the Grand Blanc boys swimming & diving program.)