Final Relay Win Gives Marian Team Title
November 22, 2014
By Butch Harmon
Special to Second Half
HOLLAND – Heading into this year’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Girls Swimming and Diving Finals, Bloomfield Hills Marian coach William Thompson expected a wide-open battle.
He also expected the title to be decided in the final race.
And that’s exactly what happened as his 400-yard freestyle relay team edged Ann Arbor Skyline by six hundredths of a second to claim the deciding points and deliver Marian its third MHSAA title.
Marian finished with 231.5 points to edge Skyline, which finished with 220 points at the Holland Aquatic Center.
“During the 400 relay, I walked over to the Skyline coach and told her if you don’t think this is fun, holy smokes,” Thompson said. “She was tickled pink too.
“My hunch is that this was the best meet to be at. It was such a close finish.”
Portage Central took third with 219.5 points, followed by Dexter (215) and Birmingham Seaholm (211) to round out the top five.
Marian’s 400 relay of junior Christian Schott, sophomores Sophia Schott and Kailyn Swantek, and senior Mollie Pulte pulled it out for the Mustangs in the final event.
“We knew we had to win the 400 to win the meet,” Pulte said. “It was a close race and I was going up against Katie Portz, who I went up against in the 100 and 200 free(style) finals. I knew it was close at the end, but I didn’t want to let my teammates down. I’ve never had a greater feeling in my life. All the hard work of the last four years paid off. It’s such a great feeling.”
The two-day meet was a memorable end to her outstanding high school career.
Pulte, who set MHSAA Finals records last year in both the 100 and 200 freestyles, added a pair of individual titles to go with the team title this season. She won the 200 free in a time of 1:48.28 and by only 15 hundredths of a second.
Pulte, who is headed to the University of Florida to continue her career next season, won the 100 free in 50.21 and also broke her LP Division 2 Finals record in the 200 free in Friday’s preliminaries with a time of 1:47.88.
Winning the team title, however, was the biggest highlight.
“Friday I was swimming for myself, to have the best time,” Pulte said. “(Saturday), it was all about the team. All I wanted to do was to be the first to touch the wall. I just wanted to help my team get points and win the title. To go out as a senior with a team state championship, it was just the biggest day. There was no way I was going to let down the other 20 girls on the team. They were all behind me cheering me on, and I was not going to let them down.”
Pulte was not the only Marian individual champion. Sophia Schott won the 50 freestyle in a time of 23.66, by two hundredths of a second.
“I knew it was real close,” Schott said. “I just put my head down and went as hard as I could. I didn’t see the time at the end, but then all my teammates came up to me yelling and screaming and telling me I won. It was so exciting.”
Schott also got the Mustangs off to a fast start in the 400 free relay as the first leg.
“It’s a feeling I’ve never felt before,” Schott said. “I’m so proud of everyone. It was real exciting, and everybody was so pumped up and so excited. We knew we had to have everyone step up.”
Team effort was the key, Thompson said.
“It was not the superstars that win a meet like this,” Thompson said. “The kids that you don’t hear about were the ones who won the meet (Saturday). We needed the whole team to step up. It wasn’t about individuals; it was everyone on the team contributing to get this.”
For second-place Skyline, just being in the hunt was a big accomplishment. Skyline was on pace to finish fifth at the end of Friday’s preliminaries, but was keyed in part by a couple of close runner-up finishes by Portz.
“We never expected to be here,” Skyline coach Maureen Isaac said. “We had a pretty tough day (Friday), but the girls came back today. They scratched and clawed and came back today. We were not even in the hunt at the end of the day yesterday, but the heart that these girls showed was amazing. They refused to give up and just kept clawing back.”
The runner-up finish was the second in three years for Skyline, as the Eagles also placed second at the 2012 meet.
Saturday’s Final also provided a memorable end to the high school career of Holland senior Taylor Garcia. Garcia, who will swim at the University of Arizona next year, entered the finals with six individual titles and was also part of six relay winners as she helped Holland win the last three team titles.
While Holland finished 10th as a team this season, Garcia again enjoyed a big meet as she won both the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke. Garcia set a new meet record in the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.95, which broke her record of 54.01 set last year.
“I really wanted to break my state record,” Garcia said. “I didn’t break it by much, but I’ll take it. It was very exciting winning it here in Holland. My family and friends were all here, and that meant a lot. It also meant a lot to do it here for the entire Holland community and our team.”
Garcia won the 100 backstroke in a time of 53.37, giving her four straight Finals titles in that race to go with four straight in the 100 butterfly.
Krissy Harmon of Bay City Western wrapped up her high school career as a two-time Finals champion in the 500 freestyle. Harmon, who came in unseeded to win the 500 last year, was the top seed this time and swam a time of 4:55.38.
“I definitely felt a lot more pressure this year,” Harmon said. “Last year I barely had any pressure. This year I felt the pressure. It feels real good to win it again, and it is a relief. I’m really happy to end my high school career on a good note.”
Harmon will be continuing her career at Oakland University next year.
Another record fell in the diving competition, where Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central sophomore Erin Neely set an LP Division 2 Final record with a score of 450.75. Neely finished third at last year’s Final and came into this year’s event with the top score from the Regional round.
