The Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (MISCA) released their annual “Dream Team” for the girls 2023 high school season. The criteria for the MISCA Dream Team is pretty simple: the team is made up of the top athletes across MHSAA’s 3 divisions. The one caveat is that each athlete can only be named to the dream team in one individual event, so the team embodies a fuller roster from all around the state. For the relays, the fastest relay across the 3 divisions is named to the Dream Team.
You can view the full MISCA Dream Team here.
Here is the full roster:
- 200 free: Adrienne Schadler (Ann Arbor Skyline) – 1:49.88
- 200 IM: Stella Chapman (Ann Arbor Pioneer) – 1:59.49
- 50 free: Amylia Higgins (Farmington Hills Mercy) – 23.57
- Diving: Maria Colombo (East Grand Rapids) – 441.40
- 100 fly: Brooklyn Beauch (Byron Center) – 54.68
- 100 free: Kate Simon (East Grand Rapids) – 50.65
- 500 free: Elizabeth Eichbrecht (West Bloomfield) – 4:47.66
- 100 back: Grace Albrecht (Jenison) – 54.73
- 100 breast: Sophia Umstead (Jenison) – 1:01.74
- Paralympic 50 free: Bea Kilburn (Grand Rapids Northview) – 34.32
- Paralympic 100 free: Addison Deppe (Byron Center) – 1:09.03
- 200 medley relay: Jenison (Grace Albrecht, Sophia Umstead, Emma Albrecht, Layla Umstead) – 1:42.37
- 200 free relay: Jenison (Grace Albrecht, Sophia Umstead, Emma Albrecht, Layla Umstead) – 1:32.85
- 400 free relay: Grand Haven (Grace Ackerman, Genevieve Springer, Claudia Busse, Rosalee Springer) – 3:27.97
Jenison High School, located on the west side of the state, is easily the most populated school on this year’s Dream Team. Jenison has two individual team members in Sophia Umstead and Grace Albrecht, as well as the 200 medley and 200 free relays, both of which were made up of the same quartet (Grace Albrecht, Sophia Umstead, Emma Albrecht, Layla Umstead). Of course, the fun part about those relays is that they’re made up of two sets of siblings in the Albrechts and Umsteads.
As you would expect, the team is primarily made up of upperclassmen. Headlining this team is Jenison junior Sophia Umstead, who was named to the team in the 100 breast. Umstead, SwimSwam Class of 2025 “Honorable Mention,” recently handed her commitment to Virginia for the fall 0f 2025. Though Umstead is listed with a 1:01.74 in the 100 breast on the “Dream Team,” she posted her career best of 1:00.22 in prelims of the MHSAA Division I meet. Her 1:01.74 was her time in finals. She was also excellent in the 100 fly at DI state, swimming a 53.81.
Ann Arbor Pioneer senior Stella Chapman is another of Michigan’s top girls swimmers currently. Chapman, a Wisconsin recruit, was named to the team in the 200 IM, which she won at the Division I state meet in 1:59.49 after posting a career best 1:59.36 in prelims. Chapman also won the 100 back state title in 53.54.
In addition to Umstead and Chapman there are two more Big Ten recruits on this team, both of whom will be at Purdue next fall. Byron Center’s Brooklyn Beauch was named to the team in the 100 fly, while Grace Ackerman, a Grand Haven senior, made the team on their relays. Both have signed to attend Purdue starting in the fall of 2024.
East Grand Rapids senior Kate Simon is set to begin her collegiate career at Notre Dame next fall, while diving member Maria Colombo, also out of East Grand Rapids, is an Arizona recruit, rounding out the Power Five recruits on this Dream Team. Power Five refers to programs within the five most prominent NCAA Division I conferences: ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC.
On top of the Power Five recruits, Jenison’s Grace Albrecht has signed with in-state Oakland, while Farmington Hills Mercy’s Amylia Higgins is heading to Villanova next fall.
There were only three underclassmen named to the team this year. West Bloomfield sophomore Elizabeth Eichbrecht had an exceptional high school season and was named to the team in the 500 free. She won the Division I state title in the event with a new personal best of 4:47.66. Eichbrecht also won the state title in the 200 free with a 1:48.08 and swam her career best of 1:47.96 at the MISCA meet in October.
Ann Arbor Skyline freshman Adrienne Schadler also made the cut, earning a spot on the team in the 200 free after winning the Division II state title in a new personal best of 1:49.88.
Grand Rapids Northview sophomore Bea Kilburn was named to the team in the paralympic 50 free, rounding out the underclassmen on the roster.
If we shift our focus a bit and look at this “Dream Team” from a club swimming perspective, one team in particular stands out. Michigan Lakeshore Aquatics (MLA), which is based in Holland on the southwest side of the state, represents 8 of the swimmers on the roster. Sophia Umstead and Grace Albrecht are MLA’s two swimmers who made the team individually but every member of the “Dream Team” relays also swims club for MLA. Emma Albrecht and Layla Umstead on the Jenison relays, along with the entire Grand Haven 400 free relay of Grace Ackerman, Genevieve Springer, Claudia Busse, and Rosalee Springer are all MLA members as well.
Club Wolverine, based in Ann Arbor, saw two swimmers make the team in Stella Chapman and Adrienne Schadler, while Byron Center Aquatics also had two of their members named to the roster in Brooklyn Beauch and Addison Deppe.