Plainwell 121.5   Sturgis 64.5

 

The Lady Trojans continued their winning ways at home against Sturgis by a score of 121.5 to 64.5. The Medley Relay team of Ernst, Burgess, Nyberg, and Jones scored a 1^st place and posted a State Qualifying Time to start the meet off right. Keator, Jones, and Varley respectively swept the 50 Freestyle and Pierce, DeLaet, and Hillman respectively swept the exhibition heat. In Diving Zimmer scored 1^st, Clemens was 3^rd, and Shannon grabbed 4^th with B-E-A-utiful performances. In the 100 Fly Nyberg earned a hard fought 2^nd place and had an early season drop in time.  In the 100 Free DeLaet, McKenzie, and Widman swept the first exhibition heat, while Moore, Hillman, and Evans respectively swept the second heat again showing some nice Plainwell depth. Klein swam to a 1^st in the 500 Free. Nyberg took 1^st in the 100 Back, while Lamorandier dropped some time to grab 4^th. In the 100 Breast Burgess dropped time on her way to 1^st, Singh took 3rd, and Jewell stole 4^th. Finishing things off in the 400 relay Keator, Varley, Jones, and Nyberg had a solid 1^st and Havenaar, Betz, Hills, and Klein stole 2^nd from Sturgis, great job ladies! The girls had some close racing and fought for points across the board, keep up the hard work! State Qualifications: 200 Medley Relay: Ernst, Burgess, Nyberg, and Jones, 100 Free: Ernst

                                                                Brian Ernst

Welcome to the 2015 Plainwell Swim & Dive Season

 

Plainwell 108  Mattawan 77

 

The Lady Trojans opened the 2015 dual meet season at WMU against Mattawan by winning 108 to 77. It was great to see many returning athletes and the introduction of a large freshmen class. Team captains Allison Singh, Veronica Klein, Abby Ernst, and Jessica Nyberg led the charge as Plainwell’s depth earned them a sound win. Junior Emma Varley had some excellent splits in the freestyle events and Junior Emily Zimmer won the diving event.  Sophomores Cassy Keator, Marlee Burgess, and Colby Hills picked up where they left off last season scoring valuable points where the team needed them. Freshmen Naomie Delaet, Shanyn Jewell, Hailee Lamorandier, and Madison Moore had outstanding first meet performances, showing us a glimpse of Plainwell future. Finally Leah Brady and Sarah Shannon made their diving debuts by impressing the crowd with their spectacular body control. State Qualifications: Abby Ernst 200 Free, 500 Free

                                                             Guest contributor-Brian Ernst

                       2014 Year End Recap

Michigan D3 State Finals Oakland University

200 Medley Relay Team: 15^th  Place: 1:56.30

Abby Ernst (Back Stroke 28.09)  Emma Seiler (Breast Stroke 33.42)
Aaryn Jewell (Butterfly 28.35)  Laura Jones (Freestyle 26.44)

200 IM 16^th Place

Abby Ernst 2:22.70

 100 Freestyle 19^th Place

Aaryn Jewell  56.65

Diving 25th Place
Emily Zimmer

 200 Free Relay 12^th Place 1:43.66

Laura Jones 26.85, Jessica Nyberg  25.70
Emma Seiler  26.01, Aaryn Jewell 25.10

 100 Backstroke 8^th Place

Abby Ernst 1:00.16 

400 Free Relay 11^th Place 3:46.12

Jessica Nyberg 56.87, Emma Seiler 57.33
Abby Ernst 56.55, Aaryn Jewell 55.37

                   2014 Conference Final Meet Results

200 Med Relay:

2^nd Place: Abby Ernst, Emma Seiler, Jessica Nyberg, Laura Jones 1:55.82

9^th Place: Mikah Havenaar, Karlee Gauthier, Colby Hills, Emma Varley 2:05.41

200 Free:

3^rd Place: Aaryn Jewell,  8^th Place: Veronica Klein, 12^th Place: Kaitlin Oakes

