By Jon Malavolti
C & G Sports Writer

CLINTON TOWNSHIP —Former Clinton Township Chippewa Valley boys swimming and diving coach Jeff Lepler called last year’s campaign a “dream season.”

But this year promises to be a transition season, as new coach Tony Grice looks to return the Big Reds to prominence following the graduation of several top athletes and the departure of Lepler.

“We’ve got some good swimmers coming up and that’s something to build on, so we have a bright future,” Grice said.

The Big Reds, who set nine school records and won the Macomb Area Conference White Division dual-meet and division-meet titles last year, are focusing on hitting their stride at the end of this season and building toward the future.

First they had to adjust to Grice, whose coaching experience includes stints with the Macomb Marlins club team and at MAC White rival Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse, which the Big Reds beat 101-84 Jan. 5 to pick up their first dual-meet win of the season after starting 0-2.

“Tony’s a good coach, and after awhile, we got into his routine,” junior captain Conner Muzichuk said. “We still have the same positive attitude. We lost a lot of guys from last year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still try to do our best. We’ll try to do our best this year and see what we can get.”

Muzichuk added that when it comes to the team’s strengths, he’s noticed a build up in depth — a notion teammate and senior captain Salvatore Ciraulo elaborated on.

“Our juniors are pulling through, and our sophomores are stepping up,” Ciraulo said.

Rookies comprise about half of Chippewa Valley’s roster, and their development has been and will be key to the team building up more depth and enjoying more success in the future.

“We’re doing really well,” Grice said. “I’m really encouraged by how we’ve done so far. By the end of the season, it’s going to be a totally different team.”

Senior captain Ben Miller recalled that when he began swimming for points on the varsity squad his sophomore season, he became more motivated to work hard and improve — an attitude he’s hoping the newer swimmers adopt.

“Hopefully, that will kick in. They’ll be more motivated to swim hard at practice,” he said. “I’ve been trying to encourage them throughout the season just to step up and come out of their shell.”

Grice will turn to his group of captains, which also includes senior Matt Beyer, for leadership. Sophomore standouts Jeff Voss and Craig Pertler should also figure heavily into the mix for the Big Reds.

The coach is especially eyeing the MAC White division-meet finals, scheduled for Feb. 27 at Anchor Bay Middle School North, for the new generation of Big Reds to make some noise.

“By divisions, we should be pretty competitive,” Grice said.

You can reach Sports Writer Jon Malavolti at jmalavolti@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1040.