Highlanders looking to make a statement at D-2 swim finals

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BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

ROCHESTER HILLS — Participating in the OAA Red Division is almost like a daily baptism under fire for any high school swimmer. There’s so many talented teams and individuals that the competition is nothing short of stellar.

In fact, of the eight schools that competed in the league this season, seven have been ranked and each of those seven are all entertaining thoughts of top-10 or at the very least top-15 finishes as the MHSAA Lower Peninsula state finals this weekend.

Rochester Adams is one of those schools. The Highlanders have climbed the Division 2 state rankings to the No. 7 slot and hope to finish well inside the top 10 at the state finals Friday-Saturday at the Holland Aquatics Center.

“This has been our best team in a while,” offered veteran Adams coach Tim Hickey.

Adams’ best-ever finishes in girls swimming and diving are third in 2005 and fourth in 2004, both at the Division 1 state meet. The Highlanders, who have seven straight top 20 state-finals finishes, have a long history of quality programs dating back to the 1980s.

This year’s team hopes to become one of the best to date. Adams has qualified 12 participants, including 11 swimmers and one diver, for the state finals. If the seeds hold true, Adams would finish seventh.

“Our goal is the top 10,”said Hickey. “I think we have the capability to do that if we swim well. We have to make it back (to Saturday) in our events.”

Adams will have plenty of depth, as its 12 state-meet qualifiers are believed to be a school record.

“It’s the most by far since I’ve been the coach,” beamed Hickey. “We have never taken this many. I can remember years taking six, seven, eight kids, but never 12.”

The Highlanders were 17^th the past two years in D-2. They were also 14^th in 2008, 10^th in 2007 and 20^th in 2006.

OCEANS 12: Rochester Adams sophomore Briana Glanda is one of 12 state qualifiers for the Highlanders this season. Adams is ranked seventh in the state in Division 2. File Photo | Dan Stickradt

“We have been decent the past few years, top 20 at least,” said Hickey, who is in his 15^th season at the helm of the Adams girls program and will start his 19^th season with the Adams boys program in two weeks. “This year we are a lot better. We have a good mix of (swimmers of each class), and some really good juniors and freshmen.”

Senior Kristen Finney is one of just two seniors headed to the state meet for Adams, and the only swimmer seeded in the top five, as she is seeded second in the 100 breaststroke to Ohio State-bound Annie Lazor of Birmingham Groves. The other 10 qualifiers will be expected back in 2012.

“I am just going to go out there and do my best. The girl ahead of me is unbelievable,” said Finney, who is also sixth in the 200 IM and will swim on two relays. “If I can get second, I will be very pleased with that.

“We also want to finish in the top-10 in the state,” added Finney. “We have a lot of girls going to the state meet and some talented younger girls that have helped us out a lot this season.”

In total, Adams will count two seniors, five juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen as part of its state-meet team. Following Finney and fellow senior Charlene Coutteau, juniors Hanna Hunstad, Gabriele Thivierge, Bianca Tiberio, Natalie Schmidt, Keegan McCaffrey, sophomores Briana Glanda and Hannah Buchanan and freshmen Krystal Karas, Theresa Riviera and Allison Zweng are all going to be in the water in Holland this weekend.

“That’s what so exciting about it. We’re not going anywhere,” smiled Hickey. “We only lose a couple from this group.”

Adams only finished 12^th at the Oakland County Championships in early October, a meet that featured over 35 schools and combined teams from all three divisions. At the OAA Red Division league meet two weeks ago, Adams placed fourth with 265 points, trailing three other ranked schools but finishing ahead of three other ranked teams.

“We didn’t push it too much at the league meet, but I am still very pleased on we (competed),” said Hickey. “(Birmingham) Seaholm won it and they are one of the best teams in the state this season, and Birmingham) Groves and (Farmington) Harrison were also ahead of us and they will have some really good state (meet) teams.

“Finishing fourth at the league meet is right about where I thought we would finish,” added Hickey. “I knew Seaholm would win it, but with Groves, Harrison, us and Clarkston, there are four good teams that should all finish in the top 10 at the state meet.”

