Girls’
Swim Preview
Sunday,
September 2, 2001
Garden City
After taking time off to work on her masters degree, Julie Johnston is back to coach the Cougars.
And she knows the first thing her team needs to do to be competitive in the Mega Blue.
“They need to work on their strokes,” said Johnston, who coached Garden City from 1986 to 1994. “That’s
all we’ve been doing for the last three weeks so we don’t have many injuries. It’s a lot more than basics,
though, even with the returnees.”
Other than working on strokes, Johnston is happy with what she’s
seen so far. The Cougars have 22 swimmers out so far, including 12 freshmen. And she praises her group of seniors for helping
out with the team.
“Three of the four of them are captains – Ann Clor, Laura Alflen, and Devon James – and all of them
(including Natalie Van Hampler) have been wonderful,” said Johnston. “They
have come in and said ‘we want to do this,’ and ‘we want to help with that.’ They’ve been great.”
As for being in the pool, Clor will handle the sprints, Alflen will freestyle and fly, James will handle the individual
medley and Van Hampler will dive and sprint.
Junior Karin Grant will handle the distance, something “she’s been working hard at,” said Johnston.
Sophomore Liz Newcomb will fly and do the IM, sophomore Jana Rosinski will do the breaststroke and butterfly and junior Stephanie
Bay will sprint.
Freshmen may fit into the mix too, with Lauren Thirjung in the distance and perhaps the backstroke, Meagan Smith in
the freestyle and first-year sophomore Krista May in the backstroke and freestyle.
“We’re sitting pretty good in the freestyle and breaststroke,” said Johnston.
“We need a little work in the backstroke and IM. We do have some good one in that but we’d like to have more.”
Coaches
happy with Mega Blue meet
Thursday, September 13, 2001
The purpose behind
the Mega Relays is not winning.
Oh, winning would
have been wonderful and all. But the biggest thing to come out of the swim meet for the coaches and swimmers is to see where
they stack up against other schools.
And coaches from
Redford Union, Thurston and Garden City were all very pleased with the performances of their swimmers and to see how they
stack up with the rest of the Mega Blue.
“It was
good to see all of the other teams and where each will fit in with strengths and weaknesses,” said RU coach Lois Cifaldi.
“It gave me more insight into the depth of this team.”
RU fared the best
of the three area schools at Saturday’s meet, held at Eastern Michigan
University’s Jones Natatorium, finishing third with 107 points, behind Woodhaven
(141) and Ypsilanti (119). Crestwood had 95 points, with Thurston earning 87 and
Garden City 63.
“We only
had 11 girls swim and I was very proud of them,” said Garden City coach Julie Johnston. “We dropped a lot of times
in this meet and I was very happy with that.”
Eagles coach Colleen
Donakowski was pleased overall, but also – tongue firmly planted in-cheek – felt that her team was jinxed going
into the meet.
“One of
our girls made a sign that read ‘Go Eagels’ so I’m blaming our two disqualifications on the ‘Curse
of the Eagels,’” said Donakowski. “But really, the whole point of this is to get the girls in the pool,
see the other teams and have fun.”
RU led the was
with three second-place finishes in the meet – the 200 backstroke relay with Lindsay Hornyak, Lindsay Franti, Cristin
Webster and Rachel Rowe (2:23.8), the 200 freestyle relay with Krystn Nyquist, Hornyak, Stephanie Bowles and Angela Glegola
(1:57.8), and the 400 freestyle relay with Glegola, Hornyak, Bowles, and Nyquist (4:34.4).
The Panthers also
took thirds in the 600 freestyle relay (Nyquist, Heather Hymes, Margaret Germain-Brown) and the 200 butterfly relay (Stephanie
DeMoss, Mandy Rubalcava, Glegola and Rowe), fourths in the 200 breaststroke relay (Ashley Graff, Nicole Smithson, Nicole DeLuc
and Carly Hornyak) and the Crescendo relay with Franti swimming the 50 freestyle, Rubalcava the 100 free, Hymes in the 200
and Germain-Brown in the 500 leg. Melissa Holst, Bowles, DeMoss and Webster were fifth in the 400 IM relay.
