Marlins still No. 1 in county

Farmington Hills Mercy didn't just win the Oakland County championship in girls swimming and diving for the eighth consecutive year Saturday.
The Marlins blew away the competition and ran away with a decisive victory, outscoring runner-up Novi by more than 200 points at Waterford Kettering High School, 426.5-224.
Other teams in the top five were Birmingham Marian (211), Clarkston (188) and Lake Orion (171). Harrison was 16th and Farmington 18th with 26 and 24 points, respectively.
“We certainly wanted to win; more importantly, we wanted to swim well,” Mercy coach Shannon Dunworth said. “Maybe we were a little bit due to have a meet where all the kids showed up and had good performances. I figure it just all came together.
“We've been training extremely well as a group. Our focus has been more on practice, the competition that happens every day, and some meets we looked a little bit past. We've been ready to swim well in meets and maybe didn't step up until this past weekend.”
The Marlins, who have won five state titles in a row, gained a huge advantage in points by winning all three relays.
Elli Schinella, Hannah Knoop. Annie Valentine and Maddy Loniewski won the medley relay. Kathleen McGee and Roxanne Griffore were on both freestyle relay teams, and Loniewski, Schinella, Valentine and Ellyse Conn each swam in one of those races.
“The relays are the most fun at any meet, and the kids will tell you that,” Dunworth said. “Every kid on the team wants the opportunity to swim on Mercy relays. With that underlining mindset, when they do get the call, they are going to respond.
“If they have the chance to swim on a league, a state or an Oakland County championship relay, you will get their best performance that weekend, and this meet was no exception.”
McGee was Mercy's lone individual winner, taking first place in the 500-yard freestyle. She dropped nearly three seconds from her seed time to finish at 5:06.22.
“All the kids work hard, and there's a nucleus of them who set the tone for each practice with their attitudes and work ethics, and Kathleen is definitely in that group,” Dunworth said. “She's always positive. She's tough to challenge because she's always going to rise to it. She likes the longer, harder races, so good for her.”
In all of the eight individual swimming events, the Marlins had someone in the top three and, in most cases, two in the top five.
Mercy had second-place swims by Loniewski (100 free), Griffore (50 free) and Schinella (back), and it got thirds from McGee in the 200 freestyle, Loniewski (IM), Conn (fly) and Knoop (breast).
Others in the top five were Valentine (IM and fly), Schinella (50), Griffore (100), Emma Michalzuk (500) and Conn (back).
“We're definitely well rounded,” Dunworth said. “Fortunately, we get a lot of good kids who want to come to swim at Mercy. Some years maybe we're heavier in some areas more than others. This year we have one of the more balanced groups we've had.
“We certainly had a good meet, but this by no means is it. It's a very short-lived pat on the back, because there's a lot more to do yet.”
The state meet is still a month away, but the county meet has been a harbinger of future success for the Marlins, who will be hard at work in the meantime.
“I think we're really, really focused on the daily task more so than ever,” Dunworth said. “We've had some really good teams in the past, but they were good walking in the door and fairly predictable.
“I think this group's success will be a little more related to the amount of work we can get done in this season. I don't think they want to take their eye off what they did today and will do tomorrow to look a couple weeks down the line. We don't have that luxury this year.”