This Time, Skyline Ends Close Race in 1st
November 21, 2015
By Butch Harmon
Second Half editor
HOLLAND – After coming in a close second at last year’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 girls swimming and diving championships at the Holland Aquatic Center, the Ann Arbor Skyline girls returned to the same pool this year and came away with some different results.
Moving back into Division 1, Skyline won the first-place trophy as it held off Saline in a tight battle that was close throughout.
Skyline totaled 290 team points for the two-day event to win its first girls swimming and diving championship. Saline, last year’s Division 1 champion, placed second with 238 points while Farmington Hills Mercy, winners of two of the previous four LPD1 titles, placed third with 217 points.
“Last year it came down to the last event,” said Skyline coach Maureen Isaac. “We’ve been runner-ups a couple of times, and it’s very frustrating. We were here last year at this pool, and to come back this year and do it here means a lot.”
Skyline’s victory took a total-team effort and was won over the two days of the event. Work that the Eagles did on Friday paid off Saturday, as Skyline set up the scoring opportunities to get the win.
“We moved some kids around on different relay teams Friday,” Isaac said. “We took some chances, and it paid off. We had a great group of girls and they are wonderful as a team. It might sound cheesy, but it’s true; they just feed off each other. ”
It also helped that Skyline had senior Katie Portz to rely on. A senior who has committed to swim collegiately at Texas A&M, Portz was named the swimmer of the meet by the coaches association for her performance. Portz won a pair of individual titles and was also part of two Skyline relay teams that captured championships.
“This is just an incredible feeling,” Portz said. “It feels so good and I’m so happy for all of my teammates. We took it to a new level as a team this year.”
Portz played a big role in helping the team do so. She took first place in the 100-yard freestyle in a new LP Division 1 meet record time of 49.34, breaking her previous record of 50.23 set two years ago.
Portz also captured the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:46.84.
“It felt great winning swimmer of the meet, but the team title means so much more,” Portz said. “Winning the team state is a great feeling. All the hard work that we put into this has paid off.”
Portz’s coach was especially happy that Skyline was able to capture the elusive MHSAA title this season for her standout senior.
“I really wanted us to do this for Katie Portz,” Isaac said. “She has been such an important part of this program both in the pool and out of the pool. It was important for us to do this before her career was done.”
In the 200 freestyle relay, Portz teamed up with sophomore Maddie McAdams, sophomore Emily Lock and senior Kaelan Oldani to take first place in a time of 1:35.67.
Skyline cemented the win as it also captured the final event of the meet, the 400 freestyle relay. Portz anchored the team that included junior Emma Cleason, Lock and sophomore Georgia Mosher that turned in a winning time of 3:24.56.
Skyline also had two other individual champions crowned. Cleason took first place in the 200 individual medley in a time of 2:01.51, while Mosher claimed the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 4:54.65.
Saline junior diver Cam McPherson captured an individual title. She took second place last year and was sixth as a freshman.
“Last year I feel I didn’t focus as much,’ McPherson said. “This year I felt like I had a lot better focus. I thought I had some real good dives. I was also more focused to help my team as we needed all the points we could get.”
Sophomore Katie Minnich led the way for third-place Mercy as she repeated in the 100 backstroke in a time of 54.67.
“Winning it a second time is real special,” Minnich said. “I was confident that I could do it. There was pressure on me to win it again, but I like the pressure. There is always pressure and if there is not any pressure, it’s not worth doing.”
Minnich was also a member of Mercy’s 200 medley relay team that also won. She swam the first leg and was followed by junior Allison Lobbia, junior Alaina Skellett and freshman Annette Dombkowski as they turned in a winning time of 1:44.44.
Grand Blanc junior Emma Curtis was another repeat champion. Curtis repeated in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 23.07, a new personal record.
“It was a lot more exciting this year,” Curtis said. “I wanted to go 22 (seconds) and I just missed it by a few hundredths of a second. I felt a lot better this year and felt a lot less stress. I want to come back next year and win it as a senior.”
After finishing second at Finals the past three years, Zeeland senior Morgan Bullock broke through to the top step of the victory stand. She won the 100-yard butterfly in 54.42 seconds in front of her hometown fans.
“I’ve been runner-up in everything at state since my freshman year,” said Bullock, who will swim at the University of West Virginia. “This is my senior year and I’ve worked real hard for this. I just wanted to go out and do the best I could. I liked that I had a chance to win it close to home. A lot more of my teammates and friends and family members were able to see me win it.”
