Performance: West Ottawa's Derek Maas
January 19, 2018
Derek Maas
Holland West Ottawa junior – Swimming
The Panthers’ standout won the 100-yard backstroke (52.02 seconds), took second in the 200 individual medley (1:56.80) and swam on winning 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays Saturday as West Ottawa – then ranked No. 4 in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – defeated No. 1 Ann Arbor Skyline 104-79 and No. 3 Birmingham Brother Rice 111-72. The victories moved the Panthers into top spot in the rankings this week, as Maas earned the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Maas’ backstroke time from the weekend is the fastest in Michigan this winter, and his 1:56.08 at the East Grand Rapids Classic ranks sixth in the IM. He finished second in the backstroke and seventh in the IM at last season’s LPD1 Finals, with his times that day – 50.04 and 1:52.93 – his career bests at the high school level. He also owns the USA Swimming state age 15-16 record in the 200 breaststroke of 2:02.61, set as a member of the West Ottawa Swim Club at the USA Junior National Championships East in December.
The school records in both the backstroke (48.49) and IM (1:48.30) are held by Derek’s older brother Kyle, a 2016 West Ottawa graduate who finished LPD1 runner-up in both events as a senior and now swims at University of Alabama. Derek is considering joining his brother after high school among a number of potential southern college options, and also is a fan of University of Michigan athletics. Maas also played tennis as a freshman and sophomore and ran track as a freshman, and he might pick back up one or both of those sports after this swim season is complete. He carries a 3.94 unweighted grade-point average (4.49 weighted) and is considering studying medicine after high school; he lost his 4.0 when he got an A- in Algebra II – while taking the class as a fourth grader.
Coach Steven Bowyer said: “Derek has had a significant impact on the overall success of our program. Derek received all-state honors as a sophomore in the 200 IM and 100 back. In his junior year, he will play a significant role on our state meet relays, and his individual points will be key in helping our team achieve its goal of a top-4 state meet finish. … Derek's success has come from years of hard work and long hours in the pool. He understands both the amount and type of training that is required to excel at the highest level in this sport. He is also a student of the sport, spending time studying his stroke mechanics and researching ways to increase his efficiency. Derek's work ethic and technical understanding of the sport give him a combination of skills that make him tough to beat. … In pursuit of individual excellence, Derek has always placed team success over his own. Derek understands the better the team gets, the better he gets and vice versa. Our team is training at a very high level right now, in part to the example that Derek sets on a daily basis. Derek also sets an unprecedented example in the classroom; he defines the term student athlete. In addition to the hours he puts in at the pool, he maintains a rigorous schedule of advanced placement courses. We are very proud to have Derek representing our program.”
Performance Point: “I was happy about the 100 back time – it was my season best – and also our relays swam great,” Maas said. “A lot of us had the fastest splits, especially on that medley relay. We came pretty close to setting the pool record – we were like 0.06 (seconds) away, and that was a pretty good in-season time for us. … Our team was really excited for that meet, especially. That was a big confidence booster for us, and I think that everybody after that meet really realized that we have a chance to do really well at the state meet. So I hope that that will make us work even harder, and by the end of the season we’ll be able to accomplish our goals.”
Depth in the deep: “We just have a lot more depth than we had years in the past. A couple of years ago we had Tabahn (Afrik), and he won two events (at the 2014 and 2015 Finals), and then Spencer Carl did the last couple years. But besides just a couple top swimmers, they didn’t have the depth we do this year. This year we have a really solid group of 7-10 swimmers. We’ve all been excited, even starting at the end of last season and starting the summer season. We all were really excited for the state meet coming in March.”
