Dunfield Climbing Fenton's Record Board, Rankings of State's Distance Elite
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 1, 2025
Breaking the record of a program legend was an emotional moment for Katie Dunfield.
The Fenton junior had long looked up to Gracie Olsen, a six-time MHSAA Finals champion, so knocking her name off the school record board for the 500-yard freestyle was something she did not take for granted.
At the same time, it served as further motivation.
“I guess it just put into perspective that I know I can do it now,” Dunfield said. “Not that I’m going to settle. Now that I see my name on the board, I have to do whatever I can to post faster times so my name can be up there for longer. I’m less than a second off the pool record (in the 200 freestyle), so that’s my next goal – to get up there for that pool record.”
Dunfield has swum some of the fastest times in the state this year in the 200 and 500 as she moves toward becoming the next Fenton swimming superstar.
Her time of 4 minutes, 58.41 seconds at the Genesee County Invitational broke Olsen’s pool and program records. She also swam 1:51.22 in the 200, which broke Olsen’s meet record.
Both of those times are the fastest in Division 2 this year, and only West Bloomfield’s Elizabeth Eichbrecht – who has won Division 1 titles in those events each of the past three years – is ahead of her statewide.
“I completely and utterly surprised myself,” Dunfield said. “I don’t know what happened, actually. We didn’t taper at all. I remember going into that meet, I just wanted to win. When I look at that board and see what I posted, that’s not just me, that’s my team giving me the energy and confidence that I could do it.”
While the quickness with which she hit the marks may have been a surprise, the fact Dunfield is putting herself among the state’s best is not.
She placed eighth in the 200 freestyle at the Division 2 Finals as a freshman, and has won multiple state titles as a club swimmer, including a Michigan Age Group Championships championship when she was 14.
“Having coached Katie and been involved with Katie since she was 8 years old, I’ve always kind of known or suspected what Katie is capable of,” Fenton coach Brad Jones said. “She’s training right now to pretty much surpass all the things we thought were possible. Katie is just, physically, incredibly strong. She has the mentality that we had with Grace, that we had with Tess (Heavner), where Katie doesn’t like to lose. Whether it’s practice, a meet – big meet, little meet, best event, worst event – she’s a competitor. Those are the kids that usually end up setting themselves apart.”
Dunfield came into the season with the goal of swimming 4:58 in the 500 and 1:51 in the 200. She’s adjusted those now, in light of her recent performance, but it’s hard to tell how low to go.
“That’s the scary question,” Jones said. “We are training really hard right now. We didn’t rest for the county meet, so for here to get in on one day rest and hit times like that, we’re very excited. I hate to put limits on anybody, and the way she’s training right now, she definitely can end up near the top of the state in the (200 and 500 freestyle). There’s a really talented junior class right now across the state. It’s going to be fun to watch her at the end of the season when she has to race.”
For now, Dunfield is racing herself in those events, with which she’s OK.
“I’m very good at racing myself,” she said. “I can tell how fast I am based on the strokes I’m taking. I’ve been swimming for 11 years, so it’s kind of something that I’ve adapted to. Me and Jones have really been working this year on stroke counting. He’s started doing a thing where he won’t tell me what my time is, but he asks me what I think it was. I used to be way off, but I’ve gotten pretty good at it.”
That’s just a piece of the mental training Dunfield is incorporating into her physical training this fall.
“I know that I’m so close to staying at the top, so every single practice when I talk to my coach he explains why I’m doing this to get better, and that it doesn’t matter if it hurts, it doesn’t matter if I fail, because if I fail, I get better,” Dunfield said. “That’s made it easier on me, mentally, because I’m not feeling the pressure that I need to do everything perfect.”
As she works toward those new time goals, Dunfield is also taking her time working through the college recruiting process. She said she’s not in a hurry to make a commitment, but schools have been in contact, and she’s contacted some others.
She’s also preparing for the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals on Nov. 21 and 22 at Eastern Michigan University. While she’s currently the division’s fastest swimmer in the 200 and 500 freestyle, in her way are Ann Arbor Skyline’s Adrienne Schadler and Farmington Hills Mercy’s Ella Hafner, who finished first and second, respectively, in both events last year.
“I want to get top three,” Dunfield said. “I want to be more successful than I was freshman year. I got eighth, which is good for a freshman, but I want to be able to get higher. I want either second or third in the 500 or 200. First place would be amazing, but I like to be realistic with myself. I know I can finish in the top three.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Fenton’s Katie Dunfield takes a photo with her addition to her school’s swim record board. (Middle) Dunfield holds up her medal after being announced as winner of the 200 freestyle at the Genesee County Invitational. (Photos courtesy of Katie Dunfield.)
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Field Hockey Debut, Tennis Finals Change Among Most Notable as Fall Practices Set to Begin
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 8, 2025
The addition of girls field hockey as a sponsored postseason championship sport and a revised schedule for Lower Peninsula Boys Tennis Finals are the most significant changes to fall sports as practices are set to begin Monday, Aug. 11, for an anticipated 100,000 high school athletes at Michigan High School Athletic Association member schools.
