Seaholm Dominates in Regaining D2 Title
March 8, 2014
By Chip Mundy
Special to Second Half
YPSILANTI – One by one, members of the Birmingham Seaholm boys swimming and diving team approached coach Tom Wyllie – who was completely soaked after a post-meet dip in the pool – and greeted him with a big hug.
When one swimmer offered a handshake, Wyllie insisted on a hug.
“It’s hugs; we’re all family,” Wyllie told the swimmer. “Soak it in.”
They were soaking in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 champions after a dominating performance Saturday at Michael H. Jones Natatorium on the campus of Eastern Michigan University.
Seaholm started the meet with an emphatic statement – an LP Division 2 Finals record performance in winning the 200 medley relay – and ended with a huge exclamation mark – another LP Division 2-record performance in winning the 400 freestyle relay. In between, Seaholm won the 200 freestyle relay, and junior Jack Russell captured the 200 IM for the Maples’ only individual championship of the meet.
The Maples finished with 357.5 points in a complete domination of the meet as Dexter was second with 203. They also won the MHSAA championship in 2011 and were second in 2012 and third in 2013.
Seaholm had 10 swimmers qualify for at least one individual event, and nine swimmers qualified in two. That all happened in an outstanding effort during preliminaries Friday.
“I’ve never seen anything like that in my 16 years of coaching,” Wyllie said of Friday’s performance. “We were very deep across the board; we had swimmers qualify in every event, and we qualified four 100 freestylers in the top eight – and only had one individual state champion.
“That goes to that team concept – it takes a team to win.”
The 200 medley relay opened in impressive fashion as Evan Burke, Russell, Cliff Ross and Matt Perham won in 1 minute, 33.41 seconds, narrowly edging Grosse Pointe South’s effort of 1:34.23. The previous LP Division 2 Finals record was 1:34.81 set by Holland in 2013.
“That relay probably would not have been that fast if it had not been for Grosse Pointe South,” Wyllie said. “They were right there with us neck and neck and pushing us really hard. We walked away with the win and a record on top of that. It just set the tone for the rest of the day.”
The individual highlight of the day for Seaholm came in the third race – the 200 IM – when Russell won in 1:52.10 – more than a second better than his time in the preliminaries. Robbie Zofchak of Dexter was a close second in 1:52.28.
“I had no clue if I won,” Russell said. “When I touched, I just looked at the board and saw first. I thought he caught me on the end.
“My coach told me that I would have him on the breaststroke, but he’ll be gunning for me on the freestyle. When I looked over in the last 25, I saw he was catching me off the turn. I just put my head down, didn’t breathe and touched the wall and hoped for the best.”
Russell also was third in the 100 breaststroke and swam the second leg on the winning 200 medley relay team.
While Seaholm had only one individual champion, it had several standouts.
- Senior Nathan Anderson was on both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays that won, and he also tied for second in the 100 freestyle and was third in the 50 freestyle. “The most important part of that day was getting first with my relays,” Anderson said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do that without them. Because of them, I got what I wanted – I got my first place.”
- Junior Enrique Hernandez was on the winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays in addition to taking fourth in the 100 freestyle and sixth in the 200 freestyle.
- Senior Mike Shaben also swam on the winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays, and was fifth in the 50 freestyle and sixth in the 100 freestyle.
- Perham, a senior, was on the winning 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay, and added a sixth-place finish in the 50 freestyle and an eighth-place finish in the 100 backstroke.
- Burke, Cliff Ross and Nick Ross each were on one winning relay team. Burke added a fourth-place finish in the 200 IM and was seventh in the 100 breaststroke. Nick Ross was seventh in the 200 freestyle and eighth in the 100 freestyle, while Cliff Ross was seventh in the 100 butterfly.
- Sophomore Sebastian Fay was runner-up in diving after placing 24th a year ago.
With the team championship secure, Seaholm went into the final event – the 400 freestyle relay – on a mission. Crosstown rival Birmingham Groves set the meet record of 3:05.63 in 2011, and in the preliminaries Friday, Seaholm was in the neighborhood with a 3:06.99.
They weren’t to be denied in the final, with Anderson, Shaben, Nick Ross and Hernandez teaming up to win in 3:05.13, shaving a half-second off the LP Division 2 record.
“The state record has always been one of our goals,” Shaben said. “The entire season we’ve been eying it. Two seniors, Nathan Anderson and me, we’ve really wanted to end our season with that record.”
While Seaholm dominated, there were other standouts as well led by Holland senior Thomas Rathbun. He successfully defended his championships in both the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle. His winning time of 4:28.75 in the latter was nearly 10 seconds ahead of the runner-up, and he won the 200 in 1:38.74.
