On Tuesday, February 14, the boys swim and dive team faced off against the East Grand Rapids Pioneers. The Pioneers are one of the top-ranked teams in the state but the Rangers were ready for the challenge. Unfortunately, the Rangers fell short with a final score of 102.5-72.5.

The meet began with the 200-yard medley relay where freshman Lucas Witham, junior Reed Dixon, and seniors Gavin Cai and Ben Rogala took third place with a final time of 1:44.37. Later, during event nine, freshman Ian Tyrrell, sophomores Zach Ruffer and Sam Grant, and junior Dylan Pomeroy competed in the 200-yard free relay, where they took third place with a final time of 1:46.34. The last relay of the night was the 400-yard free relay. The FHC-A team consisted of Lucas Witham, Dylan Pomeroy, Gavin Cai, and Ben Rogala. The four boys used their combined efforts to take the first place spot with a final time of 3:41.67. Following directly behind them was the FHC-B team which was made up of Reed Dixon, Sam Grant, sophomore Nolan Breckon, and senior Isaac Stewart. They came in just 0.10 seconds behind the FHC-A team with a final time of 3:41.77.

“It felt fun and sad at the same time that my junior season is coming to an end,” Reed said. “I have been getting personal bests during the preseason so I am really excited going into conference and state.”

The boys continued to have stellar performances in the individual events. Isaac Stewart placed second in the 200-yard free with a final time of 1:52.55 along with taking second place in the 100-yard back with a final time of 1:04.34. Ben Rogala had an incredible night in his two individual races. To start the night off, he took first place in the 50-yard free with a final time of 22.87. As the meet went on, his efforts continued to shine through as he placed first in the 100-yard back with a time of 1:00.69.

“I was happy that I could have such an incredible four years on this team and I am sad that it is all coming to an end with this being our last regular season meet,” Isaac said. “The postseason will be exciting to see how our team will compare both at conference and state.”

Sophomore Logan Tiggleman was a big contributor to the team last night. To begin his night of competition, he came in third place during the 200-yard individual medley with an impressive time of 2:20.61. He later competed in the 100-yard fly where he took fourth place with a time of 1:05.05. Finally, Lucas Witham had an impressive night in both of his events. He began with the 50-yard free where he took fifth place with an incredible time of 23.87. He later went on to compete in the 100-yard fly where he took third place ending with a time of 1:01.39.

“It feels a little sad knowing that the season is over, but I think it’s time for the end. We have worked really hard and are ready for a break,” Logan said.”EGR is really good at swimming and they have won many state championships, but despite that, they are nicer compared to some of the other teams. They had really good sportsmanship and were more humble than some of the other teams we have faced.”

The boys have now concluded their regular season and are prepared to take on the post-season competition. Their next meet will be on Saturday, February 25 for the OK White Conference meet at Northview High School.