She started on time and finished fourth in 2 minutes 4.58 seconds — less than 0.25 seconds behind the second-place finisher. Grishaeva also placed third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:04.65, dropping more than a second from her best time.

“I was just really pissed off about [last year] for myself,” Grishaeva said. “Coming into it now, I just kind of wanted to enjoy it.”

That was the attitude of the University of Massachusetts commit and her team. Favorites Douglass Freeman (boys) and Albemarle (girls) dominated nearly every event, leaving Briar Woods among a clump of other teams competing for medals.

Grishaeva led the Falcons to a fourth-place finish in the 200 medley relay (1:48.55), an improvement from last year. Even after a disappointing 3:37.70 time in the 400 relay that bumped Briar Woods from fifth place to ninth (104.5 points), Grishaeva offered words of encouragement and fist bumps.

A veteran on an inexperienced squad, Grishaeva tried to make sure that her teammates kept calm. She remembered how nervous she could get as a young swimmer, analyzing meets with such intensity they became an insurmountable feat.

“I think other people are more focused than I am,” she said, laughing. “Obviously I’m still trying, but I’m mostly here to enjoy it.”

Perhaps Grishaeva’s looseness stems from the certainty of her near future. Despite U-Mass. being the last school she contacted, she felt at ease in Amherst. Grishaeva said her college team plans to have her compete in the medley, the breaststroke and the backstroke.

The state championships were a culmination of an up-and-down career. Grishaeva’s times in the IM have fluctuated and her previous personal-best in the 100 breaststroke came at last year’s state championships (1:05.41).

She topped that Saturday, which fueled a joyous four-hour ride home. That, and the 20 pizzas Briar Woods Coach Eric Bateman purchased for the team.

“We’re going to have the time of our lives on this ride back,” Grishaeva said.