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
@mhsaasports 🏊POW: Baylor Perkins #funfacts #tiktalk #performanceoftheweek #highschoolsports #MHSAA ♬ Girly and cute synth pop - SAKUMAMATATA
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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: Freeland's TJ Hansen
September 19, 2024
TJ Hansen ♦ Freeland
Senior ♦ Cross Country
Despite a steamy day at Michigan State, Hansen ran a 15:24.6 to win last weekend’s Spartan Invitational Elite race by nearly four seconds. The victory came against a truly “elite” field; Hansen is the reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion and was followed by Marshall senior Jack Bidwell (fourth in LPD2 in 2023) and Jenison senior Seth Conner (fifth in LPD1).
Hansen has won all but one race since the start of his junior season, and opened this fall with a 14:49.3 – just three seconds off his personal-record run and already 3.5 seconds faster than his championship time last fall at Michigan International Speedway. His 14:52.8 that day at MIS was the fastest Division 2 time in MHSAA Finals 5K history and tied for seventh-fastest for all classes and divisions. He said he’s chasing the 14-minute mark this fall; the fastest MHSAA Finals 5K time was 14:10.4 run by Rockford’s Dathan Ritzenhein in 2000. Hansen also won the 1,600 at the LPD2 Track & Field Finals in June after finishing first in the 3,200 as a sophomore, and he will run on both the cross country and track & field teams at Colorado.
@mhsaasports 🏃♂️➡️POW: TJ Hansen #crosscountry #freeland #invitational #winner #part1 #highschoolsports #tiktalk #interview #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
@mhsaasports 🏃♂️➡️POW: TJ Hansen #tiktalk #questiontime #ronaldo #bucketlist #travel #laughing #crying #emoji #phone #part2 #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys - Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
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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 2024-25 honorees
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
PHOTO Freeland's TJ Hansen surges toward the finish of this season's Spartan Invitational Elite race. (Click for more from John Brabbs/RunMichigan.com.)