Both times were better than his winning performances from 2013.
“I feel like that was the most important part,” Rathbun said of his times. “The placing doesn’t mean that much to me – it’s great to be first – but to me it’s more about the times and if I improve on myself.”
Rathbun also was rebounding from a difficult situation last summer.
“Coming into the season, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go,” he said. “I had an off-summer dealing with some mono and bronchitis, so it was a slow start.
“I worked through some stuff, and now it feels pretty good.”
The other successful defending champion was junior John Vann of Battle Creek Lakeview, who repeated in the 100 butterfly. His winning time of 49.23 was better than his 50.83 in 2013.
“It feels really good,” said Vann, who also was second in the 200 freestyle. “I was definitely more confident this year just knowing I had a state championship under my belt, and it just felt really good that I could compete with everybody and just get out there and race them.
“I took it out a lot faster than Friday, and it hurt a lot more in the end, but it was definitely worth it.”
White Lake Lakeland senior Will Walker, who finished second to Vann in the 100 butterfly, won the 50 freestyle in 20.83 seconds, while Nick Leshok of North Farmington won the 100 freestyle in 46.03 seconds.
The 100 backstroke went to Jason Wesseling of Jenison in 50.05 (just off the meet record of 50.04), and Xinghao Wang of Grand Ledge took the 100 breaststroke in 55.77 seconds.
The diving portion of the meet went to Swartz Creek senior Jason Maxwell, who outdistanced the field with 437.50 points as runner-up Fay of Seaholm had 375.20. Maxwell had a healthy lead for his final dive – a reverse double somersault in the tuck position.
However, the day and the meet belonged to Seaholm.
“Everybody played their part – the hugs – we’re one giant family,” Wyllie said. “When family cares about each other, you don’t want to let each other down. Everybody does their part.
“My son was on the last state championship with me. He was a senior and a captain, so that was a different feeling. I was wondering how this one would feel, and it feels like I have 45 sons; it’s just incredible. Both state titles are unique in their own way.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Swimmers launch for a leg of a relay Saturday at the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final. (Middle) A swimmer surges ahead during his race at Eastern Michigan University. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)
Cranbrook Extends Finals Win Streak to 3; Farner, Otsego's Smith Claim Multiple Titles
By
Brad Emons
Special for MHSAA.com
March 15, 2025
YPSILANTI – Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood is no stranger to MHSAA boys swimming & diving championships.
And the Cranes, led by junior standout A.J. Farner, made it three straight Saturday and seven overall scoring a team-high 357 points to reach the podium. They finished ahead of runner-up Holland Christian (282.5) and third-place East Grand Rapids (264) at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals at Eastern Michigan University’s Jones Natatorium.
Farner figured in four firsts to lead the way, winning the 200-yard freestyle (1:40.15) and 100 backstroke (49.54) while also being part of victorious relay teams in the 200 medley (1:33.78) and 400 freestyle (3:07.95).
Senior teammate Joseph Wiater also brought home a first in the 100 breaststroke (56.57).
“I didn’t know what to expect coming in, but because of great coaching things went my way, so no complaints,” Farner said. “I have (had) mononucleosis for the past three months. My coaches have done a really good job kind of limiting me and limiting what I’m doing. I didn’t know what to expect, but the team and the coaches did a really good job preparing me. It went my way and better than I expected.”
Cranbrook coach Paul Ellis said Farner has a special quality that can’t often be duplicated.
“A.J. is an incredibly talented kid,” Ellis said. “The reason he is able to come out and do this is he’s a great example of a kid that puts in all work in the offseason. Yes, he’s got a lot of genetic gifts, but that doesn’t set him up without training his tail off and working his butt off. ... He puts in the work out of season, so when he gets here, he can rely on that training even though he runs into a hiccup like mono. He couldn’t do any more than 3,000 yards the past three months and yet he came out here, relied on his training and was incredibly successful in all his races.”
In his final hurrah as a prep swimmer, Wiater earned his first individual Finals title.
“It was exciting. I swam with so much pride,” Wiater said. “It was just a great time. I’m officially done with swimming. I’m not going anywhere to (swim) college or anything, so I’m super excited that I pulled it off.
“First, I was telling myself, ‘This is it. It’s my last race ever.’ We are competing with Holland Christian for first place and we needed the first. I told myself, ‘I just got to get this. This is my last four lengths, and I’m done the rest of my life.’”
Coming out of Friday’s prelims, Cranbrook boasted a total of 20 individual qualifiers – the most of any school – heading into consolation and finals heats.
Cranbrook’s second-seeded 200 medley relay got the team off to a roaring start by winning going away as freestyle anchor leg Calvin Meeker brought it home in 1:33.78, teaming up with Farner, Wiater and Ethan Xu for a repeat championship in the event.
