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
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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.)
4th-Straight Finals Title Gives Pioneer 4 Straight Seasons Winning Every Meet
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
November 18, 2023
YPSILANTI – Everyone dreams of going out on top.
Very few did so like Ann Arbor Pioneer captains Stella Chapman and Yan Yee Adler.
They finished their high school swimming careers unbeaten Saturday, as in never having been on a losing team at a high school swim meet, be it duals, conference or MHSAA Finals – a most memorable four-for-four for those seniors.
Ann Arbor Pioneer won its fourth Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship meet in a row, the most consecutive for the Pioneers since they won nine straight from 2000-2008.
“It never gets old,” Pioneer coach Stefanie Kerska said following a celebratory dive into the Jones Natatorium pool. “It was a total team effort from the young rookie swimmers to the veterans to the divers, and it's a really rewarding win for us.”
Chapman and Adler finished 1-2 in the 200-yard individual medley. Chapman broke her meet record in the 100 backstroke, improving from 53.69 seconds in 2022 to 53.54 on Saturday.
“Getting first is big,” Chapman said. “To have my best time in the IM and then (improve) on my best time, and backstroke is something I'm really, really happy with.”
Adler emphasized Pioneer’s title was a team effort.
“I think it's just our culture. We really swim for each other,” she said. “And everyone on this team knows that it's a team effort, not an individual effort and none of us would be able to do what we do if it wasn't for the people around us.”
Kerska said her swimmers deserve the credit.
“To ask a group of girls never to take their eye off the prize, (and) never drop the ball is really impressive,” she said. “It was a great team win. This is one of the first ones where, you know, we just came in (with) numbers and we were pretty relentless with the points that we were scoring. So just real rewarding for us.”
Pioneer finished comfortably in first with 301 points.
Grand Haven, which went unbeaten in its dual meet season and tied for the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red championship with Jenison, took second, edging the Wildcats by winning the final race of the day, the 400 freestyle relay.
“We needed to take at least second place in that 400 free relay for us to be second overall,” Grand Haven coach Doug Thorne said. “And the girls rose to it and won the 400, so it sealed the deal. To come here at the state meet and take second place is just beyond our wildest dreams. We're really thrilled.”
The Buccaneers were led by Rosalie Springer, who won the 100 freestyle for the second time in three years and swam the anchor leg on the 400 free relay.
Sophia Umstead won the butterfly and breaststroke for Jenison, while Grace Albrecht won the 50 freestyle and was part of the 200 freestyle relay team that set a meet record in 1:32.85.
But the day, as it has the last four years, belonged to Pioneer.
“It’s definitely bittersweet,” Adler said of the end of her high school career. ”I love this team and I love what we've been able to do. But I know everyone's gonna be all good. I'm very confident in the team in the future and years to come. So they're in great hands.”
(PHOTOS by High School Sports Scene.)