Zeeland East sophomore Meg Weeldreyer (10) goes up for a header against Unity Christian’s Ava Lutke (15) during the first half of their May 28 district semifinal game at Holland High School.
Photo by Greg Chandler
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland East varsity girls soccer team mustered a valiant defensive effort against a high-powered Unity Christian team in a Division 2 district semifinal game May 28 at Holland High School, but the Crusaders found a way to score a goal late in each half to take a 2-0 victory and eliminate the Chix from the state tournament.
East finished the season with a record of 9-6-4, with three of its losses coming at the hands of Unity, which moved up to Division 2 this year after winning the state championship in Division 3 each of the last two years. The Crusaders improved to 17-0-2.
Unity entered the game having outscored its opponents 87-4 on the season, including nine games where it scored at least five goals. The Crusaders scored nine goals in a May 12 win over East. So, the strategy for the Chix from the outset was on defense and limiting offensive chances for the Crusaders.
For the first 29 minutes, the strategy worked, as the East defense consistently thwarted Unity’s attack and cleared the ball out of danger.
But with a little more than 11 minutes left in the first half, the Crusaders broke through, as Ava Lutke drove a shot into the lower left-hand corner of the net for the game’s first goal. The first half ended with Unity in front, 1-0.
East continued its stout defense throughout the second half to keep the game close, hoping to get a quick runout for an offensive chance of its own. Freshman goalkeeper Natalie Nichols, filling in for the injured Sophie Reese, came up with the save of the game midway through the second half, diving in fearlessly to gobble up a through ball as a Unity attacker was closing in on her.
However, East was never able to get a chance at the equalizer, and Unity capitalized on a Chix turnover for the clinching goal. Olivia Walters scored with 3:34 remaining to seal the win for the Crusaders.
East coach G Hunderman had nothing but praise for her team’s effort.
“My girls wanted it … and we respect Unity enough to change the way we played today,” Hunderman said. “We committed to defense and we practiced that the past week. The girls executed every single thing that I asked them to do and we played the best we could. Ultimately, Unity is a great team.”
“It just shows that we are here to fight and we’re never going to give up. It (stinks to lose), but I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” Hunderman added.
Nichols made 10 saves in net for the Chix.
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland East varsity girls soccer team mustered a valiant defensive effort against a high-powered Unity Christian team in a Division 2 district semifinal game May 28 at Holland High School, but the Crusaders found a way to score a goal late in each half to take a 2-0 victory and eliminate the Chix from the state tournament.
East finished the season with a record of 9-6-4, with three of its losses coming at the hands of Unity, which moved up to Division 2 this year after winning the state championship in Division 3 each of the last two years. The Crusaders improved to 17-0-2.
Unity entered the game having outscored its opponents 87-4 on the season, including nine games where it scored at least five goals. The Crusaders scored nine goals in a May 12 win over East. So, the strategy for the Chix from the outset was on defense and limiting offensive chances for the Crusaders.
For the first 29 minutes, the strategy worked, as the East defense consistently thwarted Unity’s attack and cleared the ball out of danger.
But with a little more than 11 minutes left in the first half, the Crusaders broke through, as Ava Lutke drove a shot into the lower left-hand corner of the net for the game’s first goal. The first half ended with Unity in front, 1-0.
East continued its stout defense throughout the second half to keep the game close, hoping to get a quick runout for an offensive chance of its own. Freshman goalkeeper Natalie Nichols, filling in for the injured Sophie Reese, came up with the save of the game midway through the second half, diving in fearlessly to gobble up a through ball as a Unity attacker was closing in on her.
However, East was never able to get a chance at the equalizer, and Unity capitalized on a Chix turnover for the clinching goal. Olivia Walters scored with 3:34 remaining to seal the win for the Crusaders.
East coach G Hunderman had nothing but praise for her team’s effort.
“My girls wanted it … and we respect Unity enough to change the way we played today,” Hunderman said. “We committed to defense and we practiced that the past week. The girls executed every single thing that I asked them to do and we played the best we could. Ultimately, Unity is a great team.”
“It just shows that we are here to fight and we’re never going to give up. It (stinks to lose), but I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” Hunderman added.
Nichols made 10 saves in net for the Chix.
East Girls Set School Records At State Track & Field Finals
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland East girls track and field team set three new school records last Saturday at the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 finals at East Kentwood High School.
The Chix 4x800-meter relay team, consisting of senior Emma Drnek, junior Meredith Cook, junior Taryn DiLaura and freshman Adalyn Raab, started the meet by finishing second to West Ottawa with a time of 9 minutes, 10.06 seconds. The previous record of 9:11.49 had been set in 2023 by Cook, Allison Kuzma, Drnek and CC Kuras.
Cook then set another school mark in the 800-meter run as she ran a 2:13 flat to take third place, behind West Ottawa’s Collette Wierks and Grand Haven’s Valerie Beeck. It was the second time that Cook broke the Chix 800 record in four days. On May 27, she ran a 2:15.09 in the University of Michigan Health-West Scholarship Invite.
