Cabrini is proud to announce that Lily Heath has signed a letter of intent to attend Aquinas on a swim scholarship.  Though Lily was an accomplished runner in both Cross Country and Track, she followed her heart  and signed a swimming offer.  As a member of the Cabrini swim team, which is co-ed and competes against all boys, she was a state qualifier in the 200 Free Relay.  Lily has proved to be a leader both in and out of the pool and both on and off the course/track. She helped convince several Cross Country team members through her years at Cabrini to join the swim team, allowing it to grow, become even more successful and build on it's previous success.  Lily's accomplishments were not missed by collegiate coaches, as she received offers from more than 50 schools to Swim and run cross country and Track. Head Coach Paul Lacroix did not have enough superlatives to describe Lily and her work ethic, "She'll definitely be missed next year. She is a quiet leader, it's never about her, it's always about the team."  The Cabrini administration and entire pride of Monarchs wish to offer their congratulations to Lily and her family.

On March 4th and 5th, the MHSAA hosted their annual Boys Swim & Dive State Championship meets across the state of Michigan. At the Division 3 event, one individual competed on behalf of Cabrini, Sophomore Drew Bylow.  While this was not Bylow’s first visit to the State Meet in his high school career, nor the first time he  qualified in multiple events, this weekend marks the first time he placed in the top 16 in both events he competed in.

In total, Bylow qualified for 6 individual events throughout the course of the season and chose to race in the 200 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke this year. On Day 1, Bylow was seeded in the top 12 in the 200 Freestyle, and after the completion of this first race, he dropped more than a second off of his entered time.  Later in the afternoon, Bylow hopped back in the water to swim his favorite race, the 100 Backstroke, and once again, he swam faster than his entered time.  These two performances secured him a spot to compete on Day 2.

 The next day of competition was even tougher than the first, as only the top 16 in each event returned to swim again. Going into Day 2, Bylow had already earned personal best records in his two events, but that didn’t stop him from swimming even faster! In the 200 Freestyle, he swam a 1:47.97 which earned him 10^th place, and in the 100 Backstroke, he swam a :55.42, and placed 12^th.  Each time Bylow dove into the pool he secured a lifetime best record; a feat in which his coaches couldn’t be more proud!

With the completion of this event comes the end of another season of Boys Swim & Dive. While the team looks forward to a much-deserved break, the coaches are excited and hopeful for what’s to come next season.

The final competition of the 2021 – 2022 Boys Swim & Dive season took place on March 4th and 5th at Waterford Kettering and the Cabrini Monarchs did not disappoint! After training hard since Thanksgiving, the team enjoyed the reprieve of taper, but then exploded in their final races. Seven teams represented their schools at the final meet, with no shortage of talent on that pool deck. While the competition was fierce, the Monarchs had spent months preparing for these final moments; they were physically and mentally prepared to leave it all in the pool for each of their races.

Day 1 began with two relays of Monarchs competing in the 200 Medley Relay – 7 out of 8 Monarchs earned a Personal Record in this first race; including Junior Kieran Fix dropping 4 seconds in his leg, as well as Senior Joseph Berro and Sophomore Ella Brash each dropping 2 seconds in theirs. Next in the 200 Freestyle, both Freshmen Jenny Day and Giovanni Rea dropped 15 seconds off their seed times, while Senior Lily Heath earned a season record in her race. 

To keep the momentum going, Freshman Ralph Kaleniecki swimming the 200 Individual Medley bested his previous time by 11 seconds!  Eight Monarchs competed in the 50 Freestyle, an
extremely difficult race in which to drop time. However seven of the eight competitors dropped time, including Sophomore Tyler Noah who dropped 6 seconds.  In the next two individual events, six Monarchs earned personal records, Freshman Mia Rossman in the 100 Butterfly, Juniors Kyndel Gargarello, Marin Genaw and Fix and Freshmen Jack Fitzgerald and Kaleniecki, in the 100 Freestyle. Remarkably, Fix dropped 16 seconds in his race!

