By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
Lizzie Risdon doesn’t graduate from Zeeland East High School for two more years.
However, that hasn’t stopped the standout volleyball and basketball player for the Chix from making a decision on where she wants to continue her athletic and academic career in college.
Risdon announced recently that she has committed to Ohio University in Athens, a member of the Division I Mid-American Conference, to play volleyball for the Bobcats starting in 2027. Her parents, Jeff and Julie Risdon, are both OU graduates.
“They had been my dream school for a couple of years,” Risdon said in an interview with the Zeeland Record. “I went to their volleyball camp last year and this year, over the summer, and I loved it.”
On June 15, the first day NCAA coaches can contact prospective student-athletes after their sophomore year of high school, Ohio U. coaches texted Risdon.
“We Zoom-called with them and they gave me an offer,” she said. “It was super-cool to get an offer from them … because I have just loved the school for so long. It’s so cool to know where I’m going to go. I don’t know what I want to do yet (as far as an academic major), but just to have a plan going into my junior year – I don’t need to worry about (recruiting) anymore.”
Risdon was also contacted by a number of other Division I mid-major schools, but she was sold on Ohio U. as her school of choice.
Risdon earned all-conference honors last season in leading Zeeland East to a second-place finish in the O-K Black Conference with a 9-3 conference record and an overall mark of 22-10. The Chix advanced to the championship match of the Division 1 district tournament before suffering a narrow five-set loss to West Ottawa.
Risdon has typically played the position of outside hitter for East. However, she has spent the past few months with her club team, Cutlerville-based Far Out Volleyball, learning the position of libero – a defensive specialist who plays in the back row and wears a different color jersey on the court than her teammates. She expects that will be her position at the collegiate level.
Risdon had a busy schedule last winter. While she was playing guard for the East basketball team, she also was starting up the season with her Far Out 16 Black club team. Some weekends would involve her playing basketball for the Chix on Friday night, then hopping in the car with one of her parents to head off to an AAU volleyball tournament in Louisville or Indianapolis.
“At tournaments, we usually play in the morning, so we would have an 8 a.m. game (on Saturday). Leaving an away game from Spring Lake – it’s about 6-1/2 hours down there (to Louisville). We’d get in around 2 o’clock, then sleep for four hours and play at 8 a.m.,” Risdon said.
Risdon will be the second member of her family to enter the world of college sports. Her brother, Layne, is about to begin his second year in the men’s basketball program at Michigan Technological University in Houghton. Layne redshirted during his freshman year last season, leaving him with four full years of eligibility.
“He’s one of my biggest cheerleaders,” Risdon said of her brother. “Being able to tell him (of my decision) was really exciting.”
Risdon would be the latest in a line of outstanding players from Zeeland East to go on to play Division I volleyball. Reilly Zegunis, a 2023 East graduate, is entering her junior season at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, where she was a first team All-Horizon League selection last season. Another former Chix standout, Sophie Riemersma, played four seasons at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio from 2018 to 2021, then one season at Jacksonville State University in Alabama in 2022.
Zeeland Record
Lizzie Risdon doesn’t graduate from Zeeland East High School for two more years.
However, that hasn’t stopped the standout volleyball and basketball player for the Chix from making a decision on where she wants to continue her athletic and academic career in college.
Risdon announced recently that she has committed to Ohio University in Athens, a member of the Division I Mid-American Conference, to play volleyball for the Bobcats starting in 2027. Her parents, Jeff and Julie Risdon, are both OU graduates.
“They had been my dream school for a couple of years,” Risdon said in an interview with the Zeeland Record. “I went to their volleyball camp last year and this year, over the summer, and I loved it.”
On June 15, the first day NCAA coaches can contact prospective student-athletes after their sophomore year of high school, Ohio U. coaches texted Risdon.
“We Zoom-called with them and they gave me an offer,” she said. “It was super-cool to get an offer from them … because I have just loved the school for so long. It’s so cool to know where I’m going to go. I don’t know what I want to do yet (as far as an academic major), but just to have a plan going into my junior year – I don’t need to worry about (recruiting) anymore.”
