'Powerhouse' Gladstone Girls Take Back Title
February 17, 2018
By Ryan Stieg
Special for Second Half
MARQUETTE – It takes a team effort to win an Upper Peninsula swimming & diving title, and that was definitely true for the Gladstone girls team Saturday.
The Braves were facing some stiff competition from Marquette and reigning champion Houghton. But Gladstone got a record-breaking time from its 200-yard medley relay and a win in the 200 freestyle relay to push it over the top.
The Braves finished with 303 points, well ahead of the Redettes (273) and Gremlins (237).
“I’m really proud of the girls,” Gladstone coach Tom Desy said. “The girls swam very well today. The 200 medley relay set a U.P. (Finals) record by over two seconds, so that was a great start for us. That was pretty awesome, then the 200 free relay, we missed (a U.P. Finals record) by a tenth of a second. So it was just a great day.”
Desy also led the Braves to a championship in 2016, but said this one meant more because he didn’t anticipate it happening.
“This one is better because this one was kind of unexpected,” he said. “They swam great, so this was a good surprise.”
The Redettes did everything they could to win. Marquette took first in six of the 12 events including the 400-yard freestyle relay.
“I think they did amazing,” Marquette coach Nathan McFarren said. “It was heartbreaking to have one of our top swimmers out with the flu. We can’t be upset with it either because wherever I needed them, they performed.
“They also had a great taper and some amazing swims. Gladstone is a powerhouse this year, and Tom did a great job with that crew. Their first relay breaking the record was incredible. I’m proud of U.P. swimming in that sense because without that competition, without those things happening, my swimmers don’t get better either.”
Mollie Kilpela won both the 50 and 100 freestyles for Marquette, while Erin Vanderschaaf took home titles in the 500 free and 200 individual medley. Lexi LaCombe was the last Redettes champion, as she finished first in the 100 backstroke.
Houghton won only one event with Samantha Olson finishing first in the 200 free, but Gremlins coach Erik Johnson liked what he saw from his team.
“I thought the girls did really well,” he said. “They had a lot of great swims and everybody, for the most part, dropped their times. That’s all you can really ask for. Gladstone was loaded this year, and Tom does a great job with his team. Marquette also had a good team. I’m really happy that they were able to finish third this year.”
Kingsford finished fourth overall with 121 points, and Sault Ste. Marie took fifth at 100. The Blue Devils’ Aliah Robertson won the 100 butterfly (59.27) and 100 breaststroke (1:06.31) and set U.P. Finals records in both events.
“Our freshman, Ali, really stepped up today with two U.P. records,” Sault Ste. Marie coach Steve Habusta said. “That doesn’t happen often. For her to beat two of the oldest records on the board by almost two seconds is just unheard of.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Marquette and Gladstone swimmers launch during a race at Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Finals. (Middle) Sault Ste. Marie’s Aliah Robertson completes her record swim in the 100 breaststroke. (Photos by Daryl Jarvinen/Jarvinen Photos.)
Roell's Dominating Run Keys Sentinels' Surge to 5th-Straight UP Finals Championship
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
February 21, 2026
MARQUETTE — Marquette junior Kaytlin Roell said she was a little nervous going into Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Swimming & Diving Finals. She didn’t mention it being the biggest meet of the year – rather the two snow days leading up to such a massive event meant two days of no training.
She was determined to keep her mind where it needed to be, something she did from start to finish. She edged last year’s champion, Allison Deuter, by six hundredths of a second in the 50-yard freestyle and later won the 100 butterfly while also helping Marquette to first-place finishes in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
“Last year wasn’t my greatest year,” Roell said. “I think I could have done better. This year, I put my mind to it.”
Roell had some big wins, and so did her team. The Sentinels won their fifth-straight U.P. title, 311-226.5 over runner-up Houghton.
“When I first stepped out for my first race, the 50 free, I focused, and I felt ready and I felt I spent this whole year training for this moment,” Roell said. She finished in 25.74 seconds. “When I came in and I won, I was ecstatic. I was so happy since I haven’t really had the chance to be on the podium, on the top individually, since my freshman year.”
The day got better.
“When I swam my 100 fly, I went crazy. I shaved almost three seconds off my personal best,” Roell said. Her time of 1:00.93 put her just three hundredths of a second from the school record, something she can shoot for as a senior.
“That 100 butterfly was electric,” Marquette coach Nathan McFarren said.
She swam the 50-yard opening leg of the 200 relay faster than she finished in the individual event at 25.66 seconds.
“Having everybody put in the work together and winning the 200 free was amazing. It brought so much joy to me,” she said. The relay’s winning time was 1:46.96.
The Sentinels beat Houghton in the 400 in 4:00.70 despite being seeded behind the Gremlins.
“The thing about Kaytlin is she’s matured so much,” McFarren said. “She’s become a great team player, and she works her butt off.”
Deuter, a sophomore, repeated as a U.P. champion, but not in the 50 like last year. After finishing second in that race by such a close margin, she went out and won the 100 freestyle in 57.33 seconds.
“It just felt good winning finally,” she said, “because all my early mornings and late nights I put in swimming and lifting and whatnot finally paid off.”
Her coach, Jim Lindstrom, said she doesn’t miss a practice. Even if school is canceled and they can’t have practice, she goes to the Y anyway.
“She’s been swimming since she was 6 years old,” he said. “She’s really determined.”
And she’s an overall good swimmer, he said. She could have won an individual medley race if the team didn’t need her to be in the 50 freestyle, he said.
She also helped the 200 medley relay to a win (1:59.31).
Marquette’s Hailee LaCombe referenced the time she put in as well after she won the 100 backstroke in 1:09.58.
“I’m a senior, so it’s my last meet. I’ve been swimming for 13 years,” she said. “I was just thinking of making sure all my hard work throughout the year got put into those races.”
She beat teammate Lola Sved by just over a second.
“I had a good start and everything,” LaCombe said. “My turns were good, my underwater, I tried to do good breakouts and everything.”
Sault Ste. Marie sophomore Isabeau Woodard won the 100 breaststroke in 1:16.32.
“When I got in the water, my goggles instantly filled with water,” she said.
She remembered thinking she should have gone without the cap and goggles. “It would have been so much better,” Woodard added. “I don’t even remember the last 25 (yards). I remember I couldn’t breathe and I was scared.”
She couldn’t believe her time. She didn’t even know she won.
“I found out when my sister texted. She was like, ‘Oh, by the way, you got first place,’” Woodard said.
Being a U.P. champion is a “new feeling,” she said. “Last year, I did not do so hot. I was fifth last year, I think. It’s really surreal.”
Gladstone’s Irene Neumeier won the 200 freestyle in 2:06.73, Westwood’s Kamryn LaVigne took first in the 200 IM (2:30.96), and Houghton’s Ava Keteri won the 500 freestyle (6:08.42).
McFarren’s daughter, Logan, took second in the 100 and 200 freestyle events.
“This one was extra special to me,” he said. “She put in so much work this year, and it paid off.”
PHOTOS (Top) Marquette celebrates its victory Saturday in the 200 freestyle relay. (Middle) The Sentinels’ Kaytlin Roell powers to a win in the 100 butterfly. (Click for more by Jarvinen Photos.)