East Grand Rapids Caps Undefeated Season with 23rd Finals Title
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
November 20, 2021
GRAND RAPIDS – Butch Briggs doesn't think the phenomenal postseason success enjoyed by his East Grand Rapids girls swimming & diving program ever gets old.
But there is one stark difference in the Pioneers capturing 23 Finals championships over his 47 years of coaching.
"No, it doesn't get old – I get old," admitted Briggs after EGR added another Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship Saturday at Calvin University. "Every minute goes a little faster, and with the kids there is no difference. They just keep coming in every year. I've always enjoyed the commitment they give.
"With this team there has never been any drama, and some years there has been drama. Talent-wise, we're probably as good as we've been, but the difference is depth. It's probably our deepest team."
That depth was evident in the Pioneers’ third championship win in four years and fifth over the last eight. In all, EGR has now won eight Division 3 Finals crowns to go along with 15 in Class B. The first came in 1978. EGR, which never trailed after the first event Saturday, finished with 444 points followed by Bloomfield Hills Marian with 198. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingwood was third with 165.5, and Holland Christian fourth with 144.
The Pioneers, who finished the season unbeaten, snagged only one individual swim event by Sophie Williams in the 100-yard backstroke (58.19), but they did win the 200 medley relay (1:47.25) and 400 free relay (3:31.14) while diver Ava Jendritz (449.80) also won. Additionally, EGR had three seconds and one third place.
Williams, one of the team's four senior captains, helped two relays to firsts, won the backstroke and was seventh in the 100 freestyle. She agreed with Briggs that depth was the team's strength.
"We're so strong in every class. It's just not one class; we're very well-rounded. We have some girls who only swim one event, but there are others who could do it," she said. "(Being a favorite) is a little scary, but we also say when it comes to the end, we trust each other's work and we look forward to having fun."
Among the other individual champs was Plainwell's Riley Nugent, who captured the 500 free (5:04.35) and 200 free (1:52.83). She won the 500 at all four Finals during her high school career.
"Last year was kind of unusual, but I've been training for this for a long time," Nugent said. "I knew I could finish in the top eight, and I just wanted to swim my best race. I'm super happy that things worked out. This is always a big meet, and I was comfortable coming into it."
While Nugent was a senior in her last meet, Standish-Sterling's Scarlet Maison, a freshman, struck gold in her first championship in winning the 200 individual medley (2:08.360. Maison said her success in the USA Swim program enabled her to win Saturday.
"There was a lot of pressure, but I've been to a lot of USA meets," she said. "I knew I could swim well against good competition; I have confidence. You just have to be true to yourself and have confidence in the work you've done."
Julia Waechter of Marian was a double winner in the 100 free (51.06) and 50 free (23.74).
The other firsts were gained by Flat Rock's Lauren McNamara in the 100 butterfly (56.23) and Ginger McMahon of Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.85).
McNamara, whose time was a personal best, said she liked her chances of touching the wall first.
"That's the goal; that's usually the goal," she said. "I've worked toward this all season. I'm real happy."
McMahon also won the breaststroke as both a freshman and junior. She said her goal wasn't necessarily becoming a three-time champ.
"It's more about fun and love of sport," said McMahon, who will swim at Arizona State next season, "I wanted to use this as training for Winter Junior Nationals. But it's nice to see a lot of others I know here. It's a lot of fun."
PHOTOS by High School Sports Scene.
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- Boys Tennis
- Girls Tennis
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Field Hockey Debut, Tennis Finals Change Among Most Notable as Fall Practices Set to Begin
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 8, 2025
The addition of girls field hockey as a sponsored postseason championship sport and a revised schedule for Lower Peninsula Boys Tennis Finals are the most significant changes to fall sports as practices are set to begin Monday, Aug. 11, for an anticipated 100,000 high school athletes at Michigan High School Athletic Association member schools.
The fall season includes the most played sports for both boys and girls; 36,210 football players and 19,679 girls volleyball players competed during the Fall 2024 season. Teams in those sports will be joined by competitors in girls and boys cross country, field hockey, Lower Peninsula girls golf, boys soccer, Lower Peninsula girls swimming & diving, Upper Peninsula girls tennis and Lower Peninsula boys tennis in beginning practice next week. Competition begins Aug. 15 for cross country, field hockey, golf, soccer and tennis, Aug. 20 for swimming & diving and volleyball, and Aug. 28 for varsity football.
Field hockey is one of two sports set to make its debut with MHSAA sponsorship during the 2025-26 school year; boys volleyball will play its first season with MHSAA sponsorship in the spring.
