Posted by Matt Wenzel, News Advocate

Manistee’s 200-yard medley relay qualifies for D3 state finals

MANISTEE — Nine months passed since the last meet, but Manistee picked up right where it left off.

The same foursome that scored the program’s first state finals points last season posted a Division 3 finals qualifying time in the first event of this season as the Chippewas beat Holt 103-80 in their season opener Friday night at the Paine Aquatic Center.

“We had a lot of times that were, right now, where they ended up last year,” said Manistee coach Corey Van Fleet. “We’re bigger and stronger.”

The 200-yard medley relay team of Valerie Urban, Anna Kutschke, Syriah Dobis and Jessica Gustad kicked off the meet by posting a time of 1:57.72, nearly five seconds clear of the qualifying mark.

“It’s a great start,” Dobis said. “I was super pumped when I saw the time.”

Last season it took until late September for the Chippewas’ medley squad to become the program’s first relay to qualify for the state finals.

“I feel like we definitely started better this year and we’re picking up where we left off,” Dobis said. “It was definitely a goal and we reached that. Now we just have to make it in the other events. This year we’re expecting more.”

Unlike last season, the Chippewas were more reserved in their celebration after hitting the mark.

“I remember those first years (of the program) we were hoping we’d get 2:30 in the medley relay,” Van Fleet said. “That was great, and to do it decisively.”

Manistee lost just two seniors from last year’s squad and opened by beating a Division 1 school with nearly four times the enrollment. The Chippewas won eight of the 12 events, including all three relays, to follow an unbeaten dual meet season with their first win of the new one.

Kutschke, Dobis and Gustad took first in all four of their events. Dobis won the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard butterfly, Kutschke took first in the 100 breaststroke and 100 freestyle and Gustad won the 50 freestyle. The freestyle times by Kutschke and Gustad were both less than a second off the state mark. The 200 freestyle relay team of Kutschke, Gustad, Sara Wehrmeister and Maddy Applegarth and the 400 freestyle relay team of Dobis, Gustad, Wehrmeister and Urban also finished first.

“We had some great drops,” Van Fleet said. “We had kids that improved all over the place.”

But, just a little more than a week into practice  there was some fatigue.

“We haven’t done any hard intervals yet, long sets,” Van Fleet said. “So when you get to the 200 and the 500, it shows. We swam a little while and we just ran out of gas. When we start repeating 200s and 500s in practice with 10 seconds rest, we won’t have to worry about that.”

The Chippewas get little time to recover and will swim in a relay meet at Ludington today.

“Basically, today and tomorrow, I’m trying to develop some speed,” Van Fleet said, “and we’ll try to get that so it can carry over to two lengths and then three lengths and four lengths.”

Manistee’s Allie Zimmerman swims in the 200-yard freestyle. (Matt Wenzel/News Advocate)

Manistee results

200-yard medley relay — 1, Urban, Kutschke, Dobis, Gustad, 1:57.72; 4, Jordan Bartynski, Molly Morang, Kiera Bromley, Sarah Chandler, 2:18.02; 5, Taler Bohannon, Laura Kane, Shelby Flanagan, Meghan McComb, 2:21.75.

200-yard freestyle — 3, Taylor Antal, 2:17.15; 4, Allie Zimmerman, 2:19.31; 5, Wehrmeister, 2:21.07.

200-yard individual medley — 1, Dobis, 2:35.33; 4, Urban, 2:43.71; 6, Sinead McCann, 2:55.41.

50-yard freestyle — 1, Gustad, 26.89; 2, Applegarth, 27.82; 4, Riley Wrzesinski, 30.37.

1-meter diving — 2, Caroline Kessler, 149.70.

100-yard butterfly — 1, Dobis, 1:11.63; 2, Bromley, 1:12.59; 6, Flanagan, 1:25.90.

100-yard freestyle — 1, Kutschke, 57.24; 3, Wehrmeister, 1:02.39; 5, Chandler, 1:08.09.

500-yard freestyle — 2, Antal, 6:10.43; 4, Zimmerman, 6:26.37; 5, Bartynski, 6:49.03.

200-yard freestyle relay — 1, Kutschke, Gustad, Wehrmeister, Applegarth, 1:49.81; 3, Flanagan, Chandler, McComb, Wrzesinski, 2:02.22; 6, Picardat, Sierra Wright, Lauren Golembiewski, Somer Stewart, 2:21.84.

100-yard backstroke — 2, Urban, 1:06.74; 5, McCann, 1:18.40; 6, Bohannon, 1:23.34.

100-yard breaststroke — 1, Kutschke, 1:19.63; 2, Applegarth, 1:21.81; 3, Morang, 1:24.87.

400-yard freestyle relay — 1, Dobis, Gustad, Wehrmeister, Urban, 4:12.22; 3, Harland, Zimmerman, Antal, Bromley, 4:18.37; 5, McCann, Chandler, McComb, Wrzesinski, 4:45.68.