Zeeland West senior Keaton Hendricks breaks the school record in the boys long jump with a leap of 23 feet, ¼ inch as he took first place at the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association team state meet last Friday at Davison High School. Hendricks also won both hurdles races as he helped the West boys to a fourth-place finish at the MITCA meet.
Photo courtesy Shelly Hendricks
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
Zeeland’s track teams once again posted strong performances at the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association Division 1 team state meet last Friday at Davison High School near Flint.
In the girls meet, Zeeland East finished third with 1,307.5 points, trailing two O-K Red Conference powers, East Kentwood (1,520) and Rockford (1,459.5). Zeeland West finished ninth with 744 points.
Meanwhile, Zeeland West finished fourth in the boys meet with 1,322 points. O-K Red schools took the first three places as East Kentwood won the meet with 1,635 points, followed by Hudsonville (1,432.5) and Rockford (1,416). Zeeland East was sixth with 1,143 points.
Unlike the Michigan High School Athletic Association state finals that will be held this Saturday at East Kentwood, where points are awarded for only the top eight places in any event, the MITCA meet uses a “true team scoring” format that emphasizes team depth. Each team is allowed three entries per individual event and one team per relay event.
The meet was highlighted by countless outstanding individual efforts, none more so than that of West senior Keaton Hendricks, who won three events for the day. Hendricks broke the school record for the long jump that had been set by teammate Trey Sloothaak at the regional meet the week before with a leap of 23 feet, ¼ inch. Sloothaak had a jump of 22-6 at the May 15 regional, breaking Nate Oppenhuizen’s mark that had stood since 2008.
Hendricks also swept both hurdles events, edging out East Kentwood’s Shukuru Makechi in the 110-meter event with a time of 14.53 seconds and taking the 300-meter hurdles in 39.20.
Meanwhile, the East girls got tremendous performances out of their distance runners. The Chix took first, second and fourth places in the 800 meters, with Meredith Cook first to the tape in 2 minutes, 19.39 seconds. Adalyn Raab was second in 2:20.33 and Emma Drnek fourth in 2:20.57. West placed two runners in the top eight in the 800 as Jordyn Klaasen finished seventh in 2:29.45 and Evie Kleinheksel eighth in 2:30.38.
East went 1-2 in the girls 1,600, as Raab won in 5:05.37 with Drnek taking second in 5:08.37.
Cook finished second in the girls 400-meter dash with a time of 57.72 seconds, just one-tenth of a second off her school record she had set earlier this season in a meet at Hamilton. In the girls 3,200-meter run, Taryn DiLaura of East finished fifth in 11:53.91 while Drnek placed sixth in 11:54.58.
East’s Mirra Fenlon finished second in the girls long jump with a leap of 17 feet. Sloothaak gave West two top-five finishers in the boys long jump with a jump of 21-5, while East’s Alex Stephens finished seventh at 21-1 ½.
The West boys had a pair of third-place finishes in the relays. In the 4x200-meter relay, the Dux team of Xane Herrygers, Hendricks, Garrett Kapenga and Brandon Holman posted a time of 1:31.35. Then in the 4x800, the foursome of Keagan Smith, Robert Dodd, Joshua Dodd and Ben Greshaw ran an 8:04.75.
East placed seventh in both of those relays, running a 1:32.62 in the 4x200 (Sam Manning, Kameron Compagner, Isaiah Strom, Levi Bannach) and an 8:15.02 in the 4x800 (Tristen Hinson, Caden Guffey, Sam Downing, Nate Davis).
The Dux also had a seventh-place finish in the boys 4x100-meter relay, as Clayton Ramsdell, Herrygers, Sloothaak and Holman ran a 43.73.
The East girls also had a pair of strong performances in the relays, taking third in the 4x800 as Kat Wilson, DiLaura, Drnek and Raab ran a 9:42.05 and fourth in the 4x400 as the foursome of of Wilson, Emily Graves, CC Kuras and Raab finished in 4:09.56. West’s team of Rowan Sloothaak, Kaila Keeler, Avery Towne and Kleinheksel placed sixth in the 4x800 in 9:58.38.
Downing placed third for the Chix in the boys 800-meter run in 1:59.61, while Keagan Smith fin-ished seventh for the Dux in 2:03.20. The East girls had two of the top six places in the 300-meter hurdles, with Wilson finishing third (47.78) and Kuras sixth (48.80).
Holman finished seventh for the West boys in the 200-meter dash in 23.12. In the boys 3,200-meter run, Robert Dodd finished sixth for the Dux (10:01) while Guffey came in eighth for the Chix (10:03.19).
In other field events, East had three girls tie for fourth in the high jump, as Fenlon, Rogue Kraker and Brienna Cole all had jumps of 4 feet, 9 inches. Teammate Kate Murphy finished third in the girls pole vault at 9-9.
The Chix had three throwers place in the top seven in the girls shot put – Laura Maartense (third, 34-11), Lily Huizenga (fourth, 33-5) and Libby Post (seventh, 32-2). Post was sixth in the girls discus (95-9).
