Over the weekend, the girls and boys Crew team competed in the 26th annual Grand Rapids Invitational held at Riverside Park. These are races put together by the Forest Hills Central Crew Booster Organization, with teams from all over the West Michigan area competing. The Rockford Rams came out first overall; however, the Rangers placed just behind them in second by a margin of three points. 

Two of the women’s boats were able to secure gold medals this weekend, with one being the varsity women’s eight boat and the other being the novice women’s four boat. The varsity boat was led by coxswain Megan Cushman, followed by senior Valerie Greenwood in the front and senior Abigail Cool in the rear. The novice boat was coaxed by sophomore Sofie Brown and anchored by freshman Clare Sherman. There were also several second-place boats in the women’s races as well for the Rangers. The junior women’s eight boat and the junior women’s four boat both secured second-place finishes in their races, along with the novice women’s eight boat that was also able to place second. 

The boys team had one boat go on to place first in its races in the novice men’s eight boat. Freshman Joey Sitarski led this boat with freshman Ryan Brom in the anchor seat. The men’s team had two of their boats placed second throughout the day. The varsity men’s eight boat and the junior men’s eight boat brought home the Rangers’ silver medals and the novice men’s four boat securing bronze. 

After this past weekend’s races, the Ranger crew team will take some time off from competition this week. FHC will then head to the Laddie Cup on Saturday, May 8, on Orchard Lake to compete in one of its biggest races of the season.