East’s other record performance came in the 1,600-meter run as Raab finished sixth with a time of 4:56.17, breaking Drnek’s previous school record of 4:59.85 that she set last year.
The Chix finished 13th in the girls meet with 17 points. Oak Park ran away with the title with 86 points, while Detroit Renaissance was a distant second with 47. West Ottawa placed third with 46.
The Zeeland West boys team had only one scoring performance in the state meet, as senior Trey Sloothaak finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 4 ¾ inches. Senior Keaton Hendricks, who had broken the Dux long jump record last week at the MITCA team state meet with a jump of 23 feet, ¼ inch, just missed a podium finish, placing ninth with a jump of 21-10 ¾.
Zeeland East’s Bennett Bing finished 13th in the boys high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 3 inches – the same height as the sixth-place jumpers, but Bing had more failed attempts, resulting in the lower finish.
West finished with a team score of five points. Belleville won the boys title with 57 points, while Northville was second with 35.
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland East girls track and field team set three new school records last Saturday at the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 finals at East Kentwood High School.
The Chix 4x800-meter relay team, consisting of senior Emma Drnek, junior Meredith Cook, junior Taryn DiLaura and freshman Adalyn Raab, started the meet by finishing second to West Ottawa with a time of 9 minutes, 10.06 seconds. The previous record of 9:11.49 had been set in 2023 by Cook, Allison Kuzma, Drnek and CC Kuras.
Cook then set another school mark in the 800-meter run as she ran a 2:13 flat to take third place, behind West Ottawa’s Collette Wierks and Grand Haven’s Valerie Beeck. It was the second time that Cook broke the Chix 800 record in four days. On May 27, she ran a 2:15.09 in the University of Michigan Health-West Scholarship Invite.
East’s other record performance came in the 1,600-meter run as Raab finished sixth with a time of 4:56.17, breaking Drnek’s previous school record of 4:59.85 that she set last year.
The Chix finished 13th in the girls meet with 17 points. Oak Park ran away with the title with 86 points, while Detroit Renaissance was a distant second with 47. West Ottawa placed third with 46.
The Zeeland West boys team had only one scoring performance in the state meet, as senior Trey Sloothaak finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 4 ¾ inches. Senior Keaton Hendricks, who had broken the Dux long jump record last week at the MITCA team state meet with a jump of 23 feet, ¼ inch, just missed a podium finish, placing ninth with a jump of 21-10 ¾.
Zeeland East’s Bennett Bing finished 13th in the boys high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 3 inches – the same height as the sixth-place jumpers, but Bing had more failed attempts, resulting in the lower finish.
West finished with a team score of five points. Belleville won the boys title with 57 points, while Northville was second with 35.
West Softball Falls To Hudsonville In District Championship
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
Earlier this season, the Zeeland West softball team pulled off a stunning upset against defending Division 1 state champion Hudsonville, snapping the Eagles’ 48-game winning with a 10-1 victory.
Last Saturday, though, the Dux saw their season come to an end at the hands of the Eagles, as Hudsonville defeated West 10-3 in the district final at Jenison High School. West ended its season with a record of 23-11.
Earlier on Saturday, West outlasted Zeeland East in a semifinal game, 3-1, a much different contest compared to earlier this season when the two teams combined to score 48 runs in a doubleheader that the Dux swept.
The Chix took advantage of a West error to score an unearned run off Dux hurler Sadie Kragt in the bottom of the first to grab a quick 1-0 lead.
West tied the game in the top of the second on an RBI single by senior Riley Howe off East pitcher Reese Gruppen. The Dux then took the lead in the fourth on an RBI groundout by Kylie Glass. Emily Kragt later knocked in an insurance run to give West a 3-1 lead.
Sadie Kragt scattered eight hits over the first 5 1/3 innings to pick up the win in the circle. She struck out eight East batters and walked just one. Madison Wyckoff got the last five outs to earn the save.
Gruppen pitched well in a losing cause for East, scattering nine hits and allowing just one earned run.
Howe, Emily Kragt and Megan Strabbing had two hits apiece for West, while Maddi Veersma stole two bases.
Zeeland Record
Earlier this season, the Zeeland West softball team pulled off a stunning upset against defending Division 1 state champion Hudsonville, snapping the Eagles’ 48-game winning with a 10-1 victory.
Last Saturday, though, the Dux saw their season come to an end at the hands of the Eagles, as Hudsonville defeated West 10-3 in the district final at Jenison High School. West ended its season with a record of 23-11.
Earlier on Saturday, West outlasted Zeeland East in a semifinal game, 3-1, a much different contest compared to earlier this season when the two teams combined to score 48 runs in a doubleheader that the Dux swept.
The Chix took advantage of a West error to score an unearned run off Dux hurler Sadie Kragt in the bottom of the first to grab a quick 1-0 lead.