Swim family: “Kyle’s at Alabama right now, and my sister (Jenna, a senior) is thinking about swimming in college. And I also have a younger brother (eighth-grader Kevin) who I think is going to be pretty fast. I think he’ll make a much bigger impact than I did my freshman year. … The best part is whenever I’m at a certain point in a season, I’ll know how I’m doing because I can compare it to my brother’s times. And also, whenever I talk to him about swimming, he always pushes me and gets me motivated. Even my younger brother and older sister do too. We all push each other. Last year I compared all of my times to Kyle’s, and I used to text him about that. He was like, ‘Let’s wait and see if you get my varsity records.’”
High flier: “My family really likes (U.S. world champion sprinter) Caeleb Dressel. I read in this one SwimSwam article that he had like a 42-inch vertical (leap), and that’s insane. You can see how that makes him way better on the walls, so that made me more focused on box jumps and dry land (training) and increasing my vertical leap than I had been in the past. I’ve worked on it a lot this year; I’m probably just average right now, but I’m trying to improve that. I can dunk, and Kyle can too.”
Paging Dr. Derek: “Both of my parents are doctors, and they’ve always told us we could be any kind of doctor we want, all four kids. Recently my dad has been opening up the options, but it’s most likely I’ll go pre-med, and that’s what Kyle is doing right now at Alabama. I haven’t looked into it a ton, but I know I’d like dermatology and maybe surgery.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
January 11: Lexi Niepoth, Bellaire basketball - Read
November 30: La'Darius Jefferson, Muskegon football - Read
November 23: Ashley Turak, Farmington Hills Harrison swimming - Read
November 16: Bryce Veasley, West Bloomfield football - Read
November 9: Jose Penaloza, Holland soccer - Read
November 2: Karenna Duffey, Macomb L'Anse Creuse North cross country - Read
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City Central golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Holland West Ottawa's Derek Maas competes during a meet this season. (Middle) Maas swims the butterfly. (Photos courtesy of the West Ottawa boys swimming & diving program.)
Preview: Parade of Champions Set to Feature Several New Standouts
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 13, 2025
We’ve become accustomed to frequent favorites often finishing at the top of our three MHSAA Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming & Diving Finals.
But changing leaderboards could be the theme of this weekend’s meets.
Although Ann Arbor Pioneer in Division 1 and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in Division 3 are returning champions and ranked No. 1 in their respective divisions, both could face stronger competition this time. A possible first-time champion appears most in play in Division 2, as top-ranked Detroit U-D Jesuit and No. 2 Byron Center are both seeking first team Finals titles.
Individually, only four 2024 champions will swim this weekend – guaranteeing plenty more opportunities for new stars to climb the podium.
Preliminaries at all three Finals sites begin at noon Friday, with Saturday championship events starting at noon as well. Both days of all three meets will be streamed live and viewable with subscription on MHSAA.tv. For information on purchasing tickets, plus psych sheets, dive orders and more, visit the Boys Swimming & Diving page – and see below for a glance at several team and individual contenders to follow.
Division 1 at Holland Aquatic Center
Reigning champion: Ann Arbor Pioneer
2024 runner-up: Saline
2025 top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2. Northville, 3. Detroit Catholic Central.
Pioneer has won four straight Division 1 championships, last year by just 30 points ahead of rival Saline, with Detroit Catholic Central finishing third and Northville fourth and just 49 points separating those top four teams. Pioneer enters this weekend with all three relays and 10 individual entries seeded to score plus a diver competing. Northville, the runner-up in 2022, is seeking its first championship since 1973 and sending three relays and 15 entries seeded to score and a diver, and DCC is seeking its first team title and sending three relays and eight individual entries seeded to score. Pioneer and Saline shared the Southeastern Conference Red title this winter, and Saline is ranked No. 4 and also could make the big move sending all three relays and 16 individual entries seeded to score, plus three divers.
Elijah Almeida, Ann Arbor Pioneer sophomore: He swam the 100-yard breaststroke during his Finals debut a year ago and returns as the top seed in that race (56.99), sixth-seeded in the 100 butterfly (51.91) and likely to swim on top-seeded 200 freestyle and medley relays.