 200 IM:

2^nd Place: Abby Ernst, 12^th Place: Mikah Havenaar, 13^th Place Marlee Burgess

 50 Free:

10^th Place: Laura Jones, 13^th Place: Emma Seiler,  

1 Mtr Diving:

5^th Place: Emily Zimmer, 8^th Place: Jaidin Clemens, 12^th Place: Molly Wright
100 Butterfly:
4^th Place: Aaryn Jewell, 6^th Place: Jessica Nyberg,
100 Freestyle:

5^th Place: Laura Jones, 8^th Place: Emma Seiler, 12^th Place: Emma Varley, 15^th Place: Cassy Keator

500 Freestyle:

6^th Place: Karlee Gauthier, 8^th Place: Veronica Klein, 10^th Place: Kaitlin Oakes,

200 Free Relay:

3^rd Place: L. Jones, K. Gauthier, E. Seiler, A. Jewell

10^th Place: A. Singh, V.Klein, M. Burgess, K.Oakes 
100 Backstroke:

2^nd Place: Abby Ernst, 8^th Place: Jessica Nyberg

100 Breaststroke:

4^th Place: Karlee Gauthier, 13^th Place: Marlee Burgess, 16^th Place: Allison Singh

400 Free Relay:

4^th Place: V. Klein, J Nyberg, A. Ernst, A. Jewell

9^th Place: C Keator, K. Oakes, A. Singh, E. Varley

Sorry for the delay, blog problems.

Our lady Trojans final two meets of the regular season consisted of hosting South Haven on Oct 21^st  and seven days later they would be on the road taking on our cross town rival Otsego Bulldogs. Both meets were a good opportunity for Coach D to clean up some last minute details in prep for our upcoming conference finals. This would also be a time for some of our younger swimmers/divers to show their stuff in some varsity final heats. Our underclassmen did not disappoint performing well across the board to help our Trojans bring home victories.

Against South Haven some of our Trojan top performances were turned in by Seiler, Klein, Oakes and Keator taking 1^st in the 200 medley. Maddie Betz and Kylee Hillmann went 2^nd and 3rd in the 200 free. Emma Seiler and Veronica Klein took 1^st and 2^nd in the 200 IM. Jessica Nyberg and Emma Varley would repeat the previous finish with their own 1^st and 2^nd place finishes. Emily Zimmer and Jaidin Clemens both dove fantastic with 1^st and 2^nd place finishes. Colby Hills and Laura Jones took 1^st and 2^nd in the 100 fly. The 100 free top spots would go to Mikah Havenaar for 2^nd and Jaqueline Brignall 3^rd. Toughing out the 500 free with gutsy performances was Maddie Betz finishing 1^st and Kylee Hillmann finishing 2^nd. The 200 free relay was full of surprises and divers (Yes I said divers). Clemens and Zimmer would try their luck swimming by helping out Havenaar and Betz to finish 4^th. Mikah Havenaar looked strong in her 2^nd place finish in the 100 back as did Emma Varley with her 3^rd place finish in the 100 breast. Closing out the night in our 400 free relay with a 2^nd place finish was the team of Singh, Hillmann, Betz and Havenaar. Final Score: Plainwell 110 South Haven 71.

  Plainwell would follow up the South Haven win by taking 9 of 12 events on way to a 117 to 63 victory over Otsego. Marlee Burgess impressed with wins in the 200 IM and 100 Breast. Aaryn Jewell, Abby Ernst and Emma Seiler also had a two-win night by being part of the winning efforts in the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay. Also taking first place finishes on the night were Veronica Klein in the 200 free, Emily Zimmer in diving, Emma Varley in the 100 free, Karlee Gauthier in the 500 free, Jaqueline Brignall in the 100 back, Jessica Nyberg in the 200 medley and Laura Jones in the 400 free relay.