Thurston earned
seconds in the 200 medley with Jenny Froney, Stephanie Farkas, Brittney Coleman and Melissa Usher (2:29.5) and the 400 IM
relay with Hannah Leitch, Farkas, Tracie Benedict and Judy Pham (5:22).
The Eagles also
earned a third in the 200 breaststroke relay (Farkas, Summer Hattemer, Benedict, Coleman; 3:01.5), fourths in the 600 freestyle
relay (Jamie Tardiff, Natasha Tenerovich, Samantha Bonior; 8:26.5) and the 200 backstroke relay (Amanda Schaefer, Bonior,
Froney, Melissa Traver; 2:36.2) and a fifth in the 200 backstroke relay (Coleman, Hattemer, Amanda O’Malley, Carolyn
Hochstadt; 3:06.8).
Garden City was
led by Karin Grant, Laura Alflen, Jana Rosinski and Liz Newcomb taking third in the 400 freestyle relay (4:40). The Cougars also got fourths in the 200 medley relay (Rosinski, Devon James, Newcomb, Ann Clor;
2:19) and the 200 freestyle relay (Grant, Alflen, James, Clor; 2:06.7).
The Cougars also
earned three fifth-places – the 200 backstroke relay (Ashley Bryan, Katie Moore, Lauren Thirjung, Toni Dempkowski; 3:34), the 400 IM relay (James, Natalie Van Hampler, Clor, Rosinski; 5:54) and the 200 butterfly relay (Grant, Alflen, Van Hampler, Newcomb; 2:33).
Cougars
fall to Ypsi
Sunday, September 16, 2001
Jana Rosinski won the only two events for Garden City on Thursday as the Cougars dropped their Mega Blue dual meet
opener with a 105-77 loss to Ypsilanti.
Rosinski won the 200 individual medley (2:57.3) and the 100 backstroke (1:20.0) and teamed with Devon James, Liz Newcomb
and Ann Clor for a second place in the 200 medley relay (2:23.0).
“I thought the girls did great for the first meet,” said Cougars coach Julie Johnston. “There were
a lot of touch-outs. Ypsilanti had better be ready when we go there for the league
meet.”
The Cougars also got seconds from Newcomb in the 100 butterfly (1:27.1), Karin Grant in the 500 freestyle (6:53.6)
and Newcomb, Clor, Grant and Laura Alflen in the 200 freestyle relay (2:13.7).
Cougars
win 1st
Sunday, September 23, 2001
Karin Grant, Jana Rosinski and Liz Newcomb won three events each on Thursday as Garden City’s swim team stopped
Fordson, 50-38, for its first win of the year.
“It was a great meet and a close meet,” said Cougars coach Julie Johnston. “I think both teams did
exceptionally well. We won 10 events in the four-lane pool, so taking first really mattered. And we took a lot of thirds too.”
Grant won the 200 freestyle (2:32.2) and the 500 freestyle (6:54.06), while Newcomb won the 50 free (29.55) and the
100 butterfly (1:22.1) and Rosinski won the 200 individual medley (2:50.35) and the 100 backstroke (1:17.9)
Devon James won the 100 breaststroke and Ann Clor took the 100 freestyle (1:17.9).
The Cougars, now 1-2 overall and 1-1 in the Mega Blue, also won the 200 medley relay with Rosinski, James, Newcomb,
and Clor (2:20) and the 400 freestyle relay with Grant, Clor, Rosinski, and James.
Panthers
use depth to stop Garden City
Sunday, September 30, 2001
Depth paid off for Redford Union on Thursday afternoon as the Panthers matched or surpassed Garden City’s point
total in every event but one for a 102-67 win over the Cougars.
“Many of our younger girls are figuring into the points now,”
said RU coach Lois Cifaldi. “We scrambled our lineup so that some of our swimmers got to swim individual events they
haven’t swam in a while.”
