EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — East Grand Rapids Swimming and Diving has been known as one of the state's premier facilities for nearly 30 years. The Pioneers, led by longtime head coach Butch Briggs, will compete in the Division 3 state finals in Holland next weekend, looking to avenge last year's second-place finish at state.
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“Second place is great and there's nothing more satisfying than winning. So I think we're all pushing ourselves as much as we can and trying to give Cranbrook a state win.” said senior Carter Keagle.
East swimming and diving narrowly missed out on the 2023 state title. There was a difference of one-hundredth of a second between them and first place. This year we hope for even more.
“Oh, that's going to be huge for these guys and last year's guys. But Cranbrook has one of the best teams Division 3 has ever seen. But we… We’re going to let them run,” Butch Briggs said.
The EGR swim tradition is second to none. Most of these athletes have spent most of their lives swimming. But senior Henry Vandermolten has only been in the pool for two years, but he loves it.
“I think it's the mental strength of just trying to keep going and just trying to tell yourself, 'Faster, faster.' Don't give up, I just love the challenge.” said Vander Molten.
The team is anchored by seniors Carter Kegel and Micah Spitzley. They both take immense pride in swimming for a successful program like East and a coach like Butch.
“When you swim under Butch, you feel a sense of pride. You swim for a program with such history. “Butch has won over 30 state titles and the program has won over 50 titles. , I think there's a lot of pride, and when you swim, you want to take that pride and maintain that image,'' Spitzley said.
“It's really great to have a coach like Butch because he knows everything about swim meets and what he instructs us to do. We know there's a reason for that, And it’s going to make us better swimmers overall,” Kegel said.
The Pioneers won back-to-back state championships in 2021 and 2022 and have finished first or second in seven of the past eight state championships. They hope to take the mittens home this weekend.
“Winning against Cranbrook this year would mean a lot to us as we approach the end of swimming, especially considering their caliber,” Spitzley said.
The Division 3 swimming and diving finals will be held at the Holland Aquatic Center on March 8th and 9th. EGR will compete in the finals along with Holland Christian and Grand Rapids Christian, as well as several other West Michigan teams.
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