This will be the last year of collegiate competition for one of the greatest sprinters to ever… This will be the last year of collegiate competition for one of the greatest sprinters to ever swim for Pitt.

Mike Grube compiled a long list of achievements as a Panther, and as he prepares to graduate, Pitt looks back on the events that shaped a champion and the future of a dynastic team without him.

Head coach Chuck Knoles, believing Grube’s impact on the team would be immediate, announced his signing to a national letter-of-intent in April 1999.

Knoles now likens the acquisition of Grube to “recruiting Julius Page or recruiting Antonio Bryant or any other big star that you have.”

Grube was a state champion in high school in two events, the 50- and 100-yard freestyles. He captured 11 of 12 school records while at Upper Darby High School.

“He was one of the nation’s best sprinters as a senior in high school,” Knoles said.

With such an outstanding high school record trumpeting his entrance, there was much pressure for Grube to repeat his success and give Pitt an athlete that was fast enough to dominate the Big East. But Grube said he never felt it.

“There was a lot of pressure on me,” he said, “but my teammates made it feel a lot more comfortable for me.”

Grube quickly proved he was not merely a high school standout. On Feb. 17, 2000, he broke Pitt’s freshman records in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles. In little more than two years, Grube was also the owner of the Panthers’ school records for the events as well as a member of the Pitt record holding 200- and 400-yard freestyle relay teams and the 400-yard medley relay team.

His honors have also extended past the Pitt campus in the last four years.

In 2001, Grube was declared Outstanding Swimmer of the Year in the Big East. He has been the individual champion of the Big East in the 50-yard freestyle for three straight years.

Beyond the records that are written on plaques and hang on walls, Knoles gained strength on his team that will be hard to replace.

“[Grube]’s a coach’s swimmer. He is a coach’s athlete,” Knoles said. “By that I mean he will do absolutely everything that you tell him to do as an athlete. He’ll do it at the effort level that you want him to do it. He’ll do it at the speed you want him to do it. He will adjust his stroke appropriately.”

During Grube’s record-setting stay at Pitt, there have been obstacles. He missed the fall semester of 2001 because of knee surgery, which was followed by a harsh rehabilitation process.

“I didn’t think I was going to be able to swim that year. The doctors said I probably wouldn’t be able to swim,” Grube said.

“He probably went through the most painful, grueling rehab regiment of any knee surgery I’ve ever seen,” Knoles said. “The guy was in tears trying to back. It is unusual to have that kind of surgery and to have somebody make it through that but that shows you how tough he is. He successfully got back and made it to the NCAA’s and the rest is history”

“Mike’s had a tremendous career here,” Grube’s father, John, said. “From our benefit as a parent, it’s been four wonderful years here and it’s going to be sad seeing it go.”

Grube intends to stay in Pittsburgh and train for next year’s Olympic team trials.

“I’ve done everything I’ve had to do,” Grube said, “My leadership, I hope, is a lasting memory. My work ethic – I hope people remember that.”

Few people involved with Pitt swimming believe that the absence of Grube, as good as he was, will stop the Panthers from ruling the Big East with an iron fist.

“Whenever you have a swimmer like Mike [that is leaving], it’s going to affect the team but I think we’re going to pick it up in other areas,” junior swimmer Adam Webber said.

Knoles finds hope for the future in a talented crop of young swimmers and a collection of balanced, exceptional and proven talent.

“I would hope to see Darryl Washington develop and surpass Mike. I think that’s the goal of this team,” Knoles said. “We’d be foolish to just be satisfied with setting a benchmark and never trying to get over that benchmark. I think we’re seeing a lot of our freshmen, who are coming in, and trying to be better than the people that came before them, and I think that is how you get better as a program.”

Perhaps the best illustration of the future of Pitt swimming came from Grube’s father.

“It’s just that,” he said. “They’re a dominant power in the Big East and it’s not about one swimmer.”