ROCHESTER, Mich. – Held on the University of Akron campus from December 1-4, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies finished in fourth place in the Zippy Invitational, facing strong competition from a pair of schools from both the Ivy League and Mid-American Conference (MAC), as well as a Division II and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) foe.

Winning both the 200 and 400-yard individual medleys, graduate student Susan LaGrand led the way for the Golden Grizzlies in Ohio, setting three new program records – 53.27 in the 100 backstroke, 1:53.37 in the 200 backstroke time trails, and 1:57.33 in the 200 individual medley.

A four-time Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) individual state champion and the 2017 Division 3 Swimmer of the Year during her prep days with the Grand Rapids Catholic Central Cougars, LaGrand's most recent performance is just the latest in a collegiate career that will go down as one of the best in Oakland history.

Since joining head coach Pete Hovland's program in 2018, she has collected a Horizon League Freshman of the Year Award, has twice been recognized as a GEICO Horizon League Winter Scholar-Athlete of the Year, is a three-time winner of the conference's Women's Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Year Award, took home a pair of Swimmer of the Meet Awards at the Horizon League Championships and holds three conference records as part of nine victories at the league championships.

LaGrand has found success in the pool since nearly the moment she stepped on-campus, but with the benefit of now being in her fifth year of collegiate competition, she was able to rely on that experience and identify part of what it is that allows her to excel during her training.

"Junior year (2020-21) was kind of like my turning year a little bit," she began. "I kind of changed my whole perspective on it all.

"Coming to Oakland – great training facility, obviously, great coaches and everything like that – but I never really widened my goals, my perspectives. So, that year, I kind of decided maybe we should look further and look outward and see how you compare to not just your team and your conference, but past that.

"I think doing that – widening that scope – and then just deciding to have the confidence to stick by it and not get freaked out or scared by the fact that there are really fast kids out there, but why can't that be you?"

Presiding over the Golden Grizzly women's swimming and diving program for a total of 24 seasons throughout his legendary career, Hovland has seen as many talented swimmers as anyone, but even so, LaGrand stands out to him.

"I can't say enough about Susan and her accomplishments this past weekend," he shared.

"You would think after coaching her for four-and-a-half years, nothing she does would surprise me anymore, but then we stand a few days removed from our mid-year championship meet and you see the four school records, four NCAA "B" Standards, five top times in the Horizon League and the 13^th-fastest time in the country in the 200 back.

"Witnessing her performance, you can't help but be impressed. Fifteen total swims in three-and-a-half days is both physically and mentally taxing to say the least, and to do it as well as she did just confirms to all of us that she's only getting better with age and we're certainly glad she's a Grizzly."

Having guided Oakland to nine consecutive Horizon League championships – claiming the title every season the school has been a member of the conference – Hovland is a big part of why LaGrand will depart as a Golden Grizzly Great.

"They've meant so much," she said of the coaching staff. "People would ask me, 'Why didn't you transfer?' after freshman year when you put up these times, like you could've gone to a Power Five, more funding, all these different potential benefits, but when you weigh the cost, which is having a staff that's completely invested in you – you're not a number to this program, you're a swimmer who's a student-athlete, you have all these different things going on.

"Transferring somewhere bigger, you're not that person, you're just middle of the road or bottom of the barrel even versus coming somewhere where they actually care about you as a person as well as a student-athlete, that's not something that you get everywhere.

"To me, in my experience, if you communicate with them, they're going to do everything – I mean, you have the same goals – everyone wants you to be faster and everyone wants you to succeed after swim, too."

Even more impressive than her swimming accomplishments, LaGrand completed her undergraduate degree in Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) with a 3.98 GPA, thrice garnering Horizon League All-Academic Team honors and earning a spot on the conference's Honor Roll in every eligible semester.

"I thought it was super fun," she shared of her undergraduate work. "More lab-based, but I was doing it as Pre-Med, so now, I'm in the Public Administration, with a focus on health care, master's program. I'm currently applying to med school this year, still unsure if I'll complete the master's or not or go to med school.

"Oakland has that unique program, the MLS is not available everywhere, which is a big driver of why I came here in the first place. Pete (Hovland) always said because I was a little nervous being a Pre-Med and trying to do Division I athletics, 'You're a student-athlete, not an athlete-student.'

"You can go the NCAAs, you can beat these crazy fast people, but swimming ends, athletics ends. Not a lot of us go pro, and swimming isn't really conducive to pro, so that's going to end and you have to be able to stand on your own two feet, and that's something I really liked about the programs here."

With their Zippy Invitational trip now in the rearview mirror, LaGrand and her Golden Grizzly teammates are idle from competition until the calendar flips to 2023 when they welcome the IUPUI Jaguars and Youngstown State Penguins to the Oakland Aquatic Center on January 13 and 14.