The GRCH Eagles swam a hard fought weekend at the Oakland University Natatorium this past Friday and Saturday finishing in the top 10 teams out of the 48 teams who competed this year.  The season came to an end with some exciting performances earning all state honors beginning with the 200 Medley Relay of Klaver, Turner, Burrows, and Winkle finishing 6th in the state with an in season best time of 1:52.13. the second relay to receive All State was the 200 Freestyle relay team of Burrows, Winkle, Carpenter, and Klaver with an 8th place time of 1:41.67.  Individual performances included: Kate Klaver placing 35th in prelims in the 100 backstroke.  Zoe Turner placing 20th in prelims in the 100 breaststroke.  Kristin Winkle placing 17th in prelims in the 100 freestyle and scoring 14th in finals in her 50 freestyle. Becca Burrows scored 9th in her 200 freestyle in finals and scored 8th in her 100 freestyle in finals.  The team finished with a total score of 71 points locking them in to 10th place.  The Eagles are excited to begin preparations for next season already!

The GRCH Eagles took 6th after a hard fought fast weekend of swimming at the Conference Championships hosted at Jenison High School over the weekend.  The Eagles performed at a staggering 95% season best times across the team with huge time drops left and right. Every single athlete went home with something to feel great about. Friday prelims helped place the team well for Saturday swims earning extra swims in the bonus heat for many swimmers, especially freshmen on the team!  Highlight races on the scoring side included Becca Burrows, who was honored with All Conference and defended her title in the 200 freestyle for the third year in a row. Becca was also runner up in the 100 freestyle at 53.99. Kristin Winkle also claimed all conference with a lifetime best in both her 50 and 100 freestyles earning 2nd in the 50 freestyle (24.97) and 6th in her 100 freestyle (54.95). On the diving boards Naomi Grix took 10th with 284.6 points and Ella Vandenberg took 16th with 226.25 points!  All in all the Eagles were very proud of the improvement brought on by hard work and diligent training this season. Those qualified for the State Championships will compete in two weeks at Oakland University!

The Eagles celebrated SENIOR NIGHT at the Venema Aquatic Center Tuesday night with full hearts and fond memories looking back on the careers of Kristyn Erffmeyer, Kate Klaver, Zoe Turner, Vera Grix, Lucy Swedberg, and Sierra Mennega. Five of the six seniors were four year veterens of the program who all contributed their best as the years have gone by. We thank each and every one of them for their leadership and wonderful examples of Christian student athletes.  On the competition side a mixed bag of bodies feeling great from a few days rest into the taper season, and a few feeling off from the shock to the system. Jenison provided good competition, but both teams were down a few athletes due to sickness and injury. Well swum races were across the pool tonight starting off strong in a touch out on the Medley Relay, the familiar Klaver, Turner, Burrows, Winkle combo remains a strong candidate for top swims in the conference in two weeks. A similar story was had in the 200 Free relay with a Carpenter, Winkle, Burrows, Brinks touch out for the win as well. Divers scored season bests on the boards which bodes well for the conference and regional meets ahead. The Eagles look forward to the rest of the taper season and getting zoned in for the conference championships NEXT WEEKEND already! 

The Eagles had a loud and fast night of swimming against opponents Northview and Unity Christian. The Eagles went 1-1 against the two opponents falling to Northview and beating Unity.  Fast times were swum throughout the night with multiple in season best times for the eagles. Standout swims from Speulstra in her 100 Freestyle, Entingh in her 500 freestyle, Winkle out touching by less than tenth of a second to win the 200 freestyle, Burrows racking up another two wins in her 200 free and 100 fly, and dozens of seconds shaved off the rest of the teams races across the board.  As is tradition swimming a Christian swim team, Unity and Grand Rapids Christian always end the evening by sing the doxology "Praise God from whom all blessings flow!" The Eagles have only one home meet left this season next Tuesday against Jenison!   

The GRCH fell to the EGR Pioneers Tuesday night with a final score of 111-70.  The Eagles swam some good races including a victory in the 50 freestyle and first time 500 swims from Turner, Winkle, and Carpenter. First time swims in the 200 for Carpenter and Konyndyk as well. With only three weeks left in the regular conference season, the Eagles prepare for Northview and Jenison in the following two tuesdays before the conference championships. Sights are set on best times and great performances!

The GRCH Eagles Edged out the Spring Lake Lakers on Tuesday night in a tight conference dual meet ending with a two point differential.  Both teams struggled with a few injuries and sicknesses deep into the season, but managed to put up a good fight against one another. No season best times were swum for either team, but each race was swum to the bitter end!  On the diving boards Naomi Grix qualified with her fourth point for Regionals! A big congratulations to her.  The Eagles return to competition next week against East Grand Rapids at home. In the mean time, the training continues harder than ever. 

The GRCH Eagles had a disappointing loss against the FHNE combine team Tuesday night in the VAC. Coming off mid season, hopes were high for some solid performances, but the drags of mid season training took their toll on the stopwatches. There were admirable performances for eagles during the evening especially at the start of the meet. The 200 Medley Relay won with an in season best time at 1:56. Winkle took the win in the 200 Freestyle in a season debut of the race and Burrows Klaver and Nelson took 1,2,3 in the 200 IM. Burrows and Winkle both claimed first in their 100 Fly and 100 Freestyle races to boot.  With many meets ahead the Eagles will continue to put in the hard work to face the rest of the conference come November!