Next up was the 500 Freestyle, a grueling race of 20 laps by a single athlete. Each Monarch entered in the event dropped significant time and earned a personal best time – Junior Chris Russelburg dropped 25 seconds, Heath 5 seconds, and Sophomore Drew Bylow dropped 4 seconds to swim a 4:58.31 (the first time he completed the race in under 5 minutes). In the final two individual events of the evening eight athletes earned a personal record, with significant time drops. In the 100 Backstroke, Day dropped 10 seconds, and in the 100 Breaststroke Berro and Rea both dropped 5 seconds, with Gargarello dropping 7 seconds. In the final event of the night, the 400 Freestyle Relay, the team of Russelburg, Fitzgerald, Day, and Rossman dropped 7 seconds off their entered time.

Day 2 of competition saw the return of the entire Cabrini Swim & Dive Team - each relay team returned to compete, as well as several athletes in individual events. To begin, the relay team of Bylow, Senior Lauren Schulte, Kaleniecki, and Russelburg placed 7th in the 200 Medley Relay, with Bylow, Schulte, and Kaleniecki earning a personal record in their leg of the race. Next in the 200 Freestyle, both Heath and Junior Taylor Bonar qualified, with Heath placing 17th and Bonar placing 24th. Kaleniecki also qualified to compete in the 200 Individual Medley and secured an 18th place finish, while in the 50 Freestyle, Bylow and Berro earned 10th and 24th respectively. 

Both Monarchs entered in the 100 Butterfly event qualified for Day 2 of competition, with Rossman placing 19th and Senior CassidyGlazier placing 20th.  Then in the 100 Freestyle, Genaw placed 24th, Bonar 23rd and Kaleniecki 21st and also earned a personal record for that swim.
 

Going into Day 2, the Monarchs were prepared for Bylow and Heath to compete in the 500, but in a last minute change, Russelburg was also selected to compete as well. At the end of those races, Russelburg placed 24th, Heath placed 18th and Bylow placed 3rd overall. Both of Cabrini’s 200 Freestyle Relays placed in the top 16 with the relay of Heath, Schulte, Bonar, and Genaw placing 6th and the relay of Gargarello, Noah, Freshman Faith Sterling, and Rea placing 15th. Each athlete in the B relay earned a personal best record as well! 

In the final two individual events of the day, seven Monarchs qualified to compete on the second day of competition. In the 100 Backstroke, Fix placed 21st, Brash 23rd and Genaw 24th . In the 100 Breaststroke, Rea placed 24th, Schulte 20th, Noah 19th and Berro 16th. 

To finish out another outstanding day of races, both 400 Freestyle Relays placed in the top 16, with the relay of Russelburg, Fitzgerald, Day, and Rossman placing 15th , and the relay of Bylow, Heath, Bonar, and Kaleniecki placing 7th . On the whole, the Cabrini Monarchs proved how much their hard work and dedication to their team paid off. In total, almost 90% of the races swam on Day 1 and over 50% on Day 2 resulted in a personal or season record.

To cap off this incredible season, Sophomore Drew Bylow will be traveling to Calvin University to compete in the 200 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke at the State Finals on March 11 – 12. Head coach Paul Lacroix gave his assistants Alysse Curtin and Victoria Shea a lot of credit, "Without them there to share their wisdom and dedication, this season wouldn't have been as successful as it was. We're a co-ed team swimming against all-boys schools, but we never backed down and just came back for more."  A truly fine job by Coach Lacroix and his staff.

Last week the Cabrini Monarchs Swim and Dive team finished up their regular season by competing in two dual meets against Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood on Tuesday, Feb. 2nd and then Allen Park on Saturday, Feb. 19th.  Both opposing teams offered up great talent and fierce competition, and while the Monarchs may not have won those meets, they still performed well and had significant improvements in their races.

First against Cranbrook, the Monarchs earned 22 Personal Records and 1 Season Record.  In the Medley Relay, six athletes from Cabrini earned Personal Records in their leg of the race; including Sophomore Tyler Noah who dropped 7 seconds, Freshmen Jenny Day, Giovanni Rea, and Ralph Kaleniecki dropping 3 seconds each, as well as Junior Chris Russelburg and Senior Joseph Berro each dropping a second.  Next, in the 200 Individual Medley, Senior Lily Heath dropped 4 seconds from her best time. In the next four individual events, six Monarchs earned personal best times; including Rea dropping 5 seconds and Day dropping 3 seconds in the 50 Freestyle, Sophomore Drew Bylow dropping a second in the 100 Butterfly, both Noah and Freshman Mia Rossman dropping 6 seconds in the 100 Freestyle, and again Day dropping a whopping 25 seconds in the 500 Freestyle! To finish up the night of competition, Junior Marin Genaw and Noah both dropped a second in their leg of the 200 Freestyle Relay, Berro dropped two seconds in the 100 Breaststroke, as well as Bylow, Junior Taylor Bonar, Senior Cassidy Glazier, and Day dropping time in their leg of the 400 Freestyle Relay, with Bonar dropping an incredible 10 seconds in her split!

