Cross Country Regional Meet Recap

The Cross Country Regional Meets were held this weekend, and there was some competitive racing throughout the area. The top three teams in each region, as well as the top seven individuals that are not on those three teams, qualified for the State Finals.  A quick recap of those Regional meets.

 

DIVISION 1 REGION 1 RACE AT BUCKLEY

BOYS

**Rockford 56 (Best Time: Jude Parks, 15:30.88, 2^nd)

**Traverse City Central 84 (Luke Venhuizen, 15:30.84, 1^st)

**Traverse City West 90 (Jonah Hochstetler, 16:37.20, 13^th)

Lowell 104 (Cole Weston, 16:41.09, 16^th)

Grand Haven 110 (Nolan Clark, 16:21.30, 8^th)

Forest Hills Central 114 (Sam Yeager, 16:18.05, 5^th)

Cedar Springs 163 (Corey Bowers, 15:59.42, 3^rd)

Reeths-Puffer 171 (Klay Grant, 16:34.50, 12^th)

 

Rockford won the team regional championship in this race, with three racers in the top ten. Jude Parks (15:30.88) finished second, Alex Fahey (16:26.11) finished ninth and TJ Mellema (16:27.01) was in tenth. The Rams will be joined in the State Meet by Traverse City Central and Traverse City West, as they both had strong performances.

Corey Bowers (Cedar Springs), Benne Anderson (Ottawa Hills), Sam Yeager (FHC), Juan David Hernandez (Ottawa Hills), Ethan Krampe (FHC), Nolan Clark (Grand Haven), and Klay Grant (Reeths-Puffer) all qualified for the State Meet as individuals. Bowers was the third-place finisher at 15:59.42, while Grant was the twelfth-best at 16:34.50.

 

GIRLS

**Traverse City Central 53 (Best Time: Avery McLean, 18:18.94, 3^rd)

**Ottawa Hills 74 (Madison Ebright, 18:13.58, 2^nd)

**Forest Hills Central 90 (Clara James-Heer, 18:03.55, 1^st)

Traverse City West 108 (Ava King, 18:32.59, 7^th)

Rockford 113 (Elise VanStensel, 19:26.95, 20^th)

Forest Hills Northern 117 (Allison Cornell, 18:26.45, 5^th)

Grand Haven 131 (Ava Buitenhuis, 18:43.85, 9^th)

Kenowa Hills 188 (Jayden Turner, 19:50.20, 27^th)

 

Traverse City Central also qualified in the girls’ race, as the Trojans won this regional meet. Ottawa Hills and Forest Hills Central also qualified for the State Meet with top three finishes. The Rangers’ Clara James-Heer (18:03.55) won the individual title, while Madison Ebright (18:13.58) finished second overall. Ottawa Hills’ Selma Anderson (18:24.06) placed fourth, while Whitney Currie (18:29.48) took sixth as the second-best time for FHC.

“We are excited to be taking the most runners our program has ever taken to the state meet this weekend with 9 runners qualifying (7 girls, 2 boys).” Coach Dan Ebright said when asked about his team’s performance. “Madison (Ebright), (Selma Anderson) and Naomi (Dykstra) have been consistent all year in the front of races.  Adit (Dau) came back from injury for our conference meet and has continued to lower her time each meet, helping our team be competitive with other teams.”

Allison Cornell (FHN), Ava King (TC West), Madison Rempalski (Northview), Ava Buitenhuis (Grand Haven), Jocelyn Hendricks (Northview), and Elliott Smith (TC West) all qualified individually. Cornell placed fifth at 18:26.45, while Smith was sixteenth at 19:11.34.

 

 

DIVISION 1 REGION 3 AT PORTAGE

BOYS

**Caledonia 39 (Best Time: Josh Oom, 15:59.52, 3^rd)

**Jenison 87 (Connor Vachon, 15:48.17, 2^nd)

**Portage Central 102 (Tyler Brunner, 16:14.77, 10^th)

East Kentwood 104 (Shaka Elysee, 16:15.39, 11^th)

Kalamazoo Central 115 (Jonas Fraley-Burgett, 16:06.05, 5^th)

Zeeland West 119 (Corban Hauch, 16:19.65, 13^th)

Portage Northern 136 (Drew Gonzales, 16:11.38, 8^th)

Mattawan 193 (Ethan Barker, 16:17.77, 12^th)

 

The Caledonia Fighting Scots won the Regional Meet in dominating fashion. Behind top ten finishes from Josh Oom (15:59.52, 3^rd), Jamin Thompson (16:01.13, 4^th) and Jordan Domany (16:10.79), the Fighting Scots won in runaway fashion. “We had a great race. Anytime you can put your top 5 in the top 20, it’s a great race. We also had a great pack, which is important, as we only had :37 seconds between our first and fifth runner”, stated Caledonia Coach Ben Thompson following the meet.