Rockford, the fourth-place team, was paced by junior Sydney McDowell, who won the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:03.84.
PHOTOS: (Top) Ann Arbor Skyline’s Emily Lock was among contributors to her team’s MHSAA championship. (Middle) Zeeland’s Morgan Bullock capped her high school career with her first title. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Preview: Reigning Champs, Freshman Standouts Among Anticipated Pacesetters
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 21, 2024
Last season’s team champions are expected to continue building on their title streaks at this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals.
Ann Arbor Pioneer is seeking a fifth-straight championship in Division 1, East Grand Rapids is seeking a second-straight in Division 3 but fourth consecutive overall, and Farmington Hills Mercy is favored to repeat in Division 2.
As always, several standouts also will contend for individual titles, with seniors and juniors dominating those conversations in all three divisions – but a pair of freshmen in Division 2 making major waves as well.
Competition begins at noon for Friday’s preliminaries and Saturday’s championships. Friday’s action will begin with swimming, with divers taking the pool approximately 3:30 p.m. at all three sites. Tickets cost $11 both days, and all three Finals will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv both days. Click for information on purchasing tickets, plus schedules and qualifiers for all three meets.
Lower Peninsula Division 1 at Holland Aquatic Center
Reigning champion: Ann Arbor Pioneer
2023 runner-up: Grand Haven
2024 top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2. Jenison, 3. Northville.
Ann Arbor Pioneer has won four straight Division 1 championships, and another would give this recent group the second-longest title streak in program history behind the 2000-08 teams that won nine consecutive. Pioneer has all three relays and an incredible 26 individual entries seeded to score (among the top 16 in their respective races), plus three divers competing – so another title wouldn’t stun anyone. Jenison has been rising – finishing runner-up in Division 2 in 2022 and third in Division 1 a year ago – and should make a run at the top spots again. Jenison has all three relays and 13 individual entries seeded to score. Northville, the runner-up in 2022 and seventh last year, has all three relays and 10 individual entries seeded to score, plus a diver.
Makenzie Baldwin, Holland West Ottawa senior: She finished fourth in the 100-yard backstroke and fifth in the 200 freestyle last season, and she’s seeking her first championship seeded seventh in the 200 free but first in the backstroke (56.48).
Elizabeth Eichbrecht, West Bloomfield junior: She’s claimed the 200 and 500 freestyle championships both of her first two seasons, and she’s seeded first in both in 1:50.67 and 4:51.29, respectively – with the 500 time more than 14 seconds faster than the field.
Cambell Quijano, Rockford senior: After finishing 10th in the 100 butterfly and 13th in the 200 free as a junior, she’s replaced the 200 with the 100 backstroke and is seeded first in the butterfly (56.59).
Bailey Robinson, Bloomfield Hills sophomore: She debuted last season finishing sixth in the 50 freestyle and fourth in the 500, and she’s seeded first in both sprints this weekend with a 23.07 in the 50 and 50.25 in the 100 freestyle – the latter by nearly a second.
Sophia Umstead, Jenison senior: She’ll look to cap her high school career by adding to her two-year totals of four individual and four relay championships – including titles in Division 1 last season in the butterfly and 100 breaststroke and as part of the 200 free and medley relays. She enters this weekend with the top seeds in the 200 individual medley by more than six seconds (1:59.72) and by two seconds in the breaststroke (1:00.68), and she’s likely to swim on the top-seeded 200 medley relay (1:44.59) and second-seeded 200 free relay (1:36.56).
Ann Arbor Pioneer 200 freestyle relay: The Pioneers – potentially of seniors Ursula Ott and Reese Heidenreich, junior Katelyn Van Ryn and sophomore Cecilia Walusek – could make a run at the meet record of 1:32.85 swam by Jenison just last year. The Pioneers’ seed time is 1:33.54.
Tristan Krajcarski, Oxford senior: After finishing third last season – a little more than 25 points off the lead – Krajcarski posted the top qualifying score at her Regional (462.55) by more than 117 points, and her score was 71 points higher than any others in all of Division 1.
Lower Peninsula Division 2 at Oakland University
Reigning champion: Farmington Hills Mercy
2023 runner-up: Birmingham Seaholm
2024 top-ranked: 1. Farmington Hills Mercy, 2. Grosse Pointe South, 3. Birmingham Seaholm.
Mercy won last season’s championship by nearly 130 points and enters this weekend with all three relays and 19 individuals seeded to score, and three divers competing. Grosse Pointe South is seeking to move up from fifth a year ago and could with three relays and 14 individual entries seeded among the top 16 in their respective races. Seaholm is seeking to climb the podium again after most recently winning three straight Finals from 2019-21. The Maples have three relays and 14 individuals seeded to score, two more just outside the top 16 seeds in their events, and a diver competing.
