The Trojans traveled to Calvin University for the Division 3 state finals on Friday and Saturday. Swimmers who place in the top 16 in each event at Friday’s preliminaries advanced to the finals on Saturday. Just qualifying for the State Finals is a big accomplishment, placing in the top 16 puts a swimmer in select company.

The girls turned in fantastic swims and brought home 11 medals. The team scored 28 points which is the most in program history and placed 24th which ties the team’s highest place with the team from 2019. The team broke 6 school records on the weekend and placed in 5 swimming events which is the most in program history.

Gate Grinnell started the meet off in the 200 free where she placed 27th. Macy Irelan was in the water next in the 200 IM. She lowered her own school record on Friday and advanced to Saturday where she broke her record again and placed 13th. Amanda Brained was next in the pool in the 50 free where she touched the wall in 33rd place. Macy Irelan was back in the pool for the fly where she moved up from being seeded 18th to qualifying 14th. On Saturday she held her place and finished in 14th. The swim of the meet for the Trojans may have been the 200 free relay team on Friday where the girls were seeded 27th and moved all the way up to 9th. The team of Macy Irelan, Amanda Brainerd, Mya LaMay and Kate Grinnell broke the school record which was set in 2017. They broke the record by over a second and a half which is a huge margin for the sprint relay. The team placed 11th on Saturday. Amanda Brainerd dove in for the breaststroke where she broke her own school record on Friday and placed 12th on Saturday. The final event was the 400 free relay. The team of Britney Aurora-Erazo, Kate Grinnell, Amanda Brainerd and Macy Irelan broke their own school record, which they set two weeks ago, on Friday and qualified 16th. On Saturday they lowered that record again going 3:48.52 and placed 15th. They have lowered the record set in 2019 by two and a half seconds this season.

Every girl stepped up and contributed to the success of the team this weekend. I am very proud of how hard these girls practiced after competing in the conference finals two weeks ago. It can be very difficult to stay motivated when only the state qualifying swimmers continue to practice. The girls’ efforts lead to great swims and a long list of best times. Congratulations Trojans.