West Boys, East Girls Repeat as Conference Track Champions

By Greg Chander
Zeeland Record

The Zeeland West boys track and field team edged out Zeeland East by just 2.5 points, while the Zeeland East girls team steamrolled its competition at the O-K Black Conference meet last Friday at Zeeland Stadium.

The Dux won the boys title for the third year in a row with 132 points, while the Chix had 129.5 points. Hamilton placed third with 120 points, followed by Holland Christian (87), Unity Christian (69), Spring Lake (69) and Holland (46.5).

In the girls meet, East piled up 209.5 points to win its eighth consecutive conference crown. West finished sixth with 53 points. Holland Christian finished second in the meet with 133 points, followed by Unity Christian (112), Spring Lake (62.5), Holland (55), West and Hamilton (32).

Leading the way for West in the boys meet was senior Keaton Hendricks, who personally accounted for 28 points by sweeping both hurdles events, breaking his own school record in the 110-meter hurdles, and finishing second in the long jump. Meanwhile, the East girls had strong performances up and down their lineup, winning four track events and three field events.

East opened the girls meet by winning the 4x800-meter relay by 8.8 seconds over Holland Christian, as the team of Emma Drnek, Meredith Cook, Taryn DiLaura and Adalyn Raab ran a time of 9 minutes, 49.77 seconds.

In the boys 4x800 relay, the West team of Robert Dodd, Keagan Smith, Joshua Dodd and Ben Gershaw broke the tape in 8:03.38, nearly 6.2 seconds faster than runnerup Holland Christian. The East relay team of Tristen Hinson, Caden Guffey, Sam Downing and Nate Davis placed third in 8:13.30.

In the girls 100-meter hurdles, West’s Kendall Ruster finished fourth (18.03 seconds).

Hendricks broke the school record in the boys 110-meter hurdles for the third time this season, winning in 14.46 seconds, a time 0.84 seconds faster than the second-place hurdler.

East’s Terra Schuberg placed fourth in the girls 100-meter dash (13.03 seconds), while in the boys 100, West’s Brandon Holman was third in 11.17 and East’s Sam Manning fourth in 11.41.

In the girls 4x200 relay, East finished second, as the foursome of Schuberg, Lesley Martinez, Kat Wilson and Cook posted a time of 1:47.93.

In the boys 4x200, the West team of Xane Herrygers, Hendricks, Garrett Kapenga and Holman finished second in 1:30.07, while East’s team of Manning, Kameron Compagner, Isaiah Strom and Levi Rodriguez placed third in 1:31.87.

East went 1-2 in the girls 1,600-meter run, as Raab won in 5:02.55 and Drnek finished second in 5:03.94. West’s Jordyn Klaasen was fifth in 5:26.67.

Zeeland runners took four of the top five places in the boys 1,600, as Downing placed second (4:33.81) and Guffey third (4:34.04) for East, while Smith finished fourth (4:34.85) and Robert Dodd fifth (4:35.25) for West.

The Chix took second in the girls 4x100 relay, as the team of Schuberg, Mirra Fenlon, Rogue Kraker and Kamilla Munoz ran posted a time of 51.71 seconds. In the boys 4x100, West finished second and East third. The Dux team of Clayton Ramsdell, Trey Sloothaak, Herrygers and Holman ran a 44.14 while East’s foursome of Kyle Monie, Strom, Eli Walcott and Manning ran a 44.41.

Cook won the girls 400-meter dash for East in 58.21 seconds. Rodriguez was fourth in the boys’ 400 in 51.43.

In the girls 300-meter hurdles, East went 2-3 as Wilson finished second in 47.21 seconds and CC Kuras third in 48.41. Amaya Brott was fourth for West in :49.02.

Hendricks successfully defended his title in the boys 300-meter hurdles in 38.56 seconds, more than two seconds faster than his nearest competitor. East’s Compagner was third (41.80).

Drnek finished second for East in the girls 800 meters in 2:19.57 while Klaasen was fifth for West in 2:32.34. East’s Downing held off Holland Christian’s Nathan Steen in the boys 800 to win in 1:58.70.

In the girls 200-meter dash, Schuberg was fourth (27.48 seconds). In the boys 200, Holman was third for the Dux in 23.31, nosing out Strom, who was fourth in 23.35.

