The girls swim and dive team had an outstanding season, going 6-1 and taking second place in the conference. There were 11 Lady Rangers to qualify for the MISCA meet and ten to qualify for the State Meet. FHC also had two State Champions this year; senior Colleen Kramer in diving and senior Felicity Buchmaier in two events for swimming.

The very first meet of the season proved to be successful as the Rangers placed first among 15 teams in the Lakeview meet.

“I had no idea what to expect from our season after we lost so many people [from last year],” said junior Jessica Schellenboom, who had season-long success for the team. “Coming into [the season] with a strong win felt amazing.”

The team then faced off against the powerhouse of Rockford in a pre-season dual meet. Despite first places from Felicity and Jessica and a few third places from freshmen Olivia Hooper and Emily Johnson, the Rangers fell short of a victory in this meet.

After this first loss the swim and dive team went on to win five consecutive dual meets, against Spring Lake, Northview, Grand Rapids Christian, Forest Hills Northern, and Catholic Central.

In the first dual meet of the season against Spring Lake, the Rangers came out strong to defeat the Lakers convincingly. Felicity set two pool records in her events that night, as well as earning herself state-qualifying times in the very first meet of the conference season.

Against Northview, the FHC swimmers placed first in 11 out of 12 events and junior diver Anna Hansen claimed first as well.

The divers would go on to have a spectacular season, one of them taking first in nearly every dual meet and the three of them placing first, second, and third in six meets over the course of the season. All three divers also qualified for All American honors, that if received they would be in the top 100 divers in the nation. The team swept the top three places in regionals, all qualified for the State Meet, and all placed within the top eight places at the State Championships. Senior Nicole Carlson placed seventh in the state, junior Anna Hansen third, and senior Colleen Kramer was a State Champion. The dive team scored the most points in this meet, earning first place in the diving portion, as well as their coach, Jasmine Ramahi, earning the honor of Division 2 Coach of the Year.

“We’ve just been drilling and drilling every single day and the last three weeks once postseason started it was [about] how many dives can we do a practice [and] how much can we get on the boards so we know we’re consistent and ready for this exact moment,” Colleen said.

After being on a hot winning streak in the beginning of the season, FHC lost the dual meet against East Grand Rapids, almost ensuring their second place overall in the conference. East would go on to be the eventual State Champions, so a loss to this powerhouse was respectable.

After this loss, the Lady Rangers came back and got a huge win on Senior Night against the Jenison Wildcats. This being one of the last meets for the seniors on the team and with the festivities associated with Senior Night celebrations, emotions ran extremely high. The team was able to overcome these circumstances, however, and pull out a win.

The Lady Rangers then competed at the Conference Meet, which solidified their second place to the dominant East Grand Rapids. This meet was the last for the majority of the team and was an overall success in their eyes. Jessica had a great meet, setting two new conference records in her events.

The final meet was the biggest one, as seven swimmers rose to the pressure of the State Meet. FHC had a State Champion swimmer in Felicity in both the 100 Backstroke and 100 Butterfly, as well as a second-place finisher in Jessica who was beaten by fractions of a second in the 100 Breaststroke.

All in all, this season was a success in the swim and dive team’s eyes. After losing many seniors and a long-time coach last year, many were unsure what the season would hold. The Rangers upheld their Conference Runner-up title and were able to adapt and be successful with the new coaching style.

“Wow, what a year,” first year head coach Dennis Neat said. “I think when we sit down and reflect, they’re going to be really excited about coming back [next year]. Knowing what we did this year and knowing what to expect from me moving forward, we’re going to have a much better start to next year.”