On March 11 and 12, six members of the boys swim and dive team competed in the MHSAA division 2 state championships where they ended up placing eleventh out of thirty-five teams. While emotions were high, the team was proud of everything they have accomplished this year.

Sophomore Logan Tiggleman, junior Reed Dixon, and seniors Gavin Cai and Ben Rogala started the meet for the Rangers in the 200-yard medley relay. With their combined efforts, the relay was able to snag the eleventh-place spot with a final time of 1:39.46. After an incredible run to start the meet, the boys were excited to continue swimming as they headed into the 200-yard free relay. Freshman Lucas Witham, and seniors Ben Rogala, Gavin Cai, and Isaac Stewart all helped with the success of this relay where they ended up in a fourth place with a time of 1:27.40, breaking the previous school record.

“It was exciting to swim at the meet since I was the only freshman on our team that made it,” Lucas said. “I was proud of my performances in the relays and I am glad I helped us get a lot of points for the team.”

The last relay team to compete was the 400-yard free relay which was made up of Lucas Witham, Reed Dixon, Ben Rogala, and Isaac Stewart. The relay ended up placing ninth and they ended with a time of 3:14.89. This relay team was also able to drop their time by 2.29 seconds from their entry time.

“I was hoping the 400 free relay would qualify in the top eight for finals so it was unfortunate that we just missed it,” Isaac said. “The environment was definitely more intense but this created a very exciting atmosphere where we could all push ourselves to swim our best.”

Logan Tiggleman was able to participate in the first state meet of his career where he did an incredible job. Since he only qualified in the 100-yard breast, he worked hard all season to prepare for his one event. All the hard work paid off when he qualified for the finals and ended in sixteenth place with a final time of 1:02.39.

“It felt surreal to swim in the state meet and since it was my first, I will remember these days for the rest of my life,” Logan said. “I am so proud of myself for making it to finals since states were never even on my radar.”

Isaac Stewart was another standout athlete who had an enormous impact on the Ranger team. Unfortunately, after placing twentieth in the 200-yard free during the prelims, he wasn’t able to continue onto the finals. Lucky for him, he had one other event to put in his all. After taking sixteenth place in the prelims for the 100-yard free, he was able to secure a spot in the finals where he ended up improving his time and grasped onto thirteenth place with a final time of 48.35.

“It was an incredible experience to compete in the state championship! We faced the best competition in the state and it was a great chance to show off all of our hard work we have out in this season,” Isaac said. “What really stood out to me about this season was the close bond and camaraderie among the whole state team, it was unlike any other year.”

After finishing their season off on a strong note, the Ranger teams look forward to a strong future. Thank you seniors Ben Rogala, Isaac Stewart, and Gavin Cai for all of your hard work over the past four years.