Seaholm is ranked second, Groves third, Harrison fifth and Adams seventh in D-2, giving the OAA-Red four ranked schools in D-2 alone. Clarkston is 10^th and Lake Orion honorable mention in Division 1, while Bloomfield Hills Lahser is ranked third in D-3. Additionally, OAA-White champion Rochester Stoney Creek is listed as honorable mention in D-1 to showcase yet another fine season of swimming and diving in the OAA.

“It definitely helps when you are swimming against fast girls at every (league) meet,” said Hickey of his talented group. “You look at the talented swimmers in our league and you can see why there are going to be a lot o top 10s (at the state meet).”

RECENT STATE MEET FINISHES

Below are the girls swimming and diving teams MHSAA state-meet finishes for Rochester Adams in the past decade.

ROCHESTER ADAMS

2010: 17^th (25 pts.) D-2

2009: 17^th (37 pts.) D-2

2008: 14^th (50 pts.) D-2

2007: 10^th (84 pts.) D-2

2006: 20^th (33 pts.) D-1

2005: 3rd (184 pts.) D-1

2004: 4^th (130 pts.) D-1

2003: 25^th (16 pts.) D-1

2002: 18^th (30 pts.) D-1

2001: 27^th (8 pts.) D-1

Girls Swimming State Rankings

(By the coaches association)

Division 1 — 1. Farmington Hills Mercy; Saline; 3. Hudsonville; 4. Holland West Ottawa; 5. Rockford; 6. Birmingham Marian; 7. (tie) Ann Arbor Huron, South Lyon Unified; 9. Ann Arbor Skyline; 10. (tie) Clarkston, Zeeland Unified.

Honorable Mention — Novi, Northville, Lake Orion, Rochester Stoney Creek, Saginaw Heritage, Grandville, Jackson, Temperance Bedford, Livonia Stevenson, Plymouth, Plymouth Salem.

Division 2 — 1. Holland; 2.  Birmingham Seaholm; 3. Birmingham Groves; 4. Grosse Pointe South; 5. Farmington Harrison; 6. Midland Dow; 7. Rochester Adams; 8. Portage Central; 9. Milan; 10. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central.

Honorable Mention — Jenison, Dexter, Okemos, Fenton, Walled Lake Northern, Grand Rapids Northview, Bay City Western, Battle Creek Lakeview.

Division 3 — 1. East Grand Rapids; 2. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood; 3. Bloomfield Hills Lahser; 4. Hamilton; 5. Plainwell; 6. Holland Christian; 7. Alma; 8. Haslett; 9. Grand Rapids Christian; 10. (tie) Adrian, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.

Honorable Mention — Muskegon Catholic Central, Birmingham Detroit Country Day, Grosse Ile, Tecumseh, Dundee, Spring Lake, Trenton, Battle Creek .Harper Creek, Bay City John Glenn.

FOR MORE SWIMMING COVERAGE, visit http://northoaklandsports.com/?s=Swimming&x=5&y=14

OAA RED DIVISION STATS: http://northoaklandsports.com/2011/11/15/girls-swimming-%E2%80%94-oaa-red-division-results/

OAA WHITE DIVISION STATS: http://northoaklandsports.com/2011/11/09/8245/

OAA BLUE DIVISION STATS: http://northoaklandsports.com/2011/11/15/girls-swimming-%E2%80%94-oaa-blue-division-results/

PHOTO GALLERY: http://northoaklandsports.com/2011/10/05/photo-gallery-2011-oakland-county-girls-swimming-and-diving-championships/

COUNTY MEET STATS: http://northoaklandsports.com/2011/10/02/girls-swimming-oakland-county-girls-swimming-and-diving-championships/

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Tags: featured, Girls Swimming & Diving, OAA Red Division Girls Swimming & Diving, Prep Girls Swimming & Diving, Rochester Adams Girls Swimming & Diving

Category: High School, High School (M-Z), Prep Wraps