By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
OTSEGO—After posting a perfect 7-0 record during the regular-season portion of the Southwest and Central Swim Conference schedule, the Allegan girls swim & dive team entered the Conference Championship Meet as the team to beat.
And try as they might, none of the other squads were able to knockoff the Tigers.
Allegan finished the meet—which held preliminaries on Friday, Nov. 8, with the finals on Saturday, Nov. 9—with 433 points. That was 35 points better than runner-up Sturgis and 59 points better than third-place Harper Creek.
Meet-host Otsego was fourth with 315 points, followed by South Haven (309), Marshall (278), Plainwell (128) and Hastings (88).
Allegan has just 10 swimmers on its roster along with three divers. All of the swimmers and two of the divers secured All-Conference honors by virtue of finishing in the top eight of an event.
“This victory was a testament to our team’s hard work, resilience and unity, especially given the small size of the squad,” Allegan coach Carol Gephart said.
Sturgis actually won six of the 12 events compared to one event win for Allegan in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
But the Tigers had four second-place finishes and seven third-place finishes to propel themselves to the win.
“This was an extraordinary performance from a small but incredibly determined team,” Gephart said. “To have every swimmer and two divers finish as All-Conference is truly a remarkable achievement.
“The girls showed tremendous heart, resilience and teamwork. They’ve worked incredibly hard all season, and it’s amazing to see their efforts pay off in such a significant way.”
Allegan’s winning freestyle relay team of Bella Festerling, Lilli Kelley, Maddie Antkoviak and Eliza DeLaet posted a time of 1:43.3. That was nearly 3.5 seconds better than the runner-up from Harper Creek.
Runner-up showings from Allegan came from Antkoviak in both the 200 free (1:59.36) and 100 butterfly (1:00.16); Kelley in the 100 backstroke (1:02.6) and Mari Nistal Palacios in the 200 IM (2:22.68).
Finishing third for the Tigers were: Bailee Dilley in diving (354.9); the medley relay team of Kelley, Lizzy Ehrich, DeLaet and Odessa Barnhart (1:55.98); Kelley in the 50 free (25.72); DeLaet in the 100 butterfly (1:04.68); Festerling in the 100 backstroke (1:04.47); Nistal Palacios in the 100 breaststroke (1:11.68); and the 400 free relay team of Antkoviak, Grace Kelley, Nistal Palacios Festerling (3:49.51).
“We are so proud of the girls’ accomplishments so far and we’re excited to take this momentum into the MHSAA D3 State Championship,” Gephart said.
The D3 State Finals are slated to take place at Eastern Michigan University on Friday, Nov. 22, and Saturday, Nov. 23.
Hope Stender was among the standouts for Otsego.
Not only did Stender finish runner-up in the 500 free with a time of 5:36.5, but she was also third in the 200 free at 2:04.19.
Also for the Bulldogs, Millie Shattuck and Allie Bronson were fourth (306.15) and fifth (291.9) in diving, respectively, while Morgan Foune was fourth in the 100 fly (1:05.75). Bella Xenos was fifth in the 500 free (5:43.97) and the 100 back (1:08.11).
Otsego’s medley relay team of Xenos, Laney Sweet, Foune and Aubrey Smith was fifth (2:04.75), as was the 400 free relay team of Xenos, Smith, Foune and Stender (4:00.25).
“I’ve told the girls all season how much fun it was to be coaching them,” Otsego coach Darryl Belton said. “This was an incredible team. They did everything I asked of them and more.
“The girls were determined to move up in the standings—we were fifth place after the dual-meet season—and they wanted to finish in the top four at conference. Mission accomplished.
“And along the way, we got the 400 free relay in the state meet and Bella Xenos made the cut in the 500 free. I really cannot be prouder of this group. They certainly made me look better than I am.”
For Plainwell, Addison Williams was All-Conference in all four of her events. She finished sixth in the 500 free (5:55.43) and eighth in the 200 free (2:15.37), while also being on the 200 free relay team that placed eighth and the 400 free relay team that placed seventh.
“We had a great meet for our team,” Plainwell coach Andrea Murphy said. “We only had 11 on our team this year and every single swimmer and diver came back for the finals. This is the first time ever for our team.
“We all had our best swim and dives of the season. We could not be more proud of our team and their effort this season. It was a great meet. Otsego did a fantastic job hosting.”
