Greg Tunnicliff
Sports Scene
GRAND BLANC, Michigan – Practices have been running pretty smoothly in the pool at Grand Blanc High.
That’s because there is not a great deal of traffic in the water.
The Bobcats have only 34 girls on their team, down considerably from last year’s turnout of 45 and the 49 on the 2010 squad.
At a typical Grand Blanc practice, there are only six girls swimming in each of the pool’s six lanes, compared to eight from the previous two seasons.
“The practice regime might scare off a few kids,” coach Emily Overmyer said. “Who is willing to wake up at 5 a.m. every day? Who is willing to put in the work?”
While the Bobcats don’t have the number of swimmers they are accustomed to having, the wave of talent they do have is still better than everyone else in the Flint area.
Grand Blanc dominated the Greater Genesee County Swimming and Diving Championships September 29 at Fenton, finishing in first place with a whopping 557 points.
Fenton came in a distant second place with 275. The Bobcats secured only three individual first-place finishes, but they had enough depth to drown the rest of the field.
“We have a lot of strong girls,” Overmyer said. “They all might be in the middle to upper fields, but they’re all in there. We have more kids that go those fast times. They may not take the firsts, but they take the seconds, thirds and so on.”
Besides the county meet, Grand Blanc took fourth place in the Fenton Tigers Relays, and it has a 5-3 dual-meet record, 2-2 in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West Division.
The Bobcats are in third place in the KLAA West, one game behind Brighton (3-1) and two behind first-place Hartland (4-0).
Grand Blanc has captured the KLAA Lakes Conference meet the previous three seasons, a streak it hopes to continue this year. The KLAA Lakes Conference meet is slated for November 2-3.
“The girls get really excited for the conference meet and they usually surprise me,” Overmyer said. “[Last year] Hartland was the favorite to win. Somehow, they pulled it out. They swam out of their minds.”
Pacing Grand Blanc has been senior Claire Pilarski, who is the Bobcats’ lone qualifier for the Division 1 state meet.
Pilarski qualified for the state meet in the 100-yard backstroke, a feat she accomplished by taking ninth place in a state-qualifying time of 59.92 at the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association meet October 13.
She was part of the Bobcats’ 400-yard freestyle relay that took top honors at the county meet. The other members of that team were sophomore Sydney Schmit, junior Rachel Eaton, and junior Lindsay Baywol.
Grand Blanc has five other events – two relays and three individuals– that are close to reaching state-qualifying times.
The Bobcats’ 200 freestyle relay was less than a second off the cut at the MISCA meet, and the team’s 200 medley team was less than three-tenths away from cut.
Swimming the 200 medley for Grand Blanc at the MISCA meet were Pilarski, seniors Alyssa LaHaie and Gina Sancricca, and sophomore Erin Scannell.
The Bobcats’ 200 freestyle relay at the MISCA meet was comprised of Scannell, Eaton, Schmit, and Baywol.
Besides swimming on the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays, Scannell also competes in the 50 freestyle, and she is the Bobcats’ top diver. She won the county meet in diving, and she is close to qualifying for the state meet in the 50 freestyle.
Sancricca is close to making state cuts in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke events. The state meet is November 16-17 at the Holland Aquatics Center.
“It’s a great group of girls,” Overmyer said. “They always work hard. They always do whatever we ask of them, and they do it with a smile on their face.”
Grand Blanc was slated to host Milford in a KLAA West dual before traveling to Midland Dow for its final dual on October 23.
“We rely highly on the tradition of the program,” Overmyer said. “Even when we are down in numbers, we get the kids that are dedicated, believe in what we are doing, and live up to the Grand Blanc name every year.”