September 8, 2023

Ottawa Hills High School Cross Country Team Wins 1st OK Gold Jamboree of the Season

The night was highlighted by a team and two individual wins.

School: GRPS Ottawa Hills High School Topics: Athletics

The Ottawa Hills High School girls' cross country team secured top honors in the girls' race with 50 points.

The team surpassed Middleville Thornapple Kellogg in second place with 61 points, and Forest Hills Eastern in third place with 74 points.

Selma Anderson triumphed in her second race of the year, achieving a course record of 18:17, leading the pack by a substantial 25-second margin. Enna Wainer took the sixth position overall, completing the race in 20:36. Campbell Hansen significantly improved her performance, finishing in 10th place with a time of 21:07, while her sister Reese Hansen secured the 13th spot in 21:41.

Jana Kalumbula captured 20th place, contributing crucial points to the team with a time of 22:19. Corena Willink, Miranda Miheve, and Rory VanderPloeg ran much of the race together, with Corena (24:38) setting the pace for Miranda (24:39) and Rory (24:55), all achieving personal records for the night. Kenzie Low also posted a personal best time of 26:14. The team's final finisher was Marta Doublestein, crossing the finish line in 27:16.

As for the boys, the highlight of the night was Liam Walters securing his first high school victory, besting a field of 107 runners with an impressive time of 16:17. Nik Williams contributed significantly, finishing 13th overall with a time of 17:17. Kelton Hoover shattered his personal record by 0.4 seconds, clocking in at 17:35 and securing the 19th position.

The team's scoring was completed by Diego Barnaby, who achieved a season's best time of 18:54, landing in 37th place, and Wyatt Jacques, who lowered his personal record by 27 seconds to finish at 19:17, earning the 41st position. Charlie Laughlin followed closely, finishing in 19:58, followed by Micah Rizkalla (20:08) and Sani Shema (20:18), both achieving personal records. Lucas Bruno narrowly missed his personal record, finishing at 20:18, while Joshua Kortenhoven made his season debut, crossing the finish line in 20:22. Ben VanderLeek (20:51) and Samuel Cervera (22:43) rounded out the team's final two finishers, with Samuel setting a new personal record.

The team will next compete at the Ottawa Hills Invitational on September 15 at 5:00 p.m. at Riverside Park.