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Posted on Sat, Nov 21, 2009 : 6:04 p.m.

Saline wins first team championship; Pioneer 4th, Huron 5th

By Kaleb Roedel

HOLLAND -- Saline High School coach Todd Brunty plunged into the water and his swimmers, the culprits of his soaked state, followed him like dominoes.

It was a celebratory scene painted by the Hornets’ swimming and diving team, which captured the school’s first Division 1 girls championship, outscoring all 36 of the other teams represented Saturday at the Holland Aquatic Center.

"It feels really good," said Brunty, in his third year as Saline's coach. "It's a collective effort with hundreds of people. Age-group coaches, all the coaches who were here before me, all the parents, the athletic department, everybody in Saline has worked really hard.

“Top to bottom, it's a culmination of a lot of people's hard work."

While Saline won the team title with 244 points, their Southeastern Conference Red Division rivals grabbed first place in half of the meet’s 12 events. (Complete results)

Pioneer, which had won the last nine Division 1 state titles, won four events - two by senior Hanna Cowley and two relays - on its way to a fourth-place finish with 196 points. Huron got a pair of individual titles from sophomore AnnaDeMonte and finished fifth with 169 points.

Bloomfield Hills Marian (215) was runner-up, followed by Holland West Ottawa (199).

Counting instead on its depth to rack up points, the Hornets’ best finish was a second-place relay team and a third-place from junior Stephanie Boyle in the 100 breaststroke.

"It is a total, complete, team effort," emphasized Brunty. "Nearly every race we scored points. Girls just kept doing their jobs."

Brunty's swimmers echoed his sentiments.

"It's great because everybody contributed," said Nicole Ozminkowski, a junior who finished tenth in the 500 freestyle. "I think that was our main focus the whole year, trying to go for the state title."

"It's great to be a part of this, it feels really amazing," added Boyle, who also finished fifth in the 200 individual medley.

That Pioneer relay also marked the fourth time Cowley would be the first to finish a race. She anchored the Pioneers’ winning 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams and also defended her individual state titles in the 100 freestyle (:51.55) and 200 freestyle (1:51.75).

Cowley was joined by Paige Kostishak, Molly Shanley and Mari Isa on the 400 team and by Julia Lovejoy, Michaela Betts and Kostishak on the 200 team.

Huron’s DeMonte set a new Division 1 championship record while winning the 200 individual medley in 2:00.72 and would later add a state title by winning the 100 butterfly in 54.92 seconds.

Sophomore Annie Tamblyn added second-place finishes in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle for the River Rats. Pioneer’s Kostishak was fourth in the 200 freestyle and fifth in the 500 freestyle.

But when the waves tamed it was Saline standing atop the podium, raising the school's first swimming championship trophy.

"Last year, when we came in fourth, I thought that was the coolest thing in the entire world," said Nikki Flynn, a sophomore who finished sixth in both the 50 and 100 freestyles. "To be able to be a part of the whole first place win, it's just really exciting."

And Flynn and Boyle admitted they were also excited about the prospect of pushing coach Brunty into the pool, per the state champion tradition.

"It feels great to finally be able to do it," Boyle laughed.

Saline's other All-State performances belonged to Maddy Frost (fifth in 100 backstroke), Cristina Czyrka (sixth in 100 breaststroke), Emily Lau (eighth in 100 breaststroke), the third-place 200 freestyle relay team and the fifth-place 200 medley relay team.

Pioneer's Mari Isa (seventh in 100 backstroke) and the seventh-place 200 medley relay team earned All-State honors, as did Huron's Meghan Woods (fifth in diving) and the River Rats' second-place 200 medley relay team and its third-place 400 freestyle relay team.

Kaleb Roedel is a sports writer for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734)623-2562, e-mailed at kalebroedel@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @KalebisReal.

Comments

Idripdry

Tue, Nov 24, 2009 : 8:34 a.m.

Congratulations to Saline and praise to the coach and all of those that helped this program develop over the past ten or so years. This my sound like sour grapes but I have been following swimming in this area for a long time. The bias reporting Ann Arbor News has shown to PiHi and Huron over the years disturbs me. Would it have been possible for A2.com to throw a photo or two in and try to highlight this accomplishment for Saline a bit more then this article does? Trust me all the past pihi State wins are a always BIG DEAL. Good job Saline! We're very proud and happy for you.

Jim Mulchay

Sun, Nov 22, 2009 : 9:59 a.m.

I think SEC Red won 7 of 12 - Bedford (7th overall, 1st-Diving) is also SEC Red, as is Monroe who finished 15th overall.