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2010 ALL-AREA GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING: Youth is served in area pools

Dan Stickradt | December 30, 2010 | Comments (2)

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

FRESHMAN SENSATION: Clarkston's Sami Stelpflug is one of many freshmen to make the all-area list for 2010. File Photo | Dan Stickradt

Girls swimming and diving in the area is going to have a bright future.

With all of the schools in the www.northoaklandsports.com coverage area competing in 2010 with very few seniors, most the talent will return in 20111. Looking at the state-meet, OAA conference meets and Oakland County Championships, most of the high point-scorers were freshmen, sophomores and juniors. And in a rare occasion, the All-Area First Team only boasts one senior and that was a member of a relay.

The best in the area truly did have a youthful appeal.

In an effort to spread the talent around, individuals were limited to one first-team or second-team event, excluding relays.

Here are the profiles of the first-team honorees. The team was selected by NOS staff in conjunction with area coaches:

FIRST TEAM

200 MEDLEY RELAY: Clarkston (Sami Stelpflug, Monica Gorgas, Natalie Vela, Kathryn Culver): This quartet of freshmen had an exceptional season, individually and as part of relays. Together in the 200 medley, this group won the OAA Blue Division title, were undefeated in league duals, finished seventh at the Oakland County meet and 19^th at the Division 1 state finals with a season-best time of 1:54.10.

RACHEL WATTON, Rochester Stoney Creek: This junior participated in multiple events throughout the season and the 200 free was one of her best even though she did not swim it at the state finals. She claimed sixth at the OAA Red Division 1:59.38, the area’s top effort, and touched 13^th at the county meet. At the Division 1 state finals, she claimed 23^rd in the 500 free (5:17.35) and was sixth at the OAA-Red in the same event. She was also a member of two state-placing relays.

200 IM: COURTNEY MCCLEAR, Lake Orion: Another talented underclassman who spread her talents to multiple events, this sophomore emerged as the winner of the 200 IM at the OAA Red Division league meet (2:11.73) and followed that up with a seventh-place finish at the Division 1 state meet (2:11.74). She had recorded a 2:09.84 in the state-meet prelims. She also claimed 20^th in the 100 free (54.21) at the state finals, placed eighth in the 200 free (1:59.24) at the county meet and was eighth in the 500 free (5:26.68) at the league meet.

50 FREESTYE: Kathryn Culver, Clarkston: One of many fine freshman talents in the Wolves’ lineup this season, Culver finished sixth in the Division 1 state meet in the 50 free (24.37) and also won the same event at the OAA Blue Division league meet (24.85) and placed fifth at the county (24.77). In the 100 free, she was 11^th at the state meet (53.26) and was third at the county (53.78). Additionally in the 200 free, she was the league champ (1:56.38).

DIVING: Lauren Reedy, Rochester: After finishing 36^th at the Division 1 state meet last season, Reedy, a junior, made a quantum leap and finished seventh this season with a 389.50 total. Reedy was also second at the OAA White Division meet (413.70) and was third at the county meet.

“She had an amazing season considering that she was dead last at the state meet last year,” said coach Paul Karas. “For her to improve so much in one year, it’s remarkable. She worked so hard to get better.”

100 BUTTERFLY: BIANCEA TIBERIO, Rochester Adams: A sophomore, Tiberio finished third at the county meet and 12^th at the Division 2 state finals (59.9) to make her mark. She was also eighth in the 50 free at the OAA Red Division league meet (25.65) and 26^th at the state finals (25.42).

100 FREESTYLE: ANNIE JONGEKRIJG, Lake Orion: This junior was one of the best in the area and wrapped up the season with a fourth-place finish at the Division 1 state finals in the 100 free (52.27). She also won the OAA-Red meet in the same event. Versatile enough to swim multiple events, Jongekrijg won the 50 free (24.73) and 100 free (54.01) at the league meet and placed fourth in the backstroke (1:00.44) land sixth at the county in the 50 free (24.78).

500 FREESTYLE: GABRIELLE THIVIERGE, Rochester Adams: This sophomore had a fine freshman season in both swimming and track and field and stepped up as a sophomore. In her signature event, Thivierge was 12^th at the county, second at the OAA Red Division league meet (5:14.01) and placed 13^th at the Division 2 state finals (5:12.39).

