Cranbrook Swim and Dive Team Wraps Up Regular Season With Win

The combined team of Greenhills School and Willow-Run hosted the 15th Annual League of Independent Schools Swimming Championships at Willow Run High School on Saturday, and the matchups took on added meaning. The Cranbook Kingswood Boys Swim and Dive (CK) has won 12 of the last 15 Championships, with (DCD) winning the other three. Cranbrook and DCD have both been having solid seasons, and they tied earlier this year in a meet at Trenton.

However, Cranbrook was without one of its strongest swimmers at that meet. Would that tie inspire Detroit Country Day to victory? Or would the return of Matthew Liu boost the Cranes and help them take the prize?  Greenhills/Willow Run and Liggett have co-ed programs, and are a little smaller, but you can never count out the underdog.

From the start

Cranbrook’s Hogan took the lead in lane 5 right away. With some smooth turns and a solid swim, he was still ahead of Detroit Country Day’s Coffman in lane 4 and Mallory Jamett from University Liggett in lane 6 at the first handoff. Liu took to the pool after Hogan for the Cranes, increasing the lead.  Ryan from DCD wasn’t far behind, and Cornell from Liggett was not to be forgotten.   Chantadansuwon dove in after Liu in lane 5, maintaining the lead for Cranbrook. Kerbawy followed Ryan and kept their second place spot in lane 4 for DCD.  Borrego was after Liggett’s Cornell in lane 6, maintaining their third place position. Tattrie was the last swimmer for the Cranes,  his strong pull fending of Nodalski from Country Day and staying ahead of Gutermuth in land 6 for Liggett. The Cranes wrapped it up with a 1:42.51; the Yellowjackets nabbed second with a 1:44.11, and  Liggett followed in third at 1:51.32.

The 200y Freestyle was a Cranbrook-heavy event, with 4 lanes occupied by Cranes. Guttilla, Schneider and Misra had a slight edge over the field in the first leg. Schneider pulled ahead, with Guttilla and Lee edging ahead of Greenhills/Willow Run’s Milan. Cranbrook took the top four places: Schneider finished with a state-qualifying time of 1:52.58, ahead of teammates Guttilla, 1:53.56, and Lee, who nearly got his state cut with a 1:55.41. Danny Misra grabbed the fourth place spot with a 1:57.11. 

Cranbrook filled 5 of 8 lanes in the 200y Individual Medley, however, Goggins of DCD is strong enough to give each of them a good run for their money. Goggins and the Cranes Liu were head-to-head for the butterfly and backstroke, and the pair was a few body lengths ahead of Cranbrook’s Frankie Misra, who lead the rest of the pack. Liu took a slight edge after each leg, as he had stronger turns than Goggins. Liu pulled ahead in the breaststroke and extended his lead in the freestyle. For the finish, it was Liu at 2:01.77, Goggins with a 2:03.15, and Frankie Misra touching for 2:09.86.

The spray was flying in the 50y Freestyle, nearly obscuring the swimmers. As usual, it was too close to call. Packer and Nodalski from Detroit Country Day vied for the lead along with Stefan Withrow of Cranbrook. The trio had a very slight edge over the rest of the field. For top three, it was Nodalski and Packer in a tie with 23.26 and Withrow very close behind at 23.66.

Diving in

It was a small group, with only 4 divers competing in the 11 round competition: Anil Prakash from Detroit Country Day, Ray Gagliardi and Grant Glover from Cranbrook Kingswood, and Nick Kim from Greenhills/Willow-Run. Prakash’s strongest dive was a 401C (inward tuck), degree of difficulty 1.4. It earned him a 5 and 4 from the judges. Unfortunately, he also had a missed dive, making it a tough afternoon. Gagliardi’s best dive was a 201C (backward tuck), earning double sixes.  He had several other strong dives, notably a 302C (reverse somersault in tuck position), scoring a 6 and a 5.5.  Gagliardi’s lowest score was a pair of 4s for his 403C (inward 1 ½ somersaults in tuck). Grant Glover had a very good day, with three of his dives earning a 6 and 6.5: 103B (forward 1 ½ pike), 401B (inward pike), and 101B (forward pike). Glover’s lowest scores were a 4.5 and 5.5 for his 202A (back somersault). Nick Kim was up and down, so to speak, with highest scores of 5.5 and 5 for his 101B (forward pike) and lowest scores of a 3 and 2 for his 5122D (forward somersault with one twist).    

