GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (GRPS) -- The Ottawa Hills boys track and field team completed their season long turnaround Friday night, earning a share of the OK White Conference championship at Houseman Field after finishing 0-6 in dual meets just one year ago.
The Bengals went undefeated during the dual meet season with a 6-0 record and finished runner-up to Forest Hills Northern at the conference meet, allowing the teams to split the conference title. The championship is determined by a team’s dual meet record combined with its finish at the conference meet.
Ottawa Hills defeated Forest Hills Northern earlier this season and finished just two points behind the Huskies on Friday.
Junior sprinter Christopher Cole and junior hurdler Abdi Abdalla led the Bengals’ effort. Cole won the 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter dashes, while Abdalla captured conference titles in the 110-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles. Both runners also competed on the second-place 4x400 relay team.
Timothy McDole, Fred McClendon and Zayvion Pigee also earned all-conference honors based on points scored throughout the meet.
McDole finished third in the 300-meter hurdles, fourth in the high jump and helped the Bengals place second in the 4x200 relay. McClendon took fourth in the 100-meter dash, sixth in the 200-meter dash and ran on the runner-up 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams. Pigee placed third in the 400-meter dash and competed on the second-place 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams.
The Ottawa Hills girls team placed fourth overall, highlighted by two school-record performances.
Freshman Saraya Pearson broke a 42-year-old school record in the 100-meter hurdles with a winning time of 15.03 seconds. Sophomore Ella Koster also set a school record in the pole vault, clearing 9 feet, 6 inches to add six inches to her previous record.
Conference championships for the Bengals girls team were won by Saraya Pearson in the 100-meter hurdles, Talia Pearson in the 300-meter hurdles, the 4x200 relay team of Ja’kyla Kelley-Brown, Adeleine DeRoo, Talia Pearson and Saraya Pearson, and the 4x400 relay team of Enna Wainer, Saraya Pearson, Talia Pearson and Adeleine DeRoo.
Ottawa Hills will next compete at the regional meet Saturday, May 16, at Portage Central.