Plainwell Easily Handles Kalamazoo Hackett

The Plainwell Girl's Swim/Dive Team easily defeated Kalamazoo Hackett on Tuesday evening by a score of 124-61. This was the last dual meet of the season as the Trojans prepare for the Championship season. Plainwell will seek its 9th straight Conference Championship at Allegan on November 4 and 5. Winners of various events at the meet were Blair Cornell, Kim Jones, Caitlin Oakes, Karalyn Vanslambrouck, Kelsey Ernst, Mallory Comerford, and all 3 relays. Come and cheer on the Trojans during the exciting Championship Season!

Plainwell Defeats Marshall on Senior Night

The Plainwell Girl's Swimming and Diving team easily defeated Marshall on Thursday evening by a score of 112-73. The Most Valuable swimmers/divers of the night were the 3 fabulous seniors in their last home swim meet: Blair Kelly, Cameron Monroe, and Lindsay Wiederhold. These 3 were honored for their high achievements both in and out of the pool. They leave a legacy of being outstanding and top notch student athletes and leaders of the 2011 Trojan Swim/Dive Team. Their high school careers have brought 3 Top Six State finishes, 3 Conference Championships, numerous Invitational wins, new school records, All-State awards, and 3 Academic All-State Honors, including a State Championship in 2009 for Division 3, and many thrilling pool performances. These outstanding ladies have set the bar very high for future classes. We wish them the very best in their future endeavors!

The Swim/Dive meet featured first place finishes by the Medley Relay team, Blair Cornell, Aaryn Jewell, Mallory Comerford, Cameron Monroe, Lindsay Wiederhold, Teresa Thiel, and the 200 & 400 Free Relay Teams. The Trojans won 10 of 12 events. Parents were also honored and the team appreciates their great support and sacrifices during the season. Coach John Dubois' team appears in great form for the upcoming Championship season. We wish them best of luck. The team has one more dual meet left. The Trojans travel to Kalamazoo Hackett on Tuesday.

Plainwell Finishes:

200 Medley Relay
Jewell, Wiederhold, A. VanderBoon, M. VanderBoon 1st 2:04.24
Thiel, Gauthier, Ernst, Seiler 3rd 2:07.84
Liceaga, Vanderhoff, Lash, Kelly 5th 2:24.76

200 Freestyle
Cornell 1st 2:11.03
Boylan 2nd 2:14.60
Childress 4th 2:21.04

200 IM
Jewell 1st 2:35.77
Ernst 2nd 2:42.64
Hochstedler 4th 2:45.93

50 Freestyle
Comerford 1st :24.88
Seiler 3rd :27.45
M. VanderBoon 4th :27.46

Diving
Monroe 1st 232.30

100 Butterfly
Wiederhold 1st 1:02.63
Cornell 2nd 1:09.92
Boylan 4th 1:15.63

100 Freestyle
A. VanderBoon 1st :59.63
Gauthier 3rd 1:03.07
Kelly 6th 1:08.12

500 Freestyle
Thiel 1st 5:56.53
Ernst 3rd 6:16.33
Loftus 5th 6:52.13

200 Free Relay
Boylan, A. VanderBoon, M. VanderBoon, Wiederhold 1st 1:49.53
Kelly, Seiler, Cornell, Childress 3rd 1:55.25
Townsend, Vanslambrouck, Grote, Wilgenhof 5th 2:08.75

100 Backstroke
Jewell 1st 1:12.56
Liceaga 4th 1:16.96
Lash 6th 1:20.42

100 Breaststroke
Hochstedler 3rd 1:27.50
Mills 5th 1:34.79
Vanderhoff 6th 1:36.03

400 Free Relay
Ernst, Boylan, Thiel, Cornell 1st 4:09.41
Childress, Oakes, Vanslambrouck, Jewell 2nd 4:16.90
Grote, Loftus, Lash, Hochstedler 5th 4:48.37

Plainwell Sinks Allegan in Meet - Duo Effort Fundraiser a Big Winner!