Risdon was also contacted by a number of other Division I mid-major schools, but she was sold on Ohio U. as her school of choice.
Risdon earned all-conference honors last season in leading Zeeland East to a second-place finish in the O-K Black Conference with a 9-3 conference record and an overall mark of 22-10. The Chix advanced to the championship match of the Division 1 district tournament before suffering a narrow five-set loss to West Ottawa.
Risdon has typically played the position of outside hitter for East. However, she has spent the past few months with her club team, Cutlerville-based Far Out Volleyball, learning the position of libero – a defensive specialist who plays in the back row and wears a different color jersey on the court than her teammates. She expects that will be her position at the collegiate level.
Risdon had a busy schedule last winter. While she was playing guard for the East basketball team, she also was starting up the season with her Far Out 16 Black club team. Some weekends would involve her playing basketball for the Chix on Friday night, then hopping in the car with one of her parents to head off to an AAU volleyball tournament in Louisville or Indianapolis.
“At tournaments, we usually play in the morning, so we would have an 8 a.m. game (on Saturday). Leaving an away game from Spring Lake – it’s about 6-1/2 hours down there (to Louisville). We’d get in around 2 o’clock, then sleep for four hours and play at 8 a.m.,” Risdon said.
Risdon will be the second member of her family to enter the world of college sports. Her brother, Layne, is about to begin his second year in the men’s basketball program at Michigan Technological University in Houghton. Layne redshirted during his freshman year last season, leaving him with four full years of eligibility.
“He’s one of my biggest cheerleaders,” Risdon said of her brother. “Being able to tell him (of my decision) was really exciting.”
Risdon would be the latest in a line of outstanding players from Zeeland East to go on to play Division I volleyball. Reilly Zegunis, a 2023 East graduate, is entering her junior season at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, where she was a first team All-Horizon League selection last season. Another former Chix standout, Sophie Riemersma, played four seasons at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio from 2018 to 2021, then one season at Jacksonville State University in Alabama in 2022.
Ripley, Mulder Win at Zeeland Zoom 5K
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
Zach Ripley has been one of the most prominent distance runners in West Michigan for the last few years, running in the U.S. Olympic trials in the men’s marathon in February of last year and breaking the course record at the Grand Rapids Marathon last October.
But last week, the Rockford native and former NAIA national steeplechase champion at Cornerstone University was in Zeeland for the 16th Zeeland Zoom 5-kilometer race.
“My wife Andi and I own a coaching and running media company, AtoZrunning,” Ripley wrote in an email to the Zeeland Record. “We coach adult runners, and many of our athletes are local to West Michigan. Because a number of our athletes were planning to run … I wanted to join them.”
Ripley cruised through the downtown course and was the first runner to the finish line on Main Avenue in a time of 15 minutes, 35.32 seconds, a pace of 5:02 per mile. One of the runners Ripley coaches, Michael Gravelyn of Rockford, was second in a time of 16:12.83. Colin Herrmann of Grand Rapids was third in 16:53.02.
“We very much enjoy supporting the local running scene, so we try to make it out to lots of the local races,” Ripley wrote in his email.
“It remains true that my favorite races are the local ones where the community shows up to put on a great experience, and Zeeland Zoom was as energetic and refined as any event out there. I see why so many runners make it a regular commitment in their summer schedules,” Ripley added.
Meanwhile, 16-year-old Johanna Mulder of Holland, running in the Zeeland Zoom for the first time, was the first female runner to cross the finish line, finishing the 3.1-mile course in 19:20.
Mulder, who is about to enter her junior year at Holland High School, just returned to running competitively not long ago after being sidelined with a stress fracture in her left foot. She said she enjoyed the atmosphere at the race.
“I think it’s an incredible atmosphere,” Mulder said. “There’s a lot of cheering. There wasn’t one place (on the course) where there wasn’t someone cheering … I felt like a lot of people were cheering me on, which was nice.”
As a sophomore at Holland High, Mulder qualified for the state Division 2 high school girls cross country finals, and is looking to return to state this fall.
