Kettering's Wright, Western's Murphy net state swimming, diving titles

The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Girls’ Swimming state finals were held this past weekend and Waterford Kettering’s juggernaut swimmer pulled off a double-repeat while a Walled Lake Western diver claimed her first state crown.

Waterford Kettering sophomore Maddie Wright took home her second straight Division 1 state titles in the 200 Freestyle (1:48.01) and the 100 Butterfly (54.13) at the Holland Aquatic Center on Saturday, Nov. 17.

Wright managed to better her winning times from last year’s state finals, where she won the 200 Freestyle with a time of 1:49.04 and the 100 Butterfly in 54.82 as a freshman.

Meanwhile, Walled Lake Western senior Allie Murphy captured the Division 2 state Diving title at Oakland University with a final score of 442.80, finishing ahead of East Grand Rapids’ Olivia Kassouni’s score of 411.95.

Last year, Murphy earned a runner-up finish in the Division 2 Diving final with a total score of 414.60, finishing behind Kelly Frazier of Birmingham Seaholm (433.45).

Wright’s state titles were the perfect cap to a memorable year in which she also competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb. in June, where she placed in the Top 25 of the 200 Butterfly event and also competed in the 100 Butterfly preliminaries.

Waterford United, a combination of Waterford Kettering and Mott swimmers, finished 16th in the Division 1 overall standings, as Holland West Ottawa took the Division 1 team state title over Farmington Hills Mercy.

Other local top Division 1 finishers included Huron Valley Lakeland’s Reagan Dehnbostel, finished took 10th in the 500 Freestyle (5:07.47); Waterford Kettering’s Katherine Kuhn, who took 13th in the 200 Breaststroke (1:06.91); and West Bloomfield’s Claire Forhan, who finished 15th in Diving with a total score of 337.90.

Waterford United’s 200 Medley Relay team that included Wright and Kuhn, as well as Mott swimmers Courtney Laird and Katelyn Killewald, finished 16th in the event’s final.

Also in Division 2, Walled Lake Northern’s Abigail Brinks finished 28th in the 50 Freestyle preliminaries and 29th in the 100 Freestyle preliminaries, while Regina Onischenko finished 45th in the 100 Backstroke preliminaries.

The Knights’ 200 Freestyle Relay team of Brinks, Kelsy Schultz, Maddie Schmidt, and Grace Cole finished 18th in the 200 Freestyle Relay preliminaries and 23rd in the 400 Freestyle Relay preliminaries.

Western’s 200 Medley Relay team of Emily Rafalko, Allie Lewin, Sara Hudson and Sierra Paul finished 34th overall in the preliminaries, while Hudson also tied for 29th in the 100 Butterfly preliminaries and Rafalko took 30th in the 100 Backstroke preliminaries.

Holland took the Division 2 state team title over Ann Arbor Skyline.