Performance of the Week: Grand Blanc's Baylor Perkins

January 22, 2026

Baylor Perkins headshotBaylor 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

@mhsaasports 🏊POW: Baylor Perkins #funfacts #tiktalk #performanceoftheweek #highschoolsports #MHSAA ♬ Girly and cute synth pop - SAKUMAMATATA

Follow the MHSAA on TikTok.

MHSAA.com's "Performance of the Week" features are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and X @mistudentaid.

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.)

Performance of the Week: Saline's Kaylee Mitzel

September 19, 2025

Kaylee Mitzel headshotKaylee Mitzel ♦ Saline
Junior ♦ Field Hockey

Mitzel – Saline’s goalkeeper – had seven saves including a potential win-securing deflection in the fourth quarter as the Hornets defeated Ann Arbor Pioneer in a rematch of last season’s Michigan High School Field Hockey League Division 1 championship game. Saline (9-1-1) also defeated reigning Division 2 champion Chelsea 1-0 in their next game last week.

After playing basketball and soccer as a freshman, Mitzel turned her focus to soccer as a sophomore – she’s an all-area goalkeeper during the spring – and also played field hockey for the first time. The Hornets’ only loss this fall came Wednesday, in a rematch with Pioneer, with the score again 1-0. This is the first year of MHSAA sponsorship for girls field hockey, with Regionals set to begin Oct. 8 and the first Final on Oct. 25.

@mhsaasports 🏑POW: Kaylee Mitzel #saline #fieldhockey #highschoolsports #performanceoftheweek #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA

@mhsaasports 🏑POW: Kaylee Mitzel #funfacts #tiktalk #gettoknowme #performanceoftheweek #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA

Follow the MHSAA on TikTok.

MHSAA.com's "Performance of the Week" features are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.

Previous 2025-26 honorees

Sept. 11: Natasza Dudek, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country - Report
Sept. 4:
Kate Posey, Big Rapids golf - Report

(Photos courtesy of the Saline athletic department.)