The Rangers had a very exciting meet over the weekend. Competing at Eastern High School in the Battle of the Hills, the girls were able to pull out a win with a score of 172. The boys fell short to the Hawks 184-148, but they were able to beat the Huskies. The girls were able to secure their wins by winning all four of their relays. The boys had some help from senior Dallas Hopson, as he won three of his four events.

For the boys team, junior Sam Yeager won the 400-meter dash yet again, but this time he dropped almost four seconds from his previous meet and provided a season-best time. Senior Sam Musgraves then proved himself in the pole vault, winning with a score of 9-06.00. Junior Logan Verlinde then followed winning the long jump with a personal record of 19-02.5.

“It felt great to come in first for pole vault, truly a blessing,” Sam Musgraves said. “But I know I could’ve done way better that day.”

Dallas Hopson proved himself yet again in both hurdle events. Finishing with a time of 16.94 in the 110m hurdles, Dallas not only won the event but got a personal record as well. He also PR’d in the 300m, winning and going for 43.09 seconds as well. The boys also won their 4-by-200 relay. Going for a time of 1:37.34, the team of juniors Jayden Savin and Evan Boucher along with seniors Dallas Hopson and David Whittaker had a great race.

“I think our team did great. We saw a lot of first-place finishes from both our long-distance, sprinting, and field events. Unfortunately, we came up just short at the end,” Sam said.

The girls had an exceptional meet on their end. Starting off, freshman Clara James-Heer had an amazing meet as she not only won the 160- meter race but broke the school record as well. She went a time of 5:05.45. She also won the 3200-meter race with a time of 12:33.22 and senior Whitney Currie followed close behind at 12:33.26, a personal best.

The girls had amazing performances in all four of their relays, winning every single one. The 4-by-100 relay of senior Abby McAlindon, sophomore Marissa Lunt, freshman Lucy Yoder, and freshman Brooke Bowers went for a time of 52.96. The 4-by-200 relay team went 1:55.02 with a team that consisted of Abby McAlindon, Marissa Lunt, senior Enya Burrow, and freshman Zenash Cumings. The next relay consisted of Lucy Yoder, freshman Peyton Ludwig, junior Gabby Miller, and Zenash Cumings who won the 4-by-400 at 4:22.53. In the final relay, the girls team won the 4-by-800 at 10:03.86 which was run by Whitney Currie, junior Claire Richardson, Clara James-Heer, and Peyton Ludwig.

For the field side of the meet, Brooke Bowers dominated the pole vault competition. In her first year on the team, she had a personal best and went 11 feet high. This incredible performance was enough to break the FHC school record. 

“I’m super thankful to have one last go-around for my senior year, especially with COVID,” Musgraves said. “I love getting to know everybody on the team and having fun at the meets. This is definitely the best season so far.”

The team will next compete at Byron Center High School this Thursday at 4:30 pm.