Rachel Rowe and Angela Glegola took two individual wins each for the Panthers, now 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the Mega
Blue. Rowe won the 200 IM (2:49.3) and the 100 butterfly (1:19.2) and Glegola won the 50 free (30.2) and the 100 free (1:09.6).
Karin Grant won two events for the Cougars – taking the 200 free (2:30.58) and the 500 free (6:47.20), while
Jana Rosinski won the 100 backstroke (1:18.27) and Devon James won the 100 breaststroke (1:32.30)
RU also won the 200 medley relay with Lindsay Hornyak, Krystn Nyquist, Rowe and Glegola (2:20.0) and the 200 freestyle
relay (Hornyak, Stephanie DeMoss, Nicole LeDuc, Stephanie Bowles; 2:14.5), while Grant, Liz Newcomb, Rosinski, and Ann Clor
won the 400 freestyle relay (4:52.55).
Cougars
better in 96-65 loss
Thursday, October 11, 2001
Garden City juggled the lineup a bit Tuesday afternoon. And while the Cougars lost to host Southgate,
96-65, coach Julie Johnston wasn’t unhappy with the results.
“I think the girls did a great job swimming different events than they had swam before,” said Johnston
as her team dropped to 1-3 in the Mega Blue and 1-5 overall.
“At the league meet, a school can place unlimited entries in each event. A swimmer can still swim four event
each, but if all they can compete in is hour events we might get another three or four swimmers in the top six. We might win
the league meet that way.”
The Cougars went 1-2 in two events – with Liz Newcomb (1:22.2) and Mandi Terry (1:44)
in the 100 backstroke and Jana Rosinski (1:33.9) and Ann Clor (1:49.1) in the 100 breaststroke.
Garden City also took first in the 400 freestyle relay with Karin Grant, Newcomb, Devon James, and Rosinski (4:44.4)
and second from Grant in the 100 butterfly (1:17.6) and Rosinski in the 100 free (1:08.1).
Eagles grounded by meningitis fear
Worried
Thurston parents hold 13 swimmers from meet at Garden City
Sunday, October 14, 2001
*I won’t bore you with all the
details in the article but it was the set up for the following article.*
…and
Cougars roll to ‘fun’ 110-39 win
Sunday, October 14, 2001
While the parental concern over meningitis kept several members of Thurston’s swim team away from Garden City’s
pool, the two squads had performed pretty well at the meet.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Garden City coach Julie Johnston. “We’re disappointed because they
didn’t have a full team, but we decided to make it fun for the four swimmers who did show up.
“If they’d have had a full team, it might have been closer. I was hoping we would win, but not like this.
I think it would have come down to the end. Thurston is strong in the strokes, and we’re strong in freestyle. It would
have been interesting.”
Jana Rosinski and Liz Newcomb won two solo events each, with Newcomb taking the 50 freestyle (31.5) and the 100 butterfly
(1:23.7), while Rosinski won the 100 backstroke (1:18.1) and the 200 individual medley (2:54.4). Karin Grant also won the
500 freestyle (6:43.8).
The Eagles (2-4 Mega Blue) did win three events. Jamie Tardiff won the 200 freestyle (2:23)
and the 100 freestyle (1:05.9) while Stephanie Farkas took the 100 breaststroke (1:31.4).
The Cougars (2-3 Mega Blue, 2-5 overall) also took all three relays – sort of.
Rosinski, Newcomb, Grant and Ann Clor won the 200 medley relay (2:28.9), Grant, Grant, Newcomb and Rosinski won the
400 free relay (4:49.6) and James, Stephanie Bay, Grant, and Laura Alflen wound up winning the 200 free relay (2:24.3) after
the four coaches – Johnston, Thurston head coach Colleen Donakowski and assistants Samantha Allen and Chris Sternfels
– were disqualified.
“(Chris) didn’t have the same uniform as everyone else,” laughed Johnston,
“so we were disqualified.”