Sam Campbell, Milford junior: He’s seeded first in the 100 backstroke (49.45) and third in the 200 freestyle (1:40.64) and is expected to swim on two top-seven seeded relays.
Owen Stevens, Zeeland senior: He’s won the 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle championship the last two seasons. He is seeded first in both the IM at 1:49.54 and 500 at 4:28.69 and likely to swim on two top-11 relays.
Brady Stenson, Northville junior: He finished fourth in the 500 and seventh in the 200 freestyle last season and returns as the top seed in the 200 (1:39.30) and second in the 500 (4:31.40) and is expected to swim on two top-seven relays.
Camren Turowski, Detroit Catholic Central sophomore: The top seed in the 50 (20.69) and 100 freestyles (45.25) is also expected to swim on two top-three seeded relays. He finished second in the 50 and swam on two championship and one runner-up relay in 2024.
Diego Valdes, Saline senior: Last season’s fourth-place finisher in the IM and runner-up in the butterfly also swam on two top-three relays. He returns as the top seed in the butterfly (49.97) and 11th seed in the IM and is expected to swim on two top-four seeded relays.
Ann Arbor Pioneer 200 freestyle relay: The anticipated lineup of Almeida, senior Brighton Han and juniors Edward Zhang and Henry Baumhover enter with a top-seeded time of 1:25.91, with the meet record 1:23.25 swam in 2021.
Riley Brimm, Utica Eisenhower senior: He finished 15th in Division 1 diving last season but enters this weekend after posting the highest score in any Division 1 Regional qualification meet, 452.45.
Division 2 at Oakland University
Reigning champion: Birmingham Groves
2024 runners-up: Farmington, Birmingham Seaholm
2025 top-ranked: 1. Detroit U-D Jesuit, 2. Byron Center, 3. Birmingham Seaholm.
Last year’s finish certainly was among the most incredible in MHSAA Finals history, as Groves repeated as champion with 245 points but Farmington and Seaholm tied for second both with 244. The list of favorites is a little different this time, as Jesuit is expected to move up from fourth last year and Byron Center could also make a jump after finishing eighth. The Cubs are seeking their first Finals title and finished runners-up in 2022 and 2023, and they enter this weekend with all three relays and 15 individual entries seeded to score and three divers competing. Byron Center is seeking its first top-two Finals finish and also will bring a sizable lineup of three relays and 16 individuals seeded to score, and three divers. Seaholm most recently won Division 2 in 2021 and will look to three relays and eight individuals seeded to score, with one diver competing.
Will Cicco, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek senior: The top seed in the 200 (1:39.21) and 500 freestyles (4:31.02) is likely to also swim on two top-seven seeded relays.
Patrick Mackillop, Detroit U-D Jesuit senior: Last year’s third-place finisher in the breaststroke and 12th-place finisher in the IM is seeded first in the breaststroke (55.86), 10th in the IM and expected to swim on two top-four seeded relays.
Josh Martin, Mattawan senior: He’s seeded first in the butterfly (49.03) and fifth in the 50 (21.30) and will swim on two relays after finishing third in both the butterfly and 50 last winter.
Charlie McCuiston, Detroit U-D Jesuit sophomore: He debuted last season with a third place in the 200 freestyle and eighth place in the breaststroke, and will return as the top seed in the 100 free (45.57), second seed in the 200 free (1:40:60) and likely to swim on those two top-four relays with Mackillop.
Quinn O’Neill, Birmingham Seaholm sophomore: The reigning champion in the 500 also finished seventh in the 200 free last year. He’s seeded eighth in the 500 and 11th in the 200 this time but is also expected to swim on top-seeded 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.
Elliott Rijnovean, Birmingham Seaholm junior: He won the butterfly and backstroke last season and also swam on the winning 200 medley and third-place 400 freestyle relays. He’s seeded first in the backstroke (49.35), fourth in the butterfly (50.73) and expected to swim on the same top-seeded relays with O’Neill.
