By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
An annual tradition for high school wrestlers in West Michigan is the Gene Kraai Memorial Invite.
Saturday’s tournament featured a record number of teams, and both gymnasiums at West and East high schools were packed with great competition all day. Sixteen teams, some coming from the east side of the state, took part in the meet, twice the number of teams that had competed in past tournaments.
“When (Zeeland Public Schools) split (the high schools), the tournament ended up over here at West for the last 20 years,” West coach Cody Stewart said. “This year is the first year where we’re doing this big thing where we made it 16 teams and stretched out to both schools. We just wanted the whole Zeeland community to be involved. It was a great day.”
Putting on a 16-team wrestling tournament at two locations requires a massive amount of volunteer help.
“Expanding the Gene Kraai Memorial to 16 teams was a huge undertaking, and it couldn’t have happened without everyone’s support and hard work,” Stewart said.
East finished seventh at Saturday’s meet, while West finished 11th. Yale High School, from Michigan’s Thumb region, won the team championship with a 48-30 victory over Byron Center in the title match. Hart defeated Fruitport 40-29 in the third-place match.
The Gene Kraai Memorial Tournament honors the memory of Gene Kraai, a 1977 Zeeland High School graduate who was a two-time individual state champion in wrestling. Kraai was the Class B state champion in the 185-pound weight class in his junior year in 1976, then won the state title in Class B in his senior year in 1977 at 191 pounds, posting a perfect 39-0 record on the season.
Kraai went on to compete in both wrestling and football at Grand Valley State University, where one of his teammates in both sports was fellow ZHS grad and future NFL lineman Ron Essink. He was killed Nov. 24, 1986 when he was struck by a car on Lakewood Boulevard in Holland Township while on the job for Waste Management. He was 27 years old, married and the father of two young girls.
East posted a 3-2 record on the day, with several wrestlers stepping up in key moments to earn important wins for the team. In pool matches, the Chix defeated Kalamazoo Central 59-16, then edged out West Ottawa 37-35 before losing to Fruitport, 64-15. Then in their final matches, East fell to Wayland 51-29 but bounced back to defeat Dowagiac 45-33 to claim seventh place.
East coach Jason Hofman said his team showed “grit and commitment” throughout the tournament, even though the team battled injuries throughout its lineup.
“I was really proud of the way our kids competed,” Hofman said. “Going 3-2 against that level of competition and seeing guys push through adversity shows the kind of toughness and team-first mentality we’re building.”
Junior Anders Tibbs led the Chix with a perfect 5-0 record and five pins for the day at 165 pounds. Junior Xavier Pheuk and sophomore Logan Story each went 4-1 mark for the day, while Zach Westrate went 3-1, Kolton Kimmel 3-2 and Zeek Ramadhani 3-2. Broden Harmsen, Tanner Hofman, Anthony Pablo Diaz and Eric Segovia-Estupinan each recorded two wins.
West posted a 2-3 record for the day. The Dux defeated Ortonville-Brandon 47-28, but then lost to Dowagiac 57-22 and Hart 72-12. In their final matches of the day, West was defeated by Jenison 40-27, but came back to defeat South Haven 42-34 to clinch 11th place.
Highlighting West’s performances for the tournament was senior Austin Ulberg, who posted a perfect 5-0 record for the day at 138 pounds, three by pin and two by technical fall.
“We had a lot of hard matches, four or five is more than usual than for this tournament,” Ulberg said. “We all battled today.”
Senior Aidan Chavez, an All-State wrestler a year ago, went 4-1 for the day for the Dux, while sophomore Daniel Lozano had a 3-2 record. Dawysen Breining, Damian Calderson, Jackson Burkhour, Cam Stryker and Kole Walker each recorded two wins. Stewart noted the performance of Nolan Overway at 285 pounds against Jenison, as he overcame a 12-6 deficit in his match to pin his opponent to fire up his teammates.
“One of the best parts of the day was watching our athletes cheer, support, and encourage one another from the first whistle to the last,” Stewart said. “The bench energy was outstanding, and the team culture continues to grow stronger each week.”