GC
stopped in Taylor
Thursday, October 18, 2001
Garden City did well in the freestyle events, but got caught short in the strokes as Taylor Kennedy/Truman stopped
the Cougars, 98-76, on Tuesday.
They had a little more depth than we did, especially in the specialty strokes,” said Garden City coach Julie
Johnston. “We did well in the freestyle, but they had the edge in the specialty strokes – and they had diving.
I was hoping if we had to lose, it would only be by the diving margin since they have it and we don’t. It didn’t
help that we were disqualified in the individual medley.”
The Cougars did go 1-2 in the 200 freestyle with Karin Grant (2:24.5) and Ann Clor (2:42.0) as well as the 50 freestyle
with Liz Newcomb (29.6) and Devon James (32.3). Grant also won the 500 free (6:38.3), while Newcomb won the 100 butterfly
(1:22.1) and Jana Rosinski won the backstroke (1:18.7).
Cougars
fall, 97-79
Sunday, October 21, 2001
Depth and diving hurt Garden City the most on Thursday as the Cougars dropped a 97-79 decision at Crestwood.
“They had diving so that’s 10 points,” said Garden City coach Julie Johnston. “The 100 and
500 fresstyles and backstroke is where they took the most points. Most of the girls dropped times and we were very pleased
with their performance.
Karin Grant took a pair of events for the Cougars (2-6 overall, 2-4 Mega Blue) by winning the 200 freestyle (2:24.10)
and the 500 freestyle (6:38.70). Jana Rosinski won the 200 individual medley (2:47.5), Liz Newcomb won the 100 butterfly (1:18.7),
Ann Clor won the 100 freestyle (1:10.66) and Devon James won the 100 breaststroke (1:28.67).
The Cougars also took two relays – the 200 medley with Rosinski, James, Newcomb and Clor (2:18.43) and the 400
freestyle relay with Grant, Clor, Newcomb and Rosinski (4:35.8).
Area
teams fare well at Mega Blue meet
Sunday,
November 4, 2001
Thurston sent swimmers to the championship finals in eight events to finish third at the Mega Blue division meet in
Ypsilanti on Friday.
Ypsilanti won the meet with 339 points, while Woodhaven was second with
327. The Eagles had 165 points, while Redford Union was fourth with 144.5, Crestwood was fifth with 103.5, Garden City was
sixth with 97 and Fordson was seventh with 47.
“We had 18 entries that dropped from our entry times to the Wednesday’s prelims and 13 that dropped times
from the prelims to the final meet,” said Eagles coach Colleen Donakowski. “It’s the best taper we’ve
ever had. The girls swam out of their minds.”
Jamie Tardiff led the Eagles with a pair of second-place finishes – one in the 200 freestyle (2:19) and the other
leading a 2-3 finish in the 100 backstroke with Hannah Leitch – 1:07.34-1:08.2.
Leitch was second in the 200 IM (2:35.0), Natasha Tenerovich was fourth in the 200 freestyle (2:29),
Judy Pham was sixth in the 100 butterfly (1:23.30), and Stephanie Farkas was sixth in the 100 breaststroke (1:28.04).
The Eagles also placed in three relays – the 200 medley relay was third (Tardiff, Leitch, Pham, Melanie Flesher;
2:10.39), the 400 freestyle relay was fourth (Flesher, Melissa Usher, Leitch, Tardiff; 4:24.00) and the 200 freestyle relay
was fifth (Pham, Usher, Farkas, Tenerovich; 2:03.61).
Garden City also had a good meet, placing six swimmers in championship heats.
“I was proud of my girls,” said Cougars coach Julie Johnston. “About 90 percent of the girls dropped
their times in their events.”
Karin Grant led the way with a third in the 200 freestyle (2:24.63) and finished fourth in the 500 free (6:29.4). Jana
Rosinski was fourth in the 200 IM (2:44.82), while Liz Newcomb was fifth in the 100 fly (1:15.87) and sixth in the 50 freestyle
(28.35). Grant, Rosinski, Ann Clor and Newcomb were also fifth in the 400 freestyle relay (4:28.0).