The Plainwell Girl's Swimming and Diving Team steamrolled Allegan last evening with a convincing 111-65 victory. The Trojans started fast with a 1-2 finish in the Medley Relay, a 1-2-3 finish in the 50 Freestyle, and continued to build on its lead throughout the evening. The meet was highlighted by double individual victories by Lindsay Wiederhold and Teresa Thiel. Lindsay once again easily commanded the distance events while Thiel had a state qualifying time in the 100 Butterfly and also won the 50 Free. The 400 Free Relay teams also had a 1-2 finish and the 200 Free Relay was also victorious. Other individual winners were Mallory Comerford (200 IM) and Cameron Monroe (diving). Other great performances were turned in by Aaryn Jewell, Molly Boylan, Blair Cornell, Kelsey Ernst, Cameron Vanderhoff and Haley Childress. The Trojans stand at 6-0 in the Southwest and Central Swimming League and have 2 dual meets left with Marshall and Kalamazoo Hackett. The Conference Meet is November 4-5 and the Trojans seek their 9th straight championship.

The swim/dive meet also marked the second successful fund raising event for the team. Over $2000 was raised by both the Allegan and Plainwell teams for a local charity named Safe Harbor. Awesome job, girls!

Plainwell Finishes:

200 Medley Relay

Seiler, Gauthier, Thiel, Comerford 1st

A. VanderBoon, Cornell, M. VanderBoon, Jewell 2nd

Liceaga, Hochstedler, Lash, Kelly 6th

200 Freestyle

Wiederhold 1st

Ernst 4th

Vanslambrouck 5th

200 IM

Comerford 1st

Cornell 3rd

Boylan 4th

50 Freestyle

Thiel 1st

Jewell 2nd

A. VanderBoon 3rd

Diving

Monroe 1st

100 Butterfly

Thiel 1st
M. VanderBoon 2nd

Ernst 5th

100 Freestyle

Jewell 2nd

Seiler 3rd
Gauthier 5th

500 Freestyle

Wiederhold 1st

Boylan 3rd

Vanslambrouck 6th

200 Free Relay

Gauthier, Boylan, Cornell, Wiederhold 1st

Kelly, Thiel, Ernst, Childress 3rd

Oakes, Loftus, Vanslambrouck, Lash 5th

100 Backstroke

A. VanderBoon 3rd

Seiler 4th

Liceaga 6th

100 Breaststroke

Gauthier 2nd

Hochstedler 5th

400 Free Relay

Jewell, A. VanderBoon, M. VanderBoon, Wiederhold 1st

Boylan, Seiler, Ernst, Comerford 2nd

Oakes, Vanslambrouck, Childress, Vanderhoff 5th

Plainwell Swims/Dives Past Otsego

The Trojans easily handled Otsego on Tuesday evening in a conference dual meet. Plainwell used its superior depth to outdistance the Bulldogs 111-71 at the Plainwell Middle School pool. John Dubois' Trojans won 6 events on the night and the 200 Freestyle Relay featured our two phenomenal divers (Cameron Monroe & Kim Jones) SWIMMING very respectable splits in the relay! Individual winners included Ally Seiler (200 Free), Molly Boylan (50 Free), Kim Jones (Diving), Karalyn Vanslambrouck (100 Free), and Mallory Comerford (100 Breaststroke). The 200 Free Relay was also victorious. The Trojans travel to St. Joseph on Thursday.

The night also included a perishable food collection for the Christian Neighbors Organization of Otsego. Both teams participated and a generous amount of canned foods were collected. Many thanks to both teams, parents, and spectators for their contributions to this very worthy and local organization. A photo is attached.

Plainwell Falls To Battle Creek Lakeview

The Plainwell Girl's Swimming and Diving Team put up a valiant effort against Battle Creek Lakeview on Thursday evening before going down to defeat by a score of 99-86. The meet was a see-saw battle for the first 9 events before Lakeview's depth took hold in the last few events to provide the final score. There were many exciting races and unbelievable crowd involvement. The Trojan drum line was also present to provide the swimmers. divers, and crowd with added incentive. The current team also appreciated the spirited swimming and diving alumni, parents, faculty, and supporters for attending the meet as their support helps to make the program so special.

