The Lady Pios are back and kicking their season off with a bang. So far, they have competed in three conference meets and have crushed the competition. On Tuesday Sept. 13, the girls had their third home meet and faced off against Grand Rapids Christian and Manistee High School. Once again, the team proved their dominance against the competition by beating Grand Rapids Christian 120-67 and Manistee 130-45. One major change that the team has undergone this season was switching divisions, but that hasn’t seemed to slow them down.

Going into the 2016 season the girls swim team, along with other sports at the school, have switched conferences. In addition to the conference change, the Lady Pios have also switched divisions, going from D2 to D3. “Changing divisions has made most of us more excited for the season because more people will qualify for state,” Julia Miller ‘18 said. Going down in divisions means that the time to qualify for state is slower and already nineteen girls on the team have qualified for state.

Another change that has affected the team this season is that five girls have transferred to East mainly for the swim team. New student, Ileah Doctor, a junior who transferred from Jenison, is making a huge impact for the team. She is challenging some of the fastest swimmers at East and could be a huge help for the team at the state championship. So far, Ileah has loved the choice she and her family made when they chose East. “Everybody here has been so sweet and welcoming!” Doctor said. “A big difference between the swim team here and at Jenison, is here the team has so many girls, almost seventy, yet everybody is so close,” Doctor said.

Make sure to keep your eye on Doctor and the rest of the team as they continue on their quest for a state championship title.