200 FREE RELAY: ROCHESTER STONEY CREEK (Hannah Knapp, Becca Ashburn, Carson Burt, Rachel Watton): Made up of one senior (Ashburn) and three juniors, this unit finished 12^th at the Division 1 state finals in 1:41.84. The group also swam 1:41.55 in the prelims at the state meet. They are also eighth at the county meet (1:43.33) and sixth at the OAA Red Division (1:44.11).

100 BACKSTROKE: HALEY KORNBURGER, Oxford: This freshman set multiple school records this season and became the Wildcats’ first female swimmer to place at the state meet. Kornburger was 15^th in the 100 butterfly at the state finals (1:00.69) and also placed 23^rd in the 100 backstroke (1:01.08) at the state meet. She was also 11^th in the 100 butterfly (1:01.85) at the county meet and was second in both the 100 fly (1:01.25) and 100 backstroke (1:01.32) at the OAA Blue Division meet. Kornburger was a steady anchor on two relays for the Wildcats that placed at the league meet.

100 BREASTSTROKE: SAMI STELPFLUG, Clarkston: This freshman entered the year as one of the top prospects in her class state-wide and she lived up to it. In the 100 breaststroke, she was second at the state (1:04.30) and second at the county (1:05.88). She was the OAA Blue Division champ in the 100 butterfly (58.59) and 100 backstroke (1:00.25). She also won the 200 IM (2:06.25) at the county championships and swam on two relays that won league championships, placed at the county meet and qualified for the state finals.

400 FREE RELAY: ROCHESTER STONEY CREEK (Sydney Schurig, Hannah Knapp, Carson Burt, Rachel Watton): Stoney Creek not only made the jump from the OAA White Division to the OAA Red Division, but from Division 2 to Division 1 for the state tournament. The Cougars were still quite competitive this season, and finished 23^rd at the state finals as a team. This relay unit capped the year by placing 13^th at the state finals (3:40.16). They were also fourth at the league meet (3:43.75) and ninth at the county (3:47.85). Schurig is a sophomore while the other three are juniors.

COACH OF THE YEAR

KENWYN CHOCK, Clarkston: Chock started the Wolves’ program in the late 1990s and has slowly built a respectable team. This year’s contingent was one of Clarkston’s best despite being mostly freshmen and sophomores. The Wolves finished unbeaten in the OAA Blue Division at 5-0 and backed that up with 601.5 points at the league meet, which was 159 points ahead of the runner-up team. The Wolves were also eighth at the Oakland County Championships (114.5 points) after finishing 23^rd the year before. Clarkston also finished 16^th at the Division 1 state finals with 53 points after finishing 35^th in 2009. The state-meet performance is the best in program history.