Danielle Groendyk, a former track and cross country standout at Zeeland East who ran in the Boston Marathon earlier this year, finished second among female runners in 19:32.14. Olivia Weiss, a teammate of Mulder’s at Holland High, was third in 19:47.66.
Chad Dykstra of Hamilton was the men’s master’s (40 and older) champion, finishing the course in 17:36.02, while Anne Marie Niemiec of Zeeland was the top women’s master’s runner in 23:13.19.
A total of 681 runners took part in the Zeeland Zoom 5k, while 153 kids ran in the one-mile Little Zoomers race prior to the 5K, race organizer Kerri VanDorp said.
—————
Age Group Winners
Male 9 and under: M. Seiser, Blissfield, 23:58.63.
Female 9 and under: N. Moran, West Olive, 31:56.74.
Male 10-14: Tanner Smith, Zeeland, 17:16.35.
Female 10-14: Tessa Nienhuis, Holland, 25:22.73.
Male 15-19: Silas Ackley, Mears, 17:06.66.
Female 15-19: Olivia Weiss, Holland, 19:47.66.
Male 20-24: Nate Golding, Zeeland, 17:03.14.
Female 20-24: Hannah Roark, Dorr, 19:57.03.
Male 25-29: Colin Herrmann, Grand Rapids, 16:53.02.
Female 25-29: Danielle Groendyk, Zeeland, 19:32.14.
Male 30-34: Nicholas Thelen, Grand Rapids, 19:01.26.
Female 30-34: Rae DeGrande, Holland, 22:35.86.
Male 35-39: Michael Gravelyn, Rockford, 16:12.83.
Female 35-39: Megan Lambers, Holland, 20:00.63.
Male 40-44: Aaron Smeckert, Zeeland, 19:07.12.
Female 40-44: Jamie Kloosterman, Jenison, 23:39.38.
Male 45-49: Grant Lofdahl, Hamtramck, 20:25.66.
Female 45-49: Melissa Beute, Zeeland, 26:10.27.
Male 50-54: Brad Fry, Holland, 20:59.87.
Female 50-54: Amy Sluiter, Holland, 26:53.42.
Male 55-59: Chris Cook, Zeeland, 21:53.33.
Female 55-59: Karen Blaukamp, Zeeland, 25:17.47.
Male 60-64: Russ Westenbroek, Zeeland, 25:28.54.
Female 60-64: Karen Toogood, Wyoming, 32:56.88.
Male 65-69: Mel Rus, Zeeland, 24:27.06.
Female 65-69: Sandy Jacobs, Holland, 34:19.97.
Male 70-74: Russ Van Antwerp, Holland, 25:52.71.
Female 70-74: Margie Hendricks, Hudsonville, 30:16.9.
Female 75-79: Linda Gerig, West Olive, 48:46.24.
Zeeland Record
Zach Ripley has been one of the most prominent distance runners in West Michigan for the last few years, running in the U.S. Olympic trials in the men’s marathon in February of last year and breaking the course record at the Grand Rapids Marathon last October.
But last week, the Rockford native and former NAIA national steeplechase champion at Cornerstone University was in Zeeland for the 16th Zeeland Zoom 5-kilometer race.
“My wife Andi and I own a coaching and running media company, AtoZrunning,” Ripley wrote in an email to the Zeeland Record. “We coach adult runners, and many of our athletes are local to West Michigan. Because a number of our athletes were planning to run … I wanted to join them.”
Ripley cruised through the downtown course and was the first runner to the finish line on Main Avenue in a time of 15 minutes, 35.32 seconds, a pace of 5:02 per mile. One of the runners Ripley coaches, Michael Gravelyn of Rockford, was second in a time of 16:12.83. Colin Herrmann of Grand Rapids was third in 16:53.02.
“We very much enjoy supporting the local running scene, so we try to make it out to lots of the local races,” Ripley wrote in his email.
