Waterford Kettering will be the setting Saturday for this year’s Oakland County Girls Swim Championship.

At this point, it has to be considered Farmington Hills Mercy’s to lose.

The Marlins won last year’s event in Royal Oak with a staggering 364 points, which was 220 more than runner-up Birmingham Seaholm. Before that? Huron Valley United gave it a chase in Lake Orion, but still trailed Mercy by 120 points. HVU also came second in 2023, but lagged behind the Marlins again by over 100 points in the end.

Why might it be again tough to unseat the Marlins? Take a look at the 400 freestyle relay, for example. One of the state’s best, Elizabeth Eichbrecht, anchored West Bloomfield’s team, and she had a leg under 49 seconds, but it still wasn’t enough to beat Mercy’s quartet of Avery Tack, Campbell Shore, Ella Hafner and Lyla Collins.

Shore and Tack are back as seniors, Hafner is now a junior and Collins is just a sophomore. Mercy currently has the second-best time in the state in that event, 3:40.48.

Where else is Mercy likely to butter its bread if it is to 4-peat on Saturday? Look to the 100 freestyle. Tack and Shore finished second and fourth, respectively, at last year’s county meet, and each have several of the fastest times in the area so far this fall.

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Additionally, Tack is the defending champion in the 200 IM, while Hafner, who took second in the 500 free in Royal Oak, has the county’s best time in that event so far this season.

Whoever wants to challenge Mercy for the throne is going to have to not only pick up points in the relay events, but also try and have at least one finisher near the top of the podium in a number of other individual races.

Here’s some of the other teams who could challenge.

Birmingham Seaholm

The Maples were a third-place finisher last year behind West Bloomfield, so it’s apt that they’re a primary contender. If someone is best equipped to challenge Mercy in relay events, it might be them. The two had a dual meet in Birmingham back on Sept. 15 and Mercy barely took the honors, 95-91. Seaholm’s 200 free relay team of Payton Garn, Madailein Howard, Noelle Schneider and Layla Stephens gave Mercy’s foursome a run for its money that day, finishing just over a second behind the Marlins. Their other “A-team” quartets were relatively close in times, too.

Garn will have competition, but currently has the best time around in the 100 breaststroke, and she could also challenge in the 200 IM and the 50 free. Leah Isaksen should be in the running for the 100 backstroke. Schneider, Layla Woerner and Sophie Layer all can provide chances at picking up points, and that’s what will be needed for the Maples, No. 2 behind Mercy in the D2 polls, to threaten for first place.

Detroit Country Day

In the same way that West Bloomfield had Eichbrecht in previous years, the Yellowjackets’ superpower is Quinn Norlander.

Norlander nearly broke the county record for the 100 backstroke when she won the event last year, and no one has come close to touching her times again this year as of yet. She also returns as the reigning champion in the 100 freestyle, though that’s a race where she’s likely to have more competition.

Teammate Allie Schwartz could also be a contender in the 100 butterfly, but is all that to be enough? The team’s 200 medley relay team, for example, will need to place highly and others are likely to have to exceed expectations, but regardless, Country Day should be somewhere near the top of the standings.

South Lyon East

The Cougars (ranked fifth in D2) have one of the county’s best marks in the 400 free relay this season (3:45.15), so a top finish there is something to watch for if they’re to contend.

But the strength of SL East, who finished fourth in 2025, looks to be in the individual events. Leila Richards’ best finish last season as a freshman was fourth in the 50 freestyle, but her 100 free time rivals those of Hafner and Greaves from Mercy and her 200 IM time is also among her best.

Keira Rumberger and Madison O’Connor are also back as East seniors who were part of their relay teams that performed well at last year’s D2 state finals, where they took ninth place.

Bloomfield Hills

Like Country Day, Bloomfield Hills might have one of the best individual performers on Saturday in Kailey Bachmann. At the county final last season, Bachmann came in second place in the 100 butterfly and finished fifth in the 100 backstroke. So far she’s got the county’s best time in the fly (0:59.04) and top marks in a number of others, including the 200 free.

The Black Hawks’ (No. 5 in D1) relay times are among the better ones in the field, also, so it may just be about racking up more individual points for them.