2020 MHSAA U.P. Swimming State Finals
- February 14th-15th, 2020
- Marquette, MI
- State Series Info
- Full Meet Results
Over the past weekend in the Michigan Upper Peninsula, the 2020 MHSAA U.P. Swimming State Finals took place at Marquette High School. Both boys and girls teams of Marquette dominated in their home pool, sweeping both team titles together.
Head coach Nathan McFerren has now guided both boys and girls Marquette squads to 5 U.P. championship titles each. This is also the girls’ 2nd-straight title while the boys won their first title since 2017, breaking Houghton’s 2-year winning streak.
While the girls of Sault Area trailed 77 points away from Marquette, the boys of Sault Area and Houghton had a close battle for second place. In the end, it was Sault Area who took out Houghton by 8 points for the U.P. state runner-up trophy.
Boys Meet
Team Standings
- Marquette 344
- Sault Area 227
- Houghton 219
- Kingsford 176
- Gladstone 67
- Manistique 60
- Westwood 58
- Ishpeming Negaunee 56
- Rudyard 36
Sault Area senior Andrew Innerebner shined in his final U.P. state meet, leading his team to a second-place finish. Innerebner first powered the 200 medley relay with a 21.19 fly split, aiding teammates Morgan Burd, Conner Habusta, and Cameron Bauers to a state title at 1:50.89.
Innerebner then ended his career with a perfect 8-for-8 individual state titles collected over four years. At the 2020 meet, Innerebner stormed onto the scene as a stellar sprint free/flyer for Sault Area. He first won the 50 free at 22.22, just two-tenths off the pool record.
Behind him was a 2-3-4 finish from Marquette, lead by runner-up Maverick Baldwin (23.72). The team’s depth was showcased throughout the meet, distancing themselves by 117 points in the final team scores. The lone winner from Marquette was freshman Liam McFerren, who won the 100 free by more than 2 seconds with a 52.63.
The future UW-Milwaukee Panther then bounced back into the 100 fly final and took down the 2012 U.P. meet record with a 52.63, dropping 3 seconds from his seed. He then anchored his final Sault Area relay to another state title (3:36.64), sealing the team’s second-place finish.
Ishpeming Westwood senior Brock Sundberg also ended his HS career on a high note by defended his 1-meter diving title. Sunberg won the boards with a final score of 205.15 points, exactly 14.90 points better than his 2019 title performance. Sault Area junior Bauers then switched from the relays to the boards, performing well enough to place 2nd at 192.65 points.
Sault Area junior Morgan Burd and Houghton sophomore Archer Olson were key members in fueling up the race for team runner-up as both collected two titles. Burd picked up wins in the 200 IM (2:04.06) and 100 back (55.33) while Olson swept the 200 free (2:00.54) and 500 free (5:29.79).
More 2020 Boys U.P. State Champions
- 200 Free Relay: Marquette (Kerekes, Manson, Caron, McFerren), 1:36.27
- 100 Breast: Davin Evans (Houghton), 1:09.11
Girls Meet
Team Standings
- Marquette 377
- Sault Area 300
- Houghton 157
- Kingsford 141
- Westwood 120
- Ishpeming Negaunee 81
- Gladstone 69
- Rudyard 67
- Manistique 16
The meet kicked off with Sault Area’s Anna Hildebrand, Aliah Robertson, Julie Innerebner, and Joanne Arbic taking down Gladstone’s 2018 pool and meet 200 medley relay records (1:54.92) with a 1:54.26. Marquette HS also stayed under 2 minutes with a 1:57.64.
That same squad also broke the U.P. meet record in the 200 free relay at 1:42.00, beating Marquette’s relay (1:43.12) that also swam under the old state mark.
Sault Area junior Robertson went on to win both of her individual events. She first defended her 2019 title in the 200 IM with a 2:11.73. Robertson then swapped the 100 fly for the 100 breast in 2020, where she took down her 2018 U.P. meet record (1:06.31) by nearly a second with a 1:05.50.
Sophomore teammate Arbic also successfully defended both of her sprint titles on Saturday. She first won the 50 free in a 24.49, taking down the 2008 meet record of 24.60. She also defended her 100 free title at 55.66.
Marquette saw multiple winners at their home pool, yet senior Jayme Winn topped off her high school career with two state titles. After being part of the runner-up medley relay, Winn went on to collect titles in the 100 fly (1:03.85) and 100 back (1:03.32).
The Marquette girls then sealed their team title in the 400 free relay, with Paige Whaley, Ella Whalen, Delaney Marchiol, and Winn posting the lone sub-4:00 swim of 3:53.49. The Sault Area girls’ 4th-place finish was good enough to secure state team runner-up.
More 2020 Girls U.P. State Champions
- 200 Free: Paige Whaley (Marquette), 2:02.89
- 1-Meter Diving: Brianna Jones (Sault Area), 174.95 pts
- 500 Free: Delaney Marchiol (Marquette), 5:37.91