Grand Blanc Takes 'Total Team Effort' to Championship Level with SVL Title Clincher
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 12, 2025
Needing a “total team effort” was much more than generic coach speak this past week for the Grand Blanc girls swimming & diving team.
Twenty-one athletes scored at the Saginaw Valley League Championships, helping the Bobcats edge Midland Dow and claim the program’s first league title since 2020.
“I definitely think that’s what sets us apart from other teams – we have so many amazing swimmers,” Grand Blanc senior Riley McLeman said. “If we had two people in the championship heat, and so did Dow, we also had two people in the B and C finals, where they had none. Everyone played a role in this. Every single person on our team was important, and that was amazing to see.”
Quality depth has driven the Bobcats all season, and in the SVL meet, it was the difference as they overcame Dow placing the individual winner in eight of the meet’s 12 events. Grand Blanc did win two events and placed second in nine, but pulled away with its depth.
“We knew early on in the season that we were keeping a really great senior class and had a lot of great swimmers returning, and also that we were getting a great freshman class,” Grand Blanc coach Katherine Kuhn said. “We had our sights set on winning leagues, and we knew we had that depth and that speed. And they had to show out. It wasn’t just, ‘We have this depth, we’re good.’ They still had to really show out at the meet, and they did.”
The SVL meet scores all the way through 24 places, adding importance to the B and C finals.
So, for a swimmer like freshman Ava Christian, her personal-best times in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle races were for more than just pride as she contributed to the Grand Blanc cause with 33 points – all earned in B finals.
“There was kind of some pressure, but it was a good pressure,” Christian said. “Even people that weren’t scoring as highly still had a chance to make a difference. It put pressure on everyone, not just the top swimmers. I really feel like it shows how well we can work together and support each other.”
The top swimmers did their job, as well. Rory Grzymkowksi won the 100 backstroke, while Mallory Shaver, Norah Grosso, Peyton Folks and Sydney Folks won the 400 free relay. Shaver was second in the 200 and 500 freestyles, while McLeman was second in the 100 breaststroke and 200 individual medley and Lila Brocker was second in the 100 backstroke. The 200 free and 200 medley relays also placed second.
Just as fun for that group of standouts was cheering on their teammates in those B and C finals, knowing how much they meant.
“It was great,” McLeman said. “Especially watching some of these freshmen that I didn’t know too well before the season, and even some of my best friends I’ve been swimming with for years getting to compete at a high level and having these amazing breakthrough races. It really got us hyped up and excited for our races.”
While building its depth, Grand Blanc has also been getting stronger at the top. Eight swimmers will be competing at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals on Nov. 21 and 22 at Oakland University. McLeman, Shaver, Sydney Folks, Grzymkowski and Brocker all have qualified in individual events, while Cameron Folks, Peyton Folks and Grosso will swim on relays. Diver Chloe Borton has a chance to make it nine qualifiers, as she will compete at her event Regional on Thursday.
It’s a number Kuhn said she hasn’t seen in her five years (three as an assistant, two as head coach) with the varsity program.
The goal for the Bobcats is to get as many athletes as possible to the final day of the season, something Shaver was able to do a year ago as a sophomore.
“There are some first-time people, and some people that know what to expect, but I definitely will share with the freshmen that they have to take it in and not let the stress take over, because they’ve trained for this,” Shaver said. “I think we have some talented girls that have been able to put in the work and want to represent Grand Blanc in a good way and just show off our talents.”
If the trend of this season holds, expect the Bobcats to reach that goal, as they’ve reached every one to this point.
McLeman said Kuhn broke the season into chunks for the team:
Win the Genesee County meet. Check.
Defeat Dow in a dual. Check.
Win the SVL. Check.
“It’s just been great; it’s been the most amazing season I’ve been part of,” McLeman said. “I could not ask for a better way to finish up my Grand Blanc swim career, to watch me and my best friends accomplish something we’ve worked for since our freshman year.”
