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Chelsea, Milan swimmers claim individual titles at D3 finals

Milan junior Ollie Smith celebrates after winning the 50-yard freestyle at the MHSAA Division 3 state championships Saturday at Eastern Michigan University.

Daniel Brenner I AnnArbor.com

Tim Wing | For AnnArbor.com

Chelsea High School junior David Alday won both the 200-yard individual medley and the 100 freestyle races at the Division 3 state finals in two very similar situations.

Alday trailed Bloomfield-Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood’s Matthew Liu going into the final 50 yards in the 200 IM at Eastern Michigan University on Saturday, but shot out and dominated the final leg to finish in 1 minute, 52.88 seconds, a full two seconds ahead of Liu.

“That entire race was exciting, and I didn’t breathe at all in the last 25 yards,” Alday said.

Four races later, Alday turned on the afterburners and edged Grand Rapids Christian’s Ryan Beezhold in the 100 freestyle, finishing in 46.85 seconds.

“To be as multi-talented as David really shows you how great of a swimmer he is,” Chelsea coach Dave Jolly said.

Chelsea finished the meet in fifth place with 177 points.

Chris Klein's two state titles lead Pioneer to 2nd-place finish at D2 swimming finals

Adam Bouton | For AnnArbor.com

ROCHESTER -- Pioneer High School senior Chris Klein capped off a stellar prep swimming career by winning two individual state titles, leading the Pioneers to a second-place finish at the Division 2 state championship.

Pioneer, competing in Division 2 for the first time, exceeded expectations, according to coach Dennis Hill. The Pioneers finished with 280 points. Holland won the D2 state title with 323 points.

Results from Day 1 of the 52nd annual Washtenaw Interclub Swim Conference championships

This story was updated to include additional multiple event winners.

The 52nd annual Washtenaw Interclub Swim Conference championships kicked off on Monday, and some familiar names from the high school season took home a fair share of medals when swimmers age 13-and-up competed at Skyline High School.

Huron diver staying in Ann Arbor, signs with University of Michigan

Huron High School diver Elena Ghormley has spent her entire life in the Ann Arbor area and, like many high school seniors, she figured she would be moving away from her family for college in the fall.

Those plans changed when the University of Michigan women’s swimming and diving team showed interest in having her join their team next fall. On Thursday, Ghormley signed her letter of intent to stay close to home.

“It was a relief,” said Ghormley. “I was super stressed out, but it was exciting.”

Club Wolverine swimmer Zac Cain on rare pediatric colon cancer: 'I'll make sure it doesn't ruin my life'

Zac Cain is accustomed to rising well before the sun. A swimmer, Cain is usually is in the pool for early-morning practice, while his classmates rest comfortably in bed.

But 3 a.m. is early even for Cain. On this day, it’s not the lukewarm water of the pool at the Howell Aquatics Center that awaited him. It’s Wednesday, March 7, two days before the Division 1 MHSAA boys state championships, but Cain isn’t training for the race he’s waited his entire life to swim.

Cain is up bright and early for his first day of chemotherapy.

Dexter swim team wins Division 2 state title; Chelsea 10th in D3

Dexter's Jonathan Zofchak in the 200-yard freestyle final at the Division 2 state finals Saturday in Holland. Zofchak finished second in the race and the Dreadnaughts won the team title.

Mark Copier | MLive.com

It was quite a day for Southeastern Conference swimming and diving teams.

While Saline was winning its third straight Division 1 state championship at Eastern Michigan University on Saturday, their conference rival, Dexter, was wrapping up its first state title in 13 seasons.

The Dreadnaughts finished with 320 points at the Division 2 finals at Holland High School, giving the team its first title since 1999 and giving the seniors the chance to jump in the pool one last time.

photo gallery: Images from the Division 1 boys swimming and diving championships

Story: The Saline High School boys swimming team won its third straight Division 1 state championship on Saturday. Pioneer finished in fourth and Huron and Skyline each had all-state swimmers.

Saline boys swimming team wins third straight Division 1 state championship

Members of the Saline High School boys swimming and diving team celebrate their third straight MHSAA Division 1 state championship

Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com

Saline High School had already locked up its third straight state championship, going on to beat second-place Rockford by almost 100 points.

“This was our goal,” Josh Ehrman said. “Now that we actually have it done, it’s a great feeling.”

Still, there was plenty of intrigue at the Eastern Michigan University pool, even as the Hornets pulled away to win the 400-yard freestyle relay to set a an all-class state finals record with a time of 3:04.26.

But Saline's goals didn’t just end at the team state championship. They were trying to break the national record time of 2:59.7 set by New Trier High School in Illinois. Coming short of the mark left the Hornets with a hint of disappointment when it was all said and done.

Saline mistakenly awards swim coach Todd Brunty national coach of the year plaque

A national coach of the year award presented to Saline High School boys swimming and diving coach Todd Brunty was done so in error.

patch.com: Saline has record day while dominating field at swimming championships

The Saline High School boys swimming team dominated the field at this weekend's MHSAA Division 1 state championship at Oakland University. It was the second straight title for the Hornets.

Check out a video story that Tran Longmoore at Saline-Milan.Patch.com put together during the Saline's record-setting day:

swimming state finals: Saline dominates, repeats as Division 1 champions; Pioneer second, Huron fourth

It wasn't really a matter of if the Saline High School boys swimming team would win a state title on Saturday, but how many points it could score.

The answer: The most ever.

