(Chelsea Update would first like to congratulate the Chelsea High School men’s swim and dive team on its fantastic season. I’d also like to thank Coach Dave Jolly for the information in this, and numerous other stories throughout the season. )
Chelsea’s incredible swim and dive season ended in dramatic fashion last weekend at the D3 State Finals in Holland.
The Bulldogs depended on a wealth of depth and talent all season and the team used it again as they led the finals against Birmingham, Cranbrook, Kingswood and East Grand Rapids.
Chelsea entered the meet as the #1 ranked team and Cranbrook was 2nd with EGR ranked third. At the end of the weekend, Cranbrook made some big moves early in the meet winning the 200 yard medley relay and would go on to win the state championship with 297 points. Chelsea finished second with 273.33 points and East Grand Rapids finished third with 256.83 points.
In the prelims on Friday afternoon, Chelsea missed some opportunities to get a few swims into the finals. Those lost opportunities turned out to be the difference at the end.
“Our team fought so hard all weekend and I could not be a more proud coach,” said coach Dave Jolly of what he called his special team. “We did so many things so well and with such a young team it’s just getting started for us,” Jolly said.
In the 200 yard medley relay, Chelsea was seated 4th and moved to 3rd earning All State honors and breaking its own varsity record. Jacob Lonnemo, Philipi Lopes, Sam Almhiemid and Joey Mangner blasted to a tremendous 1:37.99 in the event. “It was a great start for us. It set the tone for the whole finals having those guys come together like that,” the coach said.
In the next event, the 200 yard freestyle, Aunic Goodin continued the meet of his life. The junior star moved up to 6th place with a career best swim of 1:46.22 to earn All State honors. “Aunic was special all weekend. He gave everything he had and showed how much skill he has,” Jolly said.
Ben Thoms also scored in the event taking 16th place with his own career best time of 1:49.14.
David Alday was on top of his swims as well as he took All State in the 200 yard Individual Medley. Alday took 2nd place with an exceptional 1:53.88. The senior star was so important to the success of the team and he provided the strength the Bulldogs needed.
Philipi Lopes was also very important for the Bulldogs as he also earned All State in the event taking 6th place overall with his career best time of 1:58.31. The event was huge for the Bulldogs as Jacob Hartman also scored taking 12th place overall with a career best of 2:03.01. The Bulldogs took the lead in the meet after the 200 yard IM event, however, the lead would switch back and forth the entire meet.
Next up for the Bulldogs was Joey Mangner. The 50 yard freestyle proved to be the toughest event of the meet. Coming into the meet, Chelsea had 4 of the top 16 qualifiers but Mangner was the only swimmer to make it through Friday’s prelims to swim in the finals. This would be one of the events that Bulldogs would have needed more scoring.
Joey Mangner ended the meet in 12th place with a time of 22.16, which was fantastic considering Mangner is a freshmen in an upperclassman dominated event.
In the next event, Chelsea’s divers performed to a level unseen in the history of the program. Jake Burris on the last dive of the 11-dive competition took the lead and won the State Championship and earned Diver of the Year for his efforts. Burris ended the meet with a final score of 452.05 points to capture the states #1 diver crown.
What was also impressive was that teammate Joe Smith was 2nd with a score of 421.00 points. “It was the most incredible experience for me to see our divers take 1st & 2nd place. These two guys have worked so hard and have been focused on the state finals all season. They were fantastic,” Jolly said of the divers’ performance.
Adding to the excitement was freshman Jordan Smith making it into the finals and scoring as well. Jordan ended the meet in 15th place.
“Coach Eric Burris is one of the finest coaches I have ever seen,” said Jolly, “He can get the most out of every one of his athletes and is the best coach in the state as far as I’m concerned.”
Chelsea went back into the lead after the tremendous performance of the divers.
Sam Almhiemid and Max Lonnemo were up next for the Bulldogs in the 100 yard Butterfly and both would perform to an incredible level of excellence. Almhiemid swam a career best 52.25 in the prelims and a 52.79 in the finals to earn All State honors and also break the varsity record in the process. “Sam was without a doubt a huge factor in our success this weekend,” Jolly said, adding, “He is a great competitor and fantastic athlete. It was so wonderful to watch him swim to such a high level all weekend.”
