The boys swim and dive team had a phenomenal performance at the OK White Conference meet on February 25. After a season full of hard work, the team placed fifth with 271 points.

The meet began early on Saturday morning, with the 200-yard medley relay. Sophomore Logan Tiggleman, junior Reed Dixon, and seniors Gavin Cai and Ben Rogala all helped contribute to the team’s fourth-place finish where they ended with a time of 1:39.67. The boys continued to stay strong throughout the meet as they headed into the 200-yard free relay. Freshman Lucas Witham, sophomore Sam Grant, and seniors Gavin Cai and Isaac Stewart all helped the team finish in sixth place with a time of 1:32.06. Finally, the boys had an incredible run in the last event of the night, the 400-yard free relay. Lucas Witham, Reed Dixon, Isaac Stewart, and Ben Rogala all helped the team finish in first place where they broke the school record with a final time of 3:14.74.

“I did not expect our 400 free relay to do so well, I knew we had a small chance to win the event but I did not think the time would be anywhere near as fast as it was,” Lucas said. “The atmosphere was crazy during the 400-yard free and I feel like everyone met that energy and everyone in that relay swam very well,” 

The boys continued the meet with the individual events where many of the Rangers had impressive performances. Isaac Stewart started his individual events off on a strong note when he took fifth place in the 200-yard free with a final time of 1:48.63. He later took sixth place in the 100-yard free where he ended with a time of 48.92. Ben Rogala didn’t fail to impress the Ranger team as he placed in the top five of both of his individual events. To start the day off, he took third place out of twenty-four athletes in the 50-yard free where he ended with a time of 22.16. He later placed fifth in the 100-yard free where he ended with a time of 48.50.

“The team did fantastic in both the prelims and finals, I am so proud of everyone and I am also proud of myself,” Ben said. “I was a little disappointed that I didn’t go under 22.00 in my 50 free, but that is okay because I will do it at states.”

Lucas Witham had a spectacular day where he placed in the top eight athletes in both of his individual events. During the 200-yard free, he snagged the seventh-place spot with a time of 1:49.74 and later took an outstanding fifth-place finish in the 500-yard free where he ended with a time of 5:05.00. To finish the day off, Reed Dixon had an amazing run in the 200-yard individual medley where he took sixth-pace with a time of 2:02.19. He also took a stellar time of 55.26 in the 100-yard back which led him to a fourth-place spot.

“I was proud of how everyone did at conference, almost everyone got their personal bests at this meet,” Reed said. “The meet environment was a lot more competitive compared to a dual meet because everyone wants to win so bad but only one person actually can.”

The Rangers finished the day off strong and many earned themselves some awards. Congratulations to Lucas, Reed, Ben, and Isaac for earning all-conference. Many of the Rangers including Ben, Lucas, Gavin, Reed, and Isaac along with all of the relay teams were able to qualify for the state competition which will be on Saturday, March 11, at the Holland Aquatic Center.