Jenison and Portage Central will join Caledonia at the State Meet. Connor Vachon (15:48.17) and Nick Walters (16:07.65) were the Wildcats’ two finishers in the top ten. Tyler Brunner (16:14.77) and Thenuka Jayatilaka (16:33.67) paced Portage Central.

Individually, Koby Fraaza (Gull Lake), Jonas Fraley-Burgett (Kalamazoo Central), Drew Gonzalez (Portage Northern), Carston Cole (West Ottawa), Shaka Elysee (East Kentwood), Ethan Barker (Mattawan), and Corban Hauch (Zeeland West) qualified for the State Meet. Fraaza was the overall individual race winner with a 15:35.30, while Hauch finished in 13^th at 16:19.65.

 

GIRLS

**West Ottawa 38 (Best Time: Arianne Olson, 18:34.85, 2^nd)

**Jenison 75 (Maya Guikema, 18:59.43, 4^th)

**Hudsonville 105 (Elise Conkel, 20:14.10, 25^th)

Portage Central 106 (Ellie Voetberg, 18:43.68, 3^rd)

St. Joseph 110 (Grace Kelley, 19:32.04, 11^th)

Zeeland East 121 (Emily Macina, 19:28.30, 9^th)

Byron Center 160 (Alyssa Wisener, 20:28.33, 34^th)

Mattawan 168 (Emily Reeves, 19:11.29, 5^th)

 

The Panthers won this race in a landslide, as they had four top ten finishers. Arianne Olson (18:34.85), Abby Bonnema (19:17.75), Sophie Bonnema (19:25.58) and Kaia Denhof (19:28.98) all had stellar performances for West Ottawa.

Allie Arnsman (Grandville), Ellie Voetberg (Portage Central), Emily Reeves (Mattawan), Hannah Funkhouser (Gull Lake), Emily Macina (Zeeland East), Grace Kelley (St. Joseph), and Mia Hesley (Portage Central) all qualified individually. Arnsman won the individual race at 18:33.14, while Hesley was 13^th at 19:36.04.

 

 

DIVISION 2 REGION 10 AT BUCKLEY

BOYS

**Fremont 16 (Best Time: Nathan Walker, 14:56.46, 1^st)

**Petoskey 72 (Cooper Rokop, 16:45.80, 8^th)

**Sparta 97 (Jackson Jones, 16:24.34, 5^th)

Remus Chippewa Hills 124 (Jake O’Neil, 16:43.13, 7^th)

Whitehall 149 (Riley Buys, 16:55.27, 11^th)

Big Rapids 154 (Ryan Ososki, 16:50.31, 10^th)

Gaylord 170 (Kade Dalson, 17:27.19, 22^nd)

Cadillac 172 (Nolan Nixon, 17:40.64, 26^th)

 

Fremont won this race going away, as the Packers had the top four finishers in this meet, as well as the sixth fastest race and the ninth fastest runner. Nathan Walker (14:56.46), Conor Somers (15:42.97), Ben Paige (16:22.03), Adam Ward (16:22.76), Joshua Zerfas (16:32.57) and Gavin Schuler (16:49.10) all turned in stellar performances for the team.

Jake O’Neil (Chippewa Hills), Ryan Ososki (Big Rapids), Riley Buys (Whitehall), Ben Knuth (Big Rapids), Craig Fuller (Ludington), Aidan Hollandsworth (Chippewa Hills), and Kade Dalson (Gaylord) all qualified individually.

