Birmingham YMCA Relay Swimmers Shine at National YMCA Meet

The last day of a four-day national swim meet was the best one for the team, which would up among the top half of finishers.

Its four-man freestyle relay team earned seventh place in the 200-yard event Thursday afternoon at the YMCA Short-Course National Championship in Greensboro, NC. Sixty-seven other teams competed, counting preliminary heats.

Relay swimmers for the Birmingham Blue Dolphins (BBD) were Patrick Nodland and Gus Kouvaris of Brother Rice, and Michael Shaben and Addison Williams of . Kouvaris is 15 and his three teammates are 16.

Birmingham's only other point-scorer was Jacob Carl, 16, of Rochester, who finished 20th in the 1,000-yard freestyle. BBD earned 33 points for a 49th-place finish among 100 teams.

Among other Metro Detroit teams, a standout was 16-year-old Dakota High swimmer Marah Pugh of Macomb Township. Competing for the Macomb Family YMCA Marlins, she earned points each day.

Her best race came Thursday afternoon with a second-place swim in the 1,650-yard freestyle. She earlier finished third in the 1,000-yard freestyle and fourth in two other events -- 500-yard freestyle and 400-yard individual medley.

Pugh's points at the Greensboro Aquatic Center were the only ones tallied by her Mount Clemens-based team, which finished in 39th place.

The Greater Flint YMCA led among Michigan teams, winding up in 19th place with 182 points.

The Farmington Family YMCA was 61st with 15 points, thanks to 17-year-old Marina Borri's eighth-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Michigan's 16 entrants also included South Oakland Family YMCA (Royal Oak), the North Oakland Family YMCA (Auburn Hills), the Livonia Family YMCA and the Ann Arbor YMCA.    

In addition to the five Birmingham swimmers named above, BBD national team participants are:

• Boys: Mark Blinstrub, Miles McDonald, Jack Russell, John Shihl, Vic Sun, Jonathan Withrow, Matt Wolkhamer.
• Girls: Christine Edwards, Hannah Hunstad, Lara Kokubo, Kelly McGowan, Nicole Pape, Kylie Powrie, Maggie Pyett, Lucy Ramonat, Emme Reasoner, Allie Russell, Merrill Watzman and Charlotte Yaw.