Marquette Edges 2021 Champ to Regain UP Girls Swim & Dive Title
By
Travis Nelson
Special for Second Half
February 19, 2022
MARQUETTE – Marquette claimed the Upper Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals championship Saturday by 13 points ahead of 2021 champion Sault Ste. Marie.
Marquette won with 323 points, and Sault Ste. Marie totaled 310. Rounding out the top five were Kingsford (202), Houghton (118.5) and Ishpeming Westwood (112). The championship was Marquette's third in four seasons.
The Redettes came away with four victories out of 12 events, and senior Delaney Marchiol was part of three of them. Marchiol had individual victories in the 200-yard freestyle and 100 butterfly and was part of the winning 200 medley relay team with seniors Ella Whalen and Kelsey Glover, and sophomore Grace Sobczak. Marquette’s other victory came from Sobczak in the 500 free.
“I was so nervous coming into today, but I’m so proud of everything that I did today,” Marchiol said. “I managed to pull off two wins that I am beyond proud of myself; I’m proud of my team all around.”
Sault Ste. Marie senior Joanne Arbic capped her career with an impressive day to keep the Blue Devils in team title contention with three first-place finishes and one runner-up. Arbic took home the 100 free and was part of winning 400 and 200 free relay titles, and finished in second in the 50 free.
The 400 free relay team consisted of Arbic, seniors Alyvia Lori and Anna Hildebrand and junior Julie Innerebner. Arbic, along with Hildebrand, Innerebner and sophomore Mia Woolever were the 200 free relay victors. Innerebner also picked up an individual win in the 100 backstroke, and the Blue Devils also received a first place from Olivia Martin in diving.
“It was a rollercoaster for sure, but I’m glad that we all were able to pull together,” Arbic said. The whole team stepped it up a ton, it was so fantastic and I have so much fun out here with the girls. I just had fun, and that’s what it’s all about. I did what I knew that I could and what I needed to do for my team, and that’s what matters.”
Arbic came into the meet with the U.P. Finals record in the 50 free from 2020, and finished second in that event this time to Kingsford sophomore Adelaide McRoberts. With a time of 24.22 seconds, McRoberts broke the record, and Arbic finished just after at 24.53.
McRoberts’ great performance continued with a 24.21 split in the 50 to start the 200 free relay (with the Flivvers finishing second in that event), and she went on to also win the 200 individual medley. She also swam on the runner-up 200 medley relay.
The pushing from coaches and teammates helped her achieve the fastest 50 free mark, McRoberts said.
“I was very proud of myself, but more importantly, I was happy with how much my coaches and my team pushed me to get here today,” McRoberts said. “It was kind of crazy considering that I’m not even a freestyler. It was definitely a shock, but I was very happy with it.”
The only event on the day not won by a Redette, Blue Devil or Flivver was the 100 breaststroke claimed by Houghton senior Leah Komarzee.
Marquette was the expected team winner of the meet, but coach Nate McFarren was left with a sweat to see the final results.
“You always question yourself when it comes to your taper, but after the first event, I really felt like we were ready to go,” McFarren said. “I did not expect only winning by 13, but (Sault Ste. Marie) showed and was ready to go. It was awesome.”
PHOTOS Marquette’s Grace Sobczak launches into her leg of the 400 freestyle relay Saturday. (Middle) Kingsford’s Adelaide McRoberts swims the individual medley, one of two individual races she won at the U.P. Finals. (Photos by Daryl Jarvinen. For more, email [email protected].)
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.)