 

GIRLS

**Petoskey 39 (Best Time: Emma Squires, 18:29.59, 1^st)

**Cadillac 41 (Chloie Musta, 18:46.35, 2^nd)

**Sparta 98 (Madyson Oudbier, 19:29.55, 9^th)

Fremont 118 (Taylor Mater-Gerth, 18:55.34, 4^th)

Whitehall 133 (Ariana Treat, 19:55.30, 14^th)

Chippewa Hills 136 (Sarah Storey, 19:01.81, 5^th)

Ogemaw Heights 158 (Chloe Jones, 19:57.18, 16^th)

Newaygo 189 (Remington Arney 20:20.77, 21^st)

 

Taylor Mater-Gerth (Fremont), Sarah Storey (Chippewa Hills), Ava Hollandsworth (Chippewa Hills), Ariana Treat (Whitehall), Chloe Jones (Ogemaw Heights), Remington Arney (Newaygo) and Faith Kurtz (Ogemaw Heights) all qualified individually.

 

DIVISION 2 REGION 11 AT ALLENDALE

BOYS

**East Grand Rapids 61 (Best Time: Ryan Brinker, 16:52.35, 10^th)

**Allendale 68 (Hayden Rhodea, 16:13.10, 2^nd)

**Spring Lake 77 (Ian Hill, 16:22.21, 3^rd)

Forest Hills Eastern 78 (Ben Clason, 16:11.52, 1^st)

Holland Christian 96 (Parker Lambers, 16:24.27, 4^th)

Belding 137 (Maxwell McCarty, 17:06.18, 14^th)

Comstock Park 193 (Carter Vandermeer, 16:45.56, 8^th)

Fruitport 213 (Jordan Seelye, 18:42.46, 42^nd)

 

Ben Clason (FHE), Parker Lambers (Holland Christian), Aiden Sullivan (FHE), Gavin VanSolkema (Unity Christian), Carter Vandermeer (Comstock Park), Maxwell McCarty (Belding), and Henry Bock (GR Catholic Central) all qualified individually.

 

GIRLS

**East Grand Rapids 27 (Best Time: Drew Muller, 18:35.45, 1^st)

**Forest Hills Eastern 72 (Sarah Dixon, 19:37.56, 9^th)

**Spring Lake 92 (Lily Parker, 19:30.68, 7^th)

West Catholic 98 (Maggie Duba, 19:10.74, 4^th)

Allendale 125 (Riley DeLore, 20:36.25, 21^st)

Belding 153 (Julia Filey, 19:02.02, 3^rd)

Coopersville 179 (Jamie Lipecky, 19:11.66, 5^th)

Fruitport 198 (Brooke Sweet, 21:40.10, 36^th)

 

Julia Finley (Belding), Maggie Duba (West Catholic), Jamie Lipecky (Coopersville), Emily Tomes (GR Catholic Central), Sarah Schloff (Holland Christian), Emma Kern (Holland Christian), and Riley DeLore (Allendale) all qualified individually.

 

DIVISION 2 REGION 13 AT OTSEGO

BOYS

**Otsego 28 (Best Time: Colin Mulder, 15:40.51, 1^st)

**GR Christian 75 (Ben Zwart, 16:19.64, 3^rd)

**Allegan 90 (Connor Harlan, 16:16.38, 2^nd)

South Christian 97 (Sam Westra, 17:01.19, 4^th)

Plainwell 157 (Eli Veen, 16:57.63, 13^th)

WM Aviation Academy 159 (Maxim Reuchlein, 16:57.05, 12^th)

Hamilton 164 (Max VanHuis, 16:59.97, 15^th)

Wayland 176 (Isaac Dyer, 17:36.72, 26^th)

 

Christian Martinez (Kelloggsville), Maxim Reuchlein (WM Aviation Academy), Eli Veen (Plainwell), Max VanHuis (Hamilton), Sam Westra (South Christian), Ethan Luurtsema (South Christian), and Ethan Johnson (Plainwell) all qualified individually.

 

GIRLS

**Grand Rapids Christian 37 (Best Time: Madelyn Frens, 18:02.05, 1^st)

**Otsego 53 (Chelsea Glessner, 19:18.32, 7^th)

**South Christian 98 (Mallory Huttenga, 20:03.32, 16^th)

Middleville 103 (Emelia MacDonald, 19:49.48, 12^th)

Plainwell 117 (Mackenzie Hill, 18:55.63, 2^nd)

Wayland 143 (Olivia Barabas, 19:37.59, 11^th)

Hamilton 170 (Trina Farris, 21:01.72, 31^st)

 

Mackenzie Hill (Plainwell), Grace Pettit (Plainwell), Emma DeVries (WM Aviation Academy), Olivia Barabas (Wayland), Emelia MacDonald (Middleville), Jessica Durkee (Middleville), and Ava Makowski (Wayland) all qualified individually.

