Thursday, October 31, 2013


Plainwell competes in Tri meet with Otsego and Alma
Plainwell went on the road to take on conference contenders Otsego and Alma.  The Lady Trojans were prepared to bring their best having just come off important wins earlier in the week.
Diving kicked off the meet in the morning with a strong showing by all 3 Plainwell divers; Kim Jones, Emily Zimmer and Rachel Moore. The girls got the team off to a great start and a solid points lead by placing in the top 3 spots overall.  Also noteworthy was the performance of our exchange student Helen Breuer. Coach had her swim one of her favorite events this week and she repaid him by putting up a personal best time in the 100 breaststroke (1:27.03). Another high point of the night had to be the state qualifying time for the 400 free relay team of Aaryn Jewell, Laura Jones, Jessica Nyberg and Emma Seiler with a time of 3:56.60.  The list of Plainwell STATE swimmers and events qualified is growing fast. Great Job Ladies!!! 
Medley                                                                  200 Free
1)Ernst,Gauthier,Liceaga,Nyberg                      1)A.Jewell 2:08.93
4)Oakes,Klein,Brignall,K. Jones                          3)K.Vanslambrouck 2:16.65
6)Vanderhoff,Sighn,Varley,Brignall                   9)K.Havenaar 2:31.90

200 IM                                                                   50 Free
3)V.Klein 2:34.40                                                 3)L. Jones 27.29
4)A. Ernst 2:34.64                                                4)E.Seiler 27.68
6)K. Gauthier 2:41.24                                         6)K. Oakes 29.55

 Diving                                                                     100 Fly
1)K. Jones 267.05                                                4) J. Nyberg 1:16.17
2)E. Zimmer 163.80                                             5)A. Liceaga 1:16.42
4)R. Moore 94.70                                                6)J.Brignall 1:22.11*

  100 Free                                                                  500 Free
  4)L. Jones 1:01.31                                                2)A. Jewell 5:48.37
  5)E. Seiler 1:01.51                                                4)K. Oakes 6:17.37
  7)K. Vanslambrouck 1:03.74                              7)A. Liceaga 6:22.69

  200 Fr Relay                                                           100 Back
  1)Gauthier,L.Jones,Seiler,Jewell                        1)A. Ernst 1:03.18
  3)K.Jones,Oakes,Vanslanbrouck,Kleing             5)J. Nyberg 1:13.60
  6)Havenaar,Brignall,Breuer,Burkey                   6)J. Brignall 1:19.28*

  100 Breast                                    400 Relay
  1)V.Klein 1:20.78                         1)Nyberg,Seiler,Jones,Jewell
  2)K.Gauthier 1:20.92                   4)Havenaar,Liceaga,Ernst,Vanslambrouck
  6)K. Hillman 1:33.98*                                             
 
                                                * personal best
 





 



 

Monday, October 21, 2013


Busy week for Plainwell as they top
Otsego and St Joe.
Plainwell began the week with a convincing win over crosstown rival Otsego. The talented Bulldogs had no answer for the depth of Plainwell as the Lady Trojans won the meet 114 to 71 Tuesday night. Thursday’s meet against St Joe would not be decided until the last event of the night with Plainwell getting the win in the nail biter 95 to 91. Both victories included some very good performances from all of our girls. Some diving highlights throughout the week included Kim Jones taking 1st, Emily Zimmer 2nd and Rachel Moore 4th.  In swimming Abby Ernst continued her winning ways dominating the 100 back stroke, Emma Seiler won the 100 free, Veronica Klein the 100 breast and Aaryn Jewell would sweep the distance events.  Against Otsego: Abby, Veronica and Karlee would go 2,3,4 in the IM while Emma, Laura and Kaitlin would finish 2,3,5 in the 50 free.  Jessica, Angel and Jacqueline took 3rd, 4th and 5th in the 100 fly. Laura and Karalyn went 2,4 in the 100 free and Angel and Kaitlin finished 3,4 in the 500 free. Jessica placed 3rd in the 100 back and Karlee and Jacqueline finished 2,5 in the 100 breast.
                                                                          Relays
Emma Varley got her opportunity early in the night helping the team of Ristau, Breuer, Brignall and Varley taking 3rd place in the 200 Medley Relay. Shaking things up a little coach Dubois would add diver (yes I said diver) Kim Jones to the 200 free relay team of Breuer, K. Jones, Havenaar and Loftus. They would go on to finish 4th in the event. For those who did not know Kim swims and Kim swims well. Expect to see more of her in a swim cap and goggles. Great Team Work!
 


