Ashley Turak Splits 22.10 & 47.63; Farmington Hills Mercy Repeat as Michigan DI State Champions

Photo Courtesy: Mercy High School MI Twitter (@MercyHighMI)

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The 2018 Michigan Girls DI Swimming and Diving Championships took place on Nov. 17 at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Mich.

Four records fell at this meet, in which Harrison Farmington senior Ashley Turak took part in three of them: after setting a new DI mark in the 50 free, she helped her 4×50 free and 4×100 free relay teams do the same – the latter which was a new Michigan state record. Grand Haven junior Kathryn Ackerman also lowered her own state mark in the 200 IM.

In a tight team race that boiled down to the final relay, Farmington Hills Mercy came out victorious for the second-straight year with a final score of 211, only two points ahead of runner-up Brighton. Harrison Farmington took a close third with 199 points.

Click here for full results.

Top 5 Team Scores:

1. Farmington Hills Mercy – 211
2. Brighton – 209
3. Harrison Farmington – 199
4. Rockford – 191
5. Saline – 186

The meet began as the Rockford quartet of Sara Kraus, Masy Folcik, Morgan Kraus and Ashley Lund combined to win the 4×50 medley relay in 1:43.72. A full second behind was Ann Arbor Pioneer in 1:44.78 for second and a close third went to Saline in 1:44.96.

Saline’s Maddie Luther led the charge in the 200 free, cruising to first place for the third-straight year in 1:49.14. Also sneaking under the 1:50 mark was Grand Ledge’s Lola Mull who raced to second in 1:49.48. Ann Arbor Skyline’s Hannah Jyawook wound up third in 1:50.06.

Ackerman put on quite a show in the 200 IM to successfully defend her title. The junior set a new Michigan state record during finals in 1:57.25, lowering her own mark of 1:57.92 she set last year. Bridgman’s Lauren Kilgore was second in 2:04.16 and Harrison Farmington’s Madeline Greaves finished third in 2:04.58.

Turak, who will swim for Indiana next fall, sprinted her way to a convincing 50 free performance for the second-straight year. After setting a new DI record of 22.29 during prelims, she lowered it again during finals with a quick 22.20. Lake Orion’s Claire Abbasse (23.14) and Plymouth’s Brady Kendall (23.23) finished second and third, respectively.

Ann Arbor Skyline’s Zain Smith dove to first on the 1-meter board, posting a final score of 463.60 for first place. Ann Arbor Huran’s Annie Costello finished second with a score of 455.75 and Grandville’s Gracyn Segard took third with 447.55 points.

Ackerman was quickly at it again, this time flying to first in the 100 fly with a winning time of 54.42. Ohio State commit M. Kraus, the current Michigan record holder in this event, took a close second in 54.52 and Greaves rounded out the top three in 55.14.

It was deja-vu for Turak: after setting a new 100 free DI record of 49.18 during prelims, she shaved off a half-second to lower it to 48.72 during finals en route to defending her title. She was just shy of Kara Lynn Joyce‘s State record of 48.59 set back in 2002. Abbasse again took second in 49.97 as the only other swimmer under the 50-second barrier. Saline’s Johanna Jogenson was third in 50.09.

200 free runner-up Mull found herself on top of the podium in the 500 free, posting an eight-second victory in 4:44.93 for the gold and successful title defense. Jyawook grabbed the silver in 4:52.89 and Luther earned the bronze in 4:56.94.

The Harrison Farmington quartet of Turak, Lia Munson, Emma Inch and Greaves set a new DI record in the 4×50 free relay, touching the wall in 1:33.34 to demolish the previous mark of 1:34.37 set by Rockford in 2016. Turak led off in a blazing 22.10. Brighton was second in 1:35.41 and Rockford took third in 1:36.00.

Ann Arbor Skyline’s Casey Chung dropped time from her prelims swim to power home to a win in the 100 back, stopping the clock in 53.95 for the second-straight year. Northville’s Sophia Tulnman (54.91) and Saline’s Amelia Hayes (55.85) finished second and third, respectively.

Hudsonville’s Claire Tuttle defended her title by getting her hands to the wall first in the 100 breast in 1:01.24 for the win. Rochester Stoney Creek’s Emily Shores swam to second place in 1:02.91 and 4×50 medley relay champion Folcik was third in 1:03.44.

Harrison Farmington’s 4×100 free relay concluded the meet with a bang: the squad of Munson, Inch, Greaves and Turak combined to win in 3:23.51 to set a new Michigan state record, erasing the old mark of 3:23.85 set by Ann Arbor Pioneer in 2005. Turak anchored in a blistering 47.63. Saline was second in 3:27.95 and Farmington Hills Mercy was third in 3:27.97.

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Ronald Hehn

5 years ago

One of the deepest HS State meets in the country. Nice work Michigan!

Thomas A. Small

5 years ago

Congratulations