Senior captains Sarah Chesner, Olivia Hooper, Emily Johnson, and Rachel Schenck led the girls varsity swim and dive team in its first meet on Saturday the 19th against Hudsonville. This meet was their first one in a long time, and all four captains were responsible for motivating the team and making sure they were ready to compete. The girls competed very well, taking first in many events, but ultimately losing 130-119 to the Eagles. 

Even though the Rangers narrowly lost, they had a very positive start for it being the first meet of the year. 2020 has come with some rough punches, but the girls handled them well and made sure they would be prepared for this season no matter what happened. 

“The girls were excited to finally get some competition, to be able to see how much their practices will pay off, and to see what we still have to work on for the rest of the season,” head coach Dennis Neat said. “I’m proud of the fact that their attitudes have remained positive despite the various obstacles that they have overcome in these first six weeks.” 

Both the dive team and the swimmers did well this weekend. For the divers, there were some excellent scores and placings. Sophomore Olivia Thornley took 2nd place with a score of 173.80, sophomore Payton Dailey took 4th place with a score of 163.50, and sophomore Noelle Stewart took 5th, scoring a 149.93. The divers showed well for FHC, having three girls in the top 5 placings for the weekend. 

Seniors Olivia Hooper and Emily, and juniors Maggie Hier and Jessica Doyle all showed exceptionally well this weekend. They competed in the 200 yard Medley Relay, achieving an amazing time of 1:50.56. With this time, they qualified for states, beating the state cut time of 1:56.99 by a little over 6 seconds. Along with this achievement, the girls competed in their other respected events, helping to raise their team’s overall score. 

Next up for the girls is their meet on Tuesday, September 29 at 6:00 PM against Northview at home.