Through a season of ups and downs due to the pandemic, the FHC crew team was able to qualify for a spot in the state finals. With a total of three gold medal boats and one silver medal boat, FHC was able to compete at the state meet successfully.

Coming in first place to win a gold medal, the women’s novice eight boat of freshmen Eliza Cool, Megan Hackerd, Clare Sherman, Alexa Fauson, and sophomores Sofie Brown, Olivia Thornley, Maya Rogne, Alaina Lundgren, and junior Grace Fitzgerald excelled in the water as a group. Also, coming in first and securing the gold, the men’s novice four boat of freshmen Joey Sitarski and Lucas Fors and sophomores William Pointer and Travis Bolt ended their seasons’ off in great fashion. The final boat to secure a first-place finish was the men’s junior four. This boat was powered by senior Joshua Philip, juniors Thomas Rutherford, Roman Kalaczinski, Kevin Mcpoland, and sophomore Sam Logan.

The only boat that came in second place and won a silver medal was the men’s novice eight boat that was comprised of the following rowers: freshmen Joey Sitarski, Ryan Brom, Lucas Fors, and sophomores Travis Bolt, William Pointer, Trevor VanSkiver, Daniel Wang, and Josh Ogilvie.

Finally, coming in third place and securing the bronze medal, the men’s varsity eight and women’s novice four anchored a successful state finals appearance for FHC.

“We did very well, and winning states has been our goal since winter conditioning,” junior Kevin McPoland said. “We performed our best and were able to come out on top by achieving our season goal; we are all super proud about that.”

With some huge wins last Saturday, the crew team will participate in the Northern Sprints in Traverse City on Saturday, May 29. This event is the Rangers’ last event, so they are looking to finish as well as they did last week at states and end their season on top.