Seaholm secures Oakland County crown
The Birmingham Seaholm boys swimming and diving team ended a three-year Oakland County championship run by Novi Detroit Catholic Central on Saturday.
The Maples took home the 2021 Oakland County title with 323 points, besting the second-place Shamrocks, who scored 280.
Due to COVID-19 protocols, Saturday’s meet featured four teams at eight different locations, with all times being combined to determine event winners and team scoring.
Saturday’s championship basically came down to the 200-yard medley relay, the opening event.
Seaholm was able to win the race with a time of 1:36.13 behind a team of Cami Wilson, Tate Chutkow, Bryce Liddell and Patrick Branch.
Detroit Catholic Central was disqualified in the relay, receiving no points. The Shamrocks had the top seed time for the relay entering the event. A potential win for the Shamrocks would have been a 46-point swing in the standings.
Diving was also a big key for the Maples on the way to the title, as Seaholm scored three in the top eight in 1-meter diving for a total of 47 points. Kameron Liberman came away with the county title with a score of 467.30.
The Maples won the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:26.44 behind a team of Tom Girdler, Branch, Owen O’Neill and Wilson.
Catholic Central still took home some county titles as well. The Shamrocks won the 400 freestyle relay in a time of 3:11.92. That team consisted of Matthew Kozma, Kilian Bishop, Christian Dunaitis and Dallas Fisher.
Kozma went on to win the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:54.56, while Dunaitis won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 57.23.
Berkley’s Jack Hamilton took home the county title in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:39.79, which was a new county meet record. Hamilton also won the 100 butterfly in a time of 50.26.
Lake Orion’s Dane Herrick and Detroit Country Day’s Jacob Ryan tied for the county title in the 50 freestyle. Both swimmers finished in a time of 21.01.
Waterford United’s Faustas Garbenis was the championship in the 100 freestyle with a time of 47.13.
Walled Lake Northern’s Sean Diffenderfer won the title in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:44.05.
Rochester’s Jack VanHowe was the winner in the 100 backstroke with a time of 52.18.