There are 37 varsity teams expected to play during the inaugural field hockey season. There will be one playoff division, with the first MHSAA Regionals in this sport beginning Oct. 8 and the first championship awarded Oct. 25.
To conclude their season, Lower Peninsula boys tennis teams will begin a pilot program showcasing Finals for all four divisions at the same location – Midland Tennis Center – over a two-week period. Division 4 will begin play with its two-day event Oct. 15-16, followed by Division 1 on Oct. 17-18, Division 2 on Oct. 22-23 and Division 3 played Oct. 24-25.
Also in Lower Peninsula boys tennis, and girls in the spring, a Finals qualification change will allow for teams that finish third at their Regionals to advance to the season-ending tournament as well, but only in postseason divisions where there are six Regionals – which will be all four boys divisions this fall.
The 11-Player Football Finals at Ford Field will be played this fall over a three-day period, with Division 8, 4, 6 and 2 games on Friday, Nov. 28, and Division 7, 3, 5 and 1 games played Sunday, Nov. 30, to accommodate Michigan State’s game against Maryland on Nov. 29 at Ford Field.
Two more changes affecting football playoffs will be noticeable this fall. For the first time, 8-Player Semifinals will be played at neutral sites; previously the team with the highest playoff-point average continued to host during that round. Also, teams that forfeit games will no longer receive playoff-point average strength-of-schedule bonus points from those opponents to which they forfeited.
A pair of changes in boys soccer this fall will address sportsmanship. The first allows game officials to take action against a team’s head coach in addition to any cautions or ejections issues to players and personnel in that team’s bench area – making the head coach more accountable for behavior on the sideline. The second change allows for only the team captain to speak with an official during the breaks between periods (halftime and during overtime), unless another coach, player, etc., is summoned by the official – with the penalty a yellow card to the offending individual.
A few more game-action rules changes will be quickly noticeable to participants and spectators.
- In volleyball, multiple contacts by one player attempting to play the ball will now be allowed on second contact if the next contact is by a teammate on the same side of the net.
- In swimming & diving, backstroke ledges will be permitted in pools that maintain a 6-foot water depth. If used in competition, identical ledges must be provided by the host team for all lanes, although individual swimmers are not required to use them.
- Also in swimming & diving – during relay exchanges – second, third and fourth swimmers must have one foot stationary at the front edge of the deck. The remainder of their bodies may be in motion prior to the finish of the incoming swimmer.
- In football, when a forward fumble goes out of bounds, the ball will now be spotted where the fumble occurred instead of where the ball crossed the sideline.
The 2025 Fall campaign culminates with postseason tournaments beginning with the Upper Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals during the week of Sept. 29 and wrapping up with the 11-Player Football Finals on Nov. 28 and 30. Here is a complete list of fall tournament dates:
Cross Country
U.P. Finals – Oct. 18
L.P. Regionals – Oct. 24 or 25
L.P. Finals – Nov. 1
Field Hockey
Regionals – Oct. 8-21
Semifinals – Oct. 22 or 23
Final – Oct. 25
11-Player Football
Selection Sunday – Oct. 26
District Semifinals – Oct. 31 or Nov. 1
District Finals – Nov. 7 or 8
Regional Finals – Nov. 14 or 15
Semifinals – Nov. 22
Finals – Nov. 28 and 30
8-Player Football
Selection Sunday – Oct. 26
Regional Semifinals – Oct. 31 or Nov. 1
Regional Finals – Nov. 7 or 8
Semifinals – Nov. 15
Finals – Nov. 22
L.P. Girls Golf
Regionals – Oct. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11
Finals – Oct. 17-18
Boys Soccer
Districts – Oct. 8-18
Regionals – Oct. 21-25
Semifinals – Oct. 29
Finals – Nov. 1
L.P. Girls Swimming & Diving
Diving Regionals – Nov. 13
Swimming/Diving Finals – Nov. 21-22
Tennis
U.P. Girls Finals – Oct. 1, 2, 3, or 4
L.P. Boys Regionals – Oct. 8, 9, 10, or 11
L.P. Boys Finals – Oct. 15-16 (Division 4), Oct. 17-18 (Division 1), Oct 22-23 (Division 2), and Oct. 24-25 (Division 3)
Girls Volleyball
Districts – Nov. 3-8
Regionals – Nov. 11 & 13
Quarterfinals – Nov. 18
Semifinals – Nov. 20-21
Finals – Nov. 22
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.