Metro Detroit

Local teams excel at girls swim and dive state finals

By Jon Malavolti
C & G Sports Writer

» Click on image to view full size « Photo by Andrew Potter Swimmers dive into the water at the start of a race at the Nov. 19 MHSAA Division 3 girls swimming and diving state finals at Oakland University. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood’s team won the D3 competition, while Farmington Hills Mercy won the D1 title. Photo by Andrew Potter Swimmers dive into the water at the start of a race at the Nov. 19 MHSAA Division 3 girls swimming and diving state finals at Oakland University. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood’s team won the D3 competition, while Farmington Hills Mercy won the D1 title.

Click on each gallery link for more photos

ocal teams and individuals had a banner day at the Nov. 19 MHSAA girls swimming and diving state finals.

Farmington Hills Mercy’s and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood’s teams won the Division 1 and Division 3 state team titles, respectively. Holland High, meanwhile, won the Division 2 team title.

“The greater-Detroit area has an amazing talent pool of swimmers,” Cranbrook coach Tony Kurth said. “When you look at all the three state division winners over the years, there are local area schools consistently winning. I am now proud that Cranbrook-Kingswood can now be mentioned with some of those winning teams.”

Here are the local highlights from each competition. Visit www.mhsaa.com for complete results.

Division 1
Mercy moved up to D-1 this year and didn’t miss a beat, winning a state title for the fifth year in a row. The Marlins had won the past four D-2 titles.

The Catholic High School League powerhouse scored 258 points to get past two-time defending D-1 champions Saline High, which finished with 243.50 points in second place at Eastern Michigan University.

Bloomfield Hills Marian finished in third with 165 points, followed locally by Lake Orion High (12th place, 68 points), Macomb Dakota (18th, 37), Rochester High (23rd, 20), Rochester Hills Stoney Creek (25th, 15), Macomb L’Anse Creuse North (25th, 15), West Bloomfield (27th, 13), Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse (27th, 13), Troy High (27th, 13), Utica Ford II (30th, 11) and Chippewa Valley (32nd, 9).

Mercy got major points from its relay teams, as all three finished in the top five.

The Marlins’ Elliot Schniella, Maddy Loniewski, Annie Valentine and Roxanne Griffore teamed up for a third-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. Then Loniewski and Schniella joined with Sato Kakihara and Olivia Samoray to take third in the 200 freestyle relay. Kakihara, Kathleen McGee, Griffore and Samoray closed out the meet with a fourth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay.

Marian also picked up some big points in the relays, finishing second in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. The foursome of Madison Taylor, Claire Nienstedt, Mollie Pulte and Jaynie Pulte represented the school in both events.

Individually, a handful of girls won titles and several more finished in the top eight.

Macomb Dakota’s Marah Pugh took first in the 500 freestyle and second in the 200 freestyle. Marian’s Jaynie Pulte won the 50 freestyle and finished in second of the 100 butterfly. Lake Orion’s Annie Jongekrijg captured the 100 freestyle crown while also finishing second in the 50 freestyle. Rochester’s Lauren Reedy finished first in diving.

Also in diving, Marian’s Emma Gaboury took second; L’Anse Creuse North’s Taylor Zablocki placed fourth; and Mercy’s Emmy Orrico finished seventh.

Marian’s Mollie Pulte placed third in the 200 freestyle and fifth in the 100 freestyle.

Individually for Mercy, Maddy Loniewski finished in third in the 200 IM; Kathleen McGee took fourth in the 500 freestyle; Sato Kakihara finished fifth in the 200 freestyle and the 100 butterfly; Olivia Samoray placed fifth in the 500 freestyle and sixth in the 200 freestyle; Elliot Schinella took fourth in the 100 backstroke; and Annie Valentine was sixth in the 100 butterfly.

Division 2
Holland took the team title with 419 points at the Holland Aquatics Center. Birmingham Seaholm was second with 288 points, followed locally by Birmingham Groves (third place, 216 points), Grosse Pointe South (fourth, 215), Farmington Hills Harrison (fifth, 161), Rochester Adams (eighth, 103), Walled Lake Northern (14th, 48), Bloomfield Hills Andover (18th, 27), Walled Lake Western (19th, 17), Farmington High (21st, 14), Royal Oak High (24th, 9), Fraser High (26th, 6) and Sterling Heights High (28th, 5).

In the 200 medley relay, Groves’ team of Kelly McGowan, Annie Lazor, Hanna Pfershy and Beth Moran took second. South’s squad of Alexandra DeLoof, Megan Brooks, Gabrielle DeLoof and Catherine DeLoof finished third. Seaholm’s Kelsey Gariepy, Natalie Pierce, Mykala Arnold and Emily Parsons combined to take fourth. Adams’ Hanna Hunstad, Kirsten Finney, Bianca Tiberio and Krystal Karas took fifth. Harrison’s Olivia Rath, Marina Borri, Miranda Shelly and Sandra Johnson finished sixth. Walled Lake Northern’s Hannah Cole, Haley Riley, Annie Sommer and Kaley Gohrmann placed eighth.

In the 200 freestyle, Harrison’s Maggie Hack took fourth; Seaholm’s Sydney McKay placed sixth; Farmington’s Lauren Folkert was seventh; and Seaholm’s Morgan McKay ended up eighth.

