OK Red Cross Country Update
The OK Red Cross Country season continued this week, and all seven teams were in action. Some highlights from meets involving teams in the OK Red:
Caledonia v Grandville Dual Meet
The Caledonia boys cross country team won against Grandville with a perfect score of 15 points. They beat the Bulldogs 15-49, placing the top six racers in this meet. Jamin Thompson (16:16.57), Jordan Domany (16:36.75), Josh Oom (16:52.63), Donavan Mattson (16:57.78), Brett Guzman (17:08.92) and Caden Dixon (17:25.45) all raced to the finish as the top of the pack in this meet. Grandville was led by Bernardo Saldivar (17:29.36) and Will Shults (17:42.78), as these two finished in the top ten.
The ladies of Caledonia had a strong meet as well, earning a conference win. The Fighting Scots scored 20 points to Grandville’s 43. Allie Arnsman (19:23.94) was able to prevent that perfect score as she took home first place overall for the Bulldogs. Tatum Verburg (20:12.94), Natalia Quigley (20:53.51), Kaitlynn Robotham (21:43.06), Barbara DeGood (21:50.38) and Madelyn Fennema (21:56.25) all earned points for Caledonia.
East Kentwood v Rockford Dual Meet
The Rockford Rams narrowly defeated East Kentwood in a boys cross country meet on Tuesday. Rockford escaped with a 25-30 win. Jude Parks (16:29.45) took home the individual title, while Kyle Sweeney (17:08.89), TJ Mellema (17:11.38), Alex Fahey (17:24.76) and Carson Lafferty (17:30.96) all earned points for the Rams. On the Kentwood side, Shaka Elysee (16:43.10) and Hamed Mohamed (17:03.24) finished second and third respectively, while Lucas Schneider (17:19.63), Antonio Hall (17:56.99) and Eric Giles (18:11.05) joined them in the top ten.
Over in the ladies’ race, Rockford won with a perfect score, a 15-48 victory. Bailey Ewen (20:25.36), Emma Flanders (21:08.72), Elise VanStensel (21:15.28), Lexie Allshouse (21:16.56) and Mara Sweeney (21:27.57) all placed in the top five for the Rams. Cadence Schultz (21:39.20), Alayna Babcock (22:19.52) and Soleil Moore (22:32.69) all placed in the top ten finishers from East Kentwood.
Grand Haven v Jenison Dual Meet
The Grand Haven Bucs defeated Jenison in a 25-34 meet this past Tuesday over at Unity Christian High School. Although Jenison had the top two finishers, Connor Vachon (17:13.76) and Nick Walters (17:51.26), the Bucs were able to come out with a much-needed victory. Nolan Clark (18:04.77), Cole Rowden (18:08.61) and Seth Norder (18:09.48) rounded out the top five overall, all coming from Grand Haven.
Grand Haven completed the sweep when they won the girls race as well. Ava Buitenhuis (20:59.86) took home the individual victory, finishing about two seconds ahead of Jenison’s Maya Guikema (21:01.80). Claudia TenElshof (21:27.37), Maggie Otto (22:27.25) and Rachael Barone (22:58.30) were Jenison’s next three finishers. Grand Haven saw Payton Hosley (21:50.97), Eliza Taylor (22:21.20), and Allison Kelly (22:44.12) all turn in top seven overall performances.
Hudsonville v West Ottawa Dual Meet
The West Ottawa boys cross country team won the Tuesday dual against Hudsonville 24-31. Carston Cole (17:24.27) took home the individual title, Connor Wooley (17:38.51) placed second, and Mayson Levandoski (18:27.86) finished fourth overall to lead the pack for West Ottawa. Jaben Bakker (17:48.22), Trey Diepenhorst (18:41.27), Kyle Merrihew (18:42.82) and Alex Drzewicki (18:51.18) led a strong Eagles’ team with finishes within the top seven.
The Bonnemas led West Ottawa’s girls team to a victory on Tuesday as well. Abby (20:15.10) and Sophie (20:17.82) were the top two finishers overall, while Megan Postma (20:36.77) placed third to lead WO. Kaia Denhof (21:06.06) and Lillian Reiner (21:12.99) also scored points for the team in this win. On the Hudsonville side, Kate Heidema (20:46.67), Abby Martin (20:53.32) and Alicia Sabin (20:59.77) were the top runners, all finishing top six overall.