Allegan and St Joe

With the season beginning to wind down over the last few weeks our girls have had to endure some emotional highs and lows. Although our Trojans performed well against Allegan on Oct 14^th things did not go exactly as planned. Allegan was primed, ready and I believe well rested. They had their eyes on a victory this night even if it meant sacrificing some end of the season time drops to do so. Allegan swam well and deserved the win by out touching us in a few key races that ultimately made the difference. Allegan 96 Plainwell 90.

Even though Plainwell came in beat up, sick, and short on numbers gutsy performances were evident everywhere. In the medley relay Ernst, Gauthier, Nyberg and Seiler finished 2^nd.  L. Jones took 2^nd in the 200 free and Abby Ernst came away with 1^st place in the IM. Aaryn Jewell just got touched out in the 50 free finishing in 2^nd and Kim Jones walked away with the top spot in diving. The butterfly event was another close race with Aaryn Jewell grabbing second While Abby Ernst also took 2^nd in the 100 free. Our 200 Free relay team of L Jones, Gauthier, Ernst and Jewell earned a hard fought 1^st and Emma Seiler cruised to 1^st in the 100 back. The breaststroke event was also close with Karlee Gauthier finishing in 2nd and our relay team of Jones, Jewell, Nyberg and Seiler would end the night with a second place showing in the 400 free relay event.

Two days later and coming off a very emotional Allegan meet PHS would take on visiting St. Joe. It would have been easy for our girls to lay down for this strong division two opponent but that’s not who they are and they proved it by reaching deep and performing well all night. When we look back on this season I believe the St Joe meet will be viewed as the meet and win that showed our girls true heart. Well done Trojan Swim & Dive!  Plainwell 100      St. Joe 86

PHS v. St Joe Results

200 Medley: 1^st Ernst,Gauthier,Nyberg,Seiler/ 3^rd Brignall,Sing,Hills,Jones/ 5^th Oaks,Havenaar,Havenaar,Hillmann

200 Free: 2^nd L. Jones/ 4^th V. Klein/ 6^th M. Betz

200 IM: 2^nd A. Ernst/ 4^th A. Singh/ 5^th M. Havenaar

50 Free: 1^st A. Jewell/3^rd E. Seiler/5^th C. Keator/ 7^th K. Havenaar

Diving: 1^st K. Jones/4^th E. Zimmer/6^th J. Clemens

100 Fly: 1^st A. Jewell/3^rd J. Nyberg/5^th C. Hills

100 Free: 2^nd L. Jones/3^rd E. Seiler/4^th K. Oakes

500 Free: 2^nd K. Gauthier/3^rd V. Klein/6^th K. Havenaar

200 F Relay: 2^nd Seiler,Jones,Jewell,Gauthier/3^rd Singh,Keator,Oakes,Klein/5^th Havenaar, Brignal, Havenaar,?

100 Back: 1^st A. Ernst/3^rd J. Nyberg/6^th C. Hills

100 Breast: 3^rd K. Gauthier/4^th A. Singh/5^th M. Havenaar

400 F Relay: 1^st L. Jones, Ernst,Nyberg,Jewell/ 3^rd Keator,Brignall,Oakes,Klein/ 5^th     Havenaar,Betz,Hills,?  

 

 

 

Plainwell vs. Marshall

For those fortunate enough to be in attendance Tuesday night they certainly got more than their money’s worth in entrance fees when Plainwell hosted new conference member Marshall. A rivalry was created on this night that will not soon be forgotten as both teams battled through 12 events on way to the season’s closest finish. The final score would be 97 to 89 with Plainwell edging out Marshall for what was a closer meet than the score indicated. If you were there all you had to do was look to the stands to see this was a close meet. The crowd’s intensity and excitement sure was a sight to see. I can’t help but think it may have in some small way helped our girls reach a little deeper in route to this memorable win.  

