EDWARDSVILLE – The Breakers’ Bailey Grinter had a Michael Phelps-type of meet Friday through Sunday at the Heartland Area YMCA Championships. Phelps is an Olympian champion with 23 gold medals and 28 total medals.
Grinter had a neck full of 10 first-place medals of her own once the competition ended on Sunday night.
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Grinter, who is headed for the University of Tennessee on a full swimming scholarship, placed first in the 500 free, 100 backstroke, 100 and 200 free and 200 back individually. She was also a key member of the 400-yard free relay, the 400-medley relay and the 200-medley relay.
Grinter was simply “terrific” as usual, Edwardsville Breakers’ Coach Bob Rettle said. He speculates she will be competing next year at the NCAA Championships and sees nothing but a bright future for her.
The Annual Heartland Area YMCA Championships have been a showcase event each year for the Breakers’ head coach and Chuck Fruit Aquatic Center manager. Edwardsville had 32 first-place finishes, led by Grinter in the 15-21 girls age division. The Breakers placed first in 16 relays.
As Rettle stands on the sidelines watching the action, there is a glimmer in his eyes at what has been accomplished since the meet and the Chuck Fruit Aquatic Center first came into action.
“The atmosphere in the Chuck Fruit Aquatic Center for the Heartland Area Meet has been everything you could ask for,” he said. “It has started and grown more than I thought it would. The meet now reaches well into Missouri and throughout the Heartland area.”
The popularity and use of the Chuck Fruit pool continues to increase from year to year, serving not only swimmers from throughout the Edwardsville/St. Louis region, but has swollen to the entire Midwest.
Edwardsville was again crowned the meet champion with 4,302.50 points, then YOSI, 3,751, O’Fallon, 2,234, and TCAY, 2,007.5.
Other stars for the Breakers were Phoebe Gremaud in the 13-14 girls’ division and Cohen Osborne, a 10-year-old swim sensation. Gremaud was dominant in freestyle events, while Osborne won six first places. He was first in the 100 IM, the 100 backstroke, 50 butterfly, 50 freestyle, 100 fly and the 50 back. Gremaud showed more depth in her wins than any other Breaker swimmer, capturing first in the 100 back, 1,000 free, 200 breast and 100 I.M.
Evan Grinter, Bailey's younger brother, is a rising Breakers star, and was singled out for his work in the 11-12 age division. Coach Rettle said the future looks exceptionally bright for the youngest Grinter.
Freshman sensation Josie Bushell also recorded four wins in her events, three of them freestyle and one in the I.M. in the 13-14 category.
Victoria Brady closed out her YMCA season in fine form, dominating both the 1,000 and 1,650 free events. The Breakers’ Ginny Shranck dominated the breaststroke events and Brian Baggette was in good form in 500- and 1,650-yard distance events as he closes out his career in Edwardsville. Natalie Edwards won the 15-21 200 IM, Dylan Galbiati was the 15-21 boys IM champ. Pera Ona won the 9-10 girls 100 breast, Victoria Thomae was the 15-21 girls IM winner and Brianna Pierce won the 15-21 girls 200 fly.
A total of 650 swimmers took part in the Heartland Area Meet and Rettle said the teams now extend from Springfield, Mo., all the way to Centralia.
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