HAMILTON – Layla Geurink was so exhausted after crossing the finish line, that she collapsed on the track.
The Holland Christian senior had to be dragged off the turf by her teammates so they could celebrate after a dominant win in the 4×800 meter relay at the Division 2 state track and field meet at Hamilton High School on Saturday.
“I just ran it as hard as I could,” Geurink said. “I really wanted to win, especially being a senior. I feel like all the emotions came out and knowing this was my last 4×800. I’m very excited with how we did.”
The Holland Christian girls team finished with a strong second-place finish with a team score of 35 points. Spring Lake won with 42 points and Ludington was third with 31 points. Unity Christian finished with four points. Hamilton finished 38th with six points.
The Maroons foursome of junior Eliana Stob, sophomore Annika Stob, junior Ellery Lampen and senior Geurink won the 4×800 relay in 9:20.75. But early on, it didn’t look like it was going to happen. For the first four times around the track, Holland Christian trailed behind several teams. But when Lampen took the baton, she put on the turbo boosters to put Holland Christian in the lead for good.
“I just kind of set my eyes on the team ahead of us and I thought ‘I need to make up that gap,’” Lampen said. “To do that for our team was pretty special.”
Annika Stob was excited to see Lampen close the gap.
“I think it was really cool to see all our hard work pay off,” she said. “It helped us chase down all the other teams and then have them have chase us.”
Geurink had a massive lead in the final trip around the track. But she didn’t know how big it was.
“I didn’t know where I was at,” she said. “I was running scared the whole time. Going into it, we thought we were going to be in a really close race. I never looked back. I just kept running.”
Strong finish in the throws for Maroons duo
Kate Van Appledorn wasn’t happy with her performance in the discus.
But the Holland Christian senior made up for it with her best throw ever in the shot put.
“I feel pretty good about it,” she said about the shot put throw of 41-5 1/4 for a fourth-place finish. “It’s a new PR so it’s really awesome to do that at state. It’s exciting to get on the podium. I was pretty disappointed after the discus. But I made it up with a good throw in shot.”
Van Appledorn finished 15th in the discus with a throw of 111-11.
Teammate Miya DeBelcourt finished 14th in the shot put (34-7 3/4) and 18th in the discus (108-8).
Huge day for the Maroons
Junior Avery Engbers showed how dominant she can be in distance events. She made it to the podium with a seventh-place finish in the 1,600 with a time of 5:07.33. Engbers also finished in 10th place in the 3,200 meters (11:16.31). That was a split second behind teammate Ellery Lampen, who finished in 11:16.22 to finish in ninth.
Esther VanderBilt also made it to the podium with a dominant fourth-place finish in the 100 hurdles (14.95). Pretty impressive for a freshman. She also finished 10th in the 300 hurdles (46.68).
The Maroons had another dominant relay with a fourth-place finish in the 4×400 meter relay. The team of Eliana Stob, Layla Geurink, Annika Stob and Olivia Hollebeek finished in 4:04.25.
Camryn Siegers is becoming one of the best high jumpers in the state. The Holland Christian junior, who is a state champion swimmer, finished in second place with a leap of 5-foot-7, which is a personal best. Her previous high was 5-4. Bella Friddle of Hastings won with a jump of 5-9. Teammate Sophie Jones finished 15th with a jump of 5-foot.
Eliana Stob finished 10th in the 800 meters (2:20.14) and Adelyn Halma finished 17th in the long jump (16-1 1/2).
“I just love this team,” Van Appledorn said. “There’s so much talent and there’s such a good culture. They all work really hard and push each other.”
Hamilton, Holland Christian boys score
In the boys competition, Hamilton finished with six points and Holland Christian had 5.5 points. Harper Woods won the meet by dominating the sprints and relays and finished with 47 points.
Hamilton senior Hudsen Hulst capped his athletic career with a PR in the 110 hurdles with 14.48 seconds for a third place finish.
“I felt good,” Hulst said. “I felt smooth. In the prelims, I ran a much slower time and I wasn’t feeling confident. But in the finals I was loose.”
What’s it like getting to compete on his home track?
“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s a great way to finish my career in front of all these people.”
Hulst’s younger brother Garner, a sophomore, also competed. He finished 16th in the prelims of the 110 hurdles in 15.25 seconds.
In the 4×200 relay, the Hamilton team of Carter Hickok, Garner Hulst, Hudsen Hulst, Noel Vigil finished 15th (1:30.72).
The top finish for the Holland Christian boys was a fourth-place finish in the 4×800 relay. The team of Cole Coffman, Riley Hart, Zach Diller and Landon Gerritsma finished in 8:00.91. In the 4×400, the Maroons team of Will Johnson, Landon Gerritsma, Cole Coffman, Riley Hart finished 10th (3:27.32).
Also picking up points for Holland Christian was pole vaulter Will Johnson, who finished tied for eighth place with a leap of 13-feet, 4 inches.
Freshman Grant Lampen finished 10th in the 3,200 (9:42.93).
Strong showing for Hamilton’s Dozeman
Hamilton senior Jenna Dozeman didn’t score any points, but she performed well at the state in front of her home crowd.
She finished 10th in the 400 meters in 59.68.
Dozeman also finished 21st in the long jump with a leap of 15-11 1/4.
This is the third-straight year that Hamilton has hosted the Division 2 state meet.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Holland Christian girls track and field finishes state runner-up