On Last Race's Last Leg, Mercy Pulls Thru
November 17, 2018
By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half
YPSILANTI – The look on the faces of Farmington Hills Mercy’s 200-yard medley relay team pretty much said it all.
And what was not said with facial expressions was very clearly communicated by the Marlins’ coaches as the opening race ended.
The reigning Division 1 champions needed to pick it up.
Unlike years past, this version wasn’t top heavy with individual event favorites. But it was extremely deep.
And on Saturday, the Marlins used that depth to best the field, rallying past Brighton on the last leg of the 400 freestyle relay to break a tie with the Bulldogs and capture their second consecutive Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship at the Jones Natatorium on the campus of Eastern Michigan University.
“These are the kinds of moments you live for,” said Mercy coach Michael Venos, whose team shared first place with Brighton entering the final event of the meet. “Every little kid, in their backyard, is trying to make that last-second shot. And every swimmer grows up wanting to anchor that relay, or have the meet come down to the last relay. And these girls got to live that out today.”
Mercy was seeded fourth entering the race, with Brighton coming in as the seventh seed. But the Bulldogs got off to a good start thanks to a 51.26 opening leg by senior Chloe Reed. The Marlins kept their poise, and cut into that lead with strong second and third legs by senior Courtney Connolly and junior Julia Coffman. That set the stage for a little “backyard” magic by sophomore anchor Greta Gidley, who swam a 50.26 – the third-fastest leg of any competitor in the race – to help her team to a third-place finish and enough points to beat the Bulldogs, 211 to 209.
“I was trying to focus on my own race, stay in my own lane,” said Gidley, who rallied from more than two seconds back to help her team top Brighton. “I couldn’t see Brighton, so I had no idea where they were, but I could see the girl next to me from Saline, and I was catching up to her, so I just put my head down and finished as strong as I could.”
Everyone outside of the pool knew exactly what was happening, and the entire contingent from Mercy erupted in celebration when the times shot up on the big scoreboard.
The Marlins had struggled out of the gate, but slowly but surely crept closer and closer to the leaders. They scored 34 points in the 500 freestyle, as senior Annette Domkowski (13 points), junior Kylie Goit (12) and junior Lindsey Case (9) all finished top-nine to vault their team past Rockford with just four events left.
“We talk all the time that it’s never about winning,” said Venos, whose team did not finish top-3 in any individual event, let alone take an event victory. “It’s about being the best, and if they come here and they focus on what they need to do to go fast, they’re going to walk out successful.”
Brighton didn’t win an event either, with its highest finish a second in the 200 freestyle relay. Seniors Maddie Mince, Julianne Libler and Reed, along with freshman Drue Thielking, finished second to Harrison-Farmington. Bulldogs coach Jason Black said though it was a little disappointing to finish a close second at the Finals, he couldn’t be happier with his team’s performance.
“They fought, all day,” Black said. “All three relays earned all-state honors. Looks like we have a couple all-American consideration times. I’m happy, I really am.”
Another program making a little history – or at least matching it – was Harrison-Farmington. The Thunderbirds finished third overall with 199 points. They finished third a year ago, but a distant third. Coach Kyle Kinyon’s team won both the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays, and senior Ashley Turak capped off a stellar career winning both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events, both in record-setting fashion. She won the 50-yard race in a time of 22.20, breaking her own meet record, set in Friday’s preliminary round. Her time of 48.72 in the 100-yard final smashed her own meet record as well, also set Friday at 49.18.
She teamed up with junior Lia Munson, senior Emma Inch and sophomore Madeline Greaves to win the 200-yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:33.34 – also a Division 1 meet record. The same foursome set an all-class/division Finals record in the 400 freestyle relay. Needless to say, Turak was more than pleased with how the day unfolded.
“Last year we went into the state meet and didn’t have high expectations,” said Turak, who earned the meet’s “swimmer of the year” honor for the second straight from the state coaches association. “This year I was going into this meet with a different mindset. I was going for a 21 (in the 50 freestyle), so after that race I wasn’t all that happy. But after each swim I raced, I got happier and happier. That 48 in the 100 free, that was one of my goals.”
Turak wasn’t the only swimmer setting records Saturday. Grand Haven junior Kathryn Ackerman crushed the field in the 200 individual medley, setting an all-class/division record of 1:57.25. The verbally-committed University of Michigan prospect also won the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 54.42, edging Rockford’s Morgan Kraus (54.52).
“I put in a lot of work this year, so I came in wanting to defend my (200 IM) title and be somewhere around my state record time,” Ackerman said. “That’s what I did today, so I’m real happy about it.”
