From March 13-14, seven of Brighton High School’s varsity swim and dive athletes attended the MHSAA Division 1 state competition after a season of success. This year, the 2026 state team consisted of senior Spencer Sanders, senior Jackson Bennett, junior Collin Brown, junior Matthew Nicholson, sophomore Trey Hickman, sophomore Frankie Trupiano and freshman Elijah Shand.
From their early morning practices and team-wide buffet runs to the many moments and achievements along their road to the state championship, it’s time to remember what got them to states in the first place.
Early success was found in a monumental win against Brighton’s long-standing rival, Novi. Despite many close meets over the last several years, it had been 17 years since BHS had last beat them. However, the boys made it a goal early on to end this streak—and they successfully secured a narrow ten-point victory in their meet on Jan. 8, 2026, winning 98-88.
“When we were training, we only thought of one thing: N-O-V-I,” Shand said. “The meet started off good, and it ended up coming down to the last relay, which me, Jackson Bennett, Trey Hickman and Spencer Sanders were in, and we ended up securing the overall meet win.”
Bennett, one of the team’s captain’s, echoed this sentiment.
“The team as a whole went above and beyond to secure a win,” he said.
Not only did the win represent the culmination of an effort nearly two decades in the making, but it fired up the team to continue making splashes at the meets to come.
A week later, in their meet against Plymouth, the swim and dive team would secure a close win yet again, this time by a margin of just two points, resulting in a final score of 94-92.
“The Plymouth meet was most monumental,” senior Marco Ferrera, a first-time diver this season, said. “This is because it was my first time winning the diving event, beating kids who have been diving much longer than I have been diving.”
Brighton again managed to snatch a narrow victory against Canton with a score of 94-92 on Jan. 29. These close wins played an important role in determining their 6-1 dual meet record, with their only loss being against Northville. However, not all meets brought the same high stakes; a 127-53 victory against Hartland gave the boys not just an opportunity to celebrate their triumph but a chance to honor their seniors at their senior night. Just a few days earlier, the “Clash of the Underclassmen” meet on Jan. 24, designed exclusively for freshmen and sophomores, shined a spotlight on the team’s younger athletes while the juniors and seniors cheered them on.
“During the meet, everyone was really pumped up and excited to swim, and it was a really great atmosphere to be in,” Trupiano said, citing the “Clash of the Underclassmen” as his “favorite meet” of the season. “For me personally, I was able to match my times that I swam at the end of my freshman year, which gave me more confidence going into meets following this one. This meet also reassured me that I was improving and to trust in our training.”
Whether achieved on a personal level or encapsulating the team as a whole, these victories helped propel the several state qualifiers to the state competition. Of the seven qualifiers, only Sanders advanced to the finals individually, placing 10th in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:42.56 and 12th in the 100-yard freestyle in 46.76. A team consisting of Hickman, Bennett, Shand and Sanders also made it to finals in the 400-yard freestyle relay, placing eleventh in 3:11.02.
Brighton ultimately took 23rd overall with 24 points.
With a season of success both in athletic accomplishments and memorable swims, BHS’s varsity boys swim and dive team has signed off for the ‘25-’26 season.