West opened its season Dec. 3 at home, losing to Muskegon 42-30 and defeating Wyoming Kelloggsville 51-24. Ulberg, Overway, Burkhour, Sam Taylor, Thyson Touch, Kenny Howe, Amaya Brott and Emmaline Kouw each won two matches for the evening.
Zeeland Record
An annual tradition for high school wrestlers in West Michigan is the Gene Kraai Memorial Invite.
Saturday’s tournament featured a record number of teams, and both gymnasiums at West and East high schools were packed with great competition all day. Sixteen teams, some coming from the east side of the state, took part in the meet, twice the number of teams that had competed in past tournaments.
“When (Zeeland Public Schools) split (the high schools), the tournament ended up over here at West for the last 20 years,” West coach Cody Stewart said. “This year is the first year where we’re doing this big thing where we made it 16 teams and stretched out to both schools. We just wanted the whole Zeeland community to be involved. It was a great day.”
Putting on a 16-team wrestling tournament at two locations requires a massive amount of volunteer help.
“Expanding the Gene Kraai Memorial to 16 teams was a huge undertaking, and it couldn’t have happened without everyone’s support and hard work,” Stewart said.
East finished seventh at Saturday’s meet, while West finished 11th. Yale High School, from Michigan’s Thumb region, won the team championship with a 48-30 victory over Byron Center in the title match. Hart defeated Fruitport 40-29 in the third-place match.
The Gene Kraai Memorial Tournament honors the memory of Gene Kraai, a 1977 Zeeland High School graduate who was a two-time individual state champion in wrestling. Kraai was the Class B state champion in the 185-pound weight class in his junior year in 1976, then won the state title in Class B in his senior year in 1977 at 191 pounds, posting a perfect 39-0 record on the season.
Kraai went on to compete in both wrestling and football at Grand Valley State University, where one of his teammates in both sports was fellow ZHS grad and future NFL lineman Ron Essink. He was killed Nov. 24, 1986 when he was struck by a car on Lakewood Boulevard in Holland Township while on the job for Waste Management. He was 27 years old, married and the father of two young girls.
East posted a 3-2 record on the day, with several wrestlers stepping up in key moments to earn important wins for the team. In pool matches, the Chix defeated Kalamazoo Central 59-16, then edged out West Ottawa 37-35 before losing to Fruitport, 64-15. Then in their final matches, East fell to Wayland 51-29 but bounced back to defeat Dowagiac 45-33 to claim seventh place.
East coach Jason Hofman said his team showed “grit and commitment” throughout the tournament, even though the team battled injuries throughout its lineup.
“I was really proud of the way our kids competed,” Hofman said. “Going 3-2 against that level of competition and seeing guys push through adversity shows the kind of toughness and team-first mentality we’re building.”
Junior Anders Tibbs led the Chix with a perfect 5-0 record and five pins for the day at 165 pounds. Junior Xavier Pheuk and sophomore Logan Story each went 4-1 mark for the day, while Zach Westrate went 3-1, Kolton Kimmel 3-2 and Zeek Ramadhani 3-2. Broden Harmsen, Tanner Hofman, Anthony Pablo Diaz and Eric Segovia-Estupinan each recorded two wins.
West posted a 2-3 record for the day. The Dux defeated Ortonville-Brandon 47-28, but then lost to Dowagiac 57-22 and Hart 72-12. In their final matches of the day, West was defeated by Jenison 40-27, but came back to defeat South Haven 42-34 to clinch 11th place.
Highlighting West’s performances for the tournament was senior Austin Ulberg, who posted a perfect 5-0 record for the day at 138 pounds, three by pin and two by technical fall.
“We had a lot of hard matches, four or five is more than usual than for this tournament,” Ulberg said. “We all battled today.”
Senior Aidan Chavez, an All-State wrestler a year ago, went 4-1 for the day for the Dux, while sophomore Daniel Lozano had a 3-2 record. Dawysen Breining, Damian Calderson, Jackson Burkhour, Cam Stryker and Kole Walker each recorded two wins. Stewart noted the performance of Nolan Overway at 285 pounds against Jenison, as he overcame a 12-6 deficit in his match to pin his opponent to fire up his teammates.
“One of the best parts of the day was watching our athletes cheer, support, and encourage one another from the first whistle to the last,” Stewart said. “The bench energy was outstanding, and the team culture continues to grow stronger each week.”