Grand Ledge junior Lola Mull repeated in the 500-yard freestyle, falling just short of her own meet record time in the process. She swam 4:44.93, less than a half-second slower than she did at last year’s Finals. She was less than two tenths of a second off the pool record.
“My goal was to swim under 4:40,” Mull said. “I had my splits on my wall, looking at them every night. I was ready to break it. But I didn’t have a full taper heading into this meet. So I thought I would save it for junior nationals, but if I could do it today, I was going to go for it.”
Mull finished second in the 200 freestyle to Saline’s Maddie Luther, who won in a time of 1:49.14. The Hornets finished fifth as a team, with 186 points.
Rockford, which won the 200 medley relay behind the efforts of sophomore Sara Kraus, junior Masy Folcik, Morgan Kraus and freshman Ashley Lund, was fourth with 191 points.
Ann Arbor Skyline was sixth overall with 184, followed by Ann Arbor Pioneer (172), Northville (123), Hudsonville (105) and Grand Haven (96) in the top 10.
Individually, Skyline senior Zain Smith repeated in the 1-meter diving competition, beating out Ann Arbor Huron sophomore Annie Costello. Smith’s teammate, junior Casey Chung, also won a second straight championship, that coming in the 100 backstroke.
Hudsonville junior Claire Tuttle was also a repeat champion, winning the 100 breaststroke.
PHOTOS: (Top) Farmington Hills Mercy's Courtney Connolly played a key role in her team's meet-winning relay performance Saturday. (Middle) Grand Haven's Kathryn Ackerman swims to one of her multiple individual championships. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Mercy Adds to Championship Streak with Must-Win Victory in Final Relay
By
Brad Emons
Special for MHSAA.com
November 22, 2025
YPSILANTI – It takes a really good angler to reel in those Farmington Hills Mercy Marlins.
Grosse Pointe South had them on the hook for most of Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 girls swimming & diving championship meet at Eastern Michigan University’s Jones Natatorium. South led 301-297 entering the final event – the 400-yard freestyle relay – and needed to win it to clinch the program’s first Finals championship.
But the Marlins were able to hit the wall first as Avery Tack, Campbell Shore, Lyla Collins and Ella Hafner clocked a 3:26.05 to earn Mercy its third-straight Division 2 title and 14th championship overall, by a slim margin of 337-335.
South’s 400 relay quartet of Whitney Handwork, Quinn Ryan, Mischa Eng and Caroline Bryan made a valiant effort, settling for second place in 3:27.68.
“I not only think we were physically ready, but also mentally, we had our momentum going and we were ready to swim fast because we knew who we are and we were able to finish strong because we were in a good spot,” said Hafner, who swam Mercy’s anchor leg. “We had done it before, and we knew we could do it again”
Rounding out the top five team finishers were Birmingham Seaholm (260.5), Birmingham Groves (155.5) and Ann Arbor Skyline (155).
“It was fun,” said Mercy coach Michael Venos, who notched his sixth Finals title. “This is my 42nd year coaching, and these are still my favorite meets. Win or lose they left it all in the pool, and as a coach that’s all you could ever ask for.”
With a two-point differential in the final standings between the top two teams, every point scored was pivotal.
“Quite honestly, I hoped we’d tie,” Venos said. “I don’t think anybody deserved to lose this meet today. I was really hoping for a tie, and I thought that would be really cool because those South girls swam lights out all year. And you don’t want to get to a meet like this and go home disappointed.
“It was one of those team efforts again. I don’t know if we could have done it without the whole team. I just felt the girls pulled each other up and kept scratching and clawing.”
Meanwhile, for the Blue Devils it was their fourth runner-up finish over the last seven years.
“It was as close as it could possibly get, the whole way,” Grosse Pointe South coach John Fodell said. “I couldn’t be more proud of them. We were down on psych sheet at one time by 20 points and we just kept battling back, battling back the whole meet. We pulled off some upsets. It goes back and forth. Just battle the whole time, and that’s all you can ask of the girls. It was the whole team. Everyone was trying to move up one spot.”
The teams battled back and forth throughout the day, with South taking a 294-285 lead after piling up a 49-4 advantage in the 100 backstroke thanks to a first from Ryan (56.08), a third by Eng and a sixth from Corinne Stencel.
In the final individual event of the day, Birmingham Groves’ Vivian Chase and Birmingham Seaholm’s Payton Garn tied for first in the 100 breaststroke with times of 1:02.76. Mercy got a seventh (12 points) from Clare Hafner while Nicole McEnroe earned a second in the consolation heat (seven points).
