Pioneer Seniors Cap Careers By Leading Team to 3rd-Straight Finals Title
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
November 19, 2022
ROCHESTER — Ann Arbor Pioneer girls swimming coach Stefanie Kerska got her way in Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship meet.
The Pioneers won eight events in getting out to a big lead early, and on the way to winning their third-consecutive Finals championship.
Pioneer finished with 322 points, 104 more than second-place Northville.
"I like that a lot,” she said with a grin. "People think close ones are great, but not for the coaches. We worked really hard to establish a lead, and these girls earned it.”
It was the 19th overall title for Pioneer, one of Division 1’s premier programs, but it wasn’t a given going into the season, not after the Pioneers graduated an outstanding senior class after last season.
"I’m just so proud of this team in general,” Pioneer senior captain Sophia Guo said. "We had some big shoes to fill coming into this meet, and I think we really stepped up to the plate. I know me along with the other seniors were so happy this was the way we got to end our high school careers. I’m just so proud of us.
“We had to swim with our hearts today,” Guo continued. "We swam for each other, and I really think that made the difference.”
Among the difference-makers was Stella Chapman, who set a meet record in the backstroke and won the individual medley; Lucy Mehraban, who was on two winning relays, won the 50 freestyle and finished second to Guo in the 100 freestyle, and Kate Van Ryn, a freshman who was on three winning relays.
“To put a ninth-grader in with that kind of pressure was ... I would like to say a gamble. But it wasn’t,” Kerska said. "I knew her preparation was thorough, she was up to the challenge and she really came through for her team.”
Another freshman who made a big splash was West Bloomfield’s Elizabeth Eichbrecht, who won both the 200 and 500 freestyles.
Northville finished second for the second consecutive year. Among the team leaders was Emily Roden, who ended her career the same way she started it, winning the 100 butterfly.
"I really dialed in on my training, and I knew what I had to do,” Roden said. "I focused a lot more, focused out of the water, and enjoyed it more. We have a great team and I had a lot of fun, and it helped me this year.”
Saline senior Alice English won the diving competition after finishing second last year.
"My goal was constant improvement since my freshman year, so to get first was really nice,” she said, noting a slow start in Friday’s preliminaries. "Yesterday wasn’t my day, but I pulled it out today and I’m really happy with it.”
After accepting the championship trophy, the Pioneers joined hands and leaped into the diving pool together, followed closely by their coaches.
For Kerska, winning a third title in a row was anything but old hat.
"The pressure mounts a little bit each year to try and outdo the year before, but no, it never gets old,” she said. "These girls, from day 1, stepped up, took the reins and really took responsibility of the tradition that we have going here and never looked back.”
And, as a result, Guo and her fellow seniors finished their careers with three team state titles.
“It’s a great feeling,” she said. ‘We all worked so hard, and it really showed today."
PHOTOS (Top) Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Sophia Guo, right, embraces teammate Lucy Mehraban after their 100-yard freestyle race Saturday. (Middle) Saline’s Alice English dives on the way to winning that event after finishing second a year ago. (Below) Livonia Stevenson’s McKenzie Siroky swims to a repeat in the breaststroke. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Sentinels Girls Follow Super Sophomore to 4th-Straight Championship
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
February 15, 2025
MARQUETTE — Olive Krueger is just a sophomore. But she’s the one who leads by example for Marquette’s girls swimming & diving team.
Be in the pool on time. Finish the set. Do the little things to be a winning team.
It translates into success for her and her team. Marquette won its fourth-straight Upper Peninsula Finals championship Saturday, and Krueger was a part of four U.P. titles – two individually and two relays – to make it six for her young career.
Krueger finished first in a sprint race, the 100-yard freestyle (57.42), and the grueling 500 freestyle (5:40.30). She was also a part of the 200 medley relay that edged Kingsford by 15 hundredths of a second for the win in 1:59.32 and the 200 freestyle relay (1:46.51) that won more comfortably.
“Olive is a year-round swimmer, but she also never skips a set,” Marquette coach Nathan McFarren said. “She’s at practice — she wants more, give me more. The thing that’s special about Olive, too, is the fact she can win a 100 freestyle and a 500 freestyle not long after that. Just tough.
“But also a gentler approach. You know what, I’m going to get in the water and I want you guys to do the same thing. … That’s the one thing that we’ve always had in a leader with Olive as a sophomore, which is a huge thing.”
Krueger said she actually doesn’t really like the sprints, but she was happy how that race turned out as she finished ahead of Kingsford’s Sierra Scott for the win.
“I had really good competition – the girl next to me, she’s really fast, that was nice,” Krueger said.
The medley relay was a hard-fought victory for Marquette.
“We weren’t sure what it was going to look like against Kingsford because those Kingsford girls are very competitive and they brought their A game today,” McFarren said.
Marquette won the team championship, its 29th overall, with 347 points, well ahead of runner-up Kingsford with 252. Houghton was third and Gladstone fourth.
This was the smallest girls, and boys, teams that McFarren has had during his uber-successful tenure at Marquette that now includes a combined total of 19 Finals championships. The Sentinels actually weren’t able to slot swimmers in all the spots they could have in the girls meet. But they were able to win anyway with their still superior depth.
“To have three individuals in each event really gives us a leg up on the rest of the competition,” he said.
They had first-place power Saturday, too, in addition to Krueger’s successes. Nathan’s daughter Logan McFarren won the 200 freestyle (2:13.57), and Sophie Hausmann took first in diving (221.80 final score). Both were also part of the winning 200 freestyle relay team with McFarren also a member of the 200 medley team that finished first.
Coach McFarren was also a proud dad.
“That 200 was a great performance,” he said, pointing out Logan had only recently come out of concussion protocol. “To retrain, get back up and then bring her back down was a little bit of a battle.”
It certainly wasn’t easy.
“Especially in the 100 back because of the concussion, it took a lot in the mind. I feel like it was very hard to go back into it and I hadn’t (swam) it since I had gotten the concussion,” said Logan McFarren, who took second in that race. “It turned out well. I dropped a lot of time.”
The junior was seeded first in the 200 free. She was still nervous going into it, but she was able to get the victory.
“It was nerve-wracking because the girl next to me was only a few seconds behind me,” McFarren said. “It was a good win. I was happy to start my first two races off with a win.”
Gladstone junior Irene Neumeier had a big day as well, finishing first in the 100 butterfly (1:02.78) and 100 backstroke (1:05.96).
“The 100 fly was pretty good,” she said. “I was pretty nervous because I was ranked third, and I also have a sinus infection. So I was a little nervous for that, but I knew after the first 50, I would be able to push through.”
Scott won a race of her own, the 200 IM (2:29.64). Kingsford’s Ella McLean finished fastest in the 100 backstroke (1:13.66). Their freshman teammate, Allison Deuter, took first in the 50 freestyle (25.43) despite being seeded second.
“I was just trying to go fast, and get No. 1 as a freshman. It’s great,” she said. “I was expecting to win, and I’m glad I did. It feels awesome knowing I still have three more years of this.”
Scott and Deuter were also members of Kingsford’s winning 400 freestyle relay (4:01.43).
PHOTOS (Top) Marquette's Olive Krueger swims to a victory in the 100-yard freestyle Saturday. (Middle) Finalists including Marquette's Logan McFerren launch into the backstroke. (Below) Marquette's Sophie Hausmann begins a dive during Friday's competition. (Photos by Daryl T. Jarvinen. Click for more.)