Plainwell 105, Harper Creek 81

On Sept 16 Plainwell hosted new conference rival Harper Creek in a well anticipated match up. The thought coming in to this matchup was that this would be a close one. It wasn’t necessary which team would take the top finishes in each event (both teams were sure to earn their share) but rather which team would take the 4^th and 5^th place points in those events. This is where coaching, team depth, strategy and the will to win pay off. Our Trojans were up to the challenge and got off to a great start by winning the first five events. They were able to keep that momentum rolling through the 2^nd half of the meet with very strong performances by all-securing the win.

Freshmen and Sophomores

With a hand full of meets under their belts our Freshmen swimmers are starting to settle in. Cassy Keator is posting great freestyle times, Colby Hills backstroke looks great and Mikah Havenaar looks to be a very good IM’er. Marlee Burgess continues to surprise by dropping time every week in all strokes, Maddie Betz stroke looks great and she just may be a 200 specialist while Jaidin Clemens has dove well with good finishes.  Our Sophomores; Kylee Hillmann continues to get stronger and is ready to break out, Jacqueline Brignall’s back and fly look very good and Amelia Patmore’s improved starts and turns are helping her drop time fast. Emily Zimmer continues to dive well, score high and add valuable diving points, Emma Varley has posted some great 50/100 free times and will be fighting for those top relay spots soon while Laura Jones is sprinting well adding points in clutch races where the team needs it.

Highlights:

200 Med Relay: 1^st place: Abby Earnst,Jessica Nyberg,Karlee Gauthier, Laura Jones

                          3^rd place: Colby Hills, Mikah Havenaar, Jaqueline Brignall, Kim Jones

                              5^th Kylee Hillman, Cassy Keator, Maddie Betz, Emma Varley

200 Free: 1^st Aaryn Jewell, 3^rd Veronica Klein,6^th Kari Havenaar

200 IM: 1^st Abby Earnst, 3^rd Karlee Gauthier, 4^th Marlee Burgess

50 Free: 1^st Emma Seiler, 3^rd Laura Jones, 4^th Emma Varley, 7^th Kari Havenaar, 8^th Kylee Hillmann, 9^th Cassy Keator

Diving: 1^st Kim Jones 4^th Emily Zimmer,5^th Jaidin Clemens

100 Fly: 2^nd Jessica Nyberg, 3^rd Colby Hills, 5^th Jaqueline Brignall

100 Free: 1^st Aaryn Jewell, 3^rd Emma Seiler, 4^th Laura Jones,7^th Kaitlin Oakes, 8^th Marlee Burgess, 9^th Mikah Havenaar

500 Free: 1^st Veronica Klein, 5^th Allison Singh, 6^th Maddie Bets

200 F Relay: 1^st Karlee Gauthier, Aaryn Jewell,Emma Seiler, Laura Jones

                       3^rd Emma Varley,Marlee Burgess,Kaitlin Oakes,Veronica Klein

                       5^th Kylee Hillman,Colby Hills,CassyKeator,Maddie Betz

100 Back: 1^st Abby Earnst, 4^th Jessica Nyberg, 6^th Jaqueline Brignall

100 Breast: 2^nd Karlee Gauthier, 3^rd Allison Singh

400 F Relay: 2^nd Marlee Burgess,Colby Hills,Veronica Klein,Kaitlin Oakes

                       4^th Maddie Betz, Cassy Keator,Emma Varley,Kari Havenaar

Plainwell vs Mattawan and Wayland

On Sept 11^th Plainwell Swim & Dive hosted Wayland and Mattawan for its first double dual meet of the season. For those unfamiliar the meet is scored as if two separate meets were run at the same time. Meet one is scored PHS vs Mattawan and Meet two is scored PHS vs Wayland. You do not get a first, second and third place for a three team meet rather a win loss head to head with each team. This can add a whole new dimension to the strategy involved. To further complicate issues all has not been forgot when Plainwell traveled to division 2 Mattawan last year for one of the most exciting meets of the season. The meet was not decided until the last girl touched the wall in the last event of the night. In the end our Trojans narrowly edged out Mattawan by two points for the victory. As you can imagine this year tensions would be high knowing that Mattawan would be looking for payback. This year they would not get their revenge. Our swimmers and divers were ready, performed well and took home the W in both meets.  Great effort by all!                                

Trojans 107   Mattawan 78         

Trojans 142   Wayland 42

1^st Place finishes turned in by:

Kim Jones: Diving 1^st Place           
Aaryn Jewell: 100 and 200 Yd Free 1^st Place
Abby Ernst: 200 IM and 100 Back 1^st Place             
Veronica Klein: 500 Yd Free 1^st Place