Competing in their first meet since 2019, the Rangers were excited to race in their first quad at Forest Hills Northern last Thursday, April 15th. They competed against both East Grand Rapids and Northview. The boys scored 62 to Northview’s 72 and fell 84-53 to the Pioneers in a crusher, while the girls beat the Wildcats 70-52. However, the girls ultimately fell 106-29 to EGR. 

“As I told the kids after the meet, you never know what you have until you see it.  And now we know,” head coach Todd Steverson said. “I am pleasantly surprised by a great deal of our performances from the sprinters to the distance runners. Where we fall short so far are the field events, mainly because of the lack of participants and inexperience. Most importantly you will see a team that is not afraid to compete with anyone in the conference or region.”

For the girls side of the meet, senior Whitney Currie won the 1600 meter race with a time of 5:26.27. This is Whitney’s first year on the team and she will be a great addition. She also placed second in the 800-meter event with a time of 2:28.71.

Freshman Clara James-Heer took on the 3200-meter event and won by beating her closest opponent by over 20 second

Not only did the girls dominate individually, but they also placed second in two of their relays. With a time of 55.63, senior Enya Burrow, freshman Hannah Levering, freshman Annalise Brinks, and freshman Jia Niemeyer came out victorious in the 4×100 relay. Then, the team of freshman Lucy Yoder, freshman Peyton Ludwig, senior Abby McAlindon, and freshman Zenash Cumings went 4:36.71 in the 4×400 relay.

On the boys side, senior Dallas Hopson had a very impressive meet. Dallas won the 110m hurdles with a time of 17 seconds; he then went on to win the 300m hurdles at 45.63 seconds. Setting the standard for excellence, the 4×400 relay team comprised of Dallas, freshman Sheldon Thomas, senior Jonah Cumings, and junior Sam Yeager won with a time of 3:51.19. 

Along with his 4×400 victory, Sam managed to also win the 400-meter dash at 56.25. Sophomore Ethan Krampe got in on the fun as well and ran a 10:34.14 to win the 3200-meter event.

“Again, we must improve on our field events and no surprise our relay exchanges. But of course, that’s an issue for all teams after their first meet,” said coach Steverson.