The SEC hosted its annual Red Division boys’ swimming and diving Championships on March 1 and the event brought out the best of the very best. State powers Saline and Pioneer battled to the lap last of the meet with the Hornets finishing first with 585 points, just five points ahead of the Pioneers.
With the meet on the line, Saline and Pioneer lined up for the final event – the 400 free relay. The Hornets touched first in 3:14.77 while the Pioneer team of Charles Knoepp, Cam Kline, Brighton Han and Elijah Almeida took a close second in 3:17.38. Skyline’s team of Robby Shannon, Connor Zillich, Wesley Jenkins and Owen McKelvey touched third in 3:17.51.
Dexter took third place with 289 points followed by Skyline (250 points), Huron (194), Lincoln (193), Monroe (125) and Bedford (109).
There were plenty of state-cut times and personal bests that brought out the best of the eight Red Division teams.
Pioneer opened the meet with a win in the medley relay. The team of Kline, Almeida, Edward Zhang and Henry Baumhover touched first with a time of 1:34.11. Dexter’s team of Anthony Kopinski, Derek Sletten, Owen Dauw and Owen Ragnes took third in 1:40.64; Huron’s team of Evan Ngo, Christian Grudzinski, Ethan Yung and Camp Streeter was fourth (1:43.30); and Skyline’s team of Wesley Jenkins, Henry Strait, Connor Zillich and Evan Pokryfke was fifth (1:47.76).
Skyline senior Owen McKelvey went a D1 state-cut time of 1:42.77 to win the 200 freestyle for the Eagles. Knoepp, only a sophomore, touched third in 1:43.50 and teammate Ryan Zhu, a freshman, was sixth in 1:47.44. Dexter’s youth also shined – sophomore Owen Dauw was seventh (1:46.67) and freshman Graham McCarthy was eighth (1:48.07).
Zhang rang up another first place for Pioneer when the junior went 1:49.84 to win the 200 IM. Teammates Oleksandr Gladunin (fourth, 2:01.31) and Alexander Heberlein (sixth, 2:04.66) also scored points for the Pioneers. Dexter sophomore Derek Sletten was eighth in 2:06.55.
The sprinters jumped in the pool and splashed up some blazing times – the top five places were D1 state-cut times. Baumhover touched first in 21.22 seconds, just defeating Saline’s Jonah Bentley (21.50). Skyline junior Robby Shannon was right there at the end, touching third in 21.76. Kline was fifth for Pioneer in 22.33.
Skyline senior Stuart Knight won diving with 462.95 points with Pioneer sophomore Asher Morgan taking second with 397.55 points. Dexter sophomore Felix Davis was eighth with 330.70 and Huron’s James Hutmacher was ninth (272.4).
In the butterfly, Pioneer went two-three with Zhang (50.46) and Almeida (51.91). Kopinski was fourth for the Dreadnaughts in 52.60 and Huron’s Ethan Yung was seventh in 54.64.
Baumhover, who had an amazing day for the Pioneers, returned to the winner’s circle with his victory in the 100 free. He touched the wall in 46.19, just ahead of Skyline’s Robby Shannon (second, 47.50). Pioneer’s Han was fifth with a D1 state-cut time of 48.73. Dexter senior Steven Merz was seventh in 50.00 – a D2 state-cut time.
Knoepp went the distance to win the 500 free with a time of 4:38.17 for the Pioneers. Kline was second in 4:38.91 as the Pioneers went one-two in the event and both with D1 state-cut times. Pioneer’s Vaughn Boutell was sixth (4:55.12) and Dexter’s McCarthy was eighth (5:02.23).
Pioneer’s 200 free relay team of Zhang, Han, Knoepp and Baumhover won in 1:25.91 with Saline second in 1:26.19. Skyline’s team of McKelvey, Henry Strait, Evan Pokryfke and Robby Shannon took third in 1:29.83 and Dexter’s team of Merz, Smaby, Haidl and McCarthy was fourth in 1:31.57. Huron’s team of Ethan Yung, Camp Streeter, Christian Grudzinski and Luke Bunnell was sixth in 1:31.67.
McKelvey won his second event for the Eagles with a time of 51.19 in the backstroke. Kopinski was fourth (53.80) for Dexter. Pioneer went 5-6 with Dex Mercer (56.19) and Oleksandr Gladunin (56.47). Dexter sophomore Reed Kinney was seventh (58.83) and Huron’s Evan Ngo was eighth (59.46).
In the breaststroke, Pioneer sophomore Almeida took first in 56.99 with teammates Brodie Campbell (fourth, 1:01.97) and Han (fifth, 1:02.47) racking up points. Huron’s Streeter was eighth in 1:04.32.