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) Grand Blanc’s Ava Christian swims a freestyle race this season. (Middle) The Bobcats stand for a trophy photo after clinching the Saginaw Valley League championship. (Below) Mallory Shaver, top, swims the butterfly and Riley McLeman swims the breaststroke. (Photos courtesy of the Grand Blanc girls swimming & diving program.)
Wayland's Wolf Eager to Build on Historic Freshman Finals Performance
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
November 16, 2023
WAYLAND – Laney Wolf made a giant splash last year in her debut at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Swimming & Diving Finals.
As a freshman, the Wayland standout won individual titles in the 50 and 100-yard freestyles – becoming the first swimmer in school history to earn a Finals championship while putting the rest of the state on notice that she will be around to contend for more over the next three years.
“Last year was a great experience, especially being able to win in the 50 and 100 free,” Wolf said. “It was really exciting, especially with my teammates and coaches cheering me on.
“I've done a lot of club swimming, but it was just a different atmosphere for high school because it was a big state meet. It was important.”
Wolf entered her first Finals with zero expectations.
“I didn’t expect to win,” she said. “I swam well in the preliminaries, and I was first. Then in the finals, I just gave it all I had and ended up with the wins.”
Wayland swimming & diving coach Seth Beat also had no idea what to expect from his talented young swimmer.
“When she came in, I knew she was going to score well in our conference and be a top competitor,” Beat said. “And then tracking her progress, it was exciting to see her growing and climbing the ranks at the state level.”
The opportunity to qualify for her Finals was satisfying enough.
“I was just happy for her to go to state with her being ranked in the top eight in her individual races, and for her to finish first in those was just mind-blowing,” Beat said. “We were all proud of her, and it was just go and swim as hard as you can and be happy with the outcome.
“And I think we will have the same mindset this year. Let's just go, be focused and do what you can. Be mentally and physically ready and just give it her all.”
Wolf will try to duplicate last year’s awe-inspiring effort when she competes in this weekend’s Finals at Oakland University. She has the fourth-fastest LPD3 qualifying times in both of her signature events (24.54 in the 50 and 53.55 in the 100).
“I'm really excited about the 50 free this year, and I think I have a really good shot at that event,” Wolf said. “I know there is a lot more competition than there was last year, but I'm still going to try my best and give it everything I have.”
Wolf has reason for optimism after recording a personal best in the 50 during practice.
“I’ve been very happy with how I’ve swam this season,” she said. “I had 24 (seconds) during the hard week of practice, which was huge for me to be able to do that.”
Beat has witnessed firsthand Wolf’s climb to early success at the high school level. He first met her when she was 6 years old while taking part in the Wayland AquatiCATS Swim Program.
“She has a killer instinct and is very competitive,” Beat said. “She comes from a family of athletes.”
That family of athletes includes two brothers and an older sister, who’s also on the team, and who constantly push each other and strive for excellence. Laney also played basketball and ran track as a freshman.
“I’ve coached them all in swimming and taught them in the classroom, and they just set high goals and are extremely determined to meet those goals,” Beat said. “They will work out in the weight room, eat right, swim right and will train seven days a week.
“They will do what they need to do in order to make sure they achieve their goals. It’s in their genes and makeup. They put their best foot forward to be the best they can be.”
Wolf’s work ethic, perseverance and positive attitude provide her with the necessary motivation to excel.
“I never give up, and I always try my best at practice,” Wolf said. “I do club swimming over the summer, and I'm always putting in the work to do the best I can.
“When I’m getting ready for my races, I don't think about my competition. I just picture the event before I swim it, and I'm trying to perfect everything in my head before I go into that event and get into a good head space.”
Wolf isn’t feeling any pressure to repeat this weekend.
“I think no matter how I do, I will be happy with how it turns out,” Wolf said. “No matter what, it will be a good end to the season.”
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Wayland’s Laney Wolf swims one of her races; she’s among the state’s elite sprinters. (Middle) Wolf is awarded with her 100 freestyle championship at last season’s LPD3 Finals. (Photos courtesy of the Wayland athletic department.)