By JIM HIGGINBOTTOM
There appears to be a new star around every turn of
the pool in Michigan
high school swimming. Many of the standouts of this season, which ended
officially Saturday, will be in college next fall. But some of the
returnees
promise to be something special.
Take Doug Webster, 15-year-old Royal Oak Kimball
sophomore. Already
the National Junior AAU long-distance champion, young Doug became the
first
Michigan high school swimmer to crack 4:00 in the 400-yard freestyle
Friday
night with a time of 3:59.8. He came back Saturday in the finals of the
event in the state Class A meet at Ann Arbor with the blazing time of
3:56.8.
"One of the greatest races I ever saw," appraised Gus Stager,
University
of Michigan coach. That performance almost automatically gave Webster a
spot on the second annual Detroit News All-State swimming team, which
includes
several others of national ranking.
Those selected with Webster are: Ken Wiebeck, of
Thurston, the finest
all-around swimmer yet produced here; freestylers Pete Adams and Tom
Coupe,
of Birmingham Seaholm, and Dave Gibson, of Saginaw Arthur Hill, and
butterfly
specialist John Musulin, of Monroe. Frank Freeman, of Fordson, a
midseason
graduate who has the fastest 100-yard breaststroke clocking in the
nation,
and Rochester's one-man team, backstroker Hugh Wilder, also are on the
All-State list. Ann Arbor High's combination of Fred Boyles, Dave
Cushing,
Pete House and John Baird was chosen for the medley relay with the
Birmingham
Groves unit of Kevin Tooma, Scott Jones, Chuck Mitchell and Dave Mead
listed
for the freestyle relay. Chuck Stenback, of Ferndale, is the All-State
diver. Don Trost, producer of two consecutive state Class B
championship
teams at Riverview, is The News' swimming coach of the year. Cory Van
Fleet,
of Seaholm, was selected last season.
An exception from normal All-State policy was made in
the case of Freeman,
whose breaststroke clocking of 1:01.7 for the 100 yards just prior to
his
February graduation was only a tenth of a second off the national
scholastic
record. Midseason graduates do not usually qualify for All-State
consideration.
But Freeman, who appears headed for Indiana University, was so
outstanding
that coaching experts and rivals alike could see no other choice.
Prep Honor Roll
200-YARD MEDLEY RELAY
Ann Arbor High -Fred Boyles, Dave
Cushing, Pete House,
John Baird, 1:42.4 (state record).
200-YARD FREESTYLE
Pete Adams, Birmingham Seaholm, 1:50.2
(state record).
50-YARD FREESTYLE
Dave Gibson, Saginaw Arthur Hill, 22.0.
200-YARD INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Ken Wiebeck, Thurston, 2:03.9 (state
record).
100-YARD BUTTERFLY
John Musulin, Monroe, 53.7
100-YARD FREESTYLE
Tom Coupe, Birmingham Seaholm, 49.6
100-YARD BACKSTROKE
Hugh Wilder, Rochester, 58.3
400-YARD FREESTYLE
Doug Webster, Royal Oak Kimball, 3:56.8
(state record).
100-YARD BREASTSTROKE
Frank Freeman, Fordson, 1:01.7 (best of
season in
U.S.).
200-YARD FREESTYLE RELAY
Birmingham Groves-Kevin Tooma, Scott
Jones, Chuck
Mitchell, Dave Mead, 1:31.6 (state record).
DIVER
Chuck Stenback, Ferndale
COACH
Don Trost, Riverview
|
DOUG WEBSTER
400-Yard Freestyle
|
KEN WIEBECK
200-Yard Individual Medley
|
FRANK FREEMAN
100-Yard Breaststroke
|
PETE ADAMS
200-Yard Freestyle
|
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