“It remains true that my favorite races are the local ones where the community shows up to put on a great experience, and Zeeland Zoom was as energetic and refined as any event out there. I see why so many runners make it a regular commitment in their summer schedules,” Ripley added.
Meanwhile, 16-year-old Johanna Mulder of Holland, running in the Zeeland Zoom for the first time, was the first female runner to cross the finish line, finishing the 3.1-mile course in 19:20.
Mulder, who is about to enter her junior year at Holland High School, just returned to running competitively not long ago after being sidelined with a stress fracture in her left foot. She said she enjoyed the atmosphere at the race.
“I think it’s an incredible atmosphere,” Mulder said. “There’s a lot of cheering. There wasn’t one place (on the course) where there wasn’t someone cheering … I felt like a lot of people were cheering me on, which was nice.”
As a sophomore at Holland High, Mulder qualified for the state Division 2 high school girls cross country finals, and is looking to return to state this fall.
Danielle Groendyk, a former track and cross country standout at Zeeland East who ran in the Boston Marathon earlier this year, finished second among female runners in 19:32.14. Olivia Weiss, a teammate of Mulder’s at Holland High, was third in 19:47.66.
Chad Dykstra of Hamilton was the men’s master’s (40 and older) champion, finishing the course in 17:36.02, while Anne Marie Niemiec of Zeeland was the top women’s master’s runner in 23:13.19.
A total of 681 runners took part in the Zeeland Zoom 5k, while 153 kids ran in the one-mile Little Zoomers race prior to the 5K, race organizer Kerri VanDorp said.
—————
Age Group Winners
Male 9 and under: M. Seiser, Blissfield, 23:58.63.
Female 9 and under: N. Moran, West Olive, 31:56.74.
Male 10-14: Tanner Smith, Zeeland, 17:16.35.
Female 10-14: Tessa Nienhuis, Holland, 25:22.73.
Male 15-19: Silas Ackley, Mears, 17:06.66.
Female 15-19: Olivia Weiss, Holland, 19:47.66.
Male 20-24: Nate Golding, Zeeland, 17:03.14.
Female 20-24: Hannah Roark, Dorr, 19:57.03.
Male 25-29: Colin Herrmann, Grand Rapids, 16:53.02.
Female 25-29: Danielle Groendyk, Zeeland, 19:32.14.
Male 30-34: Nicholas Thelen, Grand Rapids, 19:01.26.
Female 30-34: Rae DeGrande, Holland, 22:35.86.
Male 35-39: Michael Gravelyn, Rockford, 16:12.83.
Female 35-39: Megan Lambers, Holland, 20:00.63.
Male 40-44: Aaron Smeckert, Zeeland, 19:07.12.
Female 40-44: Jamie Kloosterman, Jenison, 23:39.38.
Male 45-49: Grant Lofdahl, Hamtramck, 20:25.66.
Female 45-49: Melissa Beute, Zeeland, 26:10.27.
Male 50-54: Brad Fry, Holland, 20:59.87.
Female 50-54: Amy Sluiter, Holland, 26:53.42.
Male 55-59: Chris Cook, Zeeland, 21:53.33.
Female 55-59: Karen Blaukamp, Zeeland, 25:17.47.
Male 60-64: Russ Westenbroek, Zeeland, 25:28.54.
Female 60-64: Karen Toogood, Wyoming, 32:56.88.
Male 65-69: Mel Rus, Zeeland, 24:27.06.
Female 65-69: Sandy Jacobs, Holland, 34:19.97.
Male 70-74: Russ Van Antwerp, Holland, 25:52.71.
Female 70-74: Margie Hendricks, Hudsonville, 30:16.9.
Female 75-79: Linda Gerig, West Olive, 48:46.24.
Zach Ripley of Rockford was the first runner to cross the finish line at the Zeeland Zoom 5K on June 24. Ripley, who ran in the U.S. Olympic trials in the men’s marathon last year, coached several runners who competed in the Zeeland Zoom.
Johanna Mulder, who will be a junior this fall at Holland High School, was the first female runner to cross the finish line at the Zeeland Zoom.
Photos by Jamie Geysbeek
