By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland East varsity girls basketball team went 1-2 in its first week of action last week.
The Chix fell to West Ottawa 56-48 on Dec. 9 and Muskegon Reeths-Puffer 36-33 last Friday, but bounced back last Saturday for an overtime victory at Grand Rapids Christian, 54-49.
Junior forward Lizzie Risdon led the way for East in the OT win over GR Christian, pouring in 22 points. Sophomore center Lily Huizenga added 15 points and senior guard CC Kuras chipped in 13.
Against West Ottawa, Risdon led a balanced Chix attack with 12 points, while Huizenga added 11, Kuras 10 and sophomore Fenna Gruppen nine.
Coached by Troy Hammond, East finished third in the O-K Black Conference behind Holland Christian and Zeeland West last season, finishing with a 14-9 record.
The Chix graduated three players who are now continuing their athletic careers in college – Emily Wierenga, who is a freshman with the Northern Michigan University women’s basketball team; Mirra Fenlon, who is running track at Grand Valley State University; and Emme Meyering, who is playing softball at Grace (Ind.) College.
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland East varsity girls basketball team went 1-2 in its first week of action last week.
The Chix fell to West Ottawa 56-48 on Dec. 9 and Muskegon Reeths-Puffer 36-33 last Friday, but bounced back last Saturday for an overtime victory at Grand Rapids Christian, 54-49.
Junior forward Lizzie Risdon led the way for East in the OT win over GR Christian, pouring in 22 points. Sophomore center Lily Huizenga added 15 points and senior guard CC Kuras chipped in 13.
Against West Ottawa, Risdon led a balanced Chix attack with 12 points, while Huizenga added 11, Kuras 10 and sophomore Fenna Gruppen nine.
Coached by Troy Hammond, East finished third in the O-K Black Conference behind Holland Christian and Zeeland West last season, finishing with a 14-9 record.
The Chix graduated three players who are now continuing their athletic careers in college – Emily Wierenga, who is a freshman with the Northern Michigan University women’s basketball team; Mirra Fenlon, who is running track at Grand Valley State University; and Emme Meyering, who is playing softball at Grace (Ind.) College.
West Girls Basketball Opens With Two Wins
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland West varsity girls basketball team got off to a good start to its season with a pair of victories last week.
The Dux defeated East Grand Rapids 32-22 on Dec. 9, then followed up with a 34-22 win last Friday over Allendale.
West is coming off an 18-6 record a year ago, where the Dux finished second in the O-K Black Conference, one game behind Holland Christian.
West held a 12-11 lead at the half against EGR, but pulled away in the second half behind a strong defensive effort. The Dux held the Pioneers to three points in the third quarter to extend their lead to 21-14, then outscored EGR 12-7 in the fourth quarter.
Eight different players scored for the Dux, led by junior guard Sadie Kragt with nine points. Fellow junior guard Jenna Hendricks added seven points.
Against Allendale, West saw a nine-point halftime disappear as the Dux failed to score in the third quarter. But West rebounded in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Falcons 14-2 to clinch the win.
Kragt led the Dux with 14 points. Alyssa Lucas hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for six points, and Hendricks also had six.
Coach Ryan Lane’s Dux have to replace three graduates from last season who are now all competing at the collegiate level – Jordyn Klaasen, who scored more than 1,000 points in her career at West and just finished her freshman season in soccer at Division I Ball State University; Georgia Kuyers, who is a starting forward at Lansing Community College; and Hannah Stroebe, who is seeing significant minutes off the bench as a post player at the College of Wooster (Ohio).
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland West varsity girls basketball team got off to a good start to its season with a pair of victories last week.
The Dux defeated East Grand Rapids 32-22 on Dec. 9, then followed up with a 34-22 win last Friday over Allendale.
West is coming off an 18-6 record a year ago, where the Dux finished second in the O-K Black Conference, one game behind Holland Christian.
West held a 12-11 lead at the half against EGR, but pulled away in the second half behind a strong defensive effort. The Dux held the Pioneers to three points in the third quarter to extend their lead to 21-14, then outscored EGR 12-7 in the fourth quarter.
Eight different players scored for the Dux, led by junior guard Sadie Kragt with nine points. Fellow junior guard Jenna Hendricks added seven points.
Against Allendale, West saw a nine-point halftime disappear as the Dux failed to score in the third quarter. But West rebounded in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Falcons 14-2 to clinch the win.
Kragt led the Dux with 14 points. Alyssa Lucas hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for six points, and Hendricks also had six.
Coach Ryan Lane’s Dux have to replace three graduates from last season who are now all competing at the collegiate level – Jordyn Klaasen, who scored more than 1,000 points in her career at West and just finished her freshman season in soccer at Division I Ball State University; Georgia Kuyers, who is a starting forward at Lansing Community College; and Hannah Stroebe, who is seeing significant minutes off the bench as a post player at the College of Wooster (Ohio).
East Boys Basketball Falls to West Ottawa
Hot 3-point shooting by West Ottawa proved to be too much for the Zeeland East boys varsity basketball team to overcome as the Chix fell to the Panthers Dec. 9, 66-35.
The Panthers dominated from the outset, racing to a 21-9 lead after one quarter and extending the advantage to 41-15 at the half.
Junior guard Will Drnek led the way for East with 14 points and five rebounds. Junior forward Isaiah Boonstra added six points, while junior forward Josiah Norman pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with five points.