Caroline Bryan, Grosse Pointe South freshman: She’ll make her Finals debut seeded first in the butterfly (55.47), second in the backstroke (57.29) and likely to swim on the second-seeded 400 freestyle (3:35.5) and 200 medley (1:47.98) relays.
Tess Heavner, Fenton senior: After winning the backstroke and IM last season, she’ll attempt to cap her high school career with two more titles seeded first in those races in 55.90 and 2:05.32, respectively.
Amelia Malarz, Midland Dow freshman: Another standout freshman, she’s seeded first in the breaststroke (1:04.24) by more than a second, third in the IM (2:08.13) and is likely to swim on two top-six relays.
Vera Roberson, Midland Dow sophomore: She debuted last year by finishing sixth in the 50 and eighth in the 100 freestyle and is expected to take a sizable jump, seeded first in both the 50 (23.70) and 100 (51.78) and also likely to swim on two top-six relays.
Adrienne Schadler, Ann Arbor Skyline sophomore: She seeded first in the 200 freestyle (1:48.61) by more than six seconds after winning the race last season as a freshman, and also seeded first in the 500 (4:53.63) by more than 14 seconds after finishing runner-up in that race a year ago.
Avery Tack, Farmington Hills Mercy sophomore: Her first Finals in 2023 saw her finish third in the 100 and 200 freestyles and swim on the winning 200 free relay and runner-up 400 free. She’s seeded second this time in the IM to Heavner (2:07.98) and in the butterfly to Bryan (56.26) and likely to swim on top-seeded 200 free (1:36.31) and 400 free (3:32.01) relays.
Bronwyn Minnick, East Lansing senior: She placed 10th last season but posted a 395.75 to win her Regional qualifier by 24.3 points with the highest score in all of Division 2.
Lower Peninsula Division 3 at Eastern Michigan University
Reigning champion: East Grand Rapids
2023 runner-up: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
2024 top-ranked: 1. East Grand Rapids, 2. Holland Christian, 3. Bloomfield Hills Marian.
East Grand Rapids has won three straight Finals championships – in Division 3 last year and 2021, and in Division 2 in 2022 – and enters this weekend with three relays and 19 individuals seeded to score, and two divers competing. All three relays are seeded first, as are four of those individual race entries. Holland Christian finished fifth last season after placing second two years ago, and will hope to move back up with three relays and six individual entries seeded to score and three divers. Marian won Division 3 in 2022 and finished third a year ago, and will attempt to make its move with three relays and eight individuals seeded to score, plus a pair of divers.
Ellery Chandler, East Grand Rapids junior: She added the breaststroke championship and two relay wins last season to her Division 2 relay title from 2022, and is seeded first this time in the breaststroke (1:04.91) and butterfly (57.33) and slated to swim on the top-seeded 200 medley (1:48.29) and 200 freestyle (1:37.73) relays.
Ella Dziobak, Dearborn Divine Child junior: She’s the two-time reigning champion in the 500 and seeded first in that race in 5:08.30, and also seeded third in the 200 free (1:56.76) after finishing third in that race a year ago.
Scarlet Maison, Standish-Sterling senior: She placed third in the IM and fifth in the breaststroke last season and will enter this weekend seeded first in the IM (2:08.53) and fifth in the breaststroke as she attempts to add to her championship in the IM won in 2021.
Camryn Siegers, Holland Christian sophomore: The reigning champion in the backstroke and runner-up in the 100 freestyle is seeded this time first in both the 50 (23.58) and backstroke (56.40).
Kate Simon, East Grand Rapids senior: She’s won a combined two individual and five relay championships over her first three seasons and is the reigning title winner in the 100 and 200 freestyles. She’s seeded first in both by significant margins, at 50.92 in the 100 and 1:49.24 in the 200, and she’s also expected to swim on the 200 and 400 free relays.
Laney Woof, Wayland junior: She’s seeded second in the 50 (24.03) and third in the 100 freestyle (54.01) after winning the 50 last season and finishing third in the 100.
Anna McAllister, Chelsea sophomore: Last season’s fourth-place finisher scored a 379.80 to win her Regional qualifier by 41.3 points and outpace the field in all of Division 3 by 12.25 points.
PHOTO Fenton’s Tess Heavner swims to the championship in the 200 individual medley during last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)