Zeeland Boys 4th at State Swim Finals, Stevens Sets State Record
The Zeeland swim team posted its best finish at the Division 1 MHSAA meet in nine years Saturday, finishing in fourth place. The team had finished fifth the previous two years.
Zeeland senior Owen Stevens pulls away from the field during Saturday’s 500-yard freestyle final at the Holland Aquatic Center. Stevens won the state title in the event for the third consecutive year, breaking the Division 1 meet record by more than a second.
Photo credits MHSAA/High School Sports Scene
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland boys swimming team posted its best finish in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 state championship since 2016 last Saturday at the Holland Aquatic Center, finishing in fourth place with 176 points.
Zeeland needed a third-place finish in the meet’s final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, to nip Detroit Catholic Central by a single point to earn the fourth-place trophy. Saline won the meet with 291.5 points, followed by Ann Arbor Pioneer (263), Northville (224) and then Zeeland. Rounding out the top 10 were Detroit Catholic Central (175), Grandville (134), Milford (111), South Lyon (101), Bloomfield Hills (95) and West Ottawa (85).
Zeeland had finished fifth at the state finals the past two years. The fourth-place showing was the team’s best since Zeeland placed third at the 2016 Division 1 finals.
“When Owen (Stevens) came in as a freshman, we were seventh, so it was seventh, fifth, fifth (the last three years). We’ve just been knocking on the door the whole time. If you put yourself in that position at some point, you’re going to get it. We put ourselves in that position today, and that last relay really stepped up,” Zeeland coach Drew Scheerhorn said.
Highlighting the meet’s performances was a state record-setting effort by senior Owen Stevens in the 500-yard freestyle. Stevens dominated the race from the outset, opening with a 50-yard split of 23.99 seconds and continuing to build on the lead as he went on to win the race for the third consecutive year in a Division 1 record time of 4 minutes, 23.65 seconds – nearly nine seconds faster than his nearest competitor. It was Stevens’ fifth overall individual state title.
“It’s awesome. I’ve been looking at that record for four years … I felt great during that race and I wasn’t going to back down,” Stevens said.
Stevens, who will be swimming next season at the University of Louisville, broke the previous Division 1 record of 4:24.84 that had been set by Nick Arakelian of Livonia Stevenson in 2014. His time was the second-fastest 500 free in state history, topped only by Battle Creek Lakeview’s Clay Youngquist (4:20.71) in 2010. Youngquist went on to win a national championship at the collegiate level at the University of Texas and swam on the U.S. national team.
Earlier in the meet, Stevens narrowly missed a third state title in the 200-yard individual medley. He swam a personal best of 1:48.38, more than a second faster than his state-winning time last year, but was edged out by Saline’s Isaac Adanin by 0.14 seconds.
In the second-to-final event, sophomore Andrew Skaggs broke the Zeeland program’s longest-standing record, finishing second in the 100-yard breaststroke in :56.54, just 0.31 seconds behind Saline’s Adanin. Skaggs’ time broke the school record that had been held by Justin Barkel since 2006.
“This means so much, to break the oldest record on the board,” Skaggs said.
Zeeland trailed Detroit Catholic Central by one point in the battle for fourth place heading into the final event, the 400 freestyle relay. But the foursome of sophomore Gibson Meyering, sophomore Hudson Kosten, senior Eli Elders and Stevens delivered a time of 3:08.03, edging out the Shamrocks by 0.58 seconds. Stevens, swimming the anchor leg, posted a split of :44.49 to hold off a challenge by DCC’s Camren Turowski, who had earlier won both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle.
“I knew I was racing their best sprinter and I knew he was going to be really fast. I split my best time ever. It was just a lot of adrenaline (going through me),” Stevens said.
Zeeland placed fourth in the 200-yard medley relay to open the meet, as the team of sophomore Andrew Pyle, Skaggs, Meyering and senior Will Posthumus posted a time of 1:34.98. In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the team of Elders, senior Reagan Louwerse, Posthumus and Stevens came in fourth in 1:26.00.
