Cranbrook Kingswood boys swim wins D3 state title

By: Jonathan Szczepaniak | Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle | Published April 4, 2023

BLOOMFIELD HILLS — It’s been six years since Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood boys swim and dive won a state title.

That’s not a devastating drought by any means, but it was something to note for a team that won four-straight Division 3 titles from 2014-2017. As Cranbrook Kingswood took the backseat the past few years, Holland Christian and East Grand Rapids traded back-to-back state titles, with East Grand Rapids winning the last two.

Going into the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 3 Championships at Oakland University March 10-11, Cranbrook Kingswood coach Paul Ellis said his guys were aware of the competition.

“They knew it,” Ellis said. “My boys knew it because they know every single year that EGR (East Grand Rapids) is in contention to win every single year. They either win it, place second, or on a bad year they’re getting third or fourth. They’re always on top with how they’re prepared.”

As the tournament concluded, it came down to a 12-point difference between Cranbrook Kingswood and East Grand Rapids for first place, and it went in favor of Cranbrook Kingswood, who tallied a 271 score.

Junior Will Farner said the team’s mindset made the guys more confident going into the meet.

“There wasn’t a lot of nervousness. Everyone was just happy to be there,” Farner said. “We had nothing to lose.”

While every race played a vital role in the win, the 200-yard freestyle relay would be a title-deciding race.

Cranbrook Kingswood would take first in the relay behind senior Christos Tzoumakas, Farner, and sophomores Joseph Wiater and Robbie Sarle, earning a 1:27:33 time. East Grand Rapids’ time of 1:27:42 would not only finish second by a hundredth of a second, but was also a 12-point swing in favor of Cranbrook Kingswood.

“You can make the argument that we won the state meet by one one-hundredth of a second,” Ellis said. “When I talk about details and when I talk about why I get on my guys’ case about doing things the right way, it’s for moments like that. The one one-hundredth that you need to be a little bit better and a little bit faster in. In a meet like that, it mattered. The details mattered.”

Along with his contribution to the relay title, Farner earned first in the 200-yard freestyle, eight in the 100-yard butterfly, and teamed up with senior Ethan Schwab, sophomore Sean Lu and freshman AJ Farner, who is Will’s brother, to earn second in the 400-yard freestyle.

AJ Farner was a freshman standout this season for not just Cranbrook Kingswood, but for Division 3 as well.

Farner earned fourth in the 200 IM, third in the 500-yard freestyle, and teamed up with Schwab, Lu and Wiater to take the 200-yard medley relay over East Grand Rapids.

While an impact swimmer in the pool, Farner also inserted himself into a leadership role as a freshman.

“We didn’t have your stereotypical high school musical captain where everyone looks up to that guy,” Will Farner said. “The way I looked at it, there was a leader at every grade. You have Ethan (Schwab), who was the captain, and then a captain at every grade. AJ, my little brother, who is a freshman, was a leader, and even pushed Ethan (Schwab) to do better.”

Schwab didn’t need to be pushed to perform, but it certainly didn’t hurt. A state champion on the 200-medley relay team in 2021, Schwab earned first place in the 200-yard IM and in the 100-yard breastroke.

Schwab, who is currently committed to swim at the University of Michigan, has been a dynamic swimmer for Cranbrook since joining, and will be missed in the 2024 season.

“I can’t say enough good things about Ethan,” Ellis said. “He’s a tremendously hard worker, he’s a good teammate, and he’s a good worker. He’s grown a tremendous amount in those three years that I’ve known him, both maturity wise and his swimming goals, and he’s really developed into a valuable asset for any team.”

Sophomore Calvin Meeker, who qualified for states last season, had a strong showing at states, and will be a reliable option next season as well for Cranbrook Kingswood.

While Schwab will be a difficult swimmer to replace, Cranbrook Kingswood returns an array of talent into the 2024 season.

Schwab said he hopes the team’s mindset carries into next season.

“There was a tone in practice each day that there was an expectation … and everyone tries their best, but everyone was engaged and trying their best,” Schwab said.

As for the 2023-2024 Cranbrook Kingswood swim team, there’s officially a target on their back, and Ellis said East Grand Rapids is going to be ready next season.

An adopted quote from former Kenyon College swim coach Jim Steen, Ellis said there’s one major thing for the team to consider going forward.

“The 2022-2023 team, you guys accomplished a lot,” Ellis said. “You won a state title, you swam great, you put in a lot of hours and hard work, and you had a lot of fruits from your labor. If you’re coming back to the 2023-2024 team, you haven’t accomplished anything yet. Until you start doing more work to make yourself better than you were, there’s not a lot that you’ve done.”