The past 10 years have been a golden era for girls swimming and diving in Livingston County .
Some of the greatest individuals and teams – mostly from Brighton – have graced the pool in the period of time from 2014-23.
Before the last 10 years, only two county teams finished in the top eight in the state. Since then, Brighton has achieved that feat eighth times.
There were 72 all-state performances by county swimmers and divers over the past 10 years. In the previous 10 years, there were only 48.
Brighton had two state champions in Taylor Seaman and Victoria Schreiber and had the county’s best finish ever in a state meet by placing second in 2018 .
Here’s a look at the best individual lineup of swimmers from the county over the past 10 years, with athletes being limited to no more than two events.
Jordyn Libler
► School: Brighton
► Senior season: 2021
► Event: 200 individual medley
► Accomplishments: Libler swam for Brighton as a freshman and senior , achieving three all-state individual finishes. Her fourth-place 200 individual medley time of 2:04.77 in the 2021 Division 1 finals is a school record. She also set the school breaststroke record in that meet with a third-place time of 1:02.40. Libler started her college career at Navy before transferring to Xavier.
► Coach Jason Black: “It was awesome having Jordyn come back for her last year. She was part of that success her freshman year. This year she broke her own breaststroke record and got two names off the IM record to hers alone. Her breaststroke time is an automatic All-American time.”
Maddie Mince
► Schools: Hartland, Brighton
► Senior season: 2018
► Event: 100 butterfly
► Accomplishments: Mince swam three years at Hartland before transferring to Brighton for her senior year. Her butterfly time of 56.75 in 2017 is a Hartland record. Her time of 57.73 in 2018 ranks fourth in Brighton history. She placed 11th in butterfly in 2016, eighth in 2017 and 13th in 2018.
► Coach Jason Black: “The girl can sprint pretty much any stroke. For Hartland, she used to sprint the breaststroke. She’s got all the tools. Obviously, I would’ve liked more time with her than just her senior year, but she was a great addition to the team.”
Alex Nelson
► School: Hartland
► Senior season: 2015
► Event: 100 backstroke
► Accomplishments: Nelson set a Livingston County backstroke record with her fourth-place time of 56.43 seconds in the 2015 Division 1 finals. She had four all-state swims during her career, her best finish being third in the 100 freestyle in 2013. Nelson swam four years for the University of Kentucky.
► Coach Samantha Wakefield: “Alex is not only blessed with being a great swimmer, but she has a tremendous work ethic. Throughout the season, Alex was our go-to person on relays and in individual events. When we needed a win or to pick up points, we knew we could count on Alex."
Victoria Schreiber
► School: Brighton
► Senior season: 2022
► Events: 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle
► Accomplishments: Schreiber became the third state champion in school history when she won the 500 freestyle as a junior in 2021 with a time of 4:57.27. She set county records with times of 1:50.56 for the 200 freestyle and 4:56.03 for the 500 freestyle. Schreiber had six individual top-four finishes in state meets, tying a county record. She currently swims at Brigham Young University .
► Coach Jason Black: “She’s been such a great example for the younger swimmers to emulate, the way she approaches practices. She’s one of the fiercest competitors I’ve ever coached. She’s never shied away from any challenge, no matter who she’s racing against, no matter what the race.
Taylor Seaman
► School: Brighton
► Senior season: 2016
► Events: 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle
► Accomplishments: Seaman is the only three-time state champion in county history, winning the 100 freestyle in 2014 and 2016 and the 50 freestyle in 2016. In the 2016 Division 1 finals, she set county records of 22.86 for the 50 freestyle and 49.64 for the 100 freestyle. Seaman was named the Division 1 Swimmer of the Year in 2016. She went on to Brown University where she set school records in the 100 freestyle (48.84) and 100 backstroke (53.82).
► Coach Jason Black: “Taylor Seaman will go down as the greatest swimmer in Brighton history. A three-time individual state champion as well as an individual runner-up, she has individual All-American titles and has anchored four All-American relays.”
Drue Thielking
► School: Brighton
► Senior season: 2021
► Event: 100 breaststroke
► Accomplishments: Thielking’s seven individual all-state swims rank second in county history to Marie Blanchard’s eight for Brighton from 1982-85. She was also on six all-state relays. She was all-state in breaststroke four times, placing sixth in 2018, third in 2019, fourth in 2020 and fifth in 2021. Her breaststroke time of 1:03.80 in 2019 ranks second in school history. Thielking is a five-time NCAA Division III All-American at Denison University in Ohio.
► Coach Jason Black: “Drue has been so important to the program since her freshman year and has really helped us with our success. Looking at the wall, I see three pennants with 2018 we were second, last year we were fourth and this year we were third. Drue was a part of all those teams and a big part of why we have those pennants.”
Bernadette Turchi
► School: Hartland
► Senior season: 2016
► Event: Diving
► Accomplishments: Turchi is the only county girls diver to make all-state since 2009, placing seventh in Division 1 with a score of 384.75 points as a junior in 2015. She set school records in 2016 with scores of 406.65 for 11 dives and 265.75 for six. Turchi went on to dive for Oakland University.
► Coach Samantha Wakefield: “Bernadette set the tone for a strong group of divers from Hartland (in 2015). Her year-round dedication to the sport has paid off, as she not only made regionals for the first time, but made states and placed seventh. Bernadette also established a new Hartland varsity record, further establishing her place in Hartland diving history.”
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: All-decade team: Livingston County's best girls swimming lineup for the past 10 years
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