Monday, October 26, 2015


 Plainwell 114 South Haven 69
The long rainy drive didn’t dampen the spirits of the Lady Trojans as they took on the South Haven Rams on Tuesday October 20th in South Haven. Plainwell took the upper hand immediately placing teams 1st and 3rd in the Medley Relay. Betz, Burgess, and Havenaar kept the pressure on in the 200 Free by respectively taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Ernst led the charge in the 200 IM by placing 1st, followed by Jewell in 2nd and Moore in 3rd. In the 50 Free Jones took 2nd, Singh snagged 3rd, McKenzie got 6th. Pierce swam to 1st in the 50 Exhibition followed by Hillman in 3rd and Widman in 4th. The divers had another great 1 2 3 performance with Zimmer, Brady, and Clemens holding everyone attention on the 1 Meter board. Jewell flew her way to a 1st with Klein and Hills battling it out for 3rd and 4th in the 100 Fly. In the 100 Free Nyberg 1st, Varley 2nd, and Keator 4th took the varsity heat, while DeLaet, Hillmann, and Evans took 1st through 3rd in the exhibition heat. Betz had a smoking fast 500 Free to take first while Lamorandier and Havenaar, surfed her wake in for 2nd and 3rd. Plainwell took 1st, 3rd and 4th in the 200 free relay. Coach was able to start placing swimmers in exhibition during the 100Back allowing Hills (1st) and Lamorandier (3rd) to relax as Moore battled for 2nd. DeLaet grabbed a solid 3rd in the 100 breaststroke with Burgess and Nyberg swimming exhibition. Plainwell finished out the meet with a nice 2nd and 3rd place finish in the 400 free relay.  Final score Plainwell 114 South Haven 69. Nice job Ladies.
                              B.E.

Lost but Not Forgotten
As I sat down to write about this meet I was unable to locate my notes. I was a little upset at first but then realized that for this meet it was absolutely perfect. Plainwell made their way down the, I- 94 Corridor, to swim against St Joseph. Although non-conference St. Joseph has an established program and has provided Plainwell with great competition over the years. Both teams traded wins throughout the contest and the girls swam/dove their best. The meet was a battle to end and Plainwell came up short by just 2 points, 92 to 94. Why was it good that I lost my notes? Because this was a tremendous team performance put on by all the swimmers and divers. Yes there were outstanding individual efforts, but in the end it came down to the difference of a fifth place finish. That is why I like Swimming, you can put forth extra effort to turn a fifth place into a fourth place and maybe win the meet for your team.  Gritty meets like this are only preparing the team better for the upcoming conference meet. I can’t wait to see the team perform coming off taper and hungry for every point. Great job Ladies!
                                                  B.E.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

          Plainwell 108, Allegan 77.
Plainwell hosted Allegan on Tuesday, October 13th for the 2015 dual meet. A large crowd turned out to watch this inter-conference rivalry as Plainwell went to work. It was great to see swimmers and parents from past teams still following the Plainwell program. The girls appreciated the support and swam/dove an outstanding meet winning by a score of Plainwell 108, Allegan 77.
         Here are the Plainwell places:
200 Medley Relay: Plainwell 1st and 3rd
200 Freestyle: Klein 2nd, Betz 3rd, Havenaar 4th
200 Individual Medley: Singh 2nd, Jewell 3rd, Moore 4th, DeLaet 5th (Exhibition)
50 Freestyle: Jones and Varley tied for 1st, McKenzie 4th (with a PR)
50 Freestyle X: Pierce 1st, Evans 2nd, Widman 4th
Diving: Zimmer 3rd, Brady 4th, Shannon 6th
100 Butterfly: Nyberg 1st, Jewell 2nd, Hills 4th
100 Freestyle: Ernst 1st with a state cut, Keator 3rd, McKenzie 5th
100 Freestyle X: Pierce 2nd, Widman 3rd, Evans 4th
500 Freestyle: Klein 2nd, Betz 3rd, Havenaar 4th, Lamarandier (with a PR Exhibition)
200 Freestyle Relay: Plainwell 1st with a state cut and 3rd
100 Backstroke: Hills 2nd, Lamorandier 3rd, Moore 4th
100 Breaststroke:  Burgess 2nd, Singh 4th, DeLeat 5th
400 Freestyle Relay: 2nd and 3rd                                         
                                     B.E.