Swimming and Diving: Beware Falling Finals Records
November 19, 2011
Two 2010 MHSAA swimming and diving runners-up took the final step and claimed first-ever championships at Saturday’s Finals in Holland and Rochester.
The third MHSAA champion, Farmington HIlls Mercy, added a fifth-straight title despite moving up to Division 1 and a less familiar group of competitors in Ypsilanti.
A total of 12 records fell at the three Finals, including a few times that were the fastest in MHSAA Finals history, regardless of meet. Read on to find out who claimed all three team championships and all the broken records.
(Click for full results from all three Finals).
Division 1 at Eastern Michigan
Farmington Hills Mercy won its fifth-straight MHSAA championship -- but first in Division 1 after claiming Division 2 titles the last four seasons. The Marlins scored 258 points, 14.5 more than two-time reigning champion Saline.
Six Division 1 meet records fell. Ann Arbor Huron senior Anna DeMonte repeated as 200-yard individual medley champion with a Division 1 meet record time of 1:59.67. She did the same in the 100 backstroke with another meet record time of 54.56.
Other record breakers were Lake Orion senior Annie Jongekrijg in the 100 freestyle (50.32), Bloomfield Hills Marian’s Jaynie Pulte as a repeat champion in the 50 freestyle (23.23), Saline’s 200 medley relay of junior Maddy Frost, senior Sammy Richart and juniors Emily Lau and Cristina Czyrka (1:45.97), and Hudsonville’s 200 freestyle relay of seniors Michaela Rookus, Audra Thornton, sophomore Makayla Myers and junior Danielle Freeman (1:35.46).
Waterford freshman Maddie Wright also won two individual events: the 200 freestyle by more than a second in 1:49.04, and the 100 butterfly by more than a second in 54.82.
Division 2 at Holland Aquatics
After three seasons coming in second, Holland won the MHSAA title by 131 points over runner-up Birmingham Seaholm. The championship was the Dutch’s first in girls swimming and diving.
Senior Courtney Bartholomew finished her career with four more championships, and all four set records at some level. She improved on her Division 2 meet record in the 200 IM with a time of 2:00.06, more than two seconds better than her previous record time. She also set an all-Finals record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 51.99.
Holland’s 200 medley relay of Bartholomew, junior Melissa Vandermeulen, freshman Taylor Garcia and sophomore Holly Morren set an all-Finals record of 1:41.12. Morren, Garcia, senior Klare Northuis and Bartholomew also set a Division 2 meet record of 3:24.46 in the 400 freestyle relay.
Garcia added the Division 2 meet record in the 100 butterfly by winning in 54.39 seconds, more than two faster than the previous record.
Although she didn’t improve on her meet record set previously, Birmingham Groves senior Annie Lazor won the 100 breaststroke title for the fourth time, in 1:02.43.
Division 3 at Oakland
After two seasons of East Grand Rapids first followed by Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood, the annual contenders switched places Saturday with Cranbrook-Kingswood winning the MHSAA championship -- also its first.
Cranbrook-Kingswood scored 328.5 points, followed by East Grand Rapids with 265.5.
Only one meet record was set, but three athletes won multiple individual championships. Plainwell freshman Mallory Comerford set that Division 3 meet record, swimming the 50 freestyle in 23.62. She also won the 100 freestyle in 50.46.
Cranbrook-Kingswood junior Kylie Powrie won the 500 freestyle (5:04.30) and 200 freestyle (1:54.98) and Bloomfield Hills Lahser sophomore Ines Chares won the 100 backstroke (56.2) and 100 butterfly (57.21).
East Grand Rapids junior Olivia Kassouni repeated as diving champion with a score of 451.45, and sophomore teammate Anna Stephens was a repeat champion in the 100 breaststroke, in 1:05.75.
