Swimming: Pioneer swims away with league title, Skyline takes fourth
The local teams took one of their final laps before the MHSAA Swimming and Diving State Finals on Nov. 19-20 and the times they are a falling. The Southeastern Conference – one of the best swimming leagues in the state – met up at Skyline High School last week for the league championships and there were some incredible swims.
The Division 1 meet will be held at the Holland Aquatics Center while Division 2 heads to Oakland University.
There certainly wasn’t any surprises when the team scores were added up. Pioneer, the defending state champion and favorites to repeat, took first place with 642 points, well ahead of second-place Saline (504 points).
Dexter took third place with 306 points, Skyline was fourth with 300 points and Huron touched fifth with 225 in the eight-team field.
Pioneer opened the meet with a victory in the medley relay. The team of Stella Chapman, Edwina Jalet, Holly Pringle and Lily Cramer touched first in 1:43.57.
Dexter’s team of Maddy Matos, Delaney Parker, Lily Witte and Natalie Koenn was fourth (1:51.67) and the Skyline team of Shannen Lee, Sophia Nielsen, Allie Deininger and Lauren MacNeil was fifth (1:52.00).
Cramer, a senior, jumped right back in the water and won the 200 free in 1:48.83. Skyline junior Lily Cleason was second (1:51.75), Pioneer’s Chapman third (1:52.15), Pioneer’s Autumn Bullinger fourth (1:54.60) and Dexter’s Jillian Kinnard eighth (1:58.93).
The Pioneers took the top two spots in the 200 IM with Jalet first (2:05.42) and Pringle second (2:06.93). Pioneer also took fifth and sixth with Reese Heidenreich (2:13.96) and Rachel Brewbaker (2:15.87). Dexter’s Matos was seventh (2:17.30) and Skyline’s Nielsen was eighth (2:19.40).
Pioneer junior Sophia Guo won the 50 freestyle in 23.51 seconds. Skyline’s Claire Kozma was second (23.64) and Pioneer’s Vivian VanRenterghem was third (23.97).
Dexter’s Lily Witte dominated the diving event. The talented junior finished with 476.80 points to splash first overall. Pioneer’s Alexandra Mercier was second (416.70 points), Dexter’s Vivian Kinnard was fourth (401.80) and Dexter’s Elysa Grossman was seventh (343.15).
Pioneer went one-two in the butterfly with Chapman, a sophomore, first (54.32) and Cramer second (56.04). Kozma was third (57.47) for Skyline, and Lindsay Orringer-Hau was fourth (57.87) for Pioneer.
Pringle, a senior, touched first for the Pioneers in the 100 freestyle with a time of 51.81 and Guo was second in 52.33. Pioneer’s Amelia Weyhing was fourth (52.67). Skyline went seven-eight with Deininger (54.92) and Lee (55.18).
Orringer-Hau, a senior, went the distance to win the 500 free with a time of 5:03.02. Pioneer took the next two spots with Adler (5:08.22) and Jalet (5:09.47). Jillian Kinnard was sixth (5:14.21) for Dexter and Gina Sadler was seventh (5:17.98) for Skyline.
The Pioneer team of VanRenterghem, Pringle, Guo and Cramer took first in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:35.20. Skyline’s team of Deininger, Cleason, MacNeil and Kozma was second in 1:38.14 and Dexter’s team of Marea Balcom, Witte, Natalie Koenn and Jillian Kinnard was fifth (1:43.74).
Cleason, a junior, won the backstroke for the Eagles with a time of 55.22. Bullinger was second for Pioneer in 56.85 and teammate Bridgette Kamara was fifth in 59.40. Skyline’s Shannen Lee was seventh (1:01.03).
Pioneer went one-two in the breaststroke with Weyhing, a senior, first in 1:05.45 and Adler second in 1:06.64. Heidenreich was fourth (1:07.44) for the Pioneers. Dexter’s Delaney Parker was fifth (1:08.20).
The Pioneers finished the meet the same way they started it. The team of Guo, Chapman, Bullinger and VanRenterghem won the 400 free relay in 3:27.67. The Skyline team of Kozma, Sadler, Lee and Cleason took third (3:37.51) and the Dexter team of Balcom, Jillian Kinnard, Matos and Harper Brown was fourth (3:47.70).
