Cranbrook and U-D Jesuit Swimmers Tie in Triple Dual Meet

The Cranbook Kingswood Boys Swim Team met University of Detroit Jesuit and Avondale boy’s swim teams for a triple dual meet at Ferndale High School (home pool for U-D) on Tuesday night.

Cranbrook and U-D both  topped Avondale 130-40, and then tied at 88 in the head-to-head match-up. And it was close right from the start. 

The 200-yard medley relay teams hit the water and it was Cranbrook and U-D vying for the lead. U-D edged forward, then the Cranes were back in the lead, but in the end were not able to edge out the Cubs. U-D's team of Schema, Valice, Roth and Cullen took first with 1:46.08, and Cranbrook’s Tattrie, Liu, Chantadansuwon and Guttilla were second with 1:45.45. The Cranes also took third, with the CK team of Hogan, Branigan, Buccalo and Pang turning in a 1:48.42. Avondale’s Damani, Nowinski, Bajorek, and Gray were in fourth, with a 1:50.76.

The 200 Freestyle was also a very tight, with Cranbrook  swimmers in two of the top three spots for most of the race. And Ben Schneider nearly grabbed the lead with a 1:54.59, but was barely out-touched by U-D’s Sam Olmstead at 1:54.54.  Guttilla wasn’t far behind, for a third place finish of 1:57.73. 

The first heat of the 200-yard IM was a good break in the tension, as the Cranes’ Isaac Mooney had a good lead the entire way, and took 3rd place overall with a 2:13.32. There was also a little more room between swimmers in the second heat, with the Cranes’ Buccalo taking first overall with 2:09.89 and U-D’s Roth in second overall with a 2:12.22.    

And then it was a return to close encounters and nail biting, with the slapfest 50-yard Freestyle. Liu took first at 23.35, out-touching U-D’s Lesha (23.75) and Cullen(24.46).   

The 100-yard Butterfly started as a close race, but Liu and Chantadansuwon of the Cranes were able to take a comfortable lead, and the first and second spots with a 56.22 and 58.28 respectively. Roth from U-D grabbed the third spot with a 59.36.

But we were back to neck-and-neck heats in the 100 Freestyle. Guittilla from Cranbrook and Lesha from UofD were in a fiercely contested race, with Lesha (52.05) out-touching Guittilla (52.09). 

Both heats of the 500-yard Freestyle were not as close, with 7 seconds or more between first and second place. In the end, Danny Misra was feeling better and back in good form, turning in a 5:06.09. U-D’s Olmstead took second with a 5:13.48 and the Cranes grabbed third when Buccalo finished with a 5:14.19.  Gray of Avondale was fourth, with a 5:25.48. 

The 200-yard Freestyle Relay was close, but U-D was slightly ahead for most of the race. Their team of Kuhn, Cullen, Olmstead and Lesha took first with a 1:35.38, but were closely followed by Chantadansuwon, Misra, Pang and S. Withrow in second place, with a 1:36.04. U-D’s Godwin, Laramie, Campbell and Verderbar were in third with 1:39.80. 

Breathing room (for spectators, at least) when Alex Hogan dove in for the 100-yard backstroke. He led the race, finishing with a 57.52, with teammate Tattrie nearby (1:01.05). U-D’s Schena was in third with 1:04.78. 

The 100y Breaststroke was a nail-biter for much of the race, with Avondale’s Nowinski pulling ahead and finishing with a 1:04.87.  Cranbrook’s Johnny Withrow nabbed second with a 1:05.92, ahead of UofD’s Valice, 1:06.70. 

It had been a close race between U-D and Cranbrook, and it was time for the much coveted 400-yard Freestyle Relay to perhaps give one team the edge. The crowd was loud, the water was churning, and it was close. U-D’s team of Verderbar, Kuhn, Rogh and Lesha were first at 3:31.46. The Cranes team of Schneider, Liu, Branigan and Mooney grabbed second place, with a 3:33.34.   Their teammates Frankie Misra, Stefan Withrow, Alex Hogan and Dannie Misra were very close behind, finishing with a 3:33.60.  Avondale’s Gray, Peterson, O’Hora and Yang took fourth place, finishing with a 3:38.74.

After the excitement of the 400y Free Relay, there was a somewhat hushed murmuring, as crowd and swimmers alike were discussing whether or not Cranbrook or U-D would come out on top. For the second time this year, a meet involving the Cranes ended in a tie (Cranbrook tied Detroit Country Day on Jan. 20.) 

This update was provided by Patch readers Jo Sikora and Carolyn Stevens, Cranbrook parents that volunteer time to distribute swim team media releases.

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