The Hornets dominated the Division 1 state finals competition at Oakland University, winning eight of 12 events and scoring 384 team points, nearly twice as much as second place Pioneer (197) and the most ever scored at the state championships, regardless of class or division.

with slideshow: Stephen Sobczak dominates D2 swimming finals, Dexter finishes third

Dexter's Stephen Sobczak had the best performance of any swimmer at the Division 2 boys swimming state championships with three firsts and a second.

Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com

Dexter High School senior Stephen Sobczak had been painfully close to becoming an individual state swimming champion two years in a row.

His sophomore and junior years, Sobczak touched the wall second in the 100-yard backstroke, and last year he was runner up in the 100 freestyle as well. He said it was those second-place finishes that willed him to push even harder in training.

It worked.

swimming state finals: Milan finishes seventh at Division 3 championships; Chelsea 28th

Milan High School boys swimming coach Dan Heikka thought his team had some room to move up from its seventh place position heading into the second day of the MHSAA Division 3 boys swimming and diving state championships.

He probably wasn't counting on not scoring in the 400 freestyle relay, though. Milan, which had the top qualifying time in the event, was disqualified from the final on Saturday.

swimming roundup: Saline and Dexter ahead of the pack, Milan in prime position after day one of swimming state championships

The Saline boys swimming and diving team broke two Division 1 state meet records and qualified the most swimmers for the championship round after the first day of the D1 state meet Friday at Oakland University.

Saline's David Boland broke the state meet record and qualified first in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1 minute, 50.88 seconds. Huron alumnus Michael Swain set the previous record in 2009. Boland, along with teammates Brad Frost, James Fisher and Adam Whitener, also broke the meet record for the 400 freestyle with a time of 3:06.33.

state finals preview: Saline poised to repeat as Division 1 swimming state champions

It was a foregone conclusion that the undefeated Saline High School boys swim team would win their final regular season meet, the Southeastern Conference Red Division championships.

Convincingly.

“We weren’t going to beat Saline, but we were hoping to give them a little scare … And we didn’t even do that,” said Pioneer coach Denny Hill, whose team had previously won the league championship meet every year since joining the SEC in 2000. Saline won by 154 points.

Pioneer diver Nick Nemetz to vie for second state title this weekend

Pioneer's Nick Nemetz will attempt to become the fourth diver in school history to win multiple individual state titles this weekend.

AnnArbor.com file photo

Hours upon hours of work have turned Pioneer diver Nick Nemetz into an All-American. He’ll have at least four more years to add to his already impressive resume when he moves on to compete collegiately at Notre Dame.

But he only after more shot at an MHSAA state championship this weekend.

Pioneer swimming coach Denny Hill not going anywhere soon

Pioneer swimming coach Denny Hill (lower right), the last time he jumped in the pool with a state championship team, in 2009. He doesn't anticipate doing the same this year.

AnnArbor.com file photo

Denny Hill has won 15 state championships in boys swimming in his 42-year coaching career at Pioneer High School. He acknowledges that his 16th title isn’t likely to come in 2011.

“I just don’t think it’s realistic to think we can go after Saline,” he said.

Now that Pioneer is splitting students with Skyline High School, membership on Hill’s boys swimming and diving team has dipped to 33 this season, down from as many as 60 at its peak.

But Hill has been around long enough to take it all in stride.

Pioneer's Nick Nemetz sets personal, pool record on way to regional diving title; 5 local divers advance

The applause seemed to grow louder each time Nick Nemetz rose from beneath the water.

Those in attendance at Tuesday's MHSAA Division 1 diving regional at Huron High School knew they were seeing something special from the Pioneer senior.

Nemetz finished with a personal-best and pool record 523.80 points on his way to winning a regional championship. Runner up William Price of Northville was more than 100 points behind (414.25).

Chelsea's Colby Wrathall advances to Division 3 state diving meet

Chelsea High School diver Colby Wrathall placed third at the Division 3 regional diving meet Tuesday in Dewitt, punching his ticket to the state championships, held Friday and Saturday at Holland Aquatics Center.

Wrathall, a senior who scored 363.65 points, will be making his third straight appearance at the state meet.

with slideshow: Saline boys swim team wins SEC Red Championship; Pioneer, Huron finish 2nd and 3rd

Saline's Andy Jensen, bottom, and Pioneer's Seiji Osawa swim stroke for stroke into the final lap of their close battle in the 500-yard freestyle race the SEC Red Division Championships Saturday at Skyline High School. Osawa nipped Jensen at the wall 4.44.49 to 4.44.67.

Lon Horwedel AnnArbor.com

The fans were practically hanging over the balcony seating in raucous cheers as Pioneer High School's Seiji Osawa and Saline's Andy Jensen were in a dead heat during the final 50 yards of the 500-yard freestyle at day two of Saturday's Southeastern Conference Red Division Championships.

When the waves and cheers settled, Osawa's final kick was a hair faster, as he touched the wall at 4 minutes, 44.49 seconds, barely edging out Jensen (4:44.67) in what proved to be the showstopping swim of the SEC Red finals at Skyline High School.

"I knew that he was gonna have a push at the end, and I was gonna have a push at the end, so I had to just get a little bit ahead to make sure he couldn't catch me on the last one," said Osawa, who went on to describe his mindframe during the race. "You kind of zone everything out. It's just you and him. And you just hear a lot of 'Ohhh' (from the fans). It's fun for the last 50 (yards)."