Seaholm Runs Title Streak to 3, Standout Pair Win Multiple Events
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
November 20, 2021
ROCHESTER – After Fenton senior Gracie Olsen won the Lower Peninsula Division 2 title in the 200-yard individual medley two years ago as a sophomore, she fell just short of repeating as a junior, finishing second in that event.
Needless to say, that added some motivation on top of the energy she already had competing at the Finals in the first place.
“This is the most exciting meet of the year, and that includes club swimming and everything,” said Olsen, who will swim in college for Indiana. “I think it has the most energy. This whole thing in general motivates me the most.”
Olsen reclaimed her title in the 200 IM with a time of 2:01.58, but she did more than that.
Olsen also won the 100 Butterfly in a time of 54.19, winning that event for the third time and finishing off her high school career with six individual Finals titles.
“I had no idea this would happen,” Olsen said. “I think everything that happened the last four years led up to this.”
Olsen wasn’t alone in winning two individual titles.
Portage Northern junior Hannah Williams won the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:50.28, then won the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:03.76.
“Coming in, I just wanted to swim my best,” Williams said. “I knew I would really be proud of myself if I left everything out in the pool.”
While Olsen and Williams were the individual standouts of the day, the best team was once again Birmingham Seaholm.
The Maples easily won their third-straight Finals title and fourth in the past six years, earning 314.5 points.
Grosse Pointe South was second with 241 points, while Grand Rapids Northview was third with 191 points.
Seaholm became the first team in Division 2 to win three straight titles since Holland did so from 2011-13.
Seaholm head coach Karl Hodgson said there actually was a different dynamic trying to win three in a row as opposed to two consecutive.
“It’s just more difficult,” Hodgson said. “It gets harder each time and is a relief. It feels great.”
As expected, Seaholm swept the three relay events.
While depth and team achievement have been at the forefront of Seaholm’s success the past three years, the Maples did have an individual that stood out more than most this fall.
Junior Samantha Clifford won the 100 freestyle in a time of 51.02 and was second in the 200 freestyle behind Williams.
Clifford also anchored winning teams for the Maples in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
Portage Northern had another individual winner at the meet besides Williams. Angelina Baker set an LPD2 Finals record in the 500 freestyle, with a time of 4:54.97.
The 50 freestyle saw a rare tie for first, with Jenison sophomore Grace Albrecht and Ann Arbor Skyline senior Claire Kozma touching with identical times of 23.94.
Lily Witte of Dexter won diving with 503.55 points and also placed in the 50 freestyle, finishing 16th.
In the 100 backstroke, Skyline junior Lily Cleason won in a time of 55.77.
PHOTOS by High School Sports Scene.
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.)