Yesterday, January 24, the boys swim and dive team faced off in an intense match-up against rivals Forest Hills Northern-Eastern. Despite falling short to the Bird-Dogs 73-110, they had some incredible races.

To start the meet, the boys competed in the 200-yard medley relay where juniors Reed Dixon and Dylan Pomeroy, along with seniors Gavin Cai and Ben Rogala took second place with a final time of 1:45.01. In the ninth event, freshman Lucas Witham, sophomore Sam Grant, and seniors Isaac Stewart and Gavin Cai were able to secure another solid second-place finish ending with a time of 1:36.57. The meet ended on a high note when the 400-yard relay team made up of, Reed Dixon, Isaac Stewart, Lucas Witham, and Ben Rogala combined their efforts to finish with an outstanding time of 3:40.20.

“I felt like the energy was higher than normal because most of us were familiar with the people from the other team so it made the stakes even higher,” Lucas said. “I am really proud of everyone for swimming their best even though they were tired.”

The individual races were next, and the boys proved they are a competitive team. Lucas Witham took second place in both the 200-yard free and the 500-yard free where he ended with times of 1:36.57 and 5:20.18. Ben Rogala had an incredible night. He had an incredibly tight race in the 100-yard free where he ended with a time of 50.57 and took second by only .03 seconds. Later in the 50-yard free, he redeemed himself by taking first with a time of 22.85.

“I definitely expected to win against them tonight but the loss just helps remind us that we need to keep working hard in practice,” Ben said. “I am happy with my performances and I am proud of the team for coming together and having fun.”

Sophomore Logan Tiggleman has been proving his skill throughout the past few meets. He completed the 200-yard individual medley in fight place with an outstanding time of 2:30.18. He also had a superb run in the 100-yard breast where he took third place ending with a time of 1:07.91. Reed Dixon continued to help the Rangers out as the night went on. He took first place in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:09.92 along with another first-place finish in the 100-yard back.

“I was excited going into the meet, we had a sprinting set the day before so I was kind of sore but I did pretty well in my events,” Reed said. “I am just going to keep doing what I’ve been doing and working hard.”

Despite the tough loss, the boys look forward to their next meet which will be the Hudsonville Invite on Saturday, January 28.