ROCHESTER HILLS — Although Campbell Shore was the only Farmington Hills Mercy swimmer to claim an individual state championship, she knows the program isn’t built on a single standout performer.
“Our team is just based on teamwork,” the sophomore said. “Everybody on this team has shown me that swimming is more than just an individual sport, and we lift each other up. You don’t have to win an event to be winners on the team. We work hard because of our teamwork, not because of our place or the times we got.”
While Shore’s times from the MHSAA Division 2 state final meet at Oakland University were impressive — not to mention first-place finishes in three out of her four events — they were really just a fraction of an overall dominant performance that pushed Mercy toward its third consecutive team title.
“The best part of this experience would definitely be the support I have,” Shore said. “This team has meant so much to me, and it’s showed me there’s so much more than swimming in a lane for yourself. It’s a team sport even if it doesn’t seem like that, and it’s helped me grow as a swimmer and an athlete and a person. It’s amazing.”
The Marlins had several championship-heat finishes across the board, accumulating 375.5 points. Runner-up Grosse Pointe South was well back with 255, followed by Birmingham Seaholm (244), Ann Arbor Skyline (137) and Portage Central (136).
“I think we definitely achieved more than we thought we could, and I’m so proud of everybody,” Shore said. “I know Coach (Mike Venos) and everyone else is so proud of our whole team and what we accomplished this week.”
Mercy scored points with 24 swims, placing in 11 out of the 12 events, often two or three times per race. Only three performances were first-place finishes, underscoring the all-around depth the Marlins exhibited while grabbing their 13th state title in school history, and third in a row.
“Everybody was going lifetime bests, and it was just fun to watch,” Venos said. “Once they get that first nervous swim out of the way, they know what they’ve got to do. We talk about it from the very first dual meet: you treat every meet like it’s the state meet, and when you get here, you’re going to own the place.
“You just wind them up and get out of their way.”
Shore went 51.41 seconds to take the title in the 100 freestyle. She teamed up with Mackenzie Conway, Ella Hafner and Avery Tack to win the 200 freestyle relay in 1:35.19 (a time worthy of automatic All-American honors), while Tack, Leah Greaves, Hafner and Shore won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:29.07 (an All-American consideration time).
“I’m just so proud of everybody and how we’ve worked so hard,” Shore said. “Our coach, he always tells us the times don’t matter; we have to be hard workers and lift each other up in practice, kind of build each other up when we’re down. In turn, that’s what lets us get these times because we have this team and the support behind us.”
“It was a combined team effort,” Conway said. “I think it took all season to get to this point. We worked all season and we became sisters, and it was a different type of bond than it’s ever been. Getting to this next level, we all just clicked.”
Mercy had a total of 20 state-meet qualifiers (17 in the pool and three divers). Half of them ultimately placed in their events and earned all-state status. Besides Shore, Ella Hafner, Tack, Conway, Kathleen Schwab, Greaves, Clare Hafner and Caroline Lee each finished among the top five in their individual races.
“We keep telling them, everybody’s going to be looking at you. The girls before you have earned that reputation for you guys,” Venos said. “Your job is just to go in and take care of yourselves, and good things happen.”
Mercy had been Division 2’s top-ranked team throughout the season, and won the Oakland County and Catholic League championship meets along the way.
“There is a winning culture in the halls of Mercy, but it’s not just swimming,” Venos said. “It is a true community, and these girls know that there is strength in numbers, strength in their tradition and the history of this program. The Marlins won the very first girls state championship back in 1972, and the history is not lost on these girls.”
Marian, Cranbrook, Divine Child place well in Division 3
At the Division 3 state finals at Oakland University, Bloomfield Hills Marian and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook earned trophies for their top-four team finishes, while Dearborn Divine Child’s Ella Dziobak defended her individual state title in the 500 freestyle.
Dziobak won the 500 (5:12.76) with Marian’s Stella Glorio finishing behind in second (5:14.57). Dziobak also finished third in the 200 free (1:56.71). Cranbrook’s Hazel Strain was runner-up in the backstroke (56.99). Those were the only top-three individual finishes from Catholic League schools, although Cranbrook scored points in all three relay events while Marian and Divine Child placed in two.
East Grand Rapids won its fourth consecutive championship, with 407 points. Marian trailed with 173, while Cranbrook was fourth with 147. Divine Child placed 13th, scoring 79. Marian last won the state championship in 2022, while Cranbrook won in 2020.
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