#TBT: Pioneer Blazes Another Pool Path
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 14, 2017
Few if any Michigan high school sports have seen the bar continue to rise and records continue to fall like swimming & diving since the turn of this century.
But as winning times continue to rev faster and faster, the 2002 Ann Arbor Pioneer girls team continues to hold a lofty spot as arguably the most dominating in MHSAA history.
The 2002 Finals were the first in the Lower Peninsula organized by two divisions instead of the traditional class format, and Pioneer entered having won the last two LP Class A titles.
The Pioneers claimed that first Division 1 title with an astounding 476 points, and by 275 on the rest of the field. No LP Division 1 team has broken 400 points at a Final since, and Pioneer’s 184.5-point win in 2008 has come closest to that 2002 margin of victory.
Pioneer placed the champions in all three relays, three individual races and diving that Nov. 23 at Eastern Michigan University. The team was led by future three-time Olympian Kara Lynn Joyce, and her swims that day in the 100-yard freestyle (48.59 seconds), as part of the 200 freestyle relay (Joyce, Margaret Kelly, Leigh Cole, Suzannah Merte – 1:33.71) and in the 50 (22.04) as the lead leg in that relay still stand as the oldest all-Finals records in MHSAA history. At the time, the 100 freestyle and 200 relay times also broke national girls high school records, as did Joyce’s winning and then-MHSAA record time of 1:46.34 in the 200 freestyle.
The 2002 championship run was the 10th of 16 guided by legendary coaches Denny and Liz Hill (Liz was his assistant until becoming the co-head coach in 2007 and has been part of the staff for all 16 titles). It also was not only the team’s third straight, but ended up being part of a string of nine consecutive MHSAA Finals wins.
In addition to Joyce and the 200 freestyle relay’s wins, Pioneer won the 200 medley relay (Kelly, Ilene Lesch, Melissa Jaeger, Ally Wyatt) in 1:46.14, Jaeger won the butterfly in 56.33, the 400 freestyle relay (Cole, Jaeger, Merte, Joyce) won in 3:26.96 and Ellen Van Cleve won diving with a score of 446.10.
Joyce went on to swim at University of Georgia and then during the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics. She won four silver medals, two each as part of 400-meter freestyle and 400-meter medley relays. Jaeger, Cole and Kelly swam at University of Michigan, Lesch at Arizona State University, and Van Cleve also dove for the Wolverines.
PHOTO: Ann Arbor Pioneer celebrates the Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship; future Olympian Kara Lynn Joyce stands middle, just below the trophy.
Talented Mercy Lineup Earns Repeat, Shows No Signs of Slowing Down
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
November 23, 2024
ROCHESTER — It was only fitting that the Farmington Hills Mercy girls swimming & diving team jumped into the deep end of the Oakland University pool after repeating as Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion Saturday.
That's because it was the depth of the team that propelled the Marlins to a dominating performance.
“There was no pressure on us at all,” coach Mike Venos said. “Just go take care of your own business and no matter what, we’re going to walk out of here successful.”
The Marlins won celebrated winners in two relays and an individual race. And when they didn’t finish first, they were placing, finishing with 375.5 points, well ahead of second-place Grosse Pointe South (255) and third-place Birmingham Seaholm (244).
“The thing I love about Mercy is that it’s a true team effort,” Venos said. “We scored multiple girls in almost every event. We do this as a team.”
If there was a surprise, Venos said, it came from sophomore Campbell Shore, who won the 100-yard freestyle in 51.41 seconds. She entered the weekend with the fourth-fastest seed time in that race.
“Winning that was great,” he said.
The Marlins’ total was 50 points better than last year’s, easily holding off any challenges.
For Grosse Pointe South, it regardless was a school-record performance for a team that missed a chance to add to its total due to a disqualification in the 400 freestyle relay.
But South coach John Fodell didn’t dwell on what might have been.
“We had a little bump in the road (Friday) with the DQ, but today the team came together and really swam to get second, and they really battled for that,” he said.
It marked a leap forward for South, which finished fifth last year.
“We started off the meet by winning the medley relay, which was huge,” Fodell said. ‘Whitney (Handwork) won the 50 free (23.71) and Caroline (Bryan) won the butterfly (54.92). So those were nice things that got the motivation going.”
“We came in knowing it was going to be a battle for second, so we were really focused on that,” Handwork said.
Fenton’s Tess Heavner repeated as a double champion, setting a school record and earning All-America status in the individual medley (2:01.07) and also earning All-America in winning the backstroke (54.61).
”The backstroke was the finishing touch, because I had to wait for a long time in between (events),” she said, “I was happy I was able to keep it up and finish strong in that. I really like the IM and the backstroke. They kind of stress me out, but they're probably two of my favorite events.”
Several younger athletes joined Bryan in impressing. Freshmen Aubrey Yarker of Hastings (diving) and Amelia Malarz of Midland Dow (breaststroke) also won individual titles. Ann Arbor Skyline sophomore Adrienne Schadler earned All-America consideration in winning the 500 freestyle (4:54.41) and All-America recognition in winning the 200 freestyle (1:48.79).
But Mercy also served notice that it will be reckoned with in 2025, with just three seniors on this year’s roster.
But that’s a long way off.
One of those Mercy seniors, captain Katie Schwab, tried to articulate how it felt to repeat.
“That feeling is just indescribable,” she said. ‘Like the energy that was here today. It’s more than words can describe, and my heart is just so full being a part of this team.
“We have a really good, strong team, and we're going to be really strong for the next couple of years," she added. "I’m really excited to see where this team goes.”
PHOTOS (Top) Farmington Hills Mercy’s Avery Tack swims to a runner-up finish in the 200 individual medley Saturday at Oakland University. (Middle) Grosse Pointe South’s Caroline Bryan powers to the championship in the butterfly. (Below) Skyline’s Adrienne Schadler swims to one of her two individual titles. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)