 
 
 
 

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Plainwell comes up short to visiting division 2 BC Lakeview
It was sure to be a tough night for Plainwell entering Thursdays meet down on numbers with several girls out for the night. To be competitive against such a strong program like Lakeview, Plainwell would need to be running on all cylinders with every one healthy and in attendance.  It was not to be this evening but not all was lost on the scoreboard alone.  Plainwell competed and competed well. The diving was fantastic. The swims were full of heart and the team represented with class. Great Job Girls!  Now just get healthy!
Highlights for the night were the outstanding diving of Kim Jones taking 1st and Emily Zimmer 3rd. Newcomer to the state qualifying line up for the medley relay was Jessica Nyberg as the team of Ernst, Seiler, Jones and Nyberg swam a 2:01.32 to qualify for state. Aaryn Jewell had a great swim in her 200 free qualifying for state with a time of 2:04.70. Later in the night she would take 1st in the 500 free event. Emma Seiler and Laura Jones had strong showings in the 50 free taking 2nd and 4th respectively. Abby Ernst outclassed the field taking 1st in the 100 back and Veronica Klein swam one of her best 100 breast swims of the year swimming a 1:18.70 for a 2nd place finish. Karlee Gauthier also swam strong leading off the 200 free relay to a 2nd place finish. After being out of the water for more than two weeks and down on strength due to illness Karalyn Vanslambrouck helped our 400 free relay to a 3rd place finish. Gutsy swim Karalyn!
 Other strong showings for Plainwell were the 200 Medley Relay 4th place finish of Ristau, Gauthier, Brignall and Havenaar. Cara Loftus swam for 5th in her 500 free while Kylee Hillmann finished 6th in the 100 Breast. 
 200 Med Relay State Qualifying Team at Holland       Gauthier, Jewell, Jones and Ernst

 

Thursday, October 10, 2013


Plainwell gets the win over South Haven 142 to 43

Plainwell traveled west last week to take on the South Haven Rams to open up their conference meet schedule. With South Haven in rebuild mode this year and down on swimmers the outcome was never in question with Plainwell prevailing. Meets like this can be a great learning experience and beneficial to the team.  It is a chance to give our girls the opportunity to swim events they would not normally swim.  I would surmise that Coach Dubois expected our swimmers to step up and surprise him with great swims. In my opinion they did not disappoint for when the meet came to a close we had several notable first place finishes from: Kaitlin Oakes(200free, 500Free), Emma Seiler(200IM,100Breast), Cameron Vanderhoff(50free), Veronica Klein(100fly), Angel Liceaga(100free) and Karlee Gauthier(100back). GREAT JOB LADIES!

Be sure to come out and support the team as they take on Division 2 rival BC Lakeview Thursday the 10th at Plainwell.

   Plainwell vs South Haven Results:
200 Medley                                                                        200 Free
1st Klein,Gauthier,Liceaga,Ernst                                 1st K. Oakes 2:26
2nd Breuer, Seiler,Nyberg,Jewell                               2nd C. Loftus 2:23.17
4th Vanderhoff,Hillmann,Brignall,Ristau                  3rd K. Havenaar 2:35.46

200 IM                                                                                  50 Free

1st E. Seiler 2:34.52                                                           1st C. Vanderhoff 31.46
2nd J. Nyberg 2:42.08                                                       2nd J. Brignall 31.87
5th Kylee Hillmann 3:01.59                                             4th H. Breuer 33.69

Diving                                                                                   100 Fly
1st K.Jones 259.40                                                             1st V. Klein 1:10.30
2nd E.Zimmer 147.90                                                        3rd J. Nyberg 1:18.44
4th R. Moore 89.70                                                           4th K. Gauthier 1:22.63

100 Free                                                                               500 Free              

1st A. Liceaga 1:06.13                                                       1st K. Oakes 6:26.10
 2nd K. Ristau 1:08.40                                                        3rd C. Loftus 6:48.18
3rd C. Vanderhoff 1:10.78                                                4th K. Havenaar 6:53.07

 200 Free Relay                                                                  100 Back

1st Nyberg,Vanderhoff,Oakes,Liceaga                          1st K. Gauthier 1:18.36
3rd Brignall,Hillmann,Havenaar,Loftus                         2nd K.Ristau
                                                                                            3rd H. Breuer
100 Breast                                                                           400 Free Relay

1st E. Seiler 1:17.40                                                           1st Oakes,Loftus,Ristau,Klein
2nd A. Jewell 1:22.39                                                        2nd Breuer,Havenaar,Brignall,Hillmann
4th A. Ernst 1:25.72

Monday, October 7, 2013


This blog, originally started in 2009 by a dedicated swim parent is back after being on hiatus for the 2012 season. We are excited and will do our best to report some of the latest news for the Plainwell swim & dive program.