Bengals Fall XC Invitational at Riverside Park
Caledonia and Jenison were both participants in Friday’s Bengals Fall XC Invitational. This event was hosted by Ottawa Hills. Here are the final results for all sessions, and the school’s best finisher:
BOYS SESSION 1
Holland Christian 60—Parker Lambers (16:43.73, 2nd)
Holland 78—Dylan Chmura (17:21.55, 5th)
Allegan 84—Blane Johnson (16:44.85, 3rd)
Allendale 108—Hayden Rhodea (16:21.43, 1st)
Kent City 122—Samuel Martini (17:48.39, 15th)
Loy Norrix 135—Nolan Tribu (17:41.67, 10th)
Whitehall 146—Riley Buys (17:31.01, 7th)
Holland Black River 201—Nolan Meier (17:56.41, 18th)
GRTC Peregrines 205—Josiah Miller (17:53.42, 16th)
BOYS SESSION 2
Fremont 33—Nathan Walker (15:03.24, 1st)
Caledonia 60—Jamin Thompson (16:07.32, 5th)
FHC 99—Sam Yeager (16:42.80, 13th)
FHE 127—Ben Clason (16:06.85, 4th)
FHN 130—Mitchell George (16:19.89, 9th)
Ottawa Hills 169—Benne Anderson (16:10.94, 6th)
South Christian 171—Sam WEstra (17:34.89, 28th)
Jenison 182—Connor Vachon (16:32.09, 10th)
East Grand Rapids 236—Davis Head (17:58.54, 36th)
Cadillac 268—Nolan Nixon (18:17.46, 42nd)
GIRLS SESSION 1
Allendale 44—Alyssa Butterfield (20:43.62, 4th)
Kent City 66—Layla Martini (19:34.30, 2nd)
Holland Christian 96—Emma Kern (21:17.28, 8th)
Whitehall 109—Ariana Treat (21:17.25, 7th)
Allegan 133—Sasha Mills (21:24.30, 12th)
Loy Norrix 137—Haniya Frayer (20:55.64, 6th)
Holland 160—Olivia DeGraaf (21:21.54, 11th)
GRTC Peregrines 176—Jana Stiffler (19:02.92, 1st)
GIRLS SESSION 2
Cadillac 49—Chloie Musta (19:37.41, 5th)
FHC 56—Clara James-Heer (18:31.26, 1st)
FHN 75—Allison Cornell (18:53.23, 3rd)
FHE 88—Sarah Dixon (19:47.63, 8th)
Caledonia 123—Tatum Verburg (20:34.49, 13th)
East Grand Rapids 133—Eleanor VanderMolen (20:40.59, 15th)
South Christian 140—Moriah Lanning (20:51.51, 19th)
Little Portage
Rockford and Jenison both participated in Saturday’s Little Portage race at Portage West MS. Here are the final results and top individual finishers from that meet:
BOYS
Rockford 33—Jude Parks (16:05.69, 1st)
Saline 60—Emmett Berryhill (16:22.75, 2nd)
Portage Central 60—Tyler Brunner (16:32.94, 3rd)
Zeeland West 89—Corban Hauch (16:54.36, 10th)
Jenison 117—Nick Walters (16:43.79, 7th)
St. Joseph 154—Andrew Moyer (17:04.86, 13th)
Byron Center 203—Nate Holwerda (17:52.36, 34th)
GIRLS
Rockford 50—Bailey Ewen (19:39.54, 3rd)
Portage Central 76—Ellie Voetberg (19:14.84, 1st)
Byron Center 77—Anna Millard (20:33.16, 9th)
Jenison 80—Maya Guikema (19:35.10, 2nd)
St. Joseph 99—Grace Kelley (19:55.38, 4th)
Zeeland West 122—Emma Dykens (20:30.09, 8th)
West Ottawa Girls XC Invite
The West Ottawa Panthers hosted a girls invite at Riverside Park on Saturday. Abby VanderKooi of Western Michigan Christian won the individual race with a time of 16:59.15. Team scores, alongside their best finisher individually:
Saline 54—Lyid Alig (18:59.73, 6th)
West Ottawa 54—Arianne Olson (18:13.51, 2nd)
Northville 68—Jennie Line (18:22.67, 3rd)
Brighton 98—Katie Carothers (18:38.26, 4th)
Shepherd 140—Amelia Gouin (19:37.88, 14th)
Otsego 150—Logan Brazee (19:49.45, 19th)
Bay City Western 150—Karissa Picard (19:32.42, 12th)
Zeeland East 201—Emily Macina (19:41.93, 15th)