It all started early in the first event of the night with the Medley relay team of Jones, Seiler, Ernst and Nyberg just edging out Marshall for first place in a very tight race. In the 200 free Jewell would claim the top spot and Abby Ernst earned 2nd in the IM. The 50 free was a nail biter with Seiler and L. Jones going 1 & 2.  K. Jones took first in diving with a very strong performance while Zimmer grabbed a well-deserved 2nd with a personal best score of 222. Nyberg looked strong in the 100 fly by finishing in 2nd. In the 100 free Jewell just got edged out by .03 seconds to finish in 2^nd. The 500 free proved exciting with Ernst finishing in 1st and Klein digging deep and battling to the end for 2^nd. Seiler would grab the top spot with a state qualifying time in the 100 back and Gauthier would take 2^nd with one of her best times of the year in the 100 breast. With each race being close it would take every last team members best effort and contribution to pull off this important win. Expect Marshall to be looking for payback at the conference finals come November.  Results below…

200 Free: 1^st Jewell, 3^rd Klein, 4^th Gauthier,

200 IM: 1^st Ernst, 5^th Burgess, 6^th M. Havenaar

50 Free: 1^st Seiler, 2^nd Jones, 4^th Varley, 7^th Keator, 8^th Oakes, 9^th K. Havenaar

Diving: 1^st Jones, 2^nd Zimmer, 5^th Clemens

100 Fly: 2^nd Nyberg, 5^th Hills, 6^th Brignall

100 Free: 2^nd Jewell, 4^th Jones, 6^th Burgess, 7^th Keator, 10^th Betz, 11^th Hillmann

500 Free: 1^st Ernst, 2^nd Klein, 6^th K. Havenaar

100 Back: 1^st Seiler, 3^rd Nyberg, 5^th Brignall

100 Breast: 2^nd Gauthier, 5^th Sing, M. Havenaar

 

 

On Sept 23^rd PHS traveled to the unfamiliar Sturgis pool for the inaugural conference matchup. The Sturgis program has a large team and an impressive history of strong swimming. The team size and tradition would not help them on this day as Plainwell’s depth and talent were too much for hosting Sturgis. Final score

Plainwell 124               Sturgis 61 

Juniors and Seniors

At seasons midpoint we are starting to see our junior and senior swimmers come into their own. The week before we witnessed Veronica Klein break that 6 minute barrier with a very strong first place showing in the 500 free. Karlee Gauthier would repeat the feat this week with her own best time of 5:53 in the 500 free against Sturgis for first place. It looks like coach may have just found a couple very strong 500 competitors to take to conference. Also stepping up for the Trojans, Allison Singh and Jessica Nyberg. After missing most of last season with injury Allison has come back with vengeance and is a much stronger swimmer. The end of season will show her true progress while Nyberg continues to perform well in her back and free events. If things continue to progress for her she will be a top candidate for the state relays in November. Kari Havenaar and Kaitlin Oaks have found their niche respectively in the fly and free events and are putting up good times and scoring valuable points. Our senior diver and newcomer Molly Wright continues to improve and should be a factor at conference while Kim Jones continues to be the class of the conference and is sure to be a top contender come state finals at Oakland. Kim also had a very strong showing at the Holland invite taking first place overall. Junior Emma Seiler is splitting time between diving and swimming but has the most impact in her free style events. Emma has caught some visiting coaches by surprise by topping the podium with strong swims in the 50 free. Also representing the junior class well is Abby Ernst who has already qualified for state in the IM and 100 back.  Abby is one of the best backstroke specialists in the conference and will be a top contender at state. Abby continues to rack up valuable first place finishes in all her events along with senior Aaryn Jewell. Aaryn feels at home swimming distance or sprint events and is capable of top finishes where ever coach needs her. The question is will coach have her defend her first place conference title in the 200 free or will she pursue that top spot in the 50 free? Stay tuned for more news. With the bulk of our conference schedule in front of us we are sure to be witness to some top notch performances.

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