GALION — The end of the road for Galion senior swimmer Troie Grubb’s high school career was not always crystal clear. Grubbs had to fight and claw through a shoulder injury around the same time her team dealt with COVID-19 related illnesses.
In fact, Grubbs had to take 1o days off from swim due to some shoulder inflammation from all of the hard work that she puts in.
“Troie never got sick, she just had that shoulder problem,” said long time Galion swim coach Ted Temple. “We always thought it was to much wear on the shoulder, doing two workouts a day for three or four months. Those 10 days she took off were a blessing.”
If it were not for the break that Grubbs received, her season probably would not have ended with as many accolades. The talented Tigers’ swimmer was First Team All-Conference in the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference as a senior, that wasn’t close to all she would accomplish as a senior.
Galion had hoped to win the MOAC on the girls side, but COVID-19 ran rampant at the wrong time. The Tigers were down considerably when it came to swimmers at the conference meet. Galion finished third on the girls side, behind Ontario and Shelby.
“The sickness we had there around the MOAC (meet) time. I thought we were going to compete, but we went with five girls,” explained Temple.
However, the team and Grubbs were able to rebound after their third-place MOAC finish. The Lady Tigers finished in 11th place at the Northwest District Championships. Grubbs was second-place in the 50 freestyle race, as well as the 100 freestyle. The 2oo freestyle relay team of Adriana Zeger, Ally Staats, Miranda Stone and Grubbs finished in sixth place.
The success carried over to the state meet. Grubbs finished in fourth-place in the 50-meter freestyle event, thanks to a record breaking time of 23.74 seconds. The future college swimmer also posted a school record in the 100-meter freestyle, with a time of 52.26 seconds.
“It is great to have a swimmer like her. Not only is she a great swimmer, but she is a great leader,” Temple said. “Her talent can allow her to swim any stroke there is. A versatile swimmer like her does not come around often.”
Overall, the Lady Tigers finished 21st in the Division II Ohio State Swim Meet. There were a total of 39 schools that were able to give it their best shot. For a team that dealt with some sickness around the conference meet, it was a great rebound to accomplish what they did.
“That is your goal. You want to make sure you build your kids up for the season. You want to swim your best times at the district meet and the state meet. A lot of times you have to work so hard to get out of the districts, that you kind of fall short at the state meet,” explained coach Temple. “Troie (Grubbs) held it together through all three events this year, she did a great job.”
You never want to get sick, let alone with something as serious as COVID-19. But, Temple knew how timely it was for his team to get sick when they did.
“COVID definitely disrupted us this year more than last year. Three weeks or four weeks before the sectional meet I was down to five swimmers. We were fortunate that it happened then so they were able to get back for the district meet.”
Grubbs is going to continue her swim career at the University of Findlay. The soon-to-be Galion High School graduate will be a NCAA Division II swimmer. With the hard work that Grubbs showcased at the high school level, there is no reason to think she won’t be just as successful at the college ranks.
