The Sturgis boys swimming and diving team left Battle Creek Harper Creek in its wake Thursday for a 118-67 Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East Division victory.
Winning eight events (plus a first-place tie), sweeping the top two spots in two races and collecting several personal-best times, the Trojans head to Saturday’s Loy Norrix Invitational with a great deal of confidence.
And freshman Daniel Tetzloff is headed to Holland in March after posting a time of 59.12 seconds to win the 100-yard backstroke and qualify for the Division 3 state finals.
“I was extremely pleased with the way the whole team swam tonight,” head coach Andy Feyes said. “They really stepped up tonight and swam some great times.”
Tetzloff’s 2:17.86 (fourth place) in the 200 individual medley was a personal best, as were Kris Gibbs’ score of 196.80 and Dylan DeYoung’s 188.10 in diving, good for first and second place, respectively.
Perhaps the most exciting race of the evening was between Hunter Stanke and Harper Creek’s Luke Lightcap in the 100 butterfly. The two touched the wall at the same time to tie for first in 1:01.99.
“Everyone preformed great tonight and it was a good team win,” Feyes said.
Tetzloff, Stanke, Nathan Stemen and Gabe Kruszka won the 200 medley relay in 1:52.17, and the quartet of Tetzloff, Brandon Jones, Stemen and Grant Brown finished first in the 400 free relay (3:40.19). Stanke added a win in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.55), Jones took won the 500 free (5:23.80) by nearly 13 seconds and Brown was first in the 100 free by less than two-tenths of a second.
Meet Results
Sturgis 118, Battle Creek Harper Creek 67
200 medley relay: 1. Sturgis (Daniel Tetzloff, Hunter Stanke, Nathan Stemen, Gabe Kruszka) 1:52.17; 2. Sturgis (Jon Wegner, David Polzin, Michael Clark, Michael Maynard) 1:57.26.
200-yard freestyle: 1. Alex Ziegler (BCHC) 1:57.96; 2. Grant Brown (Sturgis) 1:58.11.
200 IM: 1. Brandon Jones (Sturgis) 2:16.23; 2. Jeff Mann (BCHC) 2:16.24.
50 freestyle: 1. Luke Lightcap (BCHC) 24.04; 2. Polzin (Sturgis) 25.17.
Diving: 1. Kris Gibbs (Sturgis) 196.80; 2. Dylan DeYoung (Sturgis) 188.10.
100 butterfly: 1. Lightcap (BCHC) 1:01.99; 2. Stanke (Sturgis) 1:01.99.
100 freestyle: 1. Brown (Sturgis) 52.69; 2. Jerrod Lepper (BCHC) 52.84.
500 freestyle: Jones (Sturgis) 5:23.80; 2. Ziegler (BCHC) 5:36.24.
200 freestyle relay: 1. BCHC 2:35.79; 2. Sturgis (Brown, Polzin, Stemen, Stanke) 1:36.20.
200 backstroke: 1. Tetzloff (Sturgis) 59.12; 2. Wegner (Sturgis) 1:10.41.
100 breaststroke: 1. Stanke (Sturgis) 1:06.55; 2. Jeff Mann (BCHC) 1:10.99.
400 freestyle relay: 1. Sturgis (Tetzloff, Jones, Stemen, Brown) 3:40.19; 2. BCHC 3:41.27.