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.)
Marlins 3-Peat In Closest of Finishes
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
November 23, 2019
HOLLAND – This weekend’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls Swimming & Diving Final came down to a back-and-forth tussle between Farmington Hills Mercy and Ann Arbor Pioneer.
In the end, the winner was decided by less than a point.
Mercy collected its third consecutive Finals championship with a thrilling win Saturday afternoon at Holland Aquatic Center. The Marlins edged Pioneer, 298-297.5. Saline took third (197.5), while Rockford placed fourth (179.5).
“I’m getting too old for this,” Mercy coach Mike Venos joked. “But I’m never going to complain about a state championship and these girls held it together mentally, which is something we’ve been working on with this senior group for four years. Just learning to control the things in their control, and that’s coming in here swimming fast and diving well.
“Pioneer swam fantastic today, and if it would’ve been a tie for both of us that would’ve been great because honestly, they deserve it as much as we do.”
Top-ranked Pioneer was seeking its first team championship since a string of nine in a row ended in 2008.
The Pioneers won the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:34.75) and the 400 free relay (3:25.31).
“Going into today we decided we were going to take it one race at a time, and we were going to try and do everything we could,” Pioneer coach Stefanie Kerska said. “We were going to control our controllables, and we did that really well.
“I’m super proud of the way they handled themselves in a tough moment to be in, and they handled themselves very gracefully with a lot of grit. That’s all you can ask of them.”
Mercy junior Greta Gidley won the team’s lone individual championship. She raced to victory in the 100 free in a time of 50.53 seconds and bested Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Lucy Mehraban (50.86) by the slimmest of margins.
“I woke up this morning at 6 a.m. because I couldn’t go back to sleep, and all I could think about was this is a dream team and I will never be on a team as great as this one,” Gidley said. “The whole time, there was never a doubt in my mind that we could not do it, that we couldn’t win it again.
“This team is closer than it’s ever been before, and I think that has helped. We’re all best friends, and we train together and dive together. That just makes it that much better.”
The Marlins won last year’s Final by 11 points over Harrison-Farmington.
“I thought last year was close, and this was even closer now,” senior Julia Coffman said. “I couldn’t imagine doing this with any other people, and it’s like a dream. This is the most incredible group I’ve ever been around, and I’m savoring this moment.
“We train with Pioneer, and we are close with them and they put their hearts into it. They are a great team, but today we were just a little better.”
Hudsonville senior Claire Tuttle pulled off the three-peat in the 100 breaststroke and nearly set a new meet record in the race. Tuttle clocked a time of 1:00.79, nearly besting Miranda Tucker, who swam a 1:00.56 in 2014.
Tuttle also won the 50 free in 22.80 seconds.
“My expectations were to just do the best I could and support my team,” Tuttle said. “I really wanted to go for Miranda Tucker’s state record, but she’s also insanely fast and it’s an honor to be that close to her.
“I didn’t expect to do as well as I did in the 50 free, but that was insane, and I just feel beyond blessed that I’ve been able to be a part of such a supportive team and to make these friendships that have lasted throughout high school and have gotten me through so much. It’s sad to see it all go, but I’m excited for the new beginning (at the University of Michigan ).”
Grand Haven senior Kathryn Ackerman ended her high school career in style by capturing a pair of individual titles to finish with five at the Finals.
She won her third straight 200 individual medley (1:57.61) championship while also coming out victorious in the 100 back (54.70).
She also helped her team finish runner-up in the 400 free relay.
“I was pretty happy with all my swims,” Ackerman said. “It was a little bittersweet to go into my last meet, so there were a lot of emotions. I was just hoping to go out there and have fun and get close to my best times, and I was. It was fun to have that comeback at the end and have that be my last swim as a Buccaneer.”
Grand Ledge senior Lola Mull became a three-time winner in the 500 free with a time of 4:55.02, while Ann Arbor Skyline senior Allison Haak won the 200 free (1:50.65) and Northville freshman Emily Roden won the 100 fly (55.43).
Ann Arbor Huron junior diver Annie Costello avenged her runner-up finish at last year’s Final and put forth a dominating effort with a winning score of 424.40.
Top-seeded Rockford (Sara Kraus, Masy Folcik, Rachel Gamm and Ashley Lund) held off Pioneer to win the 200 medley relay (1:42.40).
PHOTOS: (Top) Farmington Hills Mercy cheers on its 400 freestyle relay, which finished third to give the team a ½-point overall championship win. (Middle) Hudsonville’s Claire Tuttle swims to her third-straight 100 breaststroke championship. (Below) Grand Haven’s Kathryn Ackerman swims to her third-straight title in the 200 IM. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)