West opened its season Dec. 3 at home, losing to Muskegon 42-30 and defeating Wyoming Kelloggsville 51-24. Ulberg, Overway, Burkhour, Sam Taylor, Thyson Touch, Kenny Howe, Amaya Brott and Emmaline Kouw each won two matches for the evening.
West Boys Basketball Opens With 2-0 Start
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
One week into the boys basketball season, the Zeeland West varsity has exceeded its win total from a year ago.
The Dux opened their season last week with a pair of victories, defeating Kentwood Grand River Prep 63-47 on Dec. 2, then downing Grand Rapids Union 48-36 last Friday at home. West managed only one win last season.
Against Union, West took a 13-9 lead after one quarter as five different players scored for the Dux. West led 24-19 at the half, then broke the game open in the quarter, outscoring the Red Hawks 16-7 to open up a 40-26 lead.
“The guys got after it in the third,” West coach David Klyn said. “They were tough on the defensive side of the ball and contested every shot, while playing together on offense and sharing the ball, which led to open attempts and layups.”
Senior guard Gabe Bouwens led the Dux with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. Junior forward Logan Nash added 12 points and eight boards. Junior guard Mike Girman chipped in nine points. Junior forward Drew Albrecht picked off six rebounds and added three assists.
Against Grand Rapids River, the Dux trailed 14-10 after one quarter. But in the second quarter, sophomore forward Maverick Jipping came off the bench to provide a spark, scoring 10 of West’s 14 points as the Dux took a 24-21 halftime lead.
In the second half, Bouwens got hot from the perimeter, and the Dux started to pull away. West led 41-36 after three quarters, then outscored Grand River Prep 22-11 over the final eight minutes to put the game out of reach.
Bouwens led the Dux with 25 points, including four 3-point baskets, while Jipping had a double-double in his first varsity game with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Nash added five rebounds.
"I was really proud of Gabe. It is exciting to watch a player reap the rewards of all the hours he spent in the gym in the off-season to improve his game,” Klyn said.
West is starting the season with nearly an entirely new lineup, with Bouwens being the only returning player who had significant playing time last season.
“He put in a lot of time in the gym and weight room and looks to have a great year for us,” Klyn said.
The Dux played their first road game Tuesday at Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills. The result of that game was not available at press time. West travels to Allendale on Friday.
Zeeland Record
One week into the boys basketball season, the Zeeland West varsity has exceeded its win total from a year ago.
The Dux opened their season last week with a pair of victories, defeating Kentwood Grand River Prep 63-47 on Dec. 2, then downing Grand Rapids Union 48-36 last Friday at home. West managed only one win last season.
Against Union, West took a 13-9 lead after one quarter as five different players scored for the Dux. West led 24-19 at the half, then broke the game open in the quarter, outscoring the Red Hawks 16-7 to open up a 40-26 lead.
“The guys got after it in the third,” West coach David Klyn said. “They were tough on the defensive side of the ball and contested every shot, while playing together on offense and sharing the ball, which led to open attempts and layups.”
Senior guard Gabe Bouwens led the Dux with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. Junior forward Logan Nash added 12 points and eight boards. Junior guard Mike Girman chipped in nine points. Junior forward Drew Albrecht picked off six rebounds and added three assists.
Against Grand Rapids River, the Dux trailed 14-10 after one quarter. But in the second quarter, sophomore forward Maverick Jipping came off the bench to provide a spark, scoring 10 of West’s 14 points as the Dux took a 24-21 halftime lead.
In the second half, Bouwens got hot from the perimeter, and the Dux started to pull away. West led 41-36 after three quarters, then outscored Grand River Prep 22-11 over the final eight minutes to put the game out of reach.
Bouwens led the Dux with 25 points, including four 3-point baskets, while Jipping had a double-double in his first varsity game with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Nash added five rebounds.
"I was really proud of Gabe. It is exciting to watch a player reap the rewards of all the hours he spent in the gym in the off-season to improve his game,” Klyn said.
West is starting the season with nearly an entirely new lineup, with Bouwens being the only returning player who had significant playing time last season.
“He put in a lot of time in the gym and weight room and looks to have a great year for us,” Klyn said.