Evan Tack, Detroit U-D Jesuit senior: Last year’s runner-up in the 200 freestyle and third-place finisher in the backstroke is seeded first in the IM (1:50.84) by more than five seconds and second in the butterfly (49.50). He’s also expected to swim on second-seeded 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.
Lucas Witham, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central junior: He finished fifth in the 50 and eighth in the 100 freestyle last season, and is seeded first in the 50 (20.83), second in the 100 (46.18) and will likely swim on two top-nine seeded relays.
Birmingham Seaholm 200 medley relay: The lineup of Rijnovean, O’Neill, senior Emmett Knudsen and junior Finn Murray enters with a seed time of 1:31.42, two seconds faster than the field and also faster than the meet record of 1:31.85 swam in 2022.
Farmington 200 freestyle relay: The anticipated group of seniors Jack Tomlinson, Luke Morden and Paul DeMartini and junior Joshua Luo has a top-seeded time of 1:25.13 and could approach the meet record of 1:23.72 swam in 2022.
Jack Olivier, Byron Center senior: He finished fourth in diving last season and posted this year’s highest Division 2 Regional qualifying score of 505 points.
Division 3 at Eastern Michigan University
Reigning champion: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
2024 runners-up: East Grand Rapids
2025 top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. Holland Christian, 3. East Grand Rapids.
It’s been Cranbrook first and EGR second the last two seasons, and the Cranes will pursue a third-straight title with three relays and 19 individual entries seeded to score, plus a diver in the mix. East Grand Rapids won the previous two titles before this Cranbrook run and will look to pile points with three relays and 11 individuals seeded to score, and a strong group of three divers competing. Holland Christian is another regular, most recently champion in 2018 and 2019, runner-up in 2021 and 2022 and third place a year ago. The Maroons will seek to contend with three relays and 15 individuals seeded to score, and a similarly highly-touted pair of divers.
Sam Harper, Plainwell junior: He finished fourth in the 500 freestyle last season and is seeded first in that race (4:39.61) and second in the 200 free (1:44.70).
Jack Langeland, Hamilton junior: He’s seeded first in the 200 (1:44.11) and fifth in the butterfly (52.56) and could swim on two top-three seeded relays. He finished 11th in the 200 and 12th in the butterfly last season.
Basilio Ledesma, Holland Christian senior: He finished sixth in the 50 and fourth in the butterfly in 2024 and returns as the top seed in the 100 free (47.53), fourth seed in the 50 (21.78) and expected to swim on the second-seeded 200 medley relay.
Kade Opsal, Adrian junior: He finished fifth in the 50 and 10th in the backstroke and swam on two high-placing relays last season. He’s seeded first in both the backstroke (50.20) and 50 (21.0) this weekend and will likely swim on two seventh-seeded relays.
Levi Rozema, Holland Christian senior: He’s seeded first in the breaststroke (57.64) and sixth in the IM (2:01.72) and is likely to swim on two second-seeded relays. He finished third in the breaststroke and 11th in the IM last year, also swimming on the third-place medley relay.
Liam Smith, Otsego junior: He’s won three Finals championships over his first two seasons – two in the butterfly and last year in the IM as well. He’s seeded first in the IM (1:52.44) and second in the butterfly (50.37) and will likely swim on two top-10 seeded relays.
Ethan Xu, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood sophomore: He and Smith may be racing repeatedly as he’s seeded second in the IM (1:54.99) and first in the butterfly (49.64) and may also swim on top-seeded medley and 400 freestyle relays. He finished fifth in the IM and eighth in the 500 last season.
Rowan Bishop, East Grand Rapids senior: Last season’s fourth-place diver scored 524.65 points at his Regional qualifier to set the pace for all of Division 3.
PHOTO Division 1 swimmers including Zeeland's Owen Stevens and Northville's Brady Stenson launch to begin a 500 freestyle race at last season's Finals. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)