Meyering placed eighth in two events, the 100-yard butterfly (:52.49) and the 100-yard backstroke (:53.20). Pyle took 11th in the 100 back in :54.08. Elders placed 15th in the 50-yard freestyle in :22.16.
“I’m so proud of this team, so proud of even the team that didn’t make it to state. We had great team camaraderie, the team chemistry we had this year was just incredible,” Scheerhorn said.
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland boys swimming team posted its best finish in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 state championship since 2016 last Saturday at the Holland Aquatic Center, finishing in fourth place with 176 points.
Zeeland needed a third-place finish in the meet’s final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, to nip Detroit Catholic Central by a single point to earn the fourth-place trophy. Saline won the meet with 291.5 points, followed by Ann Arbor Pioneer (263), Northville (224) and then Zeeland. Rounding out the top 10 were Detroit Catholic Central (175), Grandville (134), Milford (111), South Lyon (101), Bloomfield Hills (95) and West Ottawa (85).
Zeeland had finished fifth at the state finals the past two years. The fourth-place showing was the team’s best since Zeeland placed third at the 2016 Division 1 finals.
“When Owen (Stevens) came in as a freshman, we were seventh, so it was seventh, fifth, fifth (the last three years). We’ve just been knocking on the door the whole time. If you put yourself in that position at some point, you’re going to get it. We put ourselves in that position today, and that last relay really stepped up,” Zeeland coach Drew Scheerhorn said.
Highlighting the meet’s performances was a state record-setting effort by senior Owen Stevens in the 500-yard freestyle. Stevens dominated the race from the outset, opening with a 50-yard split of 23.99 seconds and continuing to build on the lead as he went on to win the race for the third consecutive year in a Division 1 record time of 4 minutes, 23.65 seconds – nearly nine seconds faster than his nearest competitor. It was Stevens’ fifth overall individual state title.
“It’s awesome. I’ve been looking at that record for four years … I felt great during that race and I wasn’t going to back down,” Stevens said.
Stevens, who will be swimming next season at the University of Louisville, broke the previous Division 1 record of 4:24.84 that had been set by Nick Arakelian of Livonia Stevenson in 2014. His time was the second-fastest 500 free in state history, topped only by Battle Creek Lakeview’s Clay Youngquist (4:20.71) in 2010. Youngquist went on to win a national championship at the collegiate level at the University of Texas and swam on the U.S. national team.
Earlier in the meet, Stevens narrowly missed a third state title in the 200-yard individual medley. He swam a personal best of 1:48.38, more than a second faster than his state-winning time last year, but was edged out by Saline’s Isaac Adanin by 0.14 seconds.
In the second-to-final event, sophomore Andrew Skaggs broke the Zeeland program’s longest-standing record, finishing second in the 100-yard breaststroke in :56.54, just 0.31 seconds behind Saline’s Adanin. Skaggs’ time broke the school record that had been held by Justin Barkel since 2006.
“This means so much, to break the oldest record on the board,” Skaggs said.
Zeeland trailed Detroit Catholic Central by one point in the battle for fourth place heading into the final event, the 400 freestyle relay. But the foursome of sophomore Gibson Meyering, sophomore Hudson Kosten, senior Eli Elders and Stevens delivered a time of 3:08.03, edging out the Shamrocks by 0.58 seconds. Stevens, swimming the anchor leg, posted a split of :44.49 to hold off a challenge by DCC’s Camren Turowski, who had earlier won both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle.
“I knew I was racing their best sprinter and I knew he was going to be really fast. I split my best time ever. It was just a lot of adrenaline (going through me),” Stevens said.
Zeeland placed fourth in the 200-yard medley relay to open the meet, as the team of sophomore Andrew Pyle, Skaggs, Meyering and senior Will Posthumus posted a time of 1:34.98. In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the team of Elders, senior Reagan Louwerse, Posthumus and Stevens came in fourth in 1:26.00.
Meyering placed eighth in two events, the 100-yard butterfly (:52.49) and the 100-yard backstroke (:53.20). Pyle took 11th in the 100 back in :54.08. Elders placed 15th in the 50-yard freestyle in :22.16.