The Eagles had quite a weekend at the Holland Aquatic Center competing at the D3 Mid Season Invitational.  The Mid Season Invite is always a wild meet with some teams swimming at peak condition, while others are slugging through the mid season training regiments. The Eagles fell right in the middle of the pack with a 6th place finish. While placement was not at the top of the teams priority this weekend, big swims and cut times were! An exciting 5 state cut times were swam through the duration of the meet! Burrows in the 100 Free, Turner in the 100 Breast, Klaver in the 100 Back and Winkle doubling up in the 50 Free and 100 Free! This was a huge confidence boost for the team getting these cuts at mid season which leaves more time to focus on the conference and state championships without dancing around cut times. On the scoring side (top 16) - The Medley Relays (A& B) finished 6th and 13th, Burrows took 6th in the 200 Freestyle, Nelson took 10th in the 200 IM, Winkle took 3rd in the 50 Freestyle, and Grix took 14th on the boards.  In the second half of the meet Carpenter and Nelson took 10th and 12th respectively in the 100 Fly. In the 100 Freestyle Burrows took 2nd, Winkle took 5th, and Bremer took 15th! There was an unfortunate disqualification of the A 200 Free Relay which left the B relay to score 11th. In the 100 Backstroke, Klaver took 9th, Bremer took 11th, and Speulstra took 16th. In the 100 Breast Stroke Turner took 6th and Erffmeyer took 15th. Finishing up the meet, the 400 Free relay took 5th in the A and 15th in the B.  Overall it was a challenging, but successful weekend for the Eagles. The team looks forward to the back half of the training season with many great races and meets ahead! This week they will compete at HOME against the Forest Hills Northern Eastern combined team. 

The Eagles took a decisive conference victory last night against Catholic Central in the Downtown YMCA with a final score of 108-75. The meet started out fast with 1st and 3rd in the Medley Relay by Klaver, Turner, Burrows, and Winkle in the A and Speulstra, Erffmeyer, Nelson, and Konyndyk in the B. Quickly following, Burrows turned around and won the 200 Freestyle with Brinks and Entingh scoring in at 4th and 5th. Nelson took 2nd in the 200IM after a hard fought race which lead into the 50 Freestyle which was dominated in a 1,2,3 finish by Winkle, Carpenter, and Klaver.  The excitement did not stop as Grix, Hermen, and McGowan all took Regional points on the diving boards going 1,2,3 as well!  The 100 Butterfly was won by Burrows with Carpenter taking 3rd. The Eagles then took 2,3,4 in the 100 Freestyle and 500 freestyle outscoring Catholic in both races. The 200 Free Relay was won by Burrows, Carpenter, Brinks, and Winkle by over 3 seconds. Another 2,3,4,finish in the backstroke solidified the meets outcome from Klaver, Bremer, and Speulstra and last but not least, Turner took the win in the 100 Breast followed by a 3rd place finish from her debut 100 Breaststroke, Maria Nelson.  The Eagles look forward to seeing the Wildcats again this weekend at the Mid Season Invitational as well as the Conference and State Championships!    (photo From left: coach Schroder with divers Vanderploeg, Vandenberg, Grix, coach Groonenboom, McGowan, Hanenburg, and Hermen)

The Eagles fell Tuesday night to a strong Forest Hills Central team in a dual meet at the Forest Hills Aquatic Center with a final score of 105-75. The meet did provide a few opportunites for swimmers to race in off or first of the year races including Speulstra in the 200, Turner in the 200IM, and Carpenter in the 50 Freestyle. Highlights of the night included Burrows taking the 500 Freestyle with a state cut time and Grix dominating the diving boards with an in season best score of 162.50 earning her a point for regionals!  The Eagles will continue to train hard this week and then prepare for the Mid Season Invitational hosted by Holland Christian next Saturday!

The Eagles and the Maroons started off an early season dual meet at the Venema Aquatic Center on Tuesday night. The Maroons took the day off the back of a solid medley relay and a distinctive closing 400 free relay. There were quite a few outstanding swims during the meet on the part of some new and returning swimmers for both teams. A highlight of the night for the Eagles was the 200 free relay where Winkle, Burrows, Brinks, and Klaver took the race by less than .3 in an exciting finish by Burrows. Other highlight swims for the Eagles were Burrows winning the 200 free and Nelson winning the 200IM in back to back races. The Eaglels look forward to seeing their fellow Christian Swimmers and Divers at the 2019 Mid Season Invitational hosted by Holland Christian. As is tradition, the Maroons and the Eagles finished the meet with arms around eachother singing the Doxology.  A second unofficial dual meet was swum against Spring Lake in a double dual meet format. Holland Christian beat spring lake 115-69 and GRCH beat Spring Lake 104 - 80. Spring Lake and GRCH will meet again at their regularly scheduled conference swim meet later this season. This double dual does not affect conference standings.