Swimming: Local teams make big splash at season-opening Huron Relays

Some of the best swimming programs in the state – along with the elite of the SEC Red Division – gathered last Friday at Huron High School for the annual Huron Relays. And the local teams put on quite the show.

Defending Division 1 State Champion Pioneer finished first with 460 points, but they didn’t exactly dominate. Northville was a stroke behind the talented Pioneers with 444 points and Brighton took third with 336 points. Skyline was just two points behind the Bulldogs with 334 points, just 24 points ahead of fifth-place Dexter (310). Saline (306) was sixth, followed by Huron with 254 points and South Lyon East (236).

Pioneer opened the meet with a win the 200 medley relay. The team of Bridgette Kamara, Yan Yee Adler, Stella Chapman and Lucy Mehraban took first in 1 minute, 49.17 seconds for the Pioneers. Dexter’s team of Harper Brown, Delaney Parker, Lily Witte and Marea Balcom touched third in 1:53.15.

Pioneer won the 400 freestyle relay as the team of Sophia Guo, Meg Pinkerton, Ursula Ott and Lucy Mehraban finished in 3:40.37. Skyline’s team of Annabel Balazer, Torres Sofia, Shannen Lee and Lily Cleason touched second in 3:41.18.

In the 400 Relay IM, Dexter’s foursome of Grace McClellan, Rebekah Murillo, Delaney Parker, and Natalie Koenn finished fourth in 4:34. 57.

Pioneer’s team of Sophia Guo, Eva Woods, Allison Yadmark, and Meg Pinkerton took second in the 200 butterfly relay in 1:52.12. Dexter’s team of Lily Witte, Harper Brown, Diem Lee, and Sophia Marr was fifth in 1:56.03.

Skyline-Pioneer went one-two in the 200 backstroke relay. Skyline’s team of Lily Cleason, Maya Goldstein, Shannen Lee and Britta Coultas touched first in 1:50.84. Pioneer’s team of Bridgette Kamara, Madeline Baybeck, Kate Van Ryn, and Maisie Weyhing was second in 1:55.85.

Three local teams placed in the top five in the 800 yard freestyle relay. Skyline’s team of Lily Cleason, Annabel Balazer, Maya Goldstein, and Torres Sofia took third in 8:16.01; Pioneer’s team of Reese Heidenreich, Eva Woods, Kate Lindstrom and Piper Cambell was fourth in 8:38.48: and Dexter’s team of Laura Walton, Diem Lee, Rebekah Murillo and Grace McClellan took fifth in 8:53.20.

Pioneer’s team of Ursula Ott, Yan Yee Adler, Reese Heidenreich and Stella Chapman took first in the 200 breaststroke relay with a winning time of 2:06.35. Dexter’s team of Harper Brown, Delaney Parker, Annie Ralls and Natalie Koenn was fourth in 2:14.67.

Pioneer also won the 200 freestyle relay. The team of Sophia Guo, Meg Pinkerton, Ursula Ott and Lucy Mehraban won in 1:39.67. Skyline’s team of Shannen Lee, Lauren MacNeil, Britta Coultas and Allie Deininger touched fourth in 1:45.23 while Huron’s team of Jasmine Xu, Catherine Huang, Sawako Sakamoto and Ece Uyulur was fifth in 1:47.98.

In the 2×50 relay diving, Dexter was second with 34 points, Skyline was third with 32 points, Pioneer was fourth (30) and Huron sixth (26).