EGR Adds to Team Title Tradition, Divine Child's Dziobak Finishes Career Finals Sweep
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
November 22, 2025
HOLLAND – East Grand Rapids won six events, including a sweep of the relays, on its way to earning a third consecutive Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship in girls swimming & diving Saturday at the Holland Aquatic Center.
Butch Briggs' Pioneers totaled 373 points to outdistance runner-up Bloomfield Hills Marian (228). St. Joseph (171) placed third, followed by Holland Christian (162) in fourth and Hudsonville Unity Christian (151) in fifth.
Led by University of Arkansas commit Ellery Chandler, East Grand Rapids was able to pull away from its closest competitors early during the final day of the two-day competition.
Chandler was extremely pleased with her performances Saturday after the star senior earned individual victories in the 100-yard butterfly (54.11) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:01.78) along with completing a leg on the Pioneers' winning 200-yard medley relay (1:44.65) and 200-yard freestyle relay (1:36.74).
"I dropped all my times today from Friday's preliminaries. It was exciting to win my individual events, and it was great being a part of our two victorious relay teams,” Chandler said. “Coming into the state meet this weekend, I was looking to see if some records were attainable in my events. Getting a couple of those were among my goals.”
Chandler, along with juniors Meredith Sperling and Addie Hein and freshman Catherine Sowerby, combined to break the Division 3 Finals record in the 200 medley. Chandler also eclipsed meet records in both of her individual events, the breaststroke during Friday's prelims with a time of 1:01.60.
Joining Chandler and Ivy Chu on the Pioneers' winning 200-yard freestyle relay were senior Nora Camfferman and freshman Della Avendt. Hein also collected a first for the Pioneers in the 200-yard individual medley (2:06.74). Sperling and Sowerby teamed up with sophomore Nalah Mamatela and Chu, a junior, as the Pioneers took first in the meet's final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:32.82).
Briggs had plenty of praise to dish out regarding his team afterwards.
"Ellery gets her share of the first places, but our freshmen class really stepped up and were huge in our success this season," said Briggs, who on Saturday completed his 52nd season coaching at East Grand Rapids.
"We have a very deep team and a squad that got along with one another very well without any drama. There were a few events in which we had three state placers in. That piles up a ton of points for you. It was such a fun season, and I can't say enough good things about these kids. My assistant coach runs the little kids' program for me at East Grand Rapids. Coaching continuity has had a great deal to do with our success as well."
Holland Christian junior Camryn Siegers was named Most Outstanding Swimmer in the meet by the coaches association following her individual wins in the 50-yard freestyle (22.79) and 100-yard backstroke (53.37), the latter a meet record.
Hamilton junior Josi Popma scored 399.40 points to earn first in diving, edging Chelsea junior Anna McCallister (397.90).
Popma admitted she battled nerves coming into Saturday's final round.
"I came in today feeling really stressed and didn't think I could do this. I just had to remind myself to just go out there and approach it like I do every other day and be confident,” Popma said. “Just being with my friends and teammates and keeping a positive attitude are what carried me through.”
"It's been a long road for Josi,” Hamilton head coach Liz Vandewege said. “As a freshmen she qualified for state and was overwhelmed by the moment, and last year as a sophomore she proved she could move up the ranks. During the offseason she worked hard to get a bigger list of dives to compete with Anna (McCallister), who is a great diver. She really improved her technique this year, is really strong and has lot of God-given abilities to spin."
Dearborn Divine Child senior Ella Dziobak won her fourth consecutive Finals title in the 500-yard freestyle (4:56.20) while also claiming a first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle (1:51.10).
"This was a real fun way to wrap up high school swimming by winning the 500 a fourth time,” said Dziobak, who will continue her swimming career at Purdue University next fall. “I could see all of my teammates cheering for me before the race started, and that got me fired up. I definitely excel in the distance events more than the sprints. I swam my fastest time of the year in the 200 as well, so that was nice too.”
Dearborn Divine Child head coach Kevin Hafner was pleased to see Dziobak come away with her fourth title.
"Ella puts in a great deal of time in this sport. … She is a tremendous young lady and has a real good head on her shoulders while coming up with her own game plan and executing it very well," Hafner said.
Wayland senior Laney Wolf captured first in the 100-yard freestyle (50.60).
(Photos by High School Sports Scene.)
- Field Hockey
- Boys Soccer
- Girls Swim & Dive
- Boys Tennis
- Girls Tennis
- Girls Volleyball
- Girls Cross Country
- Boys Cross Country
- Football
- Girls Golf
- MHSAA News
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.