2022 GIRLS MHSAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIPS
- November 18-19, 2022
- Holland Aquatic Center, Holland, Mich.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Full Results (PDF)
In a meet that came down to the wire, the Bloomfield Hills Marian High School girls used a late surge to prevail with the Michigan high school Division 3 state title on Saturday, edging out runner-up Holland Christian by just 14.5 points.
The victory for Marian marked their first state title since 2014, when they won the Division II crown. They were the runner-up to East Grand Rapids, who won this year’s Division 2 title, in D3 last year.
STATE CHAMPIONS! MSD wins the 2022 @MHSAA D3 Title! #MarianStrong pic.twitter.com/CET6QbLchN
— Marian High School Athletics (@marianathletics) November 19, 2022
Marian was led by senior Rachel Bello, who earned a pair of individual titles while also contributing to two winning relays.
Bello won the 200 IM (2:06.08) and 100 breast (1:04.55), setting new lifetime bests in both (she set a PB of 1:04.29 in the 100 breast prelims). Last season, she finished third in both races as a junior.
In the meet-opening 200 medley relay, Bello combined with teammates Lily Low, Marianna Becharas and Axelle Ballarin to win in 1:48.67. Bello had the top breaststroke split in the field at 29.30.
In the 200 free relay, Low (24.64), Ballarin (24.73), Lena McKenney (24.69) and Bello (24.66) came out on top in 1:38.72, with Holland Christian second in 1:39.55.
Wayland Union freshman Laney Wolf joined Bello in winning two individual events, setting new personal bests in the 50 free (23.89) and 100 free (51.93).
OTHER WINNERS
- Milan junior Annabelle Williams set a big best to win the 200 free in 1:54.09, and also placed third in the 100 free (52.46) behind Wolf and Saint Johns junior Ella Schafer (52.24).
- In the 100 fly, Flat Rock junior Lauren McNamara won a repeat title, setting a new best of 55.25 in the prelims before clocking 55.26 in the final. Those performances rank #2 and #3 in Division III meet history, trailing Harper Creek’s Alysa Wager, who went 54.88 in 2019.
- Divine Child’s Ella Dziobak (5:04.23) won the 500 free in a razor-thin battle with Trenton’s Sophia Shaul (5:04.30), both setting new personal bests.
- After finishing fourth last year, Cranbrook Kingswood junior Julijana Jelic topped the 100 back field by nearly two seconds in 57.35, having set a PB of 57.25 in the prelims.
- Adrian High School won the 400 free relay in 3:37.18, led by a 52.94 anchor from Ella Salenbien. Milan was second in 3:37.83, led by Annabelle Williams’ 51.81 anchor, which was the fastest split in the field.
- Grosse Ile junior Kaitlyn Molnar won the 1-meter diving event with a score of 360.05, a massive improvement after placing 10th last year (318.05).
FINAL TEAM SCORES – TOP 5
- Bloomfield Hills Marian, 245
- Holland Christian, 230.5
- Milan High School, 208
- Adrian Maples, 154.5
- Grand Rapids Christian HS, 148.5
