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Hamilton’s Max Van Huis shines as team wins OK Blue Conference championship

brian bloom
·4 min read
Hamilton's Zeus Chico sprints in the boy's 100 Friday, May 12, 2023, at Unity Christian High School.
Hamilton's Zeus Chico sprints in the boy's 100 Friday, May 12, 2023, at Unity Christian High School.

HUDSONVILLE - Inspiring. That was the word Hamilton boys Kevin Spotts used to describe his team’s victory at the OK Blue Conference meet on Friday - the first team title since 2016.

The team got contributions from a number of athletes, including senior Max Van Huis.

Van Huis’ day began with a second place finish in the 3,200-meter relay, as he, Abatu Dykstra, Josh Langeland, and Ty Ritesma finished just behind Spring Lake with a time of 8:24.54. After the hour break between the preliminary races and finals, Van Huis found his groove, despite facing familiar territory.

“The last two years I’ve gotten sick before (the OK Blue Conference meet),” Van Huis said. “I was hoping I could get redemption in this one. I got sick again before this one, but it didn’t matter.”

The 1,600-meter run was dominated by Van Huis, as he captured the first of his two individual OK Blue Conference championships with a time of 4:33.47. He took an early lead and never looked back.

The 3,200 saw Van Huis sit in second place for much of the race before turning up his intensity halfway through the race. He captured his second conference championship after a time of 10:08.23, seven seconds faster than any other athlete.

“In the mile, I just had to take it as fast as I could,” Van Huis said. “I knew I could beat the other guys, so I had to go out hard, and make sure that I was hurting, but they were hurting worse.”

Van Huis has been preparing to perform well in the big moments since his freshman year. However, his performance on the track is not his greatest impact to the team.

“He made himself into a league champion in two different events,” Spotts said. “More than that, Max is a better person than he is a runner; a better leader. I’m just so proud of him.”

The Hamilton boys compete in the boy's 3200 relays Friday, May 12, 2023, at Unity Christian High School.
The Hamilton boys compete in the boy's 3200 relays Friday, May 12, 2023, at Unity Christian High School.

Hamilton won the meet with 172 points, at least 45 points higher than every other team. Holland Christian finished fourth with 72.5 total points.

The following athletes placed in the top three in the men’s meet: Holland Christian’s Aidan Brinks, Will Engbers, Sam Strabbing and Parker Fenton, third in the 3200m relay (8:29.31); Hamilton’s Paul Theodore, third in the 110m hurdles (16.04); Hamilton’s Benjamin Boehm, first in the 100m dash (10.98); Hamilton’s Parker Matheny, Jeren Bronkhorst, Zach Stoel and Boehm first in the 800m relay (1:31.27); Dykstra, second in the 1600m run (4:35.25); Hamilton’s Zeus Chico, Emilio Calderon, Keaton Haverdink, and Boehm, first in the 400m relay (44.28); Matheny, second in the 400m dash (51.08); Theodore second (42.24) and Hamilton’s Rory Miller third (42.67) in the 300m hurdles; Dykstra, second (2:00.04) and Langeland third (2:01.36) in the 800m run; Boehm first in the 200m dash (22.83); Engbers third in the 3200m run (10:16.45). Matheny, Ritsema, Dykstra and Langeland second (3:28.83) and Holland Christian’s Nathan DeWitt, David Van Duinen, Brody DeKruyter and Brinks third (3:33.63) in the 1600m relay; Holland Christian’s Jayden Reed third in the high jump (5-10), Hamilton’s Jeremy Mathews first (12-0) and Holland Christian’s Nathan Bengelink second (11-6) in the pole vault; and Mathews third in the long jump (19-5 1/2).

In the women’s meet, Hamilton tied with Allendale for fourth place with 75.5 total points, while Holland Christian finished seventh with 59.5 points.

Athletes from Hamilton and Holland Christian compete in the OK Blue Conference meet Friday, May 12, 2023, at Unity Christian High School.
Athletes from Hamilton and Holland Christian compete in the OK Blue Conference meet Friday, May 12, 2023, at Unity Christian High School.

The following athletes finished in the top three in the women’s meet: Hamilton’s Jeralyn Hoppes first in the 100m hurdles (15.94); Hamilton’s Stella Kotowski second (12.88) and Holland Christian’s Chloe Chesser third (13.22) in the 100m dash; Holland Christian’s Kyah Hicks, Avery Brower, Abbe Baas and Chesser second in the 400m relay (51.61); Holland Christian’s Alyssa Gerritsma third in the 400m dash (1:03.09), Baas first (48.89) and Hoppes second (49.22) in the 300m hurdles; Hamilton’s Izabella Tamminga third in the pole vault (8-6), Hamilton’s Aliyah Springer second in the shot put (33-7 1/2) and second in the discus (106-0).

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hamilton’s Max Van Huis shines as team wins OK Blue Conference championship