The meet was highlighted by many strong swims and dominance on the springboard. The Medley Relay team (Comerford, Cornell, M. VanderBoon, A. VanderBoon) started the fireworkers with an impressive 1:55.82. Lindsay Wiederhold, Mallory Comerford, and Blair Cornell continued their winning ways with dominating their individual events. Cornell had an inspiring, come from behind 200 IM which also earned her a state qualifying time and dropped her time by 3 seconds. The Trojans won 9 0f 12 events, but it was not enough to overtake the Spartans. Kim Jones and Cameron Monroe were an untouchable 1-2 tandem in the diving event. The other win was in the 200 Free Relay (Jewell, Cornell, Wiederhold, Comerford). Other great performances were turned in by Karalyn Vanslambrouck and Kaitlin Oakes who continue to lower their times significantly. Aaryn Jewell was very impressive in the sprint events and as a member of both free relays. Ally Seiler and Angel Liceaga had strong swims as well.

Plainwell hosts Otsego on Tuesday night and it will be an event for the Christian Neighbors food drive.

Plainwell finishes:

200 Medley Relay
Comerford, Cornell, M. VanderBoon, A. VanderBoon 1st 1:55.82
Seiler, Gauthier, Childress, Kelly 4th 2:00.67
Liceaga, Hochstedler, Lash, Loftus 6th 2:23.34

200 Freestyle
Wiederhold 1st 2:00.41
Ernst 5th 2:14.43
Vanslambrouch 6th 2:18.08

200 IM
Cornell 1st 2:23.75
M. VanderBoon 4th 2:31.50
A. VanderBoon 5th 2:32.82

50 Freestyle
Comerford 1st :24.62
Jewell 3rd :27.32
Boylan 6th :27.74

Diving
Jones 241.95
Monroe 234.40

100 Butterfly
M. VanderBoon 3rd 1:06.34
Liceaga 5th 1:15.74
M. Boylan 6th 1:16.49

100 Freestyle
Comerford 1st :53.66
Jewell 4th :59.40
Seiler 6th 1:00.02

500 Freestyle
Wiederhold 1st 5:22.82
Vanslambrouck 5th 6:04.79
Ernst 6th 6:14.73

200 Free Relay
Jewell, Cornell, Wiederhold, Comerford 1st 1:45.11
Gauthier, Childress, Ernst, Boylan 4th 1:54.62
Loftus, Hochstedler, Vanslambrouck, Kelly 6th 1:59.96

100 Backstroke
A. VanderBoon 3rd 1:06.80
Seiler 4th 1:08.15
Liceaga 6th

100 Breastroke
Cornell 1st 1:12.47
Gauthier 5th 1:22.74
Hochstedler 6th 1:27.28

400 Free Relay
Jewell, M. VanderBoon, A. VanderBoon, Wiederhold 2nd 3:56.68
Vanslambrouch, Ernst, Boylan, Seiler 4th 4:14.12
Oakes, Liceaga, Gauthier, Kelly 6th 4:28.03

Plainwell Topples Albion

The Plainwell Girl's Swimming and Diving Team easily defeated Albion on Tuesday evening by a score of 110-69. The Trojans were led by Aaryn Jewell, Karalyn Vanslambrouck, Molly Boylan, Angel Liceaga, Emily Hochstedler, Karlee Gauthier, and Kim Jones who all had one individual first place finish. The Medley Relay was also victorious. The Trojans are still undefeated and will take on Division 2 Lakeview on Thursday evening.

Dr. Frank J. (Doc) Newman 1935-2011

The Plainwell High School Girl's Swimming and Diving family lost their beloved diving coach on Tuesday evening. Doc was a great coach, mentor, friend, and supporter of our teams for many years. He was also a very highly respected and successful Physician in the Kalamazoo area and loved to teach, instruct, and share his diving expertise to area youth. Doc was very dedicated to the Plainwell programs and to the development of our kids. We will miss his unique personality and presence. Our prayers and condolences go out to the Newman family, friends and our Swimming and Diving Team.