Source: Observer/Eccentric

Author: Dan O'Meara / John Stormzand

Farmington Hills Mercy narrowly missed winning another state championship Saturday in the Division 1 girls swimming and diving competition at Eastern Michigan University.

The Marlins were runners-up to perennial contender Saline, 267.5-262. They have finished in second place two of the last three years.

Mercy was the defending champion and had won five consecutive state titles from 2007 through 2011. The first four of those were in Division 2.

The Marlins were disqualified in the championship heat of the 200-yard freestyle relay. The minimum 22 points they would have received was more than enough to secure a seventh victory in eight years.

"There were a lot of opportunities where we could have won the meet; that happened to be one," Mercy coach Shannon Dunworth said.

"There's no point dwelling on any one of them. We certainly would have liked to win. Saline did a great job; I'm proud of my kids.

"Everything else is the results. As it is, we came up short. I'm not going to spend any time on ifs and buts."

Dunworth said he was happy with the meet overall and second place is still a fine accomplishment.

He added he was just as happy for the girls who scored in consolation races as he was for those who finished higher.

"Swimming is unique," he said. "You start fresh after each event. They're all successes; it's just the level of success you might have. You might be 16th and that was successful. I don't give it any more thought.

"Our standard is our kids work very hard. The goal is for us to compete; that's why we prepare. We competed real well.

"That's my only reward. As long as your kids are prepared, they step up and accept that challenge and they do the very best they can, we've done our job and that's that."

Whether a team wins or loses, the moment it happens it's in the past, Dunworth said.

"I love living in the present, and that's what I try to teach the kids," he said. There's just too much work (that goes into the sport). That's the reward of being on a team. The winning and losing of it – that's for the fans.

"What most athletes are going to miss most when it's over is the process. That's where the rewards come from. The scoreboard? That's for somebody else."

Frosh wins state title

One of the great achievements by a Mercy swimmer was freshman Katie Minnich's victory in the 100-yard backstroke (55.06).

"The way she swims everybody takes note," Dunworth said. "She's a tiny little thing, but she has tremendous willpower. It's no surprise to me.

"Katie was a heckuva swimmer coming to Mercy. I think she planned on winning a year ago when she was thinking about high school. I'm not surprised, but it's certainly a great reward for her."

Sophomore Alaina Skellett, who was sixth in the breaststroke last year, finished second to Minnich with a time of 56.25.

Minnich also finished first in the prelims (56.36). Skellett was fourth (56.72) and moved up two places in the final.

"Alaina is such a rock solid competitor and such a great kid," Dunworth said. "When Katie came here, the two of them got to train together.

"Katie is strong under the water, and Alaina is strong on top. The two of them improved this year, because they really helped each other.

"Katie made Alaina a better breakout swimmer, and Alaina made Katie a better surface swimmer. It will be fun to have those two together for two more years."

Big event for Mercy

The backstroke was Mercy's best overall event with five girls scoring for a total of 48 points. Freshman Addy de Tassanyi was 11th (59.02), senior Michaela Bargardi 13th (59.16) and sophomore Jackie Baldus 16th (1:00.46).

"Addy had to come out of the 500 free, wait through the 200 free relay and jump right back into the 100 back," Dunworth said. "I don't know how she did it, but nobody does that. We thought we'd try it, and what happened was the best that could happen.

"Michaela is a true gamer. She's skilled in just about any stroke. She knew we were counting on her to move up. She snuck in in the fly and moved up in the final, and she did the same in the backstroke.

"If you're expected to score 20 points and you score 20, that's great. It's proportional to what you're trying to do come the end of the day. It's not all about the (top swimmers); it's as much about (the others, too)."

Minnich and Skellett also were part of the first-place medley relay team (1:45.00) with seniors Maddy Loniewski and Roxanne Griffore.

"The medley sets the stage," Dunwrorth said. "Everybody uses the medley relay to calm their anxieties. The medley is your key race. As has been typical in the past, the medley relay performed well again this year."

Other top finishers

Senior Kathleen McGee, junior Ellyse Conn, freshman Kendall Goit and Skellett were second in the 400 free relay (3:31.26). Saline won the race (3:28.13).

Mercy had a pair of third-place swims from Loniewski in the IM (2:05.04) and Conn in the 500 freestyle (4:57.89). Conn also was fifth in the IM (2:07.27) and Loniewski 11th in the breaststroke (1:07.06).

"The 500 is a new event for Ellyse," Dunworth said. "She battled to win it until the last leg, and she did a terrific time. Being her first year swimming that event, that's a big deal.

"She came right back and goes to the 200 and 400 free relays and did a great job in both. It's a unique combination. You have to be one tough cookie to handle, and she did it extremely well."

Senior Roxanne Griffore finished fourth in the 50 freestyle (24.19) and seventh in the 100 (52.82). She was the defending champion in the 50, which was won by Grand Blanc sophomore Emma Curtis (23.60).

McGee placed eighth in the 200 freestyle (1:55.12) and ninth in the 100 (53.15). In the butterfly, Skellett was fifth (55.95) and Bargardi 14th (58.67).

Goit was 11th in the 200 free (1:55.39) and Minnich 12th in the IM (2:08.14); de Tassanyi was 10th and Goit 11th in the 500 free at 5:07.64 and 5:07.92, respectively.

Look forward to 2015

Though they lose some outstanding seniors, the Marlins will return a lot of quality swimmers and talent in 2015.

"We do have a good group coming back, but that's as good as it's going to get," Dunworth said. "It's not going to be enough to carry on the Mercy tradition.

"The kids who went to state and scored have to be better. The kids who went and didn't score need to score. The kids who didn't go to state need to go to state.

"I'm excited to get started. That's where the rewards are; that's what everybody does it for."