The fall season includes the most played sports for both boys and girls; 36,210 football players and 19,679 girls volleyball players competed during the Fall 2024 season. Teams in those sports will be joined by competitors in girls and boys cross country, field hockey, Lower Peninsula girls golf, boys soccer, Lower Peninsula girls swimming & diving, Upper Peninsula girls tennis and Lower Peninsula boys tennis in beginning practice next week. Competition begins Aug. 15 for cross country, field hockey, golf, soccer and tennis, Aug. 20 for swimming & diving and volleyball, and Aug. 28 for varsity football.
Field hockey is one of two sports set to make its debut with MHSAA sponsorship during the 2025-26 school year; boys volleyball will play its first season with MHSAA sponsorship in the spring.
There are 37 varsity teams expected to play during the inaugural field hockey season. There will be one playoff division, with the first MHSAA Regionals in this sport beginning Oct. 8 and the first championship awarded Oct. 25.
To conclude their season, Lower Peninsula boys tennis teams will begin a pilot program showcasing Finals for all four divisions at the same location – Midland Tennis Center – over a two-week period. Division 4 will begin play with its two-day event Oct. 15-16, followed by Division 1 on Oct. 17-18, Division 2 on Oct. 22-23 and Division 3 played Oct. 24-25.
Also in Lower Peninsula boys tennis, and girls in the spring, a Finals qualification change will allow for teams that finish third at their Regionals to advance to the season-ending tournament as well, but only in postseason divisions where there are six Regionals – which will be all four boys divisions this fall.
The 11-Player Football Finals at Ford Field will be played this fall over a three-day period, with Division 8, 4, 6 and 2 games on Friday, Nov. 28, and Division 7, 3, 5 and 1 games played Sunday, Nov. 30, to accommodate Michigan State’s game against Maryland on Nov. 29 at Ford Field.
Two more changes affecting football playoffs will be noticeable this fall. For the first time, 8-Player Semifinals will be played at neutral sites; previously the team with the highest playoff-point average continued to host during that round. Also, teams that forfeit games will no longer receive playoff-point average strength-of-schedule bonus points from those opponents to which they forfeited.
A pair of changes in boys soccer this fall will address sportsmanship. The first allows game officials to take action against a team’s head coach in addition to any cautions or ejections issues to players and personnel in that team’s bench area – making the head coach more accountable for behavior on the sideline. The second change allows for only the team captain to speak with an official during the breaks between periods (halftime and during overtime), unless another coach, player, etc., is summoned by the official – with the penalty a yellow card to the offending individual.
A few more game-action rules changes will be quickly noticeable to participants and spectators.
- In volleyball, multiple contacts by one player attempting to play the ball will now be allowed on second contact if the next contact is by a teammate on the same side of the net.
- In swimming & diving, backstroke ledges will be permitted in pools that maintain a 6-foot water depth. If used in competition, identical ledges must be provided by the host team for all lanes, although individual swimmers are not required to use them.
- Also in swimming & diving – during relay exchanges – second, third and fourth swimmers must have one foot stationary at the front edge of the deck. The remainder of their bodies may be in motion prior to the finish of the incoming swimmer.
- In football, when a forward fumble goes out of bounds, the ball will now be spotted where the fumble occurred instead of where the ball crossed the sideline.
The 2025 Fall campaign culminates with postseason tournaments beginning with the Upper Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals during the week of Sept. 29 and wrapping up with the 11-Player Football Finals on Nov. 28 and 30. Here is a complete list of fall tournament dates:
Cross Country
U.P. Finals – Oct. 18
L.P. Regionals – Oct. 24 or 25
L.P. Finals – Nov. 1
Field Hockey
Regionals – Oct. 8-21
Semifinals – Oct. 22 or 23
Final – Oct. 25
11-Player Football
Selection Sunday – Oct. 26
District Semifinals – Oct. 31 or Nov. 1
District Finals – Nov. 7 or 8
Regional Finals – Nov. 14 or 15
Semifinals – Nov. 22
Finals – Nov. 28 and 30
8-Player Football
Selection Sunday – Oct. 26
Regional Semifinals – Oct. 31 or Nov. 1
Regional Finals – Nov. 7 or 8
Semifinals – Nov. 15
Finals – Nov. 22
L.P. Girls Golf
Regionals – Oct. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11
Finals – Oct. 17-18
Boys Soccer
Districts – Oct. 8-18
Regionals – Oct. 21-25
Semifinals – Oct. 29
Finals – Nov. 1
L.P. Girls Swimming & Diving
Diving Regionals – Nov. 13
Swimming/Diving Finals – Nov. 21-22
Tennis
U.P. Girls Finals – Oct. 1, 2, 3, or 4
L.P. Boys Regionals – Oct. 8, 9, 10, or 11
L.P. Boys Finals – Oct. 15-16 (Division 4), Oct. 17-18 (Division 1), Oct 22-23 (Division 2), and Oct. 24-25 (Division 3)
Girls Volleyball
Districts – Nov. 3-8
Regionals – Nov. 11 & 13
Quarterfinals – Nov. 18
Semifinals – Nov. 20-21
Finals – Nov. 22
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.