Glover’s performance was good enough for 307.56 points, first place, and a spot at regionals. Teammate Gagliardi will join him there, having earned 261.5 points and second place. Kim took the third spot with 216.65 points, so he will also be at regionals. Coach Scott McHugh of the Cranes was pleased to have both Glover and Gagliardi dive so well.

“They’ve gotten better with each meet, and we look forward to solid performances at regionals," he said.  

The 100y Butterfly finals were 4 lanes of Cranes and 4 of Yellowjackets. The Cranes’ Chantadansuwon was head-to-head with Country Day’s Kerbawy.  Kerbaway edged ahead a bit, with Cranbrook’s Burton and Buccalo pulling closer. For the 1-2-3 it was all state cuts with Kerbawy touching for a 55.67, Chantadansuwon at 56.68 and Buccalo with a 57.76. 

It was a see-saw for the 100y Freestyle, CK’s Frankie Misra, DCD’s Coffman and DCD’s Packer jogging for the lead slightly in front of the pack by the second leg. Packer out-touched the pack, finishing with 51.11, a breath ahead of Coffman at 51.37. Freshman Frankie Misra managed third, turning in a 51.75. 

Schneider and Goggins were out front for the entire 500y Freestyle, with Goggins inches ahead of Schneider for the first half. Guttilla was not far behind, narrowing the gap with each lap. By the 15th lap, Schneider began outpacing Goggins, opening a body length lead by lap 17. At the bell, it was Schneider, with Guttilla and Goggins duking it out for second and third. Schneider kept his lead and was first to touch with a time of 5:01.77. Guttilla was able to turn in a 5:03.44 to best Goggins, who finished in 5:04.16. 

The 200y Freestyle Relay began with an even field.  Cranbrook’s Liu took the lead, ahead of Country Day’s Packer and Liggett’s Cornell.  Chantadansuwon took over from Liu and pulled in front of the pack.  Ryan took over from Packer and Gutermuth followed Cornell.   After the handoff from Chantadansuwon, Withrow widened the gap to nearly a body length in third lap, ahead of Goggins and Fujii.  Tattrie’s strong pull edged CK further out in front, ahead of Nadolski of DCD and Borrego of Liggett.   Cranbrook finished well under the state cut with a 1:32.15.  Detroit Country Day managed second, also with a state cut of 1:34.74.  Liggett hit the wall for third with a 1:39.01.

Hogan from Cranbrook usually swims a quick 100y Backstroke. Today was no exception, as Hogan was well in front of the pack with a 56.61. Coffman from Detroit Country Day was the closest competitor with a 1:01.77. His teammate Kerbawy was next in line, with a third place finish of 1:01.03. 

Talk about quick. Matthew Liu of Cranbrook dove in for the 100y Breaststroke and never looked back. His speedy 101.77 was good enough to be a pool record.  Cornell of Liggett had a strong showing with a 1:02.48.  Greenhills/Willlow Run’s Fujii touched for third with a 1:04.67.

As sometimes happens with the 400y Freestyle at leagues, a swimmer trying to get his state cut swam the first leg in a different stroke. Cranbrook’s Webster Burton swam his 100yards with backstroke. It turned out to be a good idea, as he got his state cut. The Cranes and Yellowjackets were neck-and-neck in the lead from the “get go.” 

Hogan and Goggins finished together, and the second leg was no different, with Guttilla and Packer touching at the same time. Misra took over from Guttilla and Coffman for Packer. But the situation remained the same:  too close to call and the crowd on its feet. Schneider was the last Cranbrook swimmer in the event, and Kerbawy the final Detroit Country Day swimmer. Kerbawy edged ahead, Schneider refusing to give in and coming back. And so it went, back and forth, the lead in question at every stroke. In the end, Country Day was able to out-touch Cranbrook, taking first with a 3:26.58 over the Cranes 3:26.83.    Webster’s teammates Pang, Lee and Mooney were able to take over after his backstroke leg, finishing in third with a time of 3:41.26. 

When it was all said and done, the Cranbook Kingswood Boys Swim and Dive team accumulated 145 points and took the win. Cranbrook Coach Tony Kurth went on to say that “it was great to see the way the boys supported one another.”

"(The Cranes swimmers) have done a lot of hard work this season and it’s showed," Kurth said. "We’ve had a lot of personal best times and state cuts this season. The boys should be proud of their performance and confident heading to states.” 

Detroit Country Day also had a good day, finishing in second with 103 points.  Liggett was third with 32 points and Greenhills/Willow Run wrapped up the field with 29.   

This update was provided by Patch reader Jo Sikora, a Cranbrook parent that volunteers time to distribute swim team media releases.

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