East took a 1-2 record into a home game Tuesday night against Forest Hills Central. The result of that game was not available at press time.
The Panthers dominated from the outset, racing to a 21-9 lead after one quarter and extending the advantage to 41-15 at the half.
Junior guard Will Drnek led the way for East with 14 points and five rebounds. Junior forward Isaiah Boonstra added six points, while junior forward Josiah Norman pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with five points.
East took a 1-2 record into a home game Tuesday night against Forest Hills Central. The result of that game was not available at press time.
Zeeland Boys Swimming Opens Season With Loss
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland varsity boys swimming team opened its season Dec. 9 with a 95-88 loss in a dual meet against Hudsonville.
Zeeland, which finished fourth at last season’s Division 1 state finals at the Holland Aquatic Center, was swimming without eight of its athletes because of illness and injury.
Sophomore Brady Vroegindewey had a strong meet for Zeeland, winning two individual events and swimming on a winning relay as well. Vroegindewey won the 200-yard individual medley in 2:10.39, then led a Zeeland sweep of the top three places in the 500-yard freestyle, taking that race in 5:12.55. Sophomore Lyam VanderWood was second in the 500 free and classmate Gannon Merrill third.
Junior Hudson Kosten, a state qualifier from a year ago, dominated the 200-yard freestyle, winning that event by more than 10 seconds in 1:51.20. Junior Brandon Posthumus won the 100-yard backstroke in 58.63 seconds, while freshman Elliot Wolfe took the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:08.69.
Maxwell Lewis took first in 1-meter diving with 182.70 points.
Kosten, Vroegindewey, Duncan Stack and Posthumus closed out the meet by taking the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:36.27.
While Zeeland graduated five-time state champion swimmer Noah Stevens, now at the University of Louisville, from last season, the team returns plenty of swimmers with state meet experience.
In addition to Kosten, swimmers to watch this season include junior Andrew Skaggs, who finished second in the 100 breaststroke at the state finals, junior Gibson Meyering, who finished eighth in both the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard breaststroke, and junior Andrew Pyle, who was 11th in the 100 backstroke at state.
Zeeland hosted West Ottawa and Forest Hills Central in a double-dual meet Tuesday at the Zeeland West natatorium. Results of that meet were not available at press time.
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland varsity boys swimming team opened its season Dec. 9 with a 95-88 loss in a dual meet against Hudsonville.
Zeeland, which finished fourth at last season’s Division 1 state finals at the Holland Aquatic Center, was swimming without eight of its athletes because of illness and injury.
Sophomore Brady Vroegindewey had a strong meet for Zeeland, winning two individual events and swimming on a winning relay as well. Vroegindewey won the 200-yard individual medley in 2:10.39, then led a Zeeland sweep of the top three places in the 500-yard freestyle, taking that race in 5:12.55. Sophomore Lyam VanderWood was second in the 500 free and classmate Gannon Merrill third.
Junior Hudson Kosten, a state qualifier from a year ago, dominated the 200-yard freestyle, winning that event by more than 10 seconds in 1:51.20. Junior Brandon Posthumus won the 100-yard backstroke in 58.63 seconds, while freshman Elliot Wolfe took the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:08.69.
Maxwell Lewis took first in 1-meter diving with 182.70 points.
Kosten, Vroegindewey, Duncan Stack and Posthumus closed out the meet by taking the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:36.27.
While Zeeland graduated five-time state champion swimmer Noah Stevens, now at the University of Louisville, from last season, the team returns plenty of swimmers with state meet experience.
In addition to Kosten, swimmers to watch this season include junior Andrew Skaggs, who finished second in the 100 breaststroke at the state finals, junior Gibson Meyering, who finished eighth in both the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard breaststroke, and junior Andrew Pyle, who was 11th in the 100 backstroke at state.
Zeeland hosted West Ottawa and Forest Hills Central in a double-dual meet Tuesday at the Zeeland West natatorium. Results of that meet were not available at press time.
Chix, Dux Wrestlers Compete at County Championships
Zeeland East had two individual champions Saturday at the Ottawa County Classic varsity boys wrestling tournament at Coopersville High School.
Tanner Hofman took first place in the 106-pound weight class for the Chix, while Xavier Pheuk won the championship at 144 pounds. Overall, East had seven of its 10 wrestlers place in their brackets.
Zeeland West was led by Aiden Chavez, who posted a 2-1 record for the day finished runnerup in his weight class. Sam Taylor and Austin Ulberg battled through tough brackets to finish fourth in their classes.
The Zeeland West girls wrestling team competed at the Kent County championship meet at East Kentwood. Emmaline Kouw went 3-1 for the day to earn a third-place finish, while Audrina Knoper narrowly missed a podium spot with a 2-2 record.
Tanner Hofman took first place in the 106-pound weight class for the Chix, while Xavier Pheuk won the championship at 144 pounds. Overall, East had seven of its 10 wrestlers place in their brackets.
Zeeland West was led by Aiden Chavez, who posted a 2-1 record for the day finished runnerup in his weight class. Sam Taylor and Austin Ulberg battled through tough brackets to finish fourth in their classes.
The Zeeland West girls wrestling team competed at the Kent County championship meet at East Kentwood. Emmaline Kouw went 3-1 for the day to earn a third-place finish, while Audrina Knoper narrowly missed a podium spot with a 2-2 record.