East took two of the top five places in the girls 3,200-meter run, as Raab finished second in 11:22.83 and DiLaura fifth in 11:54.89. Robert Dodd placed third for West in the boys 3,200 in 10:01.87 while Guffey was fourth for East in 10:03.93.

East won the girls 4x400 relay to close out the meet, as Cook, Wilson, Raab and Drnek broke the tape in 4:05.24.

East took third in the boys 4x400, as the team of Hinson, Levi Bannach, Compagner and Rodriguez finished with a time of 3:30.33.

In the field events, East took three of the top five places in the boys high jump as Bennett Bing (6 feet, 2 inches) took second, Carter Dyk (6-0) was fourth and Jonah Cook (6-0) fifth. West’s Ramsdell was third at 6-0. East also took three of the top five podium spots in the girls high jump, with Fenlon finishing second (5-2), Kuras fourth (5-0) and Kraker fifth (5-0).

In the boys pole vault, West’s Reagan Page was second (12 feet, 6 inches), while East’s Austin Lee was third (12-6) and Andrew Macy fourth (12-0). East’s Kate Murphy won the girls pole vault with a leap of 10 feet even, while West’s Aaliyah Lee was fourth (9-0).

The Dux went 1-2 in the boys long jump as Sloothaak won with a leap of 22 feet, 1 inch, and Hendricks was second in 21-6 ¼. Elyse Smith (17-9 ¾) and Fenlon (17-3 ½) went 1-2 for East in the girls long jump, while Kuras was fourth (16-1 ¾).

East’s Laura Maartense won the girls shot put with a throw of 36 feet, 3 inches, while teammate Lily Huizenga was fourth at 35-7 ½. Huizenga was second in the girls discus with a toss of 105 feet, 5 inches, while Maartense was fourth (100-9). East’s Karsten Meyer was third in the boys shot put with a toss of 46 feet, 1 inch.


On the Record . . .


Meyering Adds to HR Record, Chix Win Two at Mona Shores

Zeeland East senior softball player Emme Meyering continues to add to her record-setting home run total.

Meyering slammed four home runs last week – two during a O-K Black Conference doubleheader against Unity Christian on May 6 and two more during a tournament last Saturday at Muskegon Mona Shores.

The Chix dropped both games of the Unity doubleheader by scores of 7-4 and 9-3, but came back to take two out of three games at the Mona Shores tournament. After losing to Marshall 12-4 in its first game, East bounced back to defeat the host Sailors 8-3 and Fremont 7-6.

In the Fremont game, East rallied from a 5-2 deficit with five runs in the top of the sixth, with Meyering delivering the key blow, a three-run homer. Leah Keur had four hits out of the leadoff spot in the game, and also gained the pitching victory. Isa Valenzuela and Avrie Leslie also had multiple hits against the Packers.

Meyering now has 29 home runs for her career, 11 this

season. She is two away from the East single-season record of 13 set by Katie Carlson in 2023.

West Golfers Tie Unity at East Jamboree

The Zeeland West varsity boys golf team got a one-two performance from its top two golfers as the Dux set another team record for lowest 9-hole score at an away meet during last Friday’s O-K Black Conference Jamboree, hosted by Zeeland East at Winding Creek Golf Club.

The Dux tied with Unity Christian for first place at the jamboree with a score of 151, but lost the tiebreaker to the Crusaders based on each team’s fifth score.

Logan Bomers led the way for West with a 3-under par 33, earning medalist honors and tying the individual 9-hole school record for an away meet. Mike Girman was second to Bomers at the jamboree with an even-par 36. Tyler Baumann and Mikey Fuller each shot 41.

East Tennis Outlasts

St. Joseph, Middleville

The Zeeland East varsity girls tennis team needed a gutty performance from its third doubles team to pull out a 5-3 victory over St. Joseph on May 6.

The No. 3 doubles tandem of Pippa Boerman and Olivia Grotenhuis needed a comeback from a three-point deficit in the match tiebreaker to pull out the win over the Bears’ Ava Armstrong and Ava Mandarino and clinch the meet win for the Chix. Boerman and Grotenhuis lost the first set 4-6 but won the second 6-2. In the tiebreaker, Boerman and Grotenhuis trailed 6-3 and 9-6 before rallying to win 13-11.

The Chix then closed the day out with a 6-2 win over Middleville Thornapple Kellogg.

