Family tradition: Idaho Falls siblings look to bring home state hardware
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IDAHO FALLS – The Idaho Falls girls swim team captured a 4A state championship trophy in 2018, the first year the sport was officially sanctioned by the Idaho High School Activities Association.
This year, the boys team is expected to be in the hunt for a blue trophy when the state championship meet gets underway Thursday and Friday at the West Boise YMCA and Boise Aquatic Center.
The one similarity?
Let’s call it a family connection.
Liz Grimes was the coach for the 2018 team and has been leading the Tigers program ever since.
Two of her children happen to be two of Idaho Falls’ top swimmers that will challenge for titles this weekend as Rangi Grimes, a freshman, and Mahealani Grimes, a junior, lead the Tigers on their title quest.
Rangi has the top-seeded time in the 50-yard freestyle at 22.89 and is seeded first in the 100 freestyle.
Mahealani is seeded fourth in the 100 butterfly and first in the 100 backstroke.
Mahealani placed sixth in both events as a freshman and last year was second in the 100 back and third in 100 freestyle.
This year’s goal is to get to the top of the podium and bring home a team trophy. The Tigers finished third in the team standings a year ago.
Mahealani said she’s focused on lowering her times and getting ready for the competitive club season in the spring and summer.
But first things first.
“I’m feeling pretty confident,” she said, noting that last year’s results carried over motivation into this season.
“I was so sad that I got second,” Mahealani said. “My brother (Ethan) got first when he was a senior and my little brother (Rangi) is seeded first in his races so I feel like it would be a good accomplishment for me.”
Ethan Grimes was one of the school’s top swimmers as a senior 2022 when he won the 100 butterfly state title.
The younger siblings followed along in the sport as Ethan progressed in club and mom Liz was the driving force as coach.
“I think it’s been helpful to me to stay motivated,” Mahealani said of the family influence. “After my brother (Ethan) made it I think we got into it a lot more.”
Rangi had been to the state championship meet as a spectator and cheerleader for his siblings, but now he takes to the pool as the No. 1 seed in two events. He’s competed in faster club meets, so he said he’s confident and ready to go.
“It made it easier to stay with the sport,” Rangi said of the family dynamic. “The family’s in it, and it made it more competitive trying to beat your siblings.”
Rangi said he started racing competitively around age 7. He’s been successful at the club level, which is typically more competitive than high school competition, but that doesn’t mean he lacks any motivation for this upcoming weekend.
“I want to beat the state record for the 50 and the 100 (freestyle),” he said, noting he had faster times in club meets.
The 5A state record in the 50 free is 21.95. Rangi’s seeded time in 22.89. The 5A state record for the 100 free is 48.42. Rangi’s seeded time is 49.71.
He said he knows who his top competitors are going to be, but he’s not focusing on the other swimmers.
“Most of the time I just swim my own race,” said Rangi, who is also expected to swim in two relays.
Reaching the top of the podium and potentially bringing home a team championship trophy would make for a pretty special weekend.
“This year’s team is really good so the chance to do that would be really cool,” he said.
Jackson Balsmeier also has a chance to add to the Tigers’ overall hardware count.
The senior is seeded first in the 500 free, four seconds ahead of Skyline’s Elias Couch.
He’s seeded second in the 200 freestyle with Couch seeded first and the Pocatello duo of Kaiden Irwin and Zander Enslinger seeded third and fourth, respectively.
Balsmeier finished third in the 50 and 500 free last year.
“We’ve been competing since middle school,” Balsmeier said of swimming against Skyline’s Couch, adding it’s a friendly rivalry.
“I think we have a good shot if we work hard,” he said of chasing individual medals and a team trophy.
Idaho Falls swimmers train all year, with 16 of the 17 team members also competing on club teams, coach Liz Grimes said. That’s a benefit a lot of high school teams can’t match.
Also, did we mention the family dynamic?
“It is something I did push,” Liz Grimes said. “It’s very important that my kids learned to swim …it’s such a life sport.”
The children did compete in other sports while growing up, she said. But they found it was in the pool where they excelled at an early age.
And that’s expected to continue this weekend.
“I expect them to do really, really well,” the coach said.
SWIMMERS TO WATCH
6A
Madison’s Emily Meyer is seeded third in the 200 IM and fifth in the 100 back. The Bobcats’ Taylor Poulsen is sixth in the boys 200 IM and third in the 100 backstroke. Courtney Anderson is sixth in the 100 breaststroke.
5A
The Idaho Falls girls 200 medley relay team is seeded third and Skyline is fifth with Hillcrest seeded sixth.
On the boys 200 medley relay, Idaho Falls is fourth and Skyline is fifth.
The Tigers’ Abigail Balsmeier is fourth in the 200 IM with Skyline’s Laura Johnson fourth and Hillcrest sophomore Baliley Oran sixth.
The Knights’ Sawyer Gilman is seeded third in the 100 butterfly and teammate Adam Allred is second in the 100 free, and fourth in the 100 breaststroke. Hillcrest is also seeded second in the boys 200 free relay.
Skyline sophomore Julia Daniel is second in the 100 backstroke and Century’s Deacon Major is seeded fourth in the boys 100 backstroke.