2010 ALL-AREAGIRLS SWIMMING AND DIVING TEAM

FIRST TEAM

200 Medley Relay: Sami Stelpflug Clarkston

200 Medley Relay: Monica Gorgas Clarkston

200 Medley Relay: Natalie Vela Clarkston

200 Medley Relay: Kathryn Culver Clarkston

200 Freestyle Rachel Watton Roch. Stoney Creek

200 IM: Courtney McClear Lake Orion

50 Freestyle: Kathryn Culver Clarkston

Diving: Lauren Reedy Lake Orion

100 Butterfly Bianca Tiberio Roch. Adams

100 Freestyle: Annie Jongekrijg Lake Orion

500 Freestyle: Gabrielle Thivierge Roch. Adams

200 Free Relay: Hannah Knapp Roch. Stoney Creek

200 Free Relay: Becca Ashburn Roch. Stoney Creek

200 Free Relay: Carson Burt Roch. Stoney Creek

200 Free Relay: Rachel Watton Roch. Stoney Creek

100 Backstroke: Haley Kornburger Oxford

100 Breaststroke: Sami Stelpflug Clarkston

400 Free Relay: Sydney Schurig Roch. Stoney Creek

400 Free Relay: Hannah Knapp Roch. Stoney Creek

400 Free Relay: Carson Burt Roch. Stoney Creek

400 Free Relay: Rachel Watton Roch. Stoney Creek

COACH OF THE YEAR

Kenwyn Chock 12^th Season Clarkston

SECOND TEAM

200 Medley Relay: Rochester Adams (Hanna Hunstad, soph.; Kristen Finney, jr.; Gabrielle Thivierge, soph.; Bianca Tiberio, soph.); 200 Freestyle: Natalie Schmidt, Rochester Adams soph.; 200 IM: Haley Ludwig, Rochester soph.; 50 Freestyle: Hannah Knapp, Rochester Stoney Creek jr.; Diving: Keegan McCaffrey, Rochester Adams soph.; 100 Butterfly: Haley Ludwig, Rochester soph.; 100 Freestyle: Pam Johnson, Auburn Hills Avondale sr.; 500 Freestyle: Rachel Watton, Rochester Stoney Creek jr.; 200 Free Relay: Troy (Lauren Dietz, jr.; Tessa Lanzen, jr.; Kelly Sinnaeve, sr.; Jacquline Burke, soph.); 100 Backstroke: Veronica Loock, Rochester jr.; 100 Breaststroke: Kristine Barlow, Troy jr.; 400 Free Relay: Rochester Adams (Bianca Tiberio, soph.; Natalie Schmitt, soph.; Gabrielle Thivierge, soph.; Hanna Hunstad, soph.).

HONORABLE MENTIONS

200 Medley Relay: Troy (Lauren Dietz, jr.; Kristine Barlow, jr.; Tessa Lanzen, jr.; Kelly Sinnaeve, sr.); Lake Orion (Annie Jongekrijg, jr.; Courtney McClear, soph.; Colby Pudlo, jr.; Ronnie Booth, sr.); Rochester (Veronica Loock, jr.; Hanna Shin, soph.; Haley Ludwig, soph.; Jacqui Loock, jr.); 200 Freestyle: Hanna Hunstad, Rochester Adams soph.; Veronica Loock, Rochester jr.; Sydney Schurig, Rochester Stoney Creek fr.; 200 IM: Kristen Finney, Rochester Adams jr.; 50 Freestyle: Lauren Dietz, Troy jr.; Jacquiline Burke, Troy soph.; Diving: Ashley Moskal, Auburn Hills Avondale jr.; Kaitlyn Morton, Auburn Hills Avondale jr.; Allison Westgate, sr.; Katie Corcoran, Lake Orion sr.; Becky Freed, Rochester Stoney Creek soph.; Jade Casadei, Oxford sr.; 2. Jenny Godlew, Clarkston soph.; 100 Butterfly: Tessa Lanzen, Troy jr.; Rachel Kurzeja, soph.; Colby Pudlo, Lake Orion jr.; Milan Spampinato, Rochester Adams jr.; Natalie Vela, Clarkston fr.; 4. Alexa Brown, Troy Athens fr.; 100 Freestyle: Hannah Knapp, Rochester Stoney Creek jr.; Jacquiline Burke, Troy soph.; Sydney Schurig, Rochester Stoney Creek fr.; Carson Burt, Rochester Stoney Creek jr.; Charlene Coutteau, Rochester Adams fr.; Andrea Misteravich, Clarkston soph.; Taylor Tekiele, Clarkston soph.; Nina Lu, Troy Athens fr.; 500 Freestyle: Kelly Sinnaeve, Troy sr.; Katherine Scott , Rochester Stoney Creek soph.; Becca Ashburn , Rochester Stoney Creek jr.; Caroline Westgate, Rochester Adams jr.; Natalie Vela, Clarkston fr.; Nicole Vince, Rochester fr.; 200 Free Relay: Clarkston (Kendall Kamp, soph.; Taylor Tekiele, soph.; Andrea Misteravich, sr.; Natalie Vela, fr.; Rochester Adams (Natalie Schmitt, soph.;Kristen Finney, jr.; Charlene Coutteau, jr.; Caroline Westgate, sr.); 100 Backstroke: Lauren Dietz, Troy jr.; Briana Glanda, Rochester Adams fr.; Ariel Niederhauser, Rochester Stoney Creek jr.; Hannah Weglarz , Lake Orion soph.; 100 Breaststroke: Kristin Finney, Rochester Adams jr.; Hannah Buccanan, Rochester Adams fr.; Katherine Scott , Rochester Stoney Creek sr.; Monica Gorga, Clarkston fr.; Nina Lu, Troy Athens fr.; Allison Garland, Clarkston soph.; 400 Free Relay: Clarkston (Sami Stelpflug, fr.; Monica Gorgas, fr.; Taylor Tekiele, soph.; Kathryn Culver, fr.); Lake Orion (Courtney McClear, soph.; Ronnie Booth, sr.; Kristin Kevnick, jr.; Annie Jongekrijg, jr.); Troy (Jacquiline Burke, Grace LaBelle, fr.; Tessa Lanzen, jr.; Kelly Sinnaeve, sr.); Rochester (Veronica Loock, jr.; Jacqui Loock, sr.; Jenna Maletzke, soph.; Haley Ludwig, soph.).