The Dux played their first road game Tuesday at Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills. The result of that game was not available at press time. West travels to Allendale on Friday.
East Boys Split First Two Games of Season
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland East varsity boys basketball team split a pair of games last week as the team tipped off its 2025-26 season.
The Chix dropped their season opener, 48-44, to Muskegon Reeths-Puffer on Dec. 2, but bounced back last Friday to take a 75-60 road victory over Allendale.
East used the hot outside shooting of senior guard Caleb Claerbaut to get off to a great start against Allendale. Claerbaut, who recently announced his intention to play college basketball next year at Trine (Ind.) University, hit three 3-point shots in the first quarter and scored 11 points in the period as the Chix sprinted out to a 21-9 lead. East led 38-27 at halftime.
Then in the third quarter, junior forward Josiah Norman went to work against the interior of the Falcons’ defense, scoring nine points in the quarter, as the Chix lead grew to more than 20 points.
Claerbaut and Norman finished the game with 21 points apiece for East, hitting a combined 77 percent of their shots from the field – Claerbaut 8-of-10 and Norman 9-of-12. Claerbaut also sank four 3-point shots, and added five rebounds and three assists, while Norman, in just his second varsity start, pulled down eight rebounds, six of them on the offensive end.
Junior forward Isaiah Boonstra scored a career-high 14 points, including 8-of-13 from the free throw line, and added five rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Will Drnek, despite battling foul trouble early in the game, added 14 points, dished out eight assists and collected five boards.
Against Reeths-Puffer, East struggled with its shooting in the early going, scoring just 13 points in the first half in trailing 24-13 at halftime.
The Chix began to find their shooting eye in the third quarter, rallying to cut the deficit to 37-32 heading into the final eight minutes.
East got as close at two points in the fourth quarter, but could not catch up as the Rockets iced the game at the free-throw line.
Drnek led the way for the Chix with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Claerbaut hit 4-of-7 shots from 3-point range for 12 points, and added eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Norman chipped in eight rebounds and Boonstra pulled down seven rebounds.
The Chix hosted West Ottawa Tuesday night as part of a boys/girls varsity doubleheader, with the girls opening their season. Results of that contest were not available at press time.
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland East varsity boys basketball team split a pair of games last week as the team tipped off its 2025-26 season.
The Chix dropped their season opener, 48-44, to Muskegon Reeths-Puffer on Dec. 2, but bounced back last Friday to take a 75-60 road victory over Allendale.
East used the hot outside shooting of senior guard Caleb Claerbaut to get off to a great start against Allendale. Claerbaut, who recently announced his intention to play college basketball next year at Trine (Ind.) University, hit three 3-point shots in the first quarter and scored 11 points in the period as the Chix sprinted out to a 21-9 lead. East led 38-27 at halftime.
Then in the third quarter, junior forward Josiah Norman went to work against the interior of the Falcons’ defense, scoring nine points in the quarter, as the Chix lead grew to more than 20 points.
Claerbaut and Norman finished the game with 21 points apiece for East, hitting a combined 77 percent of their shots from the field – Claerbaut 8-of-10 and Norman 9-of-12. Claerbaut also sank four 3-point shots, and added five rebounds and three assists, while Norman, in just his second varsity start, pulled down eight rebounds, six of them on the offensive end.
Junior forward Isaiah Boonstra scored a career-high 14 points, including 8-of-13 from the free throw line, and added five rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Will Drnek, despite battling foul trouble early in the game, added 14 points, dished out eight assists and collected five boards.
Against Reeths-Puffer, East struggled with its shooting in the early going, scoring just 13 points in the first half in trailing 24-13 at halftime.
The Chix began to find their shooting eye in the third quarter, rallying to cut the deficit to 37-32 heading into the final eight minutes.
East got as close at two points in the fourth quarter, but could not catch up as the Rockets iced the game at the free-throw line.
Drnek led the way for the Chix with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Claerbaut hit 4-of-7 shots from 3-point range for 12 points, and added eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Norman chipped in eight rebounds and Boonstra pulled down seven rebounds.
The Chix hosted West Ottawa Tuesday night as part of a boys/girls varsity doubleheader, with the girls opening their season. Results of that contest were not available at press time.
