Farmington Hills, Farmington

Champs, again

By Mike Moore
C & G Staff Writer

Work ethic, commitment key to Mercy’s second straight swim title

FARMINGTON HILLS — Shannon Dunworth knows, and has even heard all the assumptions surrounding his Farmington Hills Mercy swim team.

He shrugs them off while laughing.

“People think we have all the talent in the world and it just magically comes here to swim,” he said with a chuckle. “The truth of it is, we have some very committed girls with a work ethic second to none. It’s cliché, but that’s the secret to our success.”

That storied success gained another chapter when Mercy once again flexed its muscles at the Division 2 state finals Nov. 21-22, winning title for the second year in a row and the fourth time in program history.

“We probably had the best meet of the entire season,” Dunworth said of the final. “It seemed like every girl that swam improved her time from earlier in the year.”

Dunworth, whose 2007 team earned the title without an individual champ, had two individuals and a relay team claim first place this time around.

Mercy finished the event with a team score of 414; Holland Christian was second with 302.


Sophomore Maria Bargardi set a Division 2 finals record with her win in the 200-yard individual medley in 2 minutes, 5.78 seconds; senior Carly Sevald won the diving event with a score of 407; and the 200 freestyle relay team of sophomore Taylor Steffl, sophomore Nikki Barczak, senior Megan Gegesky and freshman Sato Kakihra took home a state title in a time of 1:36.88, also a D-2 record.

“The kids have been working very hard to get to this point,” Dunworth said. “It’s such a rewarding feeling to actually be a state champ again.”

Now with two straight in the bag, is there any chance of a three-peat?

“We’re graduating a very strong senior class, but we did that last year, as well,” Dunworth said. “We’re going to bring back a lot of talent, and the girls on the sideline, the ones hungry to show what they can do, will get their chance.”

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Mike Moore at mmoore@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1038.