MHSAA Boys D1 Championship: Pioneer Dominates, Segal Hits 100 BR MHSAA Record

2021 MHSAA D1 Boys Swimming & Diving Championships

• March 26-27, 2021
• Hudsonville High School, Hudsonville, MI
• SCY (25y)
• Results

Team Standings (Top 5)

1. Ann Arbor Pioneer – 369
2. Holland West Ottawa – 233.5
3. Saline HS – 230
4. Detroit Catholic Central – 225
5. Northville HS – 209

Ann Arbor Pioneer put on a dominant performance at the MHSAA D1 boys state meet, tallying up 369 points to beat runner up Holland West Ottawa by 135.5 points.

Although Pioneer didn’t win any relay titles, they had 14 top-8 finishes in individual events, including 4 individual titles. Matthew Segal, a Pioneer senior who is slated to begin his college career at Wisconsin in the fall, came up huge for the team, winning the 200 free and 100 breast, both in pool record fashion. Segal kicked off things with a 1:38.24 to win the 200 free, pulling away from Northville senior Conner Halberg (1:38.87) on the final 50. It was an incredible race from a splits perspective, with Segal posting 50 splits of 23.14/25.14/25.02/24.92 respectively. Segal was dominant in the 100 breast, clocking a 53.26 to touch first by 2.6 seconds. He broke the MHSAA overall record in the event. The previous record was held by Devon Nowicki, who went on to become an NCAA All-American in his freshman year at Oakland University.

Pioneer junior Ryan Hume took the 200 IM with a 1:50.37. He touched first by 2 seconds, and broke the pool record by 5 seconds. Pioneer also picked up a win from Cole Tremewan, who led diving from prelims to semifinals to finals, posting a final score of 449.05.

Holland West Ottawa’s Kevin Maas clocked a 20.60 to win the 50 free, narrowly missing his brother Derek’s pool record of 20.57. The 20.6o is a personal best for Maas. Maas was also a member of the Holland West Ottawa 200 free relay, which won in a new MHSAA D1 record of 1:23.25. Josh Rottier led the squad off in 21.48, Tai Afrik went next in 20.78, Alex Boersema was 3rd in 21.05, and Maas anchored in 19.94.

Ethan Saunders, a Saline senior who is committed to Xavier University, took the 100 free by a huge margin. Saunders clocked a 44.64, touching first by nearly 2 full seconds. He shattered the pool record of 46.69, which was held by now university of Michigan swimmer Cam Peel. Saunders only swam 1 individual event, and swam on all 3 Saline relays. Saline won the 200 medley and 400 free relays, and came in 2nd in the 200 free relay.

In the 200 medley relay, Matt Adanin (23.25), Joshua Brunty (25.04), Cooper Osgood (22.13), and Saunders (19.93) combined for a 1:30.35, setting a new pool record. At the end of the meet, Saunders (45.13), Osgood (46.76), Blake Coy (46.97), and Adanin (44.98) came together to swim a 3:03.84 in the 400 free relay. Although Saline came in 2nd in the 200 free relay, Saunders was hauling, as he split a 19.67 on the anchor leg.

Rochester junior Jack VanHowe took the 100 back in 49.35, touching as the only swimmer in the field under 50 seconds. Huron Valley United Fletcher Smith posted a 50.40 to win the 100 fly. In the 500 free, Northville senior Conner Halberg won the 500 free in 4:31.31.