The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Nine is divine!
Dexter captures SEC championship
PUBLISHED: March 1, 2007
Last Friday and Saturday Dexter's boys' swimming and diving team competed in the Southeastern Conference championship meet, bringing home its ninth consecutive division title.
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The Dreadnaughts topped the SEC White Division with 349 points, edging rival Tecumseh by 18 points. Chelsea was third with 262 pointa and Ypsilanti Lincoln fourth with 84 points.
In the SEC Red Division (Division I schools) Ann Arbor Pioneer captured first with 635 points. Saline finished second (434 points) and Adrian third (154 points).
The meet is scored across both the Red and White Divisions, with the top 16 places in each event scoring points. Teams are then ranked by division. Within each division, the top three finishers in each event earn All-Conference honors.
Repeating as SEC White Division champions was a major goal for the Dreadnaughts this season, but one they knew would be difficult to achieve. The Tecumseh program has surged in the past few years. Last year the Indians were within 35 points of Dexter at the SEC meet, and just one week ago they defeated the Dreads in a dual meet. Chelsea, which finished second at the SEC meet last year just 25 points behind Dexter, is always geared up for the conference meet.
But the Dreads were ready. The title was a total team effort, with excellent performances across the board. Swimmers who were tapered for this meet achieved dramatic time drops, turning in lifetime best swims to score key points for the team when every point counted. Those swimmers who were already qualified for states, and not yet tapered, held fast to earn critical points and places Dexter needed to secure the championship.
"I was really happy with the way we swam all weekend," said Dexter coach Michael McHugh. "We put ourselves in a position to win the SEC White Division with the way we swam on Friday and followed it up with a strong showing Saturday, as well."
The Dreads qualified another four swimmers in six events, as well as two relay squads, for the upcoming state championships. Joey Sayre and Robert Spiegel each earned cuts in two events, while Scott Dyer and Danny Rion each added one.
"We nearly doubled our state team over the weekend," McHugh said.
In the 200 medley relay, the Dread foursome of Kirk Kumbier, Rion, Spiegel, and Sayre captured second place in the White (fourth overall), lowering its state qualifying time to 1:44.53. Nate Cook, Taylor Verna, Ben Steavenson, and Matt Cambridge finished 11th overall and sixth in the White Division.
Four Dexter swimmers scored in the 200 freestyle, foreshadowing scoring depth that would be repeated in many events. Derek Wooton led the way, touching the wall in 1:55.15 to place third in the White and sixth overall. Dyer was fourth in the division (seventh overall), while Karl Kumbier and Tim Pituch finished sixth and seventh in the division (13th and 14th overall). Tyler Steeb and Kevin Butler finished 20th and 22nd overall, respectively.
In the 200 individual medley, the Dreads swept the top three places in the White Division. Kirk Kumbier was the division champion (fifth overall), lowering his state qualifying time to 2:06.24. Steavenson, in second (sixth overall), also lowered his state cut time, to 2:07.36. Spiegel, in third, earned his state cut in the event, clocking a 2:11.09 in the prelims. Jacob Wiltse also scored for the Dreads, finishing fifth in the White and twelfth overall. Cambridge placed 18th overall, while Liam Donevan finished 23rd.
Sayre earned a state cut in the 50 freestyle, going 23.44 to place second in the division and seventh overall. Walker McHugh, fifth in the White and twelfth overall, was just 0.15 off the cut at 23.64. Cook finished 18th overall.
In one meter diving, Scott Crompton placed second in the White (sixth overall), accumulating 280.85 points. Corey Presley was fifth in the White and fourteenth overall.
Spiegel achieved his second state qualifying time in the 100 butterfly, going 56.78 in the prelims. He finished third in the division and seventh overall. Rion was fourth in the White (eleventh overall), clocking a 58.57 to miss the cut by just 0.28. Donevan and Jesse Claflin came in seventh and eighth in the division (fifteenth and sixteenth overall).
In the 100 freestyle, Sayre used a strong second half to earn his second state cut, going 50.99 to place third in the division (ninth overall). McHugh and Verna finished sixth and seventh in the division (fourteenth and fifteenth overall).
The Dexter distance crew slashed significant time in the 500 freestyle, enabling the Dreads to score four swimmers. Steavenson lowered his state time almost 4 seconds to 5:04.88 to place second in the White and fifth overall. Dyer dropped nearly 14 seconds in the prelims, clocking 5:09.36 to earn his state cut. In the finals he placed fourth in the division and seventh overall.
Karl Kumbier finished sixth in the White (eleventh overall), after dropping almost 15 seconds to 5:13.84 in the prelims. Wooton finished eighth in the division (thirteenth overall) after cutting more than 11 seconds to 5:14.42 on the first day. Pituch was 18th, improving more than 8 seconds, and Steeb was 21st, improving nearly 8 seconds.
The 200 free relay of McHugh, Sayre, Spiegel, and Kirk Kumbier earned its state cut, touching in 1:32.77 to place second in the White division and fourth overall. The quartet of Johno Wilson, Wiltse, Karl Kumbier, and Dyer finished sixth in the division and twelfth overall.
In the 100 backstroke, Rion qualified for states in his last chance, going 1:00.45 to place third in the division (ninth overall). Cook went 1:00.73, fifth in the White and eleventh overall, just 0.24 shy of the qualifying standard. Butler finished eighth in the White and fifteenth overall.
Entering the home stretch, the breaststrokers scored big points to cement the Dreadnaught lead. Kirk Kumbier placed second in the White division (third overall) in a state qualifying time of 1:02.64. Verna, Cambridge, and Wiltse also scored, finishing fourth, fifth, and sixth in the division (ninth, eleventh, and twelfth overall). Wilson finished 18th for Dexter.
The 400 free relay of McHugh, Steavenson, Wiltse, and Verna went 3:30.38 to beat the state qualifying standard. The foursome combined for third place in the White division and sixth overall. Wooton, Dyer, Pituch, and Cambridge were sixth in the White and twelfth overall.
"The guys really worked hard all year long and it finally paid off with a great conference meet," summarized coach McHugh. "I am really proud of the way the entire team prepared for this weekend. It is a true testament to their commitment to the team."
The Dreadnaughts next compete in the Division II state championship, at Oakland University on Friday, March 9 and Saturday, March 10. Competition begins at noon each day.
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