GODFREY - Triplet sisters Autumn, Savannah, and Isabella Grinter have been swimmers together for multiple Edwardsville teams for several years, and on Sunday at the Southwestern Illinois Swimming Association meet at Summers Port Swim Club in Godfrey, the sisters swam together for the final time in a competitive meet.
The Grinter girls concluded their careers with the Montclaire Swim Club team on Sunday and had been club members throughout their childhood. The triplets are sisters to Bailey Grinter, the former University of Tennessee/Edwardsville swim star.
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Autumn enjoyed the most success on the day, coming in second in the 100-yard and 50-yard freestyle, being on the winning team in the 200-yard medley relay as well at the 200-yard freestyle relay, and a fourth-place finish in the 50-yard butterfly.
Savannah came in third in the 50-yard butterfly, fifth in the 100-yard freestyle, and eighth in the 200-yard freestyle, while Isabella was eighth in the 100-yard individual medley and fifth in the 100-yard backstroke.
In a collective interview that was conducted during the meet, the sisters displayed their trademark sense of humor and fun, which was a part of their personalities as hard work and dedication to swimming. When asked about their feelings about swimming together for the last time, Savannah replied:
"I guess I'm kind of sad, it's my last swimming with my sisters," Savannah said, "because they're going to go away to college, and I'm just staying here and I'm going to miss them."
The Grinter sisters have very much enjoyed their experiences swimming with each other on the same team and comparing notes after each of their meets.
"Really fun," said Isabella said about the meet. "It was very competitive. We would always compare times together, and I think it makes it more fun because we're all with each other and competing. We'd always compare times in the car and be like 'you're so slow,'" she said with a laugh.
"I guess I liked it," Savannah said. "I liked racing them and being better than them in some races. And I liked cheering them on to beat other people because I wanted them to be the best."
"Well, I think it was good for us," said Autumn, "because it was nice to have somebody on your side, no matter what race it would be in," she said with a smile.
The Grinter triplets are now going on to college, with Autumn swimming at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Savannah going on to SIU-Edwardsville, and Isabella attending the University of Mississippi in Oxford this coming fall. Autumn and Isabella will continue on with their swimming careers, while Savannah will be done with competitive swimming. All three are looking forward to their college lives and being apart for the first time.
"Well, I think it'll be not that different because we're at different levels of swimming," Autumn said. "but the experience will be different, that I think that if I'm ever feeling sad, I can just call them. But it's going to be different not being able to go talk to them after I swim."
"I'm not swimming at SIU, they don't have a swim team," Savannah said. "But I'm going to miss them not going to school with them. Izzy and Autumn helped me with my school work, which was nice. But now, it's not going to be so nice, because I'm not going to get any help."
"I'll miss them being there," Isabella said. "But I won't miss them telling me in the pool when I do something wrong."
When asked to describe them swimming together in one word, the Grinter triplets answered quickly and humorously.
"Annoying," Isabella said with a laugh.
"Fun,' Savannah said.
"Competitive," Autumn said, also throwing in an extra word.
"Exciting," Autumn also said.
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