Another of the meet’s individual stars was Otsego junior Liam Smith, who repeated as champion in the 200 individual medley (1:49.07) and 100 butterfly (48.68). His performance in the 200 IM was an All-American automatic time, while his butterfly clocking earned All-America consideration.
“Obviously last year was exciting, this year was exciting, the state meet is always exciting,” Smith said. “You always want to perform your best. I didn’t go my best time, but you can’t complain about winning. I’m good with that.”
Smith, who brought the team’s wooden hammer to the victory podium after winning the 100 butterfly, boasts five individual Finals titles for his career, including three straight in the butterfly.
“Anyone who gets on the podium gets the hammer,” Smith said. “I was a little disappointed in my times, but you can’t do your best every time. I can be happy about winning. It never gets old. It’s awesome.”
In one of the most competitive races of the day, junior Jack Higgins of Detroit Country Day clocked a first-place time of 21.01 in the 50 freestyle to hold off Holland Christian’s Basil Ledesma and Adrian’s Kade Opsal, who tied for second with identical times of 21.26.
Higgins was runner-up a year ago in 20.79 to Grand Rapids Christian senior Ben Sytsma, who went 19.98. Last school year the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Higgins also played football, but decided to concentrate solely on swimming for 2024-25.
“This year was more open for me,” said Higgins, who does plan to play golf this spring for the Yellowjackets. “I’ve been thinking about winning ever since then. I just feel really good to do it. I’ll really reflect on everything after the meet is over, but I just feel really good right now.”
Higgins was also the top seed in the 100 freestyle and became the meet’s second double individual winner with a first-place clocking of 45.95 to better his 46.17 prelim time from Friday.
Meanwhile, Plainwell junior Sam Harper was seeded second in the 500 freestyle but overcame Flint Powers Catholic senior Liam Seifert, the top seed, and touched the wall first in 4:34.62, almost five seconds ahead of the runner-up.
Harper was fourth a year ago in 4:39.90, while Seifert was third in 4:38.03. The two have had a spirited and friendly rivalry.
“Me and Seifert go back-and-forth, race-to-race, it has been for a while now,” Harper said. “He’s a good guy, but it’s all good to take this one home. The prelims I was going strong and steady, just making sure I had enough gas in the tank the next day.”
Grand Rapids Christian took a highly-competitive 200 freestyle relay race as seniors Tyler Stinton and Evan Nelson along with juniors Sawyer O’Grady and Emmett Vance posted a time of 1:27.26 to hold off runner-up Spring Lake (1:28.10), Cranbrook (1:28.14), East Grand Rapids (1:28.16) and Hamilton (1:28.62).
In the 1-meter diving, Holland Christian senior Parker Schut held off a strong challenge from Rowen Bishop of East Grand Rapids to earn his first Finals title.
Schut, a year-round diver, finished sixth last year, fifth as a sophomore and ninth as a freshman. He tallied 511.95 points, while Bishop, who posted the best Regional dive score in D3 with a 524.65, wound up with 471.05 on Saturday.
“Wow, I’m very, very excited right now,” said Schut, who plans to continue his diving career at Davenport University where he’ll study business. “Dreamed about it last night, dreamed about it the day before. I’m so excited. I don’t know what else to say. It was my second-to-last dive, my 205, a back 2½ tuck, and it was just perfect top, good kick-out, good entry and I think that’s what finished it off.”
Cranbrook-Kingswood added an exclamation point in the meet’s final event, winning the 400 freestyle relay ahead of Holland Christian (3:08.74) with Sean Lu, Ryan Van Dyke, Xu and Farner comprising the victorious quartet.
“We’ve got great coaches in Paul Ellis, Greg Palmer, Marissa Blumenthal and John Hovy – great leadership,” Farner said. “We’ve had a really great group of seniors the past three or four years on the team. Great guys leading the group. They’ve done a really good job of rallying the team together, making great ideas and goals for our team.”
Meanwhile, Ellis had nothing but praise for his team.
“They are a group that really cares about each other and to me a group of kids – they want to be special, they will do anything asked of them no matter how hard or grueling practices are,” he said. “They always step up. They rally behind each other and they do all the little things – they show up, they show on time, they’re prepared and they bust their butt. And to me, having a group of kids that are coachable, that are willing to work hard, sets the tone for success season-in and season-out.”
PHOTOS (Top) Cranbrook’s Joseph Wiater swims to the championship in the 100 breaststroke during Saturday’s LPD3 Finals at Eastern Michigan University. (Middle) Otsego’s Liam Smith swims to the title in the 200 IM. (Below) Plainwell’s Sam Harper pushes through on the way to the win in the 500 freestyle. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)