East Grand Rapids' Depth Nets 24th Team Title, While Jenison Stars Shine
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
November 19, 2022
GRAND RAPIDS – There may not be a heated competition between sisters, but that's definitely not the case for opponents of Grace and Emma Albrecht.
The speedy Jenison siblings went head-to-head in two events in addition to swimming together on two winning relays at Saturday's Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals at Calvin University's Venema Aquatic Center.
"We push each other," said Grace, a junior. "But it's the same as with any other swimmer – we want to win."
The two were critical in helping Jenison finish runner-up behind East Grand Rapids with 219 points. The Pioneers notched their 24th Finals title with 280.
The sisters had a memorable afternoon as Grace edged her younger sister, a freshman, in the 50 freestyle. Grace won the event with a time of 23:41, while Emma was second at 23.82. Grace also was second in the 100 backstroke (54.50), while Emma was seventh (57.46). The two were part of the winning 200 medley (1:43.59) and 400 free relays (3:27.18).
When pressed, Grace will admit she looks at her sister more as a sibling rather than someone she needs to beat.
"Sometimes, once in a while," she said. "But most of the time we're competing against each other."
The sisters began their swimming background at virtually the same time at the club level about seven years ago. Emma said for the most part she looks at her older sister as a competitor, not a sibling.
"She's like any other swimmer," she said. "But we work together as teammates. She taught me always to have a positive attitude, no matter what."
The Pioneers continued their domination of Division 3/Class B Finals. Saturday's title was the team’s sixth in seven years, eighth since 2013 and 14th in 24 years. The program won its first title under coach Butch Briggs in the third year of Swim Finals in 1978 after finishing runner-up at the first two championship meets.
Briggs said the success never gets old. Different maybe, he said, but his swimmers never take anything for granted.
"Coming into the meet we were relatively beyond our seed times. But we found a way to win," said Briggs, who credits depth for the victory. "It's the way we've been all year with the depth. We have a little less than some teams, but Friday was one of our best days I can remember. We were up like 14 points without diving, and diving has saved (us) more than once over the years."
EGR senior Allison Alguire agreed that depth is a team strength, but so is another factor.
"We have a lot of perseverance," said Alguire, one of the team's co-captains who swam personal bests in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke while helping the 200 medley and 400 relays to second and third-place finishes, respectively. "We got close at the end of the year, which made our chemistry better. With our team we don't swim for a best time, we swim for the team."
EGR had only one first place, in the 200 free relay with Caroline Flermoen, Ellery Chandler, Alyssa Hein and Kate Simon.
The top individual performance in the meet came from Dexter senior Lily Witte, who won her fourth-straight diving title with a 554.65, as Caroline Li of Okemos (492.25) finished runner-up for the fourth year. Witte’s score was a Michigan all-Finals and pool record.
"It gets more special," said Witte, who will attend Indiana next season. "The fact that it’s my senior year and last year makes it special. I just try to go out and do what I need to do and try not to worry."
The meet's only double winner was Jenison's Sophie Umstead. She won the 200 individual medley (2:00.33) and the 100 breaststroke (1:01.11). She made a smashing transition from being a club swimmer a year ago as a freshman to becoming a two-event Finals champ.
"I just wanted to come in and swim my best," she said. "Club is similar to high school, but maybe a little more chilled."
Other first places were collected by two Birmingham Seaholm swimmers, Kelley Hassett in the 500 free (4:58.63) and Samantha Clifford in the 200 free (1:48.64). Rhian Russell of Rochester Adams in the 100 butterfly (54.30), Lily Cleason of Ann Arbor Skyline in the 100 backstroke (53.95) and Ella Roberson of Midland Dow in the 100 free (50.13) also won titles.
PHOTO (Top) An East Grand Rapids swimmer leaves the blocks during the 400 freestyle relay. (Middle) Swimmers approach the wall during the breaststroke final. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
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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
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