West tied the game in the top of the second on an RBI single by senior Riley Howe off East pitcher Reese Gruppen. The Dux then took the lead in the fourth on an RBI groundout by Kylie Glass. Emily Kragt later knocked in an insurance run to give West a 3-1 lead.
Sadie Kragt scattered eight hits over the first 5 1/3 innings to pick up the win in the circle. She struck out eight East batters and walked just one. Madison Wyckoff got the last five outs to earn the save.
Gruppen pitched well in a losing cause for East, scattering nine hits and allowing just one earned run.
Howe, Emily Kragt and Megan Strabbing had two hits apiece for West, while Maddi Veersma stole two bases.
West 6th, East 17th At Boys Golf Regional
The Zeeland West varsity boys golf team finished sixth while Zeeland East finished 17th at the Division 2 regional on the Stonehenge North course of Gull Lake View Golf Club and Resort on May 27.
The Dux finished with an 18-hole team score of 330, holding off seventh-place Holland Christian by four strokes, while the Chix had a team score of 368. Grand Rapids Christian won the regional with a team score of 301, while Grand Rapids South Christian (304) and Unity Christian (310) also qualified for the state finals.
Seniors Graham VanDort and Tyler Baumann led West with scores of 81. Senior Logan Bomers and sophomore Michael Girman each shot 84.
Junior Aiden Bareng led East with an 89. Senior Kolton Gentry shot a 91, while senior Tanner Treacy and freshman Reid Blondin each shot 94.
The Dux finished with an 18-hole team score of 330, holding off seventh-place Holland Christian by four strokes, while the Chix had a team score of 368. Grand Rapids Christian won the regional with a team score of 301, while Grand Rapids South Christian (304) and Unity Christian (310) also qualified for the state finals.
Seniors Graham VanDort and Tyler Baumann led West with scores of 81. Senior Logan Bomers and sophomore Michael Girman each shot 84.
Junior Aiden Bareng led East with an 89. Senior Kolton Gentry shot a 91, while senior Tanner Treacy and freshman Reid Blondin each shot 94.
Chix, Dux Eliminated in Baseball District
Zeeland East and Zeeland West saw their baseball seasons come to an end last Saturday in the Division 1 district tournament at Jenison.
The Chix lost to Hudsonville in one semifinal, 12-4, while the Dux dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 decision to Jenison in a nine-inning pitcher’s duel.
East got off to a promising start against the Eagles, taking advantage of Hudsonville defensive miscues to score three unearned runs in the top of the first inning.
However, Hudsonville came back with three runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the score. The Eagles then exploded for six runs in the third and three more in the fourth to break the game open.
Hudsonville outhit East 11-6 for the contest.
Meanwhile, West got a great pitching effort from senior Cam Schader against O-K Green Conference champion Jenison, who had scored 23 runs in a sweep of the Dux earlier in the season.
However, West could manage only two hits off Wildcats’ starter Ben Slagter. Jenison scratched out a run in the ninth inning on a wild pitch for the win.
Hudsonville went on to win the district with a 5-4 victory over Jenison to move on to the Division 1 regional against Grandville, a game that was played on Wednesday at Jenison.
The Chix lost to Hudsonville in one semifinal, 12-4, while the Dux dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 decision to Jenison in a nine-inning pitcher’s duel.
East got off to a promising start against the Eagles, taking advantage of Hudsonville defensive miscues to score three unearned runs in the top of the first inning.
However, Hudsonville came back with three runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the score. The Eagles then exploded for six runs in the third and three more in the fourth to break the game open.
Hudsonville outhit East 11-6 for the contest.
Meanwhile, West got a great pitching effort from senior Cam Schader against O-K Green Conference champion Jenison, who had scored 23 runs in a sweep of the Dux earlier in the season.
However, West could manage only two hits off Wildcats’ starter Ben Slagter. Jenison scratched out a run in the ninth inning on a wild pitch for the win.
Hudsonville went on to win the district with a 5-4 victory over Jenison to move on to the Division 1 regional against Grandville, a game that was played on Wednesday at Jenison.
Meyering Breaks East Softball Season Home Run Record
Zeeland East softball senior Emme Meyering broke the school record for home runs in one season last Thursday with her 14th roundtripper of the season as the Chix defeated Whitehall 14-5.
Meyering’s blast came in the first inning, as she belted the first pitch she saw over the center field fence for a two-run homer to break the previous single-season home run record of 13 that was set by Katie Carlson in 2023. It was Meyering’s 32nd career home run, another school record.
Meyering, who will be playing college softball next spring at Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind., finished the game 4-for-5 at the plate and drove in four runs to lead the East offense.
Meyering’s blast came in the first inning, as she belted the first pitch she saw over the center field fence for a two-run homer to break the previous single-season home run record of 13 that was set by Katie Carlson in 2023. It was Meyering’s 32nd career home run, another school record.
Meyering, who will be playing college softball next spring at Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind., finished the game 4-for-5 at the plate and drove in four runs to lead the East offense.