Fall
Sports Honor Roll
Thursday, November 29, 2001
(This list included everyone that
was all-league from all the Fall sports from all the area schools but I’ll skip right to the swimming portion…)
Swimming
Mega Conference
All-Mega Blue
Garden City – Karin Grant, Liz
Newcomb
Redford Union
– Rachel Rowe
Thurston – Jamie Tardiff, Natasha
Tenerovich, Hannah Leitch
All-Area
Girls Swimming & Diving
Sunday, December 9, 2001
(Skipping to the honorable mentions…)
Honorable Mentions
Mercy: Jackie
Smith, Emily Gariepy, Amanda Darling; N. Farmington: Kristen Wolff; Harrison: Jakki Waldecker; Farmington: Katie Fleck; Salem:
Ashley Aquinto; Canton: Allison Goldsmith; Stevenson: Julie Ward, Stephanie Cummings, Katy Sondergaard, Jessica Lis, Jessica
Koch, Laura Gavernik; Churchill: Magda Stawikowska; Franklin: Lauren Kmet; Ladywood: Allison Bentley; John Glenn: Kristyn
Peterson; Wayne: Bree LaFortune; Redford Union: Krystn Nyquist; Thurston: Jamie Tardiff, Hannah Leitch; Garden City: Karin
Grant
Veteran Cougars move up to Mega White in girls track
Thursday, March 28, 2002
The Garden City track program keeps moving up.
After a 5-1 record in dual meets last season,
the Cougars were rewarded with a spot in the Mega White Conference for the 2002 season. This marks the second straight year
the program has jumped up a division, despite not winning an outright conference title in that time.
The new challenge is welcome, as far as girls
track coach Rob Phillips is concerned. He said his team is young, but should be very competitive in the league this season.
“I’ll be surprised if we don’t
contend for first place,” Phillips said. “It’s a much tougher league, but I think we’ll be right there.”
The Cougars will be faced with having to replace
record-setting pole vaulter Kim Wise, who was the state runner-up in that event last spring. But a group of young sprinters
will step into the lineups and could rack up a lot of points for Garden City this year.
Among the top sprinters for the girls team this
season are: Angela Gibaud, Robyn Roots, Sammy Frendo, Kara Nagle, Karin Grant, Andrea Blaise, Alissa Bosen, Jenny Davis, Cassie
Burnett, Jenny Kirn, and Kristen Buddenborg.
Nagle hasn’t practiced with the team yet
this season because she is with the cheerleading squad at an all-star competition. Burnett, Bosen and Davis are all freshmen
who could make an inpact on the team right from the start of the season.
“We’re young, but we have some kids
who will do well,” Phillips said.
Leading the distance runners will be Kristen
Niemi, Jessie Frendo and Joelle Davis. Phillips said the hurdles and distance areas of the team are main concerns, hurdles
because there are no experienced returnees, and distance because other teams in the White Division are strong in distance
events.
“All of our kids are brand new in the hurdles,”
Phillips noted.
One of those new hurdlers
was me. I continued to compete in long jump and did the 100 high hurdles and the 300 low hurdles throughout the year. I was
much better at the 100 hurdles than the 300 hurdles. I find it funny that the girl who could swim for hours without stopping
and even jog for a rather long period of time without stopping can’t sprint a distance longer than 200 meters. I earned
one medal during my junior year of track and it came from the Sienna Heights Indoor Relays in the 800 meter relay. That’s
an event I’ll never forget. To be behind after the first leg and have to run second is tough but I passed the only other
team in our heat after about 75 meters and continued to open up the lead. To hear the words “And Garden City takes the
lead” come over the loudspeakers and know that I was the one that took that lead was the most amazing feeling. That’s
what I’ve always loved about sports: the awesome feeling when you take the lead for your team in a relay, the rush of
adrenaline you get at every meet, the feeling of accomplishment when you win an event or achieve a personal best.
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