 

DIVISION 3 REGION 21 AT ALLENDALE

BOYS

**Calvin Christian 41 (Best Time: Luke Witvliet, 16:44.34, 1^st)

**Covenant Christian 65 (Tyler VanDerMeulen, 17:19.99, 9^th)

**Saranac 79 (Grayson Rasmus, 16:52.13, 3^rd)

Montague 123 (Kaden Hainer, 17:19.85, 8^th)

Holland Black River 127 (Nolan Meier, 17:23.54, 11^th)

Kent City 129 (Jaren Vogel, 17:58.14, 19^th)

Delton-Kellogg 154 (Micah Ordway, 17:14.71, 6^th)

Western Michigan Christian 172 (Pierce Newell, 18:32.28, 28^th)

 

Andrew Hardy (Central Montcalm), Micah Ordway (Delton-Kellogg), Kaden Hainer (Montague), Nolan Meier (Holland Black River), Jonathan Mendoza (Fennville), Roger Hernandez (Black River), and Jaren Vogel (Kent City) all qualified individually.

 

GIRLS

**Calvin Christian 39 (Best Time: Catherine Kortman, 19:39.99, 4^th)

**Covenant Christian 64 (Meghan Beute, 19;24.16, 3^rd)

**Kent City 91 (Layla Martini, 19:15.53, 2^nd)

Western Michigan Christian 123 (Abby VanderKooi, 17:04.17, 1^st)

Holland Black River 124 (Lily LaBurn, 20:33.56, 14^th)

Montague 128 (Isabelle Auch, 20:48.90, 15^th)

Saranac 152 (Madeleine Hill, 20:01.66, 8^th)

Delton-Kellogg 190 (Halena Phillips, 21:31.00, 28^th)

 

Abby VanderKooi (WMC), Madeleine Hill (Saranac), Gabriella Wingard (North Muskegon), Lily LaBurn (Holland Black River), Isabelle Auch (Montague), Dreea Atchison (Montague), and Sarah Alferink (Holland Black River) all qualified individually.

 

DIVISION 4 REGION 31 AT ALLENDALE

BOYS

**Saugatuck 33 (Best Time: Max Sharnas, 16:04.85, 1^st)

**Potters House 62 (Logan Swiney, 16:47.14, 4^th)

**St Joseph Lake MI Catholic 79 (Michael Golden, 18:09.63, 11^th)

Gobles 85 (Nile Devers, 17:29.74, 6^th)

Martin 137 (Carsen Young, 17:45.84, 7^th)

Libertas Christian 143 (Jonathan Baribeau, 18:17.07, 14^th)

Muskegon Catholic Central 162 (Jacob Lyonnais, 19:13.37, 28^th)

Holton 180 (Graham Resterhouse, 17:59.62, 10^th)

 

Nile Devers (Gobles), Carsen Young (Martin), Alexander Austin (Gobles), Graham Resterhouse (Holton), Ethan Cammenga (Fruitport Calvary), Jonathan Baribeau (Libertas Christian), and Gabe Wirebaugh (Holland Calvary) all qualified individually.

 

GIRLS

**Saugatuck 26 (Best Time: Maya Veldt, 20:15.16, 1^st)

**Libertas 92 (Aliz Pusztai, 22:11.67, 14^th)

**Holton 101 (Vanessa Peltoniemi, 21:41.81, 6^th)

St Joseph Lake MI Catholic 107 (Allison Glendening, 20:32.83, 3^rd)

Potters House 112 (M.Esther Cole, 21:49.39, 8^th)

Muskegon Catholic Central 116 (Grace Rennells, 22:33.83, 23^rd)

Three Oaks River Valley 136 (Kursten Smith, 22:20.56, 19^th)

 

Allison Glendening (SJLMC), Tatum Dykstra (Fruitport Calvary), M.Esther Cole (Potters House), Elliana Young (Martin), Ava Wilson (Fruitport Calvary), Kyra Hamilton (Fruitport Calvary), and Erika VerBeek (Potters House) all qualified individually.