Eichbrecht Finishes Career Sweep in Record Fashion, Pioneer Adds to Title Streak
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
November 21, 2025
ROCHESTER — West Bloomfield senior Elizabeth Eichbrecht probably felt the full gamut of emotions heading to the Oakland University natatorium and her last Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls Swimming & Diving Finals.
First and foremost was just the general excitement of competing once again at a state meet in front of so many observers.
Second was the emotion of opportunity, given she had a chance to do something rare in the history of high school swimming in the state – finish a career sweep of Finals titles in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle events.
Finally, there was the bittersweet emotion of Friday being her last competitive day as a high school swimmer.
“I was excited,” Eichbrecht said. “It’s been a great four years, and I’m honored to be a part of West Bloomfield.”
West Bloomfield and the state’s swimming community was also honored to witness Eichbrecht during her high school career.
She left the pool as one of the most decorated high school swimmers to ever compete in Michigan, having completed that championship sweep with fourth-straight Finals titles in the 200 freestyle (1:45.98) and 500 free (4:42.89).
Eichbrecht first wowed the crowd during Thursday’s preliminaries, swimming a personal-best time of 1:45.05 to break the previous all-Finals record time of 1:46.25 set in 2007 by past Canton star and later Olympic medalist Allison Schmitt.
Eichbrecht’s 500 prelim time of 4:42.0 broke an all-Finals record of 4:44.47 swam by Grand Ledge’s Lola Mull in 2017.
“You don’t really expect anything,” Eichbrecht said of whether she thought eight Finals championships were possible when she began high school. “It’s through hard work that you get it. It’s an honor.”
One person who’ll especially miss Eichbrecht is West Bloomfield coach Ronson Webster, who started coaching Eichbrecht on a club level when she was 8 years old.
“It’s definitely going to be sad because I’ve spent a lot of time with her growing up,” he said. “But I’m super happy she’s moving on to college. (Eight Finals titles), that was one of her goals as a freshman. It was four years of work to get those goals. She got them.”
In 2022, as a freshman, Eichbrecht won the 200 free in 1:48.42 and the 500 free in 4:52.71.
A year later, Eichbrecht captured the 200 free in 1:48.08 and the 500 free in 4:47.66.
Then last year as a junior, she took the 200 free in 1:48.44 and the 500 free in 4:51.87.
In the team race, Ann Arbor Pioneer won its sixth consecutive Division 1 title, easily topping the field with 404 points. Jenison was the runner-up with 249 points, while Northville was third at 193.
“It’s really hard to stay on top,” Pioneer head coach Stefanie Kerska said. “They have been relentless all year. The coaches have tried to stay relentless by raising our standards. It’s a daily battle to really be at your absolute best, and these girls have done a really good job with that.”
Leading the way was sophomore Tallulah Beg, who won the 200 individual medley in 2:04.15 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.42.
Beg also swam the second leg on Pioneer’s winning 200 medley relay (1:43.83). Cecila Walusek, Poppy LaCrosse and Kia Alert were the other team members.
Pioneer also got individual wins from Alert in the 50 free (22.91) and senior Katelyn Van Ryn in the 100 free (49.94).
Pioneer swept the relays, with the team of Alert, Walusek, Cecilia Cook and Van Ryn winning the 200 free really in 1:32.32. In the 400 free relay, the team of Van Ryn, Suryn Lee, Cook and Yahanna Silva Castro won in a time of 3:25.89.
Friday’s other individual winners were Kalamazoo Central’s Kiya Bowman in diving (305.60), Jenison’s Emma Albrecht in the 100 butterfly (55.12), and Belleville freshman Miranda Phelps in the 100 backstroke (56.07).
PHOTOS (Top) West Bloomfield’s Elizabeth Eichbrecht swims to an all-Finals record in the 500 freestyle Friday at Oakland University. (Middle) Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Tallulah Beg races to a championship in the 200 individual medley. (Below) Pioneer’s Kia Alert, right, and Zeeland’s Madison Ensing share a moment after finishing first and second, respectively, in the 50 freestyle. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)