We have just approached the mid-way point to the season and all the girls have done fabulous. They all have come a long way since mid-August two a day workouts. Plainwell will travel to South Haven this week to start off conference play and are looking forward to a strong showing. Coach is sure to mix things up some this week having girls swim events outside their comfort zone. This week is also the much anticipated road rally (another long standing tradition) that the girls and parents look forward to every year. Sure to be a good time for all…   

After 4 dual meets and 2 invitational meets the score card shows Plainwell with an outstanding dual meet record of 4-0 while finishing 5th and 8th place at the two invitational meets. The Holland invitational over the weekend was a mid-season tune up attended by many of the best D3 teams in the state. Although this meet can be intimidating for some of our younger swimmers it is great experience for all. It certainly gives us a taste of the level of competition we will see at state this year. All the girls rose to the occasion and represented Plainwell well. Everyone should be proud.

Season Highlights

Plainwell v. Kalamazoo Central                     W  

Plainwell v.Wayland                                        W           115-69

Plainwell v. Mattawan                                    W             95-91

Plainwell v. Marshall                                       W            110.5-74.5

 

The meet of the season to date has to be the Plainwell vs Mattawan nail biter. On 9/12 Plainwell traveled to Division 2 Mattawan to take on the vastly improved Mattawan Wildcats. At over 30 swimmers strong this was sure to be a battle to the end. A coaching chess match for sure and when the water calmed, in the end Plainwell would prevail. It took every swimmer, every diver, every event and every point to secure the win. Only after the last relay touched the wall would we know the winner…True team effort. Great job women!

Plainwell Finishes vs Mattawan                                                 

Medley                                                                 200 Free

2)Seiler, Gauthier,Liceaga,Jones                1) A. Jewell 2:07.07          

3)Nyberg,Klein,Oakes,Ristau                      4) K. Vanslambrouck 2:17.20

6)Vanderhoff,Sighn,Varley,Brignall          6)K.Havenaar 3:33.96                                    

 

200 IM                                                                  50 Free

2)A.Ernst 2:30.57                                              4)L.Jones 27.11

3)V.Klein 2:33.39                                              5)K.Oakes 29.81

4)K.Gauthier 2:35.40                                       6)K.Ristau 30.95

 

Diving                                                                   100Fly

1)K.Jones 225.45                                              2)A.Ernst 1:10.39

2)E.Zimmer 141.50                                           3)L.Jones 1:11.94

5)R.Moore 90.40                                              4)A.Liceaga 1:12.96

100 Free                                                               500Free

4)E.Seiler 1:00.97                                              1)A.Jewell 5:46.99

5)J.Nyberg 1:01.99                                           4)K.Vanslambrouck 6:12.88

6)A.Sighn 1:09.33                                             5)A.Liceaga 6:19.42

 

200 Fr Relay                                                        100Back

1)Gauthier,Jones,Ernst,Jewell                   1)E.Seiler1:06.06

3)Varley,Ristau,Oakes,Vanslanbrouck    2)J.Nyberg 1:08.24

6)Havenaar,Brignall,Breuer,Burkey          5)C.Vanderhoff 1:20.05

 

100 Breast                                                 400 Relay

1)V.Klein 1:17.90                              2) Ernst,Nyberg,Seiler,Jewell

2)K.Gauthier 1:19.62                       4) Ristau,Liceaga,Oakes,Vanslambrouck

4)A.Singh 1:25.60                            6) Varley,Hillman,Havenaar,Breuer

 

 

Plainwell Finishes vs Marshall                               

Medley                                                                200 Free

2)Seiler, Gauthier,Varley,Jones                 1)K.Vanslambrouck 2:18.48

3)Nyberg,Singh,Oakes,Jewell                     2)V. Klein 2:20.24

5)Vanderhoff,Hillman,Brignall,Ristau      4)C. Loftus 2:28.61

 

200IM                                                                   50 Free

1)A.Ernst 2:31.79                                              1)A. Jewell 26.49

3)K.Gauthier 2:38.28                                       2)L. Jones 27.29

4)A. Singh 2:49.66                                            4)K. Oakes 29.83

 

Diving                                                                   100 Fly 

1)K.Jones 256.55                                              1)A.Jewell 1:07.11

2)E.Zimmer 150.85                                           2)L.Jones 1:11.83

5)R.Moore 98.70

 

100 Free                                                               500 Free

1)E.Seiler 1:00.16                                          1)A.Ernst 5:56.55

3)J.Nyberg 1:03.91                                        2)K.Vanslambrouck 6:08.79

4)K Oakes 1:05.45                                         5)C. Loftus 6:38.75

 

200 Fr Relay                                                        100 Back

1)Varley,Vanslambrouck,Ernst,Jewell     1)J Nyberg 1:07.68

2)Gauthier,Ristau,Oakes,Jones                 3)V. Klein 1:16.28

5)Havenaar,Singh,Breuer,Loftus              5)C.Vanderhoff 1:19.04

 

100 Breast                                                400 Relay

3)A.Singh 1:25.17                        3) Breuer,Klein,Brignall,Vanderhoff

5)K. Hillman 1:34.60

6)E. Varley 1:35.56