In their competition against Allen Park, the Monarchs earned a total of 28 Personal Records – a huge achievement so late in the season. Cabrini had over 17 Personal Best splits from the three relay events! Specifically, in the Medley Relay.  Kaleniecki, Russelburg, Glazier, Noah, and Junior Kyndel Gargarello, each swam faster than their best in their leg of the race. Later in the meet, Genaw, Glazier, Day, Noah, and Gargarello dropped time in the 200 Freestyle Relay, as well as Sophomore Ella Brash, Glazier, Freshman Jack Fitzgerald, Rea, and Noah in the 400 Freestyle Relay.  Other highlights from the day include Kaleniecki dropping 4 seconds in the 200 Individual Medley, Brash dropping 5 seconds, and Day dropping 3 seconds in the 100 Freestyle, Russelburg dropping 13 seconds in the 500 Freestyle, and Brash dropping 6 seconds in the 100 Backstroke.

The Cabrini Monarchs put on quite a performance to close their regular season! Next up for the team is two weeks of solid practice in preparation for the Catholic League Championships on March 4^th and 5^th. Good Luck Monarchs!

On Saturday, Feb. 12th, the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association held their annual meet, in which athletes from all over the state, regardless of their school division, came together to compete.  Representing the Cabrini Monarchs was Sophomore Drew Bylow, who traveled to Jenison High School in Lansing, to participate in the 200 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke events.  Bylow, a student at Monroe St. Mary's Catholic Central who swims with Cabrini as part of the co-op team, came in 27^th out of 58 competitors in the 200 Freestyle and dropped more than a second off his lifetime best split by swimming a 1:49.91.  In the 100 Backstroke, Bylow swam a 56.53, a few tenths of a second faster than his entry time and came in 28^th out of 63 athletes.  Drew has consistently gotten better each time he competes and has continued that forward progress by earning two Personal Records this past weekend!  His hard work and dedication to his team and sport have certainly been paying off.

The Monarch’s regular season ends this week, when they will be competing in dual meets at Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook  on 2/15/2022 and at Allen Park on 2/17/2022, when they will celebrate their Senior Night.  They begin their work preparing for the year end League meet. Good Luck Monarchs!

Each year the Wayne County Invitational offers the chance for teams in our area to compete against the best and prepare themselves for the large-scale events that mark the end of season. This year, 20 teams from Metro-Detroit participated, including the Cabrini Monarchs who were represented by seven of their athletes in three relays and three individual events.

To kick things off in the Medley Relay, Sophomore Drew Bylow, Seniors Lauren Schulte and Lily Heath, and Ralph Kaleniecki swam against 16 of the best A Relays in the county, with Bylow, Schulte, and Heath equaling their best split from this season. Following that performance, Bylow secured 11^th place in the 50 Freestyle by swimming a 22.69 – his personal best as well as his 6^th state cut this season! 

Next for the Monarchs was the 500 Freestyle; Bylow earned a 10^th place finish and a personal record by swimming a 5:02.54 and Heath earned a season record by swimming a 5:59.57. Cabrini’s 200 Freestyle Relay dropped a second off their best time, with Kaleniecki, Heath, and Junior Marin Genaw each swimming personal best splits in the event. 

To end the day of intense competition, the relay team of Bylow, Heath, Kaleniecki, and Junior Taylor Bonar competed in the 400 Freestyle Relay event. The four together dropped 3 seconds off their season best, with Heath swimming a season record split, as well as Bonar and Kaleniecki earning personal records in theirs.

It is a privilege to compete at the Wayne County Invitational each year, and the Monarchs were proud to have so many of their athletes present. Next up, Bylow will be competing at the MISCA Invitational on Saturday, 2/12/2022, while the rest of the team prepares for their final two dual meets of the season. Good Luck Monarchs!