Coming out of Friday’s prelims slightly faster, South’s foursome of Eng, Nicole McEnroe, Stencel and sophomore Ryan Quinn opened Saturday with a victory in the 200-yard medley relay (1:45.22) with Seaholm placing second (1:46.96).
Skyline junior Adrienne Schadler then defended her title in the 200 freestyle and broke her own Division 2 Finals record in the process with a time of 1:46.85.
In one of the premier matchups of the meet, Mercy junior Avery Tack defended her title in the 200 individual medley (2:04.64) by holding off Bryan (2:05.59).
The 50 freestyle final proved to be a thriller as well as South senior Whitney Handiwork (23.24) defended her title by a razor thin margin over South Lyon’s Emma Klotz (23.26).
The 1-meter diving final saw Rochester Adams junior Morgan Rea score 431.75 points to defeat out Grand Rapids Northview’s Katelyn Allen (400.65), Skyline’s Teagan McCallion (383.05) and defending champion Aubrey Yarger of Hastings (379.75).
“My freshman year I actually failed to dive, and I got last,” Rea said. “And then last year I had a back injury, so this is my first year back. I had trust in my training, definitely, through all my good coaches.”
Rea came through with three clutch three dives.
“Probably after my back one-and-a-half half I had a pretty good feeling, definitely,” Rea said. “I had pretty good confidence in my abilities to dive.”
Reigning champion Bryan and Stencel went 1-2 in the 100 butterfly for the Blue Devils with times of 54.59 and 56.44, respectively, to close the gap on Mercy, 179-170.
After finishing runner-up in the 50 freestyle, Klotz then came through with a victory in the 100 freestyle (50.70) to edge Handwork (50.92) and Tack (52.01). Klotz, headed to Bowling Green State University, brought home her first individual Finals title after finishing runner-up three times.
“I swam a best time (in the 50), which was great, and Whitney (Handwork) had a great swim again, so it was a really fun race,” Klotz said. “It fueled me for the 100 more. The past few years it’s been hard to come back being second in the 50, but I thought my mindset was a lot better.”
The tide then turned back in favor of the Marlins as they outscored South, 37-1, in the 500 freestyle as Skyline’s Schadler completed her individual repeat double with a D2 Finals record time of 4:48.50. Mercy’s Hafner was runner-up (4:49.90), but the Marlins also got a big fourth place from Collins (5:06.69).
In the 200 freestyle relay, South (1:34.61) edged Mercy (1:34.92) for first. The Blue Devils’ foursome included Handwork, Stencel, McEnroe and Bryan.
All of it built toward the dramatic finish in the final race.
“She was amazing,” said Mercy senior Clare Hafner, referring to her sister’s anchor leg on the 400 freestyle relay. I think she had a lot of challenges to overcome today. It was insane how she pushed through it. I’m so proud of her.
“We slipped up a little bit on the second relay (200 freestyle), but everybody knew we needed to win that last one to win the meet and pulled it together. All of those girls did amazing. I’m so proud of them. Even Gabriell (Mannino) in her 100 back (13th with four points), she moved up a spot, which really helped.”
For Mercy’s Violet Schwartz, who swam the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays, along with the 100 butterfly (sixth), it was quite a send-off.
“As a senior in high school, what a better way to go out in a high school career with winning,” she said. “It’s really an honor. Just being with these girls is just the most amazing experience ever. They are so empowering. They all have the drive – that last relay was just amazing.”
Mercy senior 1-meter diver Sophia D’Orazio scored 11 points with an eighth-place.
“It was a little stressful, but having the whole team behind me really, really helped out, and I came out and finished my last dive to stick it and it was one of the best I’ve done,” she said. “It was really exhilarating today. This was my last diving meet today, and it was a great way to go out.”
And on the other side, it was bittersweet moment afterward for Handwork. Last year, Mercy scored 375.5 points, while South had 255, but this time the Blue Devils were right there.
“I think it’s just hard because of how hard we worked and how much we wanted it, but we are really still proud of ourselves,” Handwork said. “I mean, we closed a 120-point gap from last year, so there’s a lot to be proud of. I’m a senior, so I’ll come back and cheer them on. But yeah, I’m hoping they come back and swim even better.”
PHOTOS (Top) Farmington Hills Mercy’s Avery Tack swims to a championship in the 200 individual medley Saturday. (Middle) Caroline Bryan swims to first place in the 100 butterfly for Grosse Pointe South. (Below) Ann Arbor Skyline’s Adrienne Schadler races to a repeat and meet record in the 500 freestyle. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)