This past weekend, January 28-29, the boys swim and dive team competed in the 2023 Hudsonville Dualpaloza. While they struggled against some dominant teams in certain events, many of the Rangers showed their talent and stayed at the top and many of the boys got to compete in new events that they had never participated in before.

The meet began with the 200-yard medley relay where sophomore Logan Tiggleman, juniors Dylan Pomeroy and Reed Dixon along with senior Ben Rogala took sixth place out of fifteen teams with a final time of 1:47.15. After an eight-event break, Reed Dixon, freshman Lucas Witham, sophomore Sam Grant, and senior Isaac Stewart took on the 200-yard free relay where they earned a solid fifth place with a time of 1:36.52. The boys stayed strong and consistent as they headed into their final relay event which was the 400-yard free relay. Lucas Witham, Isaac Stewart, Ben Rogala, and sophomore Nolan Breckon took fifth place once again after earning a time of 3:32.65.

“The competition was tough as I expected, I knew that Zeeland and West Ottawa had really good swimmers,” Lucas said. “I was proud of the team for performing well in their new events”

Next up for the team, we’re the individual events. To start the night off strong Isaac Stewart took sixth place out of twenty-five athletes in the 200-yard free where he earned a time of 1:54.18. Isaac also competed in the 500-yard free where he finished in eighth place with a time of 5:31.60. Ben Rogala had an outstanding meet aside from his relay races. He placed fifth place in the 50-yard free where he ended with a time of 22.93. Along with that, he competed in the 100-yard free where he took sixth place with a final time of 51.72.

“I think that I did a good job pushing through the tiredness ad I think the team did a good job with that as well,” Ben said. “Going into the next meet we need to go out faster in our races and trust our bodies a little more.”

Many more individuals stood out throughout many different events that day. Nolan Breckon showed his potential in the 100-yard back. He earned fourth place and ended with a time of 1:01.98. Later on, he took thirteenth place in the 100-yard fly after finishing with a time of 1:04.18. Lastly, Lucas Witham had a stellar performance in the 100-yard free where he snagged fifth place with a time of 51.48 and sixth place in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:12.76.

“I think I adjusted to my new events pretty well,” Lucas said. “I think we could improve on swimming fast when we are tired because most people had events that were really close to each other.”

The boys will compete in a conference meet on Tuesday, January 31, against Grand Rapids Christain, at Calvin College, at 7:00 p.m.