East’s Bennett Bing finished third in the boys high jump, vaulting 6 feet, 2 inches, while West’s Ramsdell tied for fifth at 6-0. Reagan Page finished fifth for the Dux in the boys pole vault at 13-0.
Zeeland Record
Zeeland’s track teams once again posted strong performances at the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association Division 1 team state meet last Friday at Davison High School near Flint.
In the girls meet, Zeeland East finished third with 1,307.5 points, trailing two O-K Red Conference powers, East Kentwood (1,520) and Rockford (1,459.5). Zeeland West finished ninth with 744 points.
Meanwhile, Zeeland West finished fourth in the boys meet with 1,322 points. O-K Red schools took the first three places as East Kentwood won the meet with 1,635 points, followed by Hudsonville (1,432.5) and Rockford (1,416). Zeeland East was sixth with 1,143 points.
Unlike the Michigan High School Athletic Association state finals that will be held this Saturday at East Kentwood, where points are awarded for only the top eight places in any event, the MITCA meet uses a “true team scoring” format that emphasizes team depth. Each team is allowed three entries per individual event and one team per relay event.
The meet was highlighted by countless outstanding individual efforts, none more so than that of West senior Keaton Hendricks, who won three events for the day. Hendricks broke the school record for the long jump that had been set by teammate Trey Sloothaak at the regional meet the week before with a leap of 23 feet, ¼ inch. Sloothaak had a jump of 22-6 at the May 15 regional, breaking Nate Oppenhuizen’s mark that had stood since 2008.
Hendricks also swept both hurdles events, edging out East Kentwood’s Shukuru Makechi in the 110-meter event with a time of 14.53 seconds and taking the 300-meter hurdles in 39.20.
Meanwhile, the East girls got tremendous performances out of their distance runners. The Chix took first, second and fourth places in the 800 meters, with Meredith Cook first to the tape in 2 minutes, 19.39 seconds. Adalyn Raab was second in 2:20.33 and Emma Drnek fourth in 2:20.57. West placed two runners in the top eight in the 800 as Jordyn Klaasen finished seventh in 2:29.45 and Evie Kleinheksel eighth in 2:30.38.
East went 1-2 in the girls 1,600, as Raab won in 5:05.37 with Drnek taking second in 5:08.37.
Cook finished second in the girls 400-meter dash with a time of 57.72 seconds, just one-tenth of a second off her school record she had set earlier this season in a meet at Hamilton. In the girls 3,200-meter run, Taryn DiLaura of East finished fifth in 11:53.91 while Drnek placed sixth in 11:54.58.
East’s Mirra Fenlon finished second in the girls long jump with a leap of 17 feet. Sloothaak gave West two top-five finishers in the boys long jump with a jump of 21-5, while East’s Alex Stephens finished seventh at 21-1 ½.
The West boys had a pair of third-place finishes in the relays. In the 4x200-meter relay, the Dux team of Xane Herrygers, Hendricks, Garrett Kapenga and Brandon Holman posted a time of 1:31.35. Then in the 4x800, the foursome of Keagan Smith, Robert Dodd, Joshua Dodd and Ben Greshaw ran an 8:04.75.
East placed seventh in both of those relays, running a 1:32.62 in the 4x200 (Sam Manning, Kameron Compagner, Isaiah Strom, Levi Bannach) and an 8:15.02 in the 4x800 (Tristen Hinson, Caden Guffey, Sam Downing, Nate Davis).
The Dux also had a seventh-place finish in the boys 4x100-meter relay, as Clayton Ramsdell, Herrygers, Sloothaak and Holman ran a 43.73.
The East girls also had a pair of strong performances in the relays, taking third in the 4x800 as Kat Wilson, DiLaura, Drnek and Raab ran a 9:42.05 and fourth in the 4x400 as the foursome of of Wilson, Emily Graves, CC Kuras and Raab finished in 4:09.56. West’s team of Rowan Sloothaak, Kaila Keeler, Avery Towne and Kleinheksel placed sixth in the 4x800 in 9:58.38.
Downing placed third for the Chix in the boys 800-meter run in 1:59.61, while Keagan Smith fin-ished seventh for the Dux in 2:03.20. The East girls had two of the top six places in the 300-meter hurdles, with Wilson finishing third (47.78) and Kuras sixth (48.80).
Holman finished seventh for the West boys in the 200-meter dash in 23.12. In the boys 3,200-meter run, Robert Dodd finished sixth for the Dux (10:01) while Guffey came in eighth for the Chix (10:03.19).
In other field events, East had three girls tie for fourth in the high jump, as Fenlon, Rogue Kraker and Brienna Cole all had jumps of 4 feet, 9 inches. Teammate Kate Murphy finished third in the girls pole vault at 9-9.
The Chix had three throwers place in the top seven in the girls shot put – Laura Maartense (third, 34-11), Lily Huizenga (fourth, 33-5) and Libby Post (seventh, 32-2). Post was sixth in the girls discus (95-9).
