Mercy’s depth helps propel Marlins to record seventh straight county title
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
LAKE ORION — Farmington Hills Mercy might not have the star power it has had in the past two decades, but the Marlins are proving that there really is strength in numbers.
Mercy again showcased why it is annually one of the state’s top girls swimming and diving team regardless of division Saturday, topping over 30 schools to win the prestigious Oakland County Championships at Lake Orion High School.
UP FOR AIR: Lake Orion's Annie Jongekrijg cruises through the water at the Oakland County Championships. Photo By Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotography.com
The Marlins captured their record seventh straight county title, cruising past a host of other top-10 state-ranked teams with an eye-catching 362 points.
“This is probably more fun (than other years). We have more depth this year. We don’t the super stars, although in think they are hard towards that goal,” admitted veteran Mercy coach Shannon Dunworth. “We didn’t win a race today but we had a lot of great (performances). This was definitely a different group and a lot of fun.”
Birmingham Marian finished a distant second with 227.5 points and Clarkston was an all-time best third with 206 points. Farmington Harrison swam fourth (171), while Birmingham Seaholm (161), Novi (160), Lake Orion (133), Birmingham Groves (126), South Lyon (122) and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (96) rounded out the top 10.
A total of 26 schools reached the scoring column.
Of the 192 slots that teams could score in spread across the 12 events — the top 16 scored points — Mercy filled in 31 of them. The Marlins picked up three runner-up finishes, five third-place finishes and 11 top-five finishes to help rack up points in bunches.
“We had some kids that this was an important meet for them, because they were trying to get state (cuts). Those kids maybe we got a little more ready,” continued Dunworth. “The other kids were swimming tired, but they enjoy racing. We miss the great senior class we had last year. Come the end of the year, this group is going to be as good as we’ve ever been.”
Freshmen also made their debut mark at this year’s county event. Waterford United’s Maddie Wright won both the 200 free (1:50.26) and the 100 butterfly (55.16), both in a sizzling county-meet record times.
Clarkston freshman Megan Stelpflug added another win for her class, winning the 500 free (5:03.11) by a little more than three seconds. Stelpflug placed in four events to aid Clarkston’s effort.
“Everyone did a great job. We all swam personal bests,” offered Megan Stelpflug, the third Stelpflug sibling to win an individual county title in the past two years. “We reached our goals, so overall it was a great meet today.”
The Wolves scored a bulk of their points with sophomores and freshmen, as they dented the top three for the first time since launching their swimming program in 1999.
Clarkston led the charge with four county champions, while Marian had two county winners. The foursome of sophomores Kathryn Culver, Natalie Vela and Sami Stelpflug teamed up with Megan Stelpflug to open the meet with a 1:50.77 clocking in winning the 200 medley relay.
Sami Stelpflug came back to win the 200 IM (2:05.68). The Stelpflug sisters, Culver and freshman Sydney Thon also won the 400 free relay (3:34.64), edging Mercy’s 3:34.71 down the stretch
Marian’s Jayne Pulte won the 50 free (23.68). A senior, Pulte also joined sophomore Clare Nienstedt, freshman Mollie Pulte and junior Madison Taylor to win the 200 free relay (1:38.91).
Rochester’s Lauren Reedy won Friday’s one-meter diving competition, collecting 419.95 points to win by over six points.
JUST GLIDING THROUGH ... Rochester Adams' Kristen Finney glides through the water during the 200 IM at Saturday's Oakland County Championships. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
Lake Orion’s Annie Jongekrijg touched first in the 100 free (52.39), Novi’s Andrea VanderMey took the county crown in the 100 backstroke (52.92), a county-meet record effort, and Groves’ Annie Lazor won the 100 breaststroke (1:04.87) to round out the individual winners.
PHOTOS: Looking for photos of this event? Please visit www.lmckeephotography.com. … L McKee Sports Photography is an Oakland County-based journalistic professional company open to shooting sports events and more for hire around the area. E-Mail lmckeephotography@comcast.net for further details.
To submit information to www.northoaklandsports.com, e-mail dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com. To advertise, e-mail advertising@northoaklandsports.com . Follow us on Twitter @LocalSportsFans and more than a dozen other social media networks.
Category: Auburn Hills Avondale, Clarkston, High School, High School (M-Z), Holly, Lake Orion, Ortonville Brandon, Oxford, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Prep Wraps, Rochester, Rochester Adams, Rochester Stoney Creek, Troy, Troy Athens