Sisters ThyAn and Trinh Kleikamp won both their matches in straight sets at third singles and fourth singles, respectively. Kendyll Samora and Keeley Boerman won both their matches at first doubles in straight sets and the No. 2 doubles team of Elizabeth Rogovich and Mahalia Vis lost only two games for the day in sweeping their matches.


East Baseball Sweeps ’Saders in Three Games


The Zeeland East varsity baseball team swept a three-game series from Unity Christian last week to strengthen its hold on second place in the O-K Black Conference.

The Chix completed the series sweep on May 8, as Mason Raade pitched a masterful two-hit shutout in a 4-0 victory. The sweep improved East’s record to 12-3 in the Black and 18-5 overall.

Raade only needed 68 pitches in going the distance for the win. He struck out four and did not walk a batter. The Chix defense was also stellar behind Raade as they did not commit an error in the game.
Ryan Kuzma led the East offense with a 3-for-3 day at the plate, including a two-run homer in the fifth.

On May 6, the Chix swept a doubleheader from Unity Christian, edging the Crusaders 4-3 in the opener and taking an 8-5 win in the nightcap.

In game one, Peyton Davis led a 13-hit East attack with a 4-for-4 performance, including two triples and an RBI. Raade and Quincy Thome added two hits each. Cam Jaworowski delivered a squeeze bunt late in the game that would end up producing the decisive run.

Max Mulder went the first 6-2/3 innings, scattering eight hits and striking out nine in gaining the pitching win. Thome needed only one pitch to induce a game-ending groundout for the save.

In the second game, Derek Baxter delivered the game’s key hit with a three-run double in the fifth inning. Thome added three hits, including a double, scored two runs and knocked in another.

Baxter also picked up the pitching win, striking out six over five innings, allowing just one earned run and five hits. Gavin Weighmink pitched the final two innings.


Dux Bats Boom Against Lakers


The Zeeland West varsity softball team had its hitting shoes on in an O-K Black Conference doubleheader sweep of Spring Lake May 6, scoring 36 runs on 34 hits in the two games.

West scored a season-high 24 runs in the opener in a 24-2 romp over the Lakers, then came back in the second game to post a 12-2 win. Both games ended after six innings because of the 10-run rule.

In the first game, the Dux took control with a five-run second inning, highlighted by a two-run single by Madison Wyckoff, one of six hits she had in the game.

West blasted two home runs in the third as the Dux added four more runs. Riley Howe hit a solo homer to center and Emily Kragt added a two-run shot to left.

The Dux then put the game away in the sixth with their second 13-run inning of the season. Wyckoff started the inning with a home run and later doubled home another run. Jenna Hendricks cleared the bases with a three-run triple and a Sadie Kragt hit drove home three more.

Hendricks and Emily Kragt drove in four runs each to lead the 24-hit West attack.

Sadie Kragt picked up the win in the circle for West, allowing just four hits and one earned run over six innings. She did not walk a batter and struck out three.

In the second game, West jumped on Spring Lake for five first-inning runs. Emily Kragt doubled in the first run, Megan Strabbing singled home another run and three more runs scored on a Laker error.

Emily Kragt later hit a solo home run and Sadie Kragt singled to drive in another run as the Dux opened up a 10-2 lead.

Emily Kragt led the offense with two hits and two runs batted in, and also gained the victory in the circle, allowing six hits and no earned runs. She walked one and struck out three. Strabbing also had two hits for West.

On May 7, the Dux swept a nonconference doubleheader from Battle Creek Lakeview, taking the opener 7-2 and walking off the Spartans 5-4 in eight innings in game two.

In game one, Strabbing’s two-run homer highlighted a five-run rally in the first inning. Wyckoff then took care of matters from that point, tossing a five-hitter and striking out 11 in going the distance.

In the second game, West trailed 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh, but tied the score on a wild pitch to send the game to extra innings. Wyckoff doubled in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Last Saturday, the Dux won all three of their games at the Calvin Christian Invitational in five innings via the run rule, defeating Reese 12-1, Wyoming 10-0 and the host Squires 12-0.

Bri Kamer belted a three-run homer and Hendricks added a two-run single to back the seven-hit pitching of Emily Kragt against Reese. Against Wyoming, Sadie Kragt threw a four-hit shutout and drove in four runs with a homer and double. Kamer also homered in that game. Kamer, Sadie Kragt and Maddi Veersma each drove in two runs during a nine-run second inning against Calvin Christian, and Wyckoff struck out 11 as she tossed a two-hit shutout.