On Thursday, January 27th the Cabrini Varsity Swim & Dive Team competed in a dual-meet against Ann Arbor Fr. Gabriel Richard/Greenhills (AAGR) – the only other co-ed team in their league. While AAGR came out on top with a score of 136 to 45, the Monarchs turned in some great swims and ended the night with 20 Personal Records, and 9 athletes competing in a new race for the first time this season.

The first race was the 200 Medley Relay in which 12 Monarchs competed, three of them dropping time in their leg of the race.  The A Relay team of Seniors Lily Heathand Lauren Schulte,Sophomore Drew Bylow and Freshman Ralph Kaleniecki, earned a 3^rd place finish in that race. Next in the 200 Freestyle, Senior Joseph Berro, Sophomore Tyler Noah, and Freshman Giovanni Rea swam the longer race for the first time this season and surprised themselves and the coaches with how well they did! In the 200 Individual Medley, Junior Chris Russelburg swam the grueling race for the first time, and both Junior Taylor Bonar and Sophomore Ella Brash dropped time in their swims – Bonar dropping 15 seconds from earlier this season.

As always, Cabrini stepped up in the 50 Freestyle and 100 Freestyle, with 12 athletes competing and six  of them earning personal records. Bylow also took 1^st place in the 50 Freestyle with a time of 23.10. Other highlights included Freshman Jenny Day and Kaleniecki swimming the 500 Freestyle for the first time this season, as well as Junior Kieran Fix dropping 3 seconds in the 100 Backstroke since the prior Saturday’s competition. The Monarchs also represented their team well in the 100 Breaststroke event, with Schulte earning 2nd place,  Noah earning 3rd place, and Berro earning 4th place.

To finish out the night, nearly the entire team competed in the 200 Freestyle Relay and 400 Freestyle Relay, with Berro, Brash, Fix, Rea, Kaleniecki, Noah and Freshman Jack Fitzgerald, dropping time in their split of the race.

The entire team was challenged at this dual meet – whether by swimming a longer distance, a tougher race, or swimming in back-to-back events. The coaches couldn’t have been prouder of their team and are excited to see these incredible athletes continue to challenge themselves throughout the second half of the season. Next up for the Monarchs is the Wayne County Invitational on Saturday, February 5th, Good Luck Monarchs!

On Saturday, January 22nd, the Cabrini Swim & Dive Team competed in the annual Downriver Classic against nine other teams, and took home one State Cut, 26 Personal Records, and one Season Record.  The Monarchs Co-ed team put forth a strong effort against the all- boys teams of the other schools.  Overall the Monarchs had a great showing against some fierce competition. To kick off the day, the A Relay of Seniors Lauren Schulte and Cassidy Glazier, and Juniors Kyndel Gargarello and Marin Genaw dropped 5 seconds in the 200 Medley Relay to earn a 9^th place finish. In addition, all four athletes of that relay team swam a personal best in their leg of the race. 

Next in the 200 Freestyle, all three Monarchs that competed earned a Personal Record: Junior Taylor Bonar dropped 5 seconds, fellow Junior Chris Russelburg dropped 7 seconds, and Freshman Jenny Day dropped 8 seconds off their best times! Later in the meet, Sophomore Drew Bylow blew away the competition in the 500 Freestyle, by securing 1^st place and earning a Season Best time. 

To follow that performance, all six athletes that competed in the 100 Backstroke and 100 Breaststroke events earned Personal Best times! In the Backstroke, Genaw dropped 4 seconds, Gargarello dropped 10 seconds, and Junior Kieran Fix dropped 11 seconds off their personal records. 

Not to be outshined, Schulte dropped 2 seconds, Senior Joseph Berro dropped 5 seconds, and Sophomore Tyler Noah dropped 3 seconds in the 100 Breaststroke. To finish off a strong day of competition, the A Relay of Bylow, Senior Lily Heath, Bonar, and Russelburg swam in the 400 Freestyle Relay, earning a 9^th place finish, and Bylow earning his 5^th state cut this season by swimming a 50.51 in the first leg of the race!

Each year the Downriver Classic offers a great opportunity for teams in the region to compete and push each other to their absolute best. Once again, the Cabrini Monarchs stepped up to the competition and turned in spectacular performances. 

Next, the team's next competition is a dual meet against Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard on Thursday, January 27, 2022. Good Luck Monarchs!

