Top 5 Breakout Seasons
Competitive Cheer
The competitive cheer team, in just its second season of existence, had a historic season. The Rangers took home the Wyoming Invite championship, and after that, the team took off, with several top-two and -three finishes. The Rangers finished the season with seven top-three finishes, three top-five finishes, and another top ten finish. FHC nearly missed out on making it to the State Competition, as the Rangers placed fifth in Regionals and needed to get fourth to advance. Although it loses some seniors, the competitive cheer program is looking ahead to future success.
Boys Freshman Basketball
The boys freshman class of 2022 had an outstanding season, finishing 15-2. First-year head coach Adam Monroe led a brand new team to a conference championship and an undefeated conference season. With the help of freshman leading scorer Jacob Bonnett and fellow shooting guard freshman Pierson Van Gorp, the rather novice team managed to go through the non-conference schedule with only two losses to East Kentwood and Grandville. After a very difficult opening loss to East Kentwood, the boys were able to fight hard to maintain an outstanding record of 15-2. They cruised through the conference and out-worked every other team on both ends of the floor. Finally, the Rangers got what they strived for: a conference championship.
“This season was one to remember,” Jacob said. “I am so thankful to have all the teammates that I had along with amazing coaches. We started out 1-2 and ended up 15-2 with a 14-game win streak. This was a season to remember for sure.”
Girls JV Basketball
Coming off of a freshman season in which it won one game and none in conference play, the girls JV basketball team had an amazing turnaround this season. Thanks to newcomers to the team as well as the girls who were on the freshman team a year ago, the Rangers had a phenomenal season; the Lady Rangers literally went from worst to first in their conference, winning the OK White conference.
“At the start of the season, we knew that we had a good amount of talent,” sophomore Morghan Tilton said. “We just had to put a lot of work in, which we did, and it really paid off by winning the conference.”
Girls Varsity Basketball
Senior Claire Baguley scored a team-high 371 total points this past season to close out a roller coaster of a season. Although starting off the season 3-0, the girls varsity basketball team fought through adversity to place second in the OK White. Freshmen Theryn Hallock and Remmie Ingraham were also big contributors to the success this season, scoring a combined 69 points across the first three games. The Lady Rangers were 13-6 (8-4) in the regular season, then moved onto Greenville in the District-opener. They beat the Yellow Jackets 45-25 but were upset by the Red Hawks of Cedar Springs 42-38.
Hockey
Despite being 12-13-1 the previous season, senior goalie Carl Mielock led the hockey team to defy expectations and finish with an impressive 17-5-2 record. Unlike the 0-7 start last year, the Rangers began their breakout season 4-0. After many big wins against rivalry teams, such as FHC’s 4-0 win against East Grand Rapids, the Rangers were running with the momentum. They would cruise through play, blowing teams out 11-2 and 7-0. After a few hard losses and some even bigger wins, the Rangers advanced to the Regional Semifinals to get upset by Jackson Lumen Christi 3-2. Sophomore Mason Kelly led the offense all season long with double-digit goals on the year. The Rangers not only defied expectations but also paved a solid path for the years to come.
“This season was very successful compared to last season,” sophomore Jacob Campbell said. “I will forever miss the seniors I played with this year, and I am very proud of our 17-5-2 record.”