Performance of the Week: Temperance Bedford's Hannah Smith
September 30, 2022
Hannah Smith ♦ Temperance Bedford
Swimming ♦ Senior
Smith has senior-season goals, and Saturday’s Monroe County championship meet provided significant momentum as she seeks to fulfill them. Smith was named Athlete of the Meet after winning the 500-yard freestyle in 5:29.47 and qualifying for the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals in the 200 free, also in victory with a time of 2:01.17. Both times were faster than what she posted in swimming those races last season at the LPD2 championship meet.
The senior standout also swam on two relays at last season’s Finals – her team’s 400 free relay finished 16th – and competed on three Finals-qualifying relays as a sophomore and on the 16th-place 200 freestyle relay as a freshman. Her 200 and 500 freestyle times from Saturday both rank just outside the top 50 in the state this season, all divisions combined, in those respective events, and the 500 time was less than three seconds off the Finals-qualifying standard for LPD2 this season. Smith also plays soccer for Bedford, joining the program for the first time this past spring.
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2022-23 Honorees
Sept. 22: Helen Sachs, Holland West Ottawa cross country - Report
Sept. 15: Nina Horning, Lake Orion volleyball - Report
Sept 8: Arturo Romero, Muskegon Oakridge soccer - Report
Sept. 1: Austin King, Midland Dow tennis - Report
Aug. 25: Olivia Hemmila, Troy Athens golf - Report
(Photos courtesy of Hannah Smith.)
Performance of the Week: East Grand Rapids' Kate Simon
November 29, 2024
Kate Simon ♦ East Grand Rapids
Senior ♦ Swimming
The Pioneers’ standout capped her high school career with two more individual and two more relay championships – and a meet record – in helped East Grand Rapids to its record 27th Finals championship, this one in Lower Peninsula Division 3. She’ll graduate with four individual and eight relay Finals titles and having contributed to EGR team championships all four years of high school.
Simon swam an LPD3 Finals-record 50.06 in the 100-yard freestyle and just missed on another meet record in winning the 200 freestyle in 1:48.19 – just 12 hundredths of a second shy of another all-time best. She also led off the winning 200 freestyle relay (1:36.24) and anchored the winning 400 freestyle relay (3:37.01). She will continue her swimming and academic careers next year at Notre Dame, where she’s considering studying business. Simon also played No. 1 doubles for East Grand Rapids last spring, reaching the quarterfinals at the LPD3 Girls Tennis Finals.
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MHSAA.com's "Performance of the Week" features are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
Previous 2024-25 honorees
Nov. 22: Ella Kokaly, Essexville Garber softball - Report
Nov. 15: Caroline Bryan, Grosse Pointe South swimming - Report
Nov. 8: Kaylie Livingston, Whitmore Lake cross country - Report
Oct. 25: Oliver Caldwell, Grand Rapids West Catholic tennis - Report
Oct. 18: Alex Graham, Detroit Cass Tech football - Report
Oct. 11: Victoria Garces, Midland Dow cross country - Report
Oct. 4: Asher Clark, Bay City John Glenn soccer - Report
Sept. 26: Campbell Flynn, Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball - Report
Sept. 19: TJ Hansen, Freeland cross country - Report
Sept. 12: Jordan Peters, Grayling soccer - Report
Sept. 6: Gabe Litzner, Sault Ste. Marie cross country - Report
Aug. 30: Grace Slocum, Traverse City St. Francis golf - Report
(Photos courtesy of the Simon family.)