Max Lonnemo also had a great meet scoring individually for the first time in the state finals. Lonnemo swam a career best in the event going 55.07 in the prelims and then 55.51 in the finals to take 14th place. “Max has come a long way this year and will be a very important part of our team next year as our seniors graduate this year,” Jolly said.
The 100 yard freestyle was one of Chelsea’s strongest events all season, but the sprint events were the toughest events all meet long. Chelsea had five athletes in the top 16 entering the championships, but could only get one into the finals.
David Alday, last year’s returning champion, had his work cut out this year and he performed very well taking 3rd place honors and All State with a season best 47.03. “David’s tenacity his whole career at Chelsea has been a foundation that all of our kids have modeled themselves off of. He will be tough to replace for many reasons most of which is commitment to his teammates,” Jolly said of his graduating senior.
Alday has earned 7 All State awards individually and 6 as a member of relays for the Bulldogs over his career.
Chelsea powerful distance crew was up next and they would need to bring something special to bring the Bulldogs back into the lead. Oh did they ever. In the 500 yard freestyle, Philipi Lopes led the way for the team with a tremendous effort, setting a varsity record and earning All State with a 4:48.33 clocking. “Philipi was absolutely incredible all weekend. Taking 3rd place was so unexpected though we saw glimmers of greatness all season. He is truly a special swimmer and will be a favorite to win the event next year,” the coach said about the outstanding junior swimmer.
Aunic Goodin continued to impress, as he swam a career best of 4:54.16 in the event. Goodin dropped 15 seconds during the course of the weekend to take 12th place.
Chelsea’s hardest worker, Ben Thoms, also got in on the scoring fun in the event as he also swam a career best going 4:57.43 to take 15th place overall. All three of these young swimmers are back next year and will be keys to Chelsea’s success as they make another run at the state championship.
What happened next was a first in the history of the sport in Michigan. Chelsea’s 200 yard freestyle relay was seeded 1st coming into the state finals, and 3rd after the prelims. The crowd was electric as the top sprinters from all over the state assembled on the bulk head. The first swimmers for each relay were called to the block and the horn went off with incredible power and energy. Then, 1:27.08 seconds later, three relay teams tied for 1st place. The crowd went quiet and erupted in applause as everyone realized what had just happened.
David Alday, Jonny Mangner, Carter Engler and Joey Mangner had just pulled off the unheard of. They also broke the varsity record and earned All State honors. “Wow, was that something special. Not just the tie but to have 4 guys swim such a perfect race,” Jolly said.
Chelsea was now holding the lead, by only a few points, and needed a great performance from its 100 yard backstroke crew and they came through in a strong way. Sam Almhiemid was Chelsea’s top placer earning his 2nd All State honor for the meet. Almhiemid placed 6th with a 53.70. Jacob Hartman was up in his second individual event and performed very well taking 10th place at 55.12 to notch his career best time. Freshman Kurt Jolly was also a special as he swam a career best of 55.45 to place at the state level for first time. He took 12th place.
“Kurt worked so hard all season to become a state level athlete in his first year. I am so proud to be his coach and his dad,” Jolly said of his up and coming backstroker.
The last event for the Bulldogs was the 400 yard freestyle relay. After not scoring in the 100 yard breast stroke the only event that the Bulldogs failed to score, Chelsea found themselves behind for the first time in the 2nd half of the meet. Chelsea would have to win the event and a miracle would have to happen. Chelsea made a switch in the finals putting Philipi Lopes into the relay and changed the order of the other three swimmers. The move paid off big.
Chelsea entered the event in 7th place, then dropped 6 seconds in the finals and went 3:11.50, which was good enough to set the state record. However, St. Joseph and Cranbrook touched in front of Chelsea. Chelsea ended up in 3rd place overall and solidified their 2nd place finish in the state title race.
David Alday, Jonny Mangner, Philipi Lopes and Sam Almhiemid all had career best splits, broke the varsity record and earned All State honors.
Chelsea finishes the season with the respect of the league after winning the South Eastern Conference Championship and concluding with a state runner-up award. Chelsea’s 2nd place finish is the highest in school history.
With only two graduating seniors from this year’s state meet team, the future is looking even brighter for next year’s season.
