Performance of the Week: Sterling Heights Stevenson's Olivia Buford
October 9, 2026
Olivia Buford ♦ Sterling Heights Stevenson
Senior ♦ Swimming
Buford was named Swimmer of the Meet at the Macomb County Championships after setting meet and Macomb L'Anse Creuse North pool records in the 50-yard freestyle (23.95 seconds) and also winning the 100 butterfly (58.75) by more than five seconds. Her 50 time ranks fifth on the state's top times list this season, and her butterfly time ranks 17th for that race.
A two-time MHSAA Finals racer, Buford finished 10th in the 50 a year ago in Lower Peninsula Division 1 and also qualified in the butterfly in 2025. She's qualified for both races again this fall and is about a second off securing a Finals cut time in the 100 backstroke as well. Buford is deciding where she'll attend college but would like to continue swimming and intends to pursue a degree in pre-medical studies with aspirations of becoming a doctor.
@mhsaasports 🏊♀️POW: Olivia Buford #Stevenson #Swimmer #MeetRecord #PerformanceOfTheWeek #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
@mhsaasports 🏊♀️POW: Olivia Buford #TikTalk #FunFacts #fyp #PerformanceOfTheWeek #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
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Past 2026-27 honorees
Oct. 2: Sophia McCollum, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer - Read
Sept. 25: Jenna Middleton, Kingsley volleyball - Read
Sept. 18: Caden Livermore, Grandville cross country - Read
(Photos courtesy of the Sterling Heights Stevenson athletic department.)
Flashback 100: Ann Arbor Pioneer's Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons
September 6, 2024
Ann Arbor Pioneer's girls swimming & diving team is celebrating its 2002 Lower Peninsula Division 1 title in the photo above, and the Pioneers remain the record holders for longest Finals championship streak in that sport with nine consecutive from 2000-08.
Pioneer has won a total of 20 Finals team titles in girls swimming & diving, 16 under the direction of longtime coach Dennis Hill and the last four under the leadership of current coach Stefanie Kerska. The Pioneers also have finished Finals runners-up 11 seasons.
Future Olympian Kara Lynn Joyce swam on the 2001 and 2002 Pioneer teams, setting all-Finals records as a senior in the 50-yard freestyle (22.04), 100 freestyle (48.59), 200 freestyle (1:46.34), and as part of the 200 freestyle relay (1:32.77). She still holds those all-Finals records in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events, and at one point she owned the national high school records for both races as well.
Joyce went on to swim at Georgia, winning 18 NCAA championships and setting two national records, and she competed at the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Olympics for Team USA, winning a total of four medals.
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Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read