The Lady Ranger girls swim and dive team consistently beat out a number of girls from the Spring Lake swim team in a unique meet last night and FHC won with a final score of 115-68.

This was a big meet for the senior swimmers, as it was the last home meet of their high school careers. This meet was more unique than others because Coach Dennis Neat had the girls swimming new races and swimming races they had not done in a while. This was new to the girls but worked out in the end when the girls defeated the Lady Lakers.

“[This meet] felt amazing because it was the last of everything.” said senior Jayla Williams on swimming her last home meet, “but it also felt sad because I’ve grown to love the younger classmen so much and it’s going to be rough next year not having these girls with me.”

Both freshman Jessica Doyel and senior Jessica Schellenboom really showed the hard work this meet with Jessica Doyel placing first in the 200 IM and the 100-yard Butterfly, and Jessica Schellenboom placing first in the 50-yard Freestyle and the 100-yard Breaststroke. These girls also participated in relays with Jessica Doyel swimming in the 400-yard Freestyle relay along with junior Maggie Zorn, junior Sarah Schenck, and sophomore Rachel Schenck, to ultimately place second. Jessica Schellenboom swam the 200-yard Freestyle Relay and placed first along with the help of seniors Katie Johnson, Jayla Williams, and Kara Bolger.

Sophomore Olivia Hooper placed third in the 200-yard Freestyle, along with freshman Maggie Hier placing second and junior Sarah Schenck placing first. Olivia Hooper also swam and placed first in the Medley Relay along with the help of sophomores Emily Johnson and Ellie Field and Maggie Hier. Emily Johnson and Maggie Hier both contributed to the team, with Emily also swimming in the 200 IM, placing second, and in the 500-yard Freestyle, placing third. Junior Sarah Schenck placed second in the same event, and Maggie Hier placed first in the 100-yard Backstroke, with sophomore Ellie Field placing second and senior Katherine Bell placing third.

“We’ve been working really hard,” Katherine Bell said. “I know that the swimmers on some days have four hours of swimming and it’s rough, but it’s worth it in the end.

Sophomore Sydney Kushak also contributed to the team by placing third in the 100-yard Breaststroke and second in the 100-yard Freestyle, with sophomore Ellie Field placing third and junior Olivia Luplow placing first. Olivia Luplow also placed second in the 50-yard Freestyle. Notable divers this meet were seniors Lauren Gesik and Grace Clinger, placing second and third, respectively.

The girls head to the conference meet on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Northview where they hope to do their best and put up great scores to secure at least second place.

“This meet was bittersweet, ” Head Coach Dennis Neat said, “because I say goodbye to a group of dedicated student-athletes and it has been a privilege to work with them, see them grow and learn, and become special people. I’m just really excited for their future and its just a part of the cycle, but I’ll definitely miss them.”