Michigan's Swimming Legends

Thank you. 🙏🏽

On Saturday Saline junior Issac Idanin and Zeeland junior Andrew Skaggs battled in one of the best 100 Breaststroke finals in MHSAA history. While Skaggs surged out with a blazing 25.31 opening 50, Adanin stormed home in 28.80 to capture his second consecutive D-1 title.

When the waves settled Adanin and Skaggs had posted the two fastest 100 Breaststroke times by underclassmen (non-senior) in MHSAA history.

They narrowly eclipsed the 11 year-old mark set by Grosse Pointe South junior Jacob Montague at the ‘15 D-2 Champs.

Samuel “Sam” Campbell
HS: Milford (‘26)
Club: Club Wolverine

- 4x State Age/Open champ (‘22-25)
- State 13-14s 200 Back record (‘23-26)
- Summer Jr Nats qualifier (‘23)
- State 15-16s 100m Back record (‘23-25)
- 4x NAG Top 10 (‘23)
- 3x Winter Jr Nats-East qualifier (‘23-25)
- 4x USA Futures Champs finalist (‘24-25)
- 3x MISCA champ (‘25-26)
- 7x Lakes Valley Conference champ (‘25-26)
- MHSAA D-1 100 Back runner-up (‘25)
- 6x MISCA All-State (‘25-26)
- Ocala Futures 50m Back runner-up (‘25)
- MHSAA D-1 100 Back champ (‘26)
- MISCA Dream Team (‘26)

Campbell holds 11 state records including the 13-14s 200 Back mark in addition to 29 standing Club Wolverine team records.

Sam put a cap on his high school career with a convincing 100 Backstroke victory at the D-1 Champs on Saturday. His time of 47.95 is the third-fastest in MHSAA history.

Campbell, a Lakes Valley Conference record-holder in five events, is SwimCloud’s #4 recruit in the state for the Class of ‘26.

Ann Arbor Pioneer junior Charlie Knoepp ran away with the Division 1 500 Freestyle title on Saturday. His time of 4:24.00 marks the fourth-fastest time in MHSAA history.

Knoepp’s performance sits behind only Battle Creek Lakeview legend Clay Youngquist’s swim at the ‘10 D-2 Champs among underclassmen (non-seniors) in MHSAA history.

He is SwimCloud’s #2 recruit in the state’s loaded Class of 2027.

Class of ‘26: Senior Salutes

Lucas Witham
HS: Forest Hills Central (‘26)
College: Amherst
Club: Rapid Area YMCA RAYS

- O-K White 400 Free Relay champs (‘23)
- 10x MISCA All-State (‘23-26)
- O-K White 50 Free champ (‘24)
- O-K Metro 50-100 Free champ (‘25)
- 2x MHSAA D-2 50 Free runner-up (‘25-26)
- YMCA Nats qualifier (‘25)
- MHSAA D-2 100 Free champ (‘26)
- NISCA All-American (‘26)

Witham earned All-State honors in each of his four seasons. On Saturday he captured the D-2 100 Free crown, the first for FHC since Henry Schutte won six state titles from ‘17-19.

He narrowly missed a sprint sweep as his upset bid in the 50 Free fell five-hundredths short to Seaholm star Elliot Rijnovean. However, his time of 20.36 dipped under the NISCA All-American automatic standard, the first of Witham’s career.

Lucas is the #11 recruit in the state’s Class of ‘26. He is committed to join the program this fall.

Class of ‘26: Senior Salutes

Caleb Storey
HS: Jenison (‘26)
Club:

- 4x MHSAA qualifier (‘23-26)
- 4x MISCA All-State (‘25-26)
- Winter Jr Nats-East qualifier (‘25)
- MISCA 50 Free champ (‘26)
- O-K Metro 50-100 Free champ (‘26)
- MHSAA D-1 50-100 Free champ (‘26)
- MISCA Dream Team, 100 Free (‘26)
- NISCA All-American, 50-100 Free (‘26)

Storey qualified in the 200-500 Freestyle events for the D-2 meet in his first two seasons, reaching the consols in both events as a sophomore.

When Jenison moved to Division 1 in ‘24-25 Storey made a shift of his own, earning All-State honors in the 50-100 Free as a junior.

On Saturday Caleb completed a fantastic senior season by capturing the D-1 50 & 100 Freestyle titles. The state swimming championships are the first for Jenison since Jason Wesseling took the ‘14 D-2 100 Back crown.

His performance in the 100 Free earned Storey his first appearance on the MISCA Dream Team.

Caleb is SwimCloud’s #10 recruit in the state in a terrific Class of ‘26.

Otsego senior Liam Smith took his third straight Division 3 200 Individual Medley crown on Saturday. His time of 1:47.38 on Friday was the eighth-fastest in MHSAA history and shattered the previous D-3 record by more than eight-tenths of a second.

This graph looks at swimmers who have captured three MHSAA 200 IM titles since 1970. Just nine swimmers have accomplished the feat over the past 55+ years. No boy has won four state 200 IM titles.

Smith is signed to join and the program this fall.

Northville senior Brady Stenson captured his second straight Division 1 200 Free title on Saturday. His prelims time of 1:36.79 on Friday was the fifth-fastest in MHSAA history and the fastest time in the state this year by more than six-tenths of a second.

This graph looks at swimmers who have won 2+ MHSAA 200 Free titles AND posted the state’s top time during their career. Since 1990 there have been nine swimmers who have checked both boxes.

SwimSwam ranks Stenson as the state’s #8 recruit in the Class of ‘26.

On Saturday afternoon Zeeland junior Andrew Skaggs swam the fastest 50 Breaststroke in MHSAA history. His 24.29 split was nine-hundredths faster than Pioneer legend Matthew Segal posted at the ‘21 D-1 Champs.

This graph shows the progression of the fastest split in MHSAA history since the 1976 Championships.

Note 1: Though Dave Chernek’s MHSAA 100 Breast record stood from ‘80-12, his 50 split was clipped by Alex Goecke and later Josh Boss in the late ‘90s.

Note 2: Boss’s split from the ‘98 Class A meet stood for 15 years until Stevenson legend Nick Arakelian became the first boy in MHSAA history under :25 at the ‘13 D-1 meet.

SwimSwam ranks Skaggs as the state’s #8 recruit in an absolutely loaded Class of ‘27.

On Friday afternoon Birmingham Seaholm senior Elliot Rijnovean clipped his own mark with the fastest 50 Backstroke in MHSAA history. His 21.69 was two-hundredths faster than he posted at the ‘25 D-2 Champs. He becomes the fourth swimmer over the past 50 seasons to post the fastest Back split as a junior and then go faster as a senior.

This graph shows the progression of the fastest time in MHSAA history since the 1977 Championships.

Note 1: Ken Cooper’s time of 23.9 at the ‘80 Class A meet stood as the fastest 50 Back until the turn was changed for the ‘91 season.

Note 2: Matt Parrish’s 22.69 opening 50 at the ‘97 Class A meet stood as the fastest split for 17 years.

Rijnovean is signed to join and the program this fall.

Ann Arbor Pioneer’s 400 Free Relay team of Henry Baumhover (44.81), Charlie Knoepp (45.66), Cam Kline (46.65) and Edward Zhang (44.72) posted the fastest preliminary time on Friday.

Their time of 3:01.84 broke Brother Rice’s 11-year-old MHSAA All-Class record by two tenths of a second. It was the only All-Class record set on Friday.

Baumhover’s lead-off leg also broke Pioneer’s school record, eclipsing the :45.06 that Jack Wilkening used to win the ‘22 D-1 title.

More to come on Saturday.