On Saturday, January 8, the Cabrini Monarchs once again competed in the Belleville Tiger invite against 7 other talented teams. While no team scores were kept at this meet, individuals challenged themselves against the clock to secure a place in the top 16.

To start the day, 12 Monarchs raced in the 200 Medley Relay to earn the 12^th, 13^th, and 14^th place finishes – Freshmen Giovanni Rea and Ralph Kaleniecki, Junior Kiernan Fix and Seniors Lauren Schulte and Cassidy Glazier each earned a personal best split! Following that up, Junior Chris Russelburg swam a personal best in the 200 Freestyle by dropping 4 seconds from earlier in the season, and Sophomore Drew Bylow took 1^st place in the same event with a 1:51.23. Next up, Juniors Taylor Bonar and Marin Genaw completed the 200 Individual Medley for the first time; a race that challenges athletes with all 4 strokes. In the 50 Freestyle, 5 Monarchs competed, with Senior Lily Heath securing 16^th place, as well as Freshman Jenny Day and Sophomore Ella Brash gaining personal records.

In the second half of the meet, Glazier kicked things off by dropping 4 seconds in the 100 Butterfly since her last competition Thursday night. Next in the 100 Freestyle, Sophomore Tyler Noah, Freshman Mia Rossman, Kaleniecki, Senior Joseph Berro, and Fix each earned a personal record! Then, in the 500 Freestyle, Heath earned a 4^th place finish. Nearly the entire team competed in the 200 Freestyle Relay, with Day, Rea, Brash, Berro, Bonar, Kaleniecki, Glazier, Schulte, Genaw, and Russelburg each earning a personal best split. The Monarchs also showed up for the 100 Backstroke and 100 Breaststroke events!  Bylow earned 1^st place in the 100 Backstroke, while Day earned a personal best in the same event, and Junior Kyndel Gargarello competed in it for the first time. In the 100 Breaststroke, Berro and Schulte earned personal best times, while Rea and Rossman competed in that event for the first time.

To end the day, the Monarchs secured 8^th, 12^th, and 13^th place in the 400 Freestyle Relay, with personal best splits from Fix, Noah, Rea, Brash, Kaleniecki, Genaw, Bonar and Bylow.

All in all, the Monarchs had a great showing at the 2022 Belleville Tiger Invite with a total of 34 Personal Bests, and 2 Season Bests! Next the Monarchs will put in the work at practice before their next competition against U of D Jesuit and Catholic Central on January 20th.  Good Luck Monarchs!

On Thursday, January 6th, the Co-ed Cabrini Swim team started their return to competition on the right foot. The Monarchs competed in a Double Dual Meet against the all boys Warren De La Salle Collegiate and Birmingham Brother Rice High Schools, ending with the following scores: Cabrini – 45 vs. De La Salle – 131, and Cabrini – 50 vs. Brother Rice – 110.  Despite the scores, and even though they experienced a few hiccups over the Christmas break, including missing a week of practice due to Covid protocols, the Monarchs came out strong in their first competition back. 

Collectively the team earned 27-Personal Records, 1-Season Record, 12-First Time Swims, and 1 State Cut! To start the night, Cabrini turned in four Personal Records and nini First Time Swims in the 200 Medley Relay, including the A Relay of Sophomore Drew Bylow, Seniors Lauren Schulte and Lily Heath, and Junior Chris Russelburg securing a 3^rd place finish.  Next was Freshman Ralph Kaleniecki swimming the 200 Freestyle for the first time, and earning a well-deserved time of 2:52.45.  Following that, Bylow earned another State Cut, his 4^th this season, by swimming a 2:08.35 in the 200 Individual Medley. 

In the 50 Freestyle event, Senior Cassidy Glazier, Juniors Taylor Bonar, Kieran Fix, Sophomore Tyler Noah and Freshmen Jenny Day and Faith Sterling all turned in personal best times.  To keep the momentum going, Bylow, Kaleniecki, Sophomore Ella Brash, and Freshman Gio Rea each earned a Personal Record in the 100 Freestyle event. Other highlights include  Bonar dropping 13 seconds in the 500 Freestyle, an event she hadn’t swam in 2 years, along with Brash and Senior Joseph Berro securing personal bests in the 100 Backstroke and 100 Breaststroke respectively. To end the night, the relay team of Fix, Kaleniecki, Rea, and Freshman Mia Rossman all turned in personal best splits in the 400 Freestyle Relay.