The girls swim and dive team took second in the conference this week in its last meet of the year until states. This is once again a great meet and gives the Rangers a good push as some of them move on to states. They lost to East Grand Rapids by a significant amount but beat Jenison by the narrow margin of 335 to 321.

The meet kicked off with the 200-yard medley relay. The Rangers took second in this race with their time of 1:48.91, losing only to EGR. The next race was the 200-yard freestyle, and junior Ellie Field took sixth in that race with her time of 2:01.63.

Following up this race was the 200-yard individual medley, which senior Sarah Schenck secured fourth place in with her time of 2:14.54. Senior Maggie Zorn followed up this by taking seventh in the 50-yard freestyle with her time of 25.51.

Taking a break from the swimming with the diving event, Olivia Thornley took fifth with her score of 291.75. The 100-yard fly was the next event of the meet, with the results still very much in the air. Sarah took second with her time of 58.97, and sophomore Maggie Hier took fourth with her time of 1:01.06.

Unfortunately, after this stellar race, the Rangers would not place in the top five for three races. Proceeding the 100-yard fly was the 100-yard freestyle. Maggie Zorn took seventh for the Rangers in this event with her time of 54.46. Next up was the long, exhausting 500-yard freestyle, which Ellie took tenth in with her time of 5:32.16.

A relay followed this race with the team of sophomore Jessica Doyel, Sarah, Maggie Zorn, and junior Emily Johnson taking sixth in the 200-yard freestyle relay. They had a time of 1:43.16. Junior Olivia Hooper broke the top five in the 100-yard backstroke with her time of 59.53. Her performance was complemented by Maggie Hier’s fifth-place finish with her time of 1:01.63.

Finishing up the meet were the 100-yard breaststroke and the 400-yard freestyle relay. Jessica took second in the breaststroke with her time of 1:08.41. The team of Maggie Hier, Maggie Zorn, Ellie, and Sarah took second in the relay with their time of 3:43.56.

This finishes up the season for the full team, although the select few who earned their state cuts will be racing in two weeks at the state meet. This ends a very successful season where they fought to secure second-place in the conference amidst tough competition, particularly Jenison and EGR. The state meet will be held on November 22nd at the Holland Aquatic Center.