The Regional Previews: Division 2, Region 11

Last Year

SUMMER
MID-SEASON
FINAL PROJECTIONS
THE RESULT

Girls

1. Grand Rapids Christian (3^rd)
2. Spring Lake (6^th)
3. Zeeland East (8^th)

Boys

1. Grand Rapids Christian (8^th)
2. Allendale (11^th)
3. Hamilton (12^th)

Top 27 Teams

Previous years had top-25 teams, but there’s 27 (and sometimes more) team qualifiers and what does it hurt to add another two?

Girls

Grand Rapids Christian (Top 3), Zeeland East (5^th), Spring Lake (10^th), Holland Christian (11^th), Hudsonville Unity Christian (17^th), Holland (23^rd)

Boys

Grand Rapids Christian (Top 3), Allendale (4^th), Holland Christian (8^th), Hamilton (16^th), Spring Lake (18^th), Grand Rapids Catholic Central (26^th)

(If your team isn’t listed in the images above or the scores below, you probably don’t have five returners, at least on ol’ athletic.net. I’m sure many of these teams will fill out their rosters by late October)

Projected Scores

Place	Girls Team	Score
1	Grand Rapids Christian	36
2	Zeeland East	69
3	Spring Lake	94
4	Holland Christian	99
5	Hudsonville Unity Christian	134
6	Holland	153
7	Fruitport	215
8	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	228
9	Allendale	250
10	Grand Rapids West Catholic	267
11	Coopersville	298
12	Hamilton	342
13	Wyoming Lee	372

Place	Boys Team	Score
1	Grand Rapids Christian	44
2	Allendale	63
3	Holland Christian	92
4	Hamilton	117
5	Spring Lake	133
6	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	139
7	Fruitport	203
8	Zeeland East	220
9	Holland	229
10	Hudsonville Unity Christian	268
11	Coopersville	333
12	Comstock Park	344
13	Grand Rapids West Catholic	384
14	Grand River Preparatory	396

Top Runners

Thought I’d give a review of some of the top returners in each region. Returners means no incoming freshman (you’ll get your days in the sun). If you’re on a top team or in the 50 Tickets and you’re projected highly here, you hit the jackpot! Yes, I’m writing a bit less than previous years, but I think I’ve learned my lesson in that I need to conserve energy and brainpower for all divisions and regions. Typically by August, I’m rushing to get these done. This time around, hopefully all regions get the same amount of coverage.

Natalie Van Otteren, Grand Rapids Christian

On the same career trajectory as a former Grand Rapids Christian girl. Two top-10 MIS finishes before winning the D2 title in the 3200m. Can you guess what that girl did in the fall?

Allison Kuzma, Zeeland East

Magical final two weeks for track for Kuzma. First, a part of East’s stunning 9:11 squad, then doubling back and grabbing 4^th in the 3200m. Then the following week, showing what she could do while fresh, finally sneaking under 5:00 for the 1600m.

Emily Tomes, Grand Rapids Catholic Central

Always finds a way to give her best toward the end of the year. That could be her freshman self shocking us all en route to a 8^th place finish. Or her junior version, with the kick of the day into 5^th place at Division 2 State.

Naomi Nelson, Grand Rapids Christian

Track season saw some plummeting PRs, most notably a 3200m that dropped from 12:12 to 11:06.

Simon Triezenberg, Grand Rapids Christian

Seriously big improvement between his freshman and sophomore years, and his freshman year wasn’t all that bad! Sub-17 twice in that 9^th grade season, sub-16 on four occasions as a 10^th grader.

Jeb Hillary, Grand Rapids Catholic Central

Came into his own during track, closing the year with four consecutive sub-10’s in the 3200m, including a pair of 4^th place finishes in the OK Gold and Region 13.

Noah Lambers, Holland

The OK Green Champion from this past fall was a whole new runner as a junior. After only cracking 17:00 once during his first two years, he was below that mark on 5 separate occasions.