East’s Bennett Bing finished third in the boys high jump, vaulting 6 feet, 2 inches, while West’s Ramsdell tied for fifth at 6-0. Reagan Page finished fifth for the Dux in the boys pole vault at 13-0.
Chix Blank Dux in District Soccer
The Zeeland East varsity girls soccer team didn’t let a little rain bother them as the Chix eliminated Zeeland West, 3-0, in a district tournament opener May 20.
East improved to 9-5-4 on the season with the win, its second to go along with a tie in three games with West this season. The Chix did not allow a single goal to the Dux in the three meetings. West ended its season at 5-5-5.
The Chix opened the scoring in the final seconds of the first half, as sophomore Addison Woodcock scored with five seconds to play in the half for a 1-0 East lead.
East then got insurance goals by sophomore Meg Weeldreyer and freshman Marilyn Meza in the second half to put the game away. Meanwhile, sophomore Sophie Reese recorded another shutout in goal for the Chix. East has 12 shutouts this season.
The Chix were to face O-K Black Conference champion Unity Christian in a district semifinal contest Wednesday at Holland High School. The result of that game was not available at press time.
East improved to 9-5-4 on the season with the win, its second to go along with a tie in three games with West this season. The Chix did not allow a single goal to the Dux in the three meetings. West ended its season at 5-5-5.
The Chix opened the scoring in the final seconds of the first half, as sophomore Addison Woodcock scored with five seconds to play in the half for a 1-0 East lead.
East then got insurance goals by sophomore Meg Weeldreyer and freshman Marilyn Meza in the second half to put the game away. Meanwhile, sophomore Sophie Reese recorded another shutout in goal for the Chix. East has 12 shutouts this season.
The Chix were to face O-K Black Conference champion Unity Christian in a district semifinal contest Wednesday at Holland High School. The result of that game was not available at press time.
Hope’s Danitz, Schermerhorn Sprint to All-America Honors
Hope College sprinters Liam Danitz and Sara Schermerhorn ran away with All-America honors for the second time this season.
The two juniors raced to medal-earning honors at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships last Saturday at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, near Cleveland, to add to the national accolades they claimed at the indoor championships in March.
Danitz (West Branch/Ogemaw Heights HS) finished fifth in the men’s 200-meter final, clocking a time of 21.33 seconds. The exercise science major took seventh in the 200 at the indoor finals.
Schermerhorn (Traverse City/Traverse City West) placed sixth in the women’s 400-meter final, posting a school-record time of 54.36 seconds. The exercise science major recorded a seventh-place finish in the event at the indoor championships.
Last Thursday, Schermerhorn earned All-America Second Team distinction for the second time in the women’s 200 meters with an 11th-place finish.
Danitz became the Flying Dutchmen’s first 200-meter All-American for the second time in as many NCAA Championships. Schermerhorn became the Flying Dutch’s two-time First Team All-American in the 400 meters.
Head coach Kevin Cole praised both runners for their performances amidst challenging competition and conditions.
“Sara was really focused today. That field, it could have been anybody’s race; it was fast. Sara crushed the school record on less than an ideal day. She rose to the level of the competition,” Cole said. “Liam’s race was everything we expected. It was just close, fractions of a second except for [the winner]. At nationals, you realize it’s not about time, it’s just trying to beat the people you’re racing against. Liam beat most of them.”
The two juniors raced to medal-earning honors at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships last Saturday at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, near Cleveland, to add to the national accolades they claimed at the indoor championships in March.
Danitz (West Branch/Ogemaw Heights HS) finished fifth in the men’s 200-meter final, clocking a time of 21.33 seconds. The exercise science major took seventh in the 200 at the indoor finals.
Schermerhorn (Traverse City/Traverse City West) placed sixth in the women’s 400-meter final, posting a school-record time of 54.36 seconds. The exercise science major recorded a seventh-place finish in the event at the indoor championships.
Last Thursday, Schermerhorn earned All-America Second Team distinction for the second time in the women’s 200 meters with an 11th-place finish.
Danitz became the Flying Dutchmen’s first 200-meter All-American for the second time in as many NCAA Championships. Schermerhorn became the Flying Dutch’s two-time First Team All-American in the 400 meters.
Head coach Kevin Cole praised both runners for their performances amidst challenging competition and conditions.
“Sara was really focused today. That field, it could have been anybody’s race; it was fast. Sara crushed the school record on less than an ideal day. She rose to the level of the competition,” Cole said. “Liam’s race was everything we expected. It was just close, fractions of a second except for [the winner]. At nationals, you realize it’s not about time, it’s just trying to beat the people you’re racing against. Liam beat most of them.”
Zeeland Falls to WO in Water Polo District
The Zeeland girls water polo team had its season come to an end May 16 with a 17-11 loss to West Ottawa in a district contest at the Panthers’ home pool.
Sophomore Molly Meyering led Zeeland with four goals in a losing cause while freshman Aynslee McKenney added three. Senior Emily Pyle blocked 12 shots.
Sophomore Molly Meyering led Zeeland with four goals in a losing cause while freshman Aynslee McKenney added three. Senior Emily Pyle blocked 12 shots.