Rochester Adams sophomore Nicole Pape also enjoyed this year’s Final much more than her first trip last year. In 2013, Pape experienced a case of food poising during the Final. This year, she was at full strength and won the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:02.74.
“It is so exciting to be here and win,” Pape said. “I felt like I was cheated last year, so I was so happy to make it back and be healthy.”
Pape also placed second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:04.08. Senior Celia Hoag of Birmingham Seaholm won the breaststroke with a time of 1:03.66.
PHOTOS: (Top) Bloomfield Hills Marian hoists its team championship trophy Saturday at Holland Aquatic Center. (Middle) Holland’s Taylor Garcia swims for the title in the 100 butterfly. (Below) Rochester Adams’ Nicole Pape completes her championship swim in the 200 freestyle. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Roell's Dominating Run Keys Sentinels' Surge to 5th-Straight UP Finals Championship
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
February 21, 2026
MARQUETTE — Marquette junior Kaytlin Roell said she was a little nervous going into Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Swimming & Diving Finals. She didn’t mention it being the biggest meet of the year – rather the two snow days leading up to such a massive event meant two days of no training.
She was determined to keep her mind where it needed to be, something she did from start to finish. She edged last year’s champion, Allison Deuter, by six hundredths of a second in the 50-yard freestyle and later won the 100 butterfly while also helping Marquette to first-place finishes in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
“Last year wasn’t my greatest year,” Roell said. “I think I could have done better. This year, I put my mind to it.”
Roell had some big wins, and so did her team. The Sentinels won their fifth-straight U.P. title, 311-226.5 over runner-up Houghton.
“When I first stepped out for my first race, the 50 free, I focused, and I felt ready and I felt I spent this whole year training for this moment,” Roell said. She finished in 25.74 seconds. “When I came in and I won, I was ecstatic. I was so happy since I haven’t really had the chance to be on the podium, on the top individually, since my freshman year.”
The day got better.
“When I swam my 100 fly, I went crazy. I shaved almost three seconds off my personal best,” Roell said. Her time of 1:00.93 put her just three hundredths of a second from the school record, something she can shoot for as a senior.
“That 100 butterfly was electric,” Marquette coach Nathan McFarren said.
She swam the 50-yard opening leg of the 200 relay faster than she finished in the individual event at 25.66 seconds.
“Having everybody put in the work together and winning the 200 free was amazing. It brought so much joy to me,” she said. The relay’s winning time was 1:46.96.
The Sentinels beat Houghton in the 400 in 4:00.70 despite being seeded behind the Gremlins.
“The thing about Kaytlin is she’s matured so much,” McFarren said. “She’s become a great team player, and she works her butt off.”
Deuter, a sophomore, repeated as a U.P. champion, but not in the 50 like last year. After finishing second in that race by such a close margin, she went out and won the 100 freestyle in 57.33 seconds.
“It just felt good winning finally,” she said, “because all my early mornings and late nights I put in swimming and lifting and whatnot finally paid off.”
Her coach, Jim Lindstrom, said she doesn’t miss a practice. Even if school is canceled and they can’t have practice, she goes to the Y anyway.
“She’s been swimming since she was 6 years old,” he said. “She’s really determined.”
And she’s an overall good swimmer, he said. She could have won an individual medley race if the team didn’t need her to be in the 50 freestyle, he said.
She also helped the 200 medley relay to a win (1:59.31).
Marquette’s Hailee LaCombe referenced the time she put in as well after she won the 100 backstroke in 1:09.58.
“I’m a senior, so it’s my last meet. I’ve been swimming for 13 years,” she said. “I was just thinking of making sure all my hard work throughout the year got put into those races.”
She beat teammate Lola Sved by just over a second.
“I had a good start and everything,” LaCombe said. “My turns were good, my underwater, I tried to do good breakouts and everything.”
Sault Ste. Marie sophomore Isabeau Woodard won the 100 breaststroke in 1:16.32.
“When I got in the water, my goggles instantly filled with water,” she said.
She remembered thinking she should have gone without the cap and goggles. “It would have been so much better,” Woodard added. “I don’t even remember the last 25 (yards). I remember I couldn’t breathe and I was scared.”
She couldn’t believe her time. She didn’t even know she won.
“I found out when my sister texted. She was like, ‘Oh, by the way, you got first place,’” Woodard said.
Being a U.P. champion is a “new feeling,” she said. “Last year, I did not do so hot. I was fifth last year, I think. It’s really surreal.”
Gladstone’s Irene Neumeier won the 200 freestyle in 2:06.73, Westwood’s Kamryn LaVigne took first in the 200 IM (2:30.96), and Houghton’s Ava Keteri won the 500 freestyle (6:08.42).
McFarren’s daughter, Logan, took second in the 100 and 200 freestyle events.
“This one was extra special to me,” he said. “She put in so much work this year, and it paid off.”
PHOTOS (Top) Marquette celebrates its victory Saturday in the 200 freestyle relay. (Middle) The Sentinels’ Kaytlin Roell powers to a win in the 100 butterfly. (Click for more by Jarvinen Photos.)