“I’m so proud of this team, so proud of even the team that didn’t make it to state. We had great team camaraderie, the team chemistry we had this year was just incredible,” Scheerhorn said.
West’s Hendricks Chooses Hope for Football
Zeeland West senior Keaton Hendricks won’t have to go far to continue his football career.
Hendricks, who was the leading rusher on the Dux state championship team last fall, announced last week on his X account that he will attend Hope College and play football for the Flying Dutchmen in the fall.
Hendricks rushed for 1,606 yards on 146 carries – an average of 11 yards every time he carried the ball – and scored 22 touchdowns on the ground as he earned first team All-State honors. He also caught eight passes for 167 yards and four more touchdowns, giving him a season total of 26.
Hendricks saved his best for his last game. In last November’s state championship game against Detroit Martin Luther King, Hendricks broke a Michigan high school finals single-game record with six touchdowns – three rushing and three receiving – in West’s 42-22 victory.
Hendricks also starred on defense in the secondary for the Dux on their run to the state title, making 52 tackles and intercepting four passes.
Hendricks, who was the leading rusher on the Dux state championship team last fall, announced last week on his X account that he will attend Hope College and play football for the Flying Dutchmen in the fall.
Hendricks rushed for 1,606 yards on 146 carries – an average of 11 yards every time he carried the ball – and scored 22 touchdowns on the ground as he earned first team All-State honors. He also caught eight passes for 167 yards and four more touchdowns, giving him a season total of 26.
Hendricks saved his best for his last game. In last November’s state championship game against Detroit Martin Luther King, Hendricks broke a Michigan high school finals single-game record with six touchdowns – three rushing and three receiving – in West’s 42-22 victory.
Hendricks also starred on defense in the secondary for the Dux on their run to the state title, making 52 tackles and intercepting four passes.
Hope Hockey Player, Zeeland Native Wins MVP Honor
Hope College center Jake Onstott has been selected as the Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference's Most Valuable Player by the conference's head coaches.
The junior from Zeeland (Grand Rapids Catholic Central HS) headlines an MCHC all-star team that includes three teammates: junior defenseman Austin Ieuter (Midland, Michigan / Midland Dow), senior defenseman Nolan Holtrop (Walker, Michigan / Kenowa Hills) and senior defenseman Casen Faustyn (Okemos, Michigan / Okemos).
Onstott and Ieuter also represented the Vezina Cup and West Division champions on the six-player MCHC Dream Team and the seven-player MCHC West Division First team. Faustyn made the six-player West Division Second Team.
Onstott, who scored 30 goals and added 50 assists for 80 points in 35 games through March 8, is Hope's seventh MCHC MVP, joining Drew O'Brien (2015), Chris Kunnen (2011, 2013), Gunnar Martin (2008), Jeff Guy (2007) and Paul Cynar (2005).
Onstott earned a spot on the MCHC Dream Team for the second consecutive season. He netted six power-play goals and three shorthanded ones.
Hope entered postseason play this week with a 31-3-1 record this season.
The junior from Zeeland (Grand Rapids Catholic Central HS) headlines an MCHC all-star team that includes three teammates: junior defenseman Austin Ieuter (Midland, Michigan / Midland Dow), senior defenseman Nolan Holtrop (Walker, Michigan / Kenowa Hills) and senior defenseman Casen Faustyn (Okemos, Michigan / Okemos).
Onstott and Ieuter also represented the Vezina Cup and West Division champions on the six-player MCHC Dream Team and the seven-player MCHC West Division First team. Faustyn made the six-player West Division Second Team.
Onstott, who scored 30 goals and added 50 assists for 80 points in 35 games through March 8, is Hope's seventh MCHC MVP, joining Drew O'Brien (2015), Chris Kunnen (2011, 2013), Gunnar Martin (2008), Jeff Guy (2007) and Paul Cynar (2005).
Onstott earned a spot on the MCHC Dream Team for the second consecutive season. He netted six power-play goals and three shorthanded ones.
Hope entered postseason play this week with a 31-3-1 record this season.
