Macomb Daily Article 01 29 09

 

Macomb Swim Meet Romeo hopes for another Peake performance Bulldogs have won eight county titles since 1998 By John Hetzler Macomb Daily Sports Writer Kendall Peake's passion has helped Romeo become a Macomb County swimming and diving power.     Peake guided Romeo to the title at last year's Macomb County Swimming and Diving Championships, the Bulldogs' eighth county crown since 1998, and his team enters as one of the favorites at next week's county meet at L'Anse Creuse North.     "I don't know," Peake said when asked the reasons for his team's success. "Swimming always has been a passion of mine since high school."     Now in his 20th season as Romeo's coach, Peake has seen triumph and tragedy.     His son, Kyle, a two-time county breaststroke champion in 2005 and '06, died two years ago at the age of 18.     "It's been tough," Kendall Peake said.     Coaching has kept him going, and though he has thought of retiring, swimming remains in his blood.     "It just seems like I can't get enough of it," Peake said. "It's seeing a 14-year-old child going to be an 18-year-old adult – that's the most important part of their life. … It's worth it."     He said he has watched some of his swimmers go on to be doctors and scientists, and found that as rewarding as winning championships.     Peake even has seen his swimmers go into coaching. Matt Rohloff, a captain on Romeo's first county championship squad in 1998, now is the coach at Warren Woods-Tower.     In addition, Peake takes great pride in the Bulldogs' success out of the pool. In particular, he points to last year's team's fifth-place ranking in MISCA's Academic All-State Team Award.     Now Peake hopes for big things from this year's seniordominated team.     Senior captains Devon Compeau, Tyler Laurain and Mike Glinski all return from last year's county championship team, and together with senior Max Hensel have formed a 200-yard medley relay team that already has posted the eighthfastest time in the state.     Glinski and Laurain have qualified for the state meet in the breaststroke and backstroke, respectively, and junior Matt Ruman adds depth to the Bulldogs.     "We always target the state meet, of course," Peake said. "And what we get in the meantime is a bonus."     The Bulldogs have been bonus babies over the last decade. But Romeo's quest for another county championship will not be easy as the Bulldogs will face tough challenges from Anchor Bay, Chippewa Valley, Dakota and De La Salle.     "Macomb County is very, very tough," Peake said. "It's not like it used to be. You have some really good coaches out there now."

View

Past team champions 2008 -- Romeo, 263 points. 2007 -- L'Anse Creuse, 281 points. 2006 -- Romeo, 315 points. 2005 -- Romeo, 311 points. 2004 -- Fraser, 186 points. 2003 -- Romeo, 275 points. 2002 -- Romeo, 294 points. 2001 -- Romeo, 279 points. 2000 -- Romeo, 240 points. 1999 -- Eisenhower, 238 points. 1998 -- Romeo, 183 points. 1997 – Ford, 284 points. 1996 – Ford, 324.5 points. 1995 – Ford, 386 points. 1994 – Ford, 324 points. icle View