In the 200 IM, Groves’ Lazor was second; South’s Gabrielle DeLoof placed third; Seaholm’s Arnold finished fifth; Harrison’s Marina Borri took sixth; and Seaholm’s Chelsea Abbott ended up eighth.

In the 50 freestyle, South’s Catherine DeLoof finished fourth; Seaholm’s Parsons took sixth; and Harrison’s Sandra Johnson was seventh.

In diving, Seaholm’s Kelly Frazier won the individual title, while Walled Lake Western’s Allie Murphy was second. Bloomfield Hills Andover’s Sydney Levy was fifth and Olivia Wagner was eighth; and Walled Lake Northern Lauren Slayton was sixth.

In the 100 butterfly, Harrison’s Miranda Shelly took seventh.

In the 100 freestyle, South’s Catherine DeLoof took home the crown finishing first, while teammate Alexandra DeLoof placed third. Groves’ Hanna Pfershy, meanwhile, took seventh.

In the 500 freestyle, Seaholm’s Abbott took third, while teammates Sydney McKay finished fourth and Ella Waechter was eighth. Adams’ Gabrielle Thivierge was seventh.

In the 200 freestyle relay, Groves’ team of Hanna Pfershy, Moran, Taylor Pfershy and Lazor took first place. Seaholm finished in third thanks to Lizzie Ahern, Parsons, Morgan McKay and Waechter. Harrison’s Johnson, Miranda Doepker, Hack and Paige Kondek took fourth. South’s Cassandra Morse, Katherine Graham, Anne Crowley and Amy Krausmann placed fifth. Adams’ Karas, Finney, Charlene Coutteau and Tiberio placed seventh.

In the 100 backstroke, South’s Alexandra DeLoof and Gabrielle DeLoof finished second and third, respectively. Groves’ McGowan, meanwhile, placed seventh.

In the 100 breaststroke, Groves’ Lazor finished first, followed by Seaholm’s Natalie Pierce in third, Adams’ Finney in fourth, Harrison’s Borri in fifth and Groves’ Moran in sixth.

In the 400 freestyle relay, South’s team of Gabrielle, Alexandra and Catherine DeLoof teamed up with Morse to finish second; Seaholm’s Sydney and Morgan McKay, Arnold and Abbott were third; Groves’ Taylor Pfershy, Alysse Fischer, Jessie Miletic and McGowan took foruth; and Harrison’s Hack, Doepker, Rah and Borri placed sixth.

Division 3
After finishing as runner-up the past two years, Cranbrook won the title this year with 328.5 points at Oakland University.

Following locally was Bloomfield Hills Lahser (third place, 182 points), Beverly Hills Detroit Country Day (eighth, 97.5), Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (11th, 87) and Center Line High (26th, 14).

In the 200 medley relay, Lahser’s team of Ines Charles, Hailey Sambor, Lucy Ramonat and Mary Pilibosian took first; Cranbrook’s Alexa Resetar, Molly Laubernds, Julia Briggs and Milon Crawford placed fourth; and Country Day’s Courtney Tynan, Maggie Pyett, Mary Kate MacLean and Amy Sun took seventh.

In the 200 freestyle, Cranbrook’s Kylie Powrie took first place, while Notre Dame’s Marin McInerney placed fourth and Cranbrook’s Emme Reasoner was sixth.

In the 200 IM, Lahser’s Pilibosian placed second, followed by Cranbrook’s Resetar in sixth, and Kendall Young in eighth.

In the 50 freestyle, Cranbrook’s Crawford and Country Day’s MacLean tied for third place. Lahser’s Ramonat was sixth and Cranbrook’s Madeline Montgomery took seventh.

In the 100 butterfly, Lahser’s Charles won the individual crown. Cranbrook’s Reasoner finished third in the race, followed by teammate Briggs in fifth.

In the 100 freestyle, Cranbrook’s Crawford finished in third, followed by Country Day’s Pyett in fifth, and Cranbrook’s Lara Kokubo and Montgomery in sixth and seventh, respectively.

In the 500 freestyle, Cranbrbook’s Powrie picked up her second individual title of the day. Lahser’s Pilibosian was fourth; Cranbrook’s Laubernds came in fifth; and Notre Dame’s Kaleigh Mullen was eighth.

In the 200 freestyle relay, Cranbrook’s Crawford, Montgomery, Reasoner and Kokubo teamed up to take second; Country Day’s Pyett, Sun, Maureen and May Kate MacLean took fourth; and Notre Dame’s Stephanie Rutila, Emily Kaye, Mullen and McInerney finished in eighth.

In the 100 backstroke, Lahser’s Charles won her second title of the day, followed by Cranbrook’s Resetar in second, Notre Dame’s McInerney in third and Center Line’s Andrea Okuly in fifth.

In the 100 breaststroke, Country Day’s Pyett finished fifth.

And in the 400 freestyle relay, Cranbrook took the title thanks to Laubernds, Montgomery, Powrie and Kokubo. Lahser’s Alicia Lew, Athena Antonis, Pilibosian and Charles placed fifth in the event.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Jon Malavolti at jmalavolti@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1040.