Girls' Track and Field Report:    Congratulations to the Grand Rapids Christian Eagles, who earned runners-up honors at the State Championship this Saturday at Forest Hills Eastern. Grand Rapids Christian earned 37.66 points to outstrip Zeeland East's 30 to take the second-place trophy.    Madelyn Frens led the way for the Eagles with three All-State performances. The senior distance star started her day by teaming up with Natalie VanOtteren, Payton Holtz, and Naomi Nelson to earn second place in the 4x800-meter relay. Frens then followed this up with a personal-record mile time of 4:53, which was also good enough for second place. In the final race of her high school career, Frens ran away from the field to win the State Championship with a time of 10:44, successfully defending her title in the event. In the same race, VanOtteren ran an incredible race to finish in a PR of 11:04, which earned her seventh place and two points for the team.   Rowan Cebulski earned All-State honors in two events, taking fifth in the high jump in 5'2" and seventh in the pole vault with a PR leap of 10'3". She also competed in the long jump, where she jumped 16'0.25" to finish 11th.   Kijana Callwood also picked up valuable points for the Eagles with a personal-best toss of 123'6", good for fifth place and four points. Callwood also set a PR in the shot put of 33'8.25", which earned her 16th.    Despite hitting an early hurdle, Violeta Sanmarino battled through the 100-meter hurdles for a seventh-place mark of 16.27 to earn two points; the junior also ran 15.62 in the preliminaries, and turned in a personal-best mark of 48.50 in the 300-meter hurdles.   Also competing for the Eagles was Olivia Brunnink, who ran 13.47 in the 100-meter dash to earn 22nd.   The 2nd-place finish by the girls team marks the teams' highest finish since 1987. Coupled with the Regional and Conference Championships earned by the Eagles, the finish at the State Championships caps an incredible season of athletics for the program. Congratulations to Grand Rapids Christian Girls' Track and Field on their amazing season!  

The Eagles are Regional champions! Thanks to series of clutch performances, Grand Rapids Christian prevailed convincingly over East Grand Rapids, 162-139.5, as well as over the rest of the Regional field on a rainy day in Ionia on Saturday.   Rowan Cebulski led the way for GRC, switching back and forth between a series of events to earn valuable points for the team. Cebulski took second in the high jump with a leap of 5'2", as well as second in the pole vault (9'9"). In the long jump, she trailed coming into her final jump, but leapfrogged East's top jumper to take the Regional crown with a PR mark of 16'4.5". Cebulski also took third in the 100-meter hurdles.   In that hurdle race, Violeta Sanmarino was starting her own stellar day. The Eagle spinter earned the top seed in semifinals, and then ran a PR race of 15.39 to crush the field and earn a Regional title. Sanmarino then ran a leg of the 4 x 100-meter relay team with Olivia Brunink, Paris Rodgers, and Allie Groenenboom; the foursome won the race by over a second to earn the Regional championship with a mark of 51.35. Sanmarino finished her day with a strong race in the 300 hurdles, earning second in 49.25.   Cebulski and Sanmarino weren't the only Eagles with banner performances. Kijana Callwood finished second in the shot put with a PR toss of 33'0.25", and picked up an incredible win in the discus. On her final throw, Callwood tied a competitor from Forest Hills Eastern, 119'4" to 119'4". In the discus, however, ties are broken by looking at the second-best throw, and there, Callwood emerged victorious.   Madelyn Frens helped the Eagles keep piling on. After racing the 4 x 800-meter relay with Natalie VanOtteren, Payton Holtz, and Naomi Nelson, where the Eagles turned in a strong state-qualifying second-place finish of 9:46.93, Frens took second in the mile in 5:04, then raced to victory in the 3200 in 10:58.    Also qualifying for the state championship was Olivia Brunink in the 100-meter dash. The senior flew to a new PR of 12.84 to earn second place; Brunink was also fourth in the 200 in 27.75.   Also qualifying for the State Championship and helping the Eagles pull away for the team victory was Natalie VanOtteren's 3200 race. The sophomore finished third, with her 11:25 time comfortably qualifying her for States.   It wasn't just the state qualifiers who earned the Eagles their victory, however. A deep roster of regional medalists put Grand Rapids Christian over the top. GRC earned huge points in the jumps with some incredible leaps from Ana Wittung in the pole vault, who cleared 8'6" for fourth place; Abigail Hoekzema in the high jump, where her PR leap of 5'0" earned her fourth; and from Nadia Schoon in the long jump, where she moved up from ninth in the prelims to take fifth with a strong mark of 14'10.25".   In the mile, Kristin Winkle ran a season's best performance to take eighth in 5:34. In the 800, Payton Holtz stepped up to run a PR time of 2:27.19, which earned the Eagle sophomore fourth. Anika Bouwman turned in a strong time of 1:05 in the 400 to take fifth, while in the 100, Marie Line Henderson battled through a hamstring issue, running an incredibly gutsy race to take fifth in a PR time of 13.21.   In the 300 hurdles, Za'Naya Mosley flew to a PR of 52.21, good enough for sixth. The Eagles 4 x 200 and 4 x 400 relay teams rounded out the scoring, with the 4 x 2 taking fourth and the 4 x 4 taking sixth.   Congratulations to the Eagles on an incredible win at the Regional Championships, and best of luck to all competitors who are advancing to the State Championship on Saturday, June 4th at Forest Hills Eastern. Come on out and support Eagle Athletics!

   Girls' Track and Field Report:   Thirty-six Personal-Record performances for the Eagles made for a great evening at the track on Monday. Notable performances included Naomi Nelson (2:30) and Kristin Winkle (2:31) leading a 1-2 finish in the 800, Ifeoluwa Ayoola winning the shot put (30'4.25"), Kidist Nelson taking first in the discus (81'1"), and Anne Sepa winning the long jump (14'9.25"). Za'Nya Mosley and Violet Talsma finished 1-2 in both hurdle events, with Mosley running 17.62 for the 100s and 52.47 in the 300s, while Talsma finished in 18.90 and 56.50. Sarah Timmer took third in the 1600 in 5:56, Rowan Cebulski took third in the discus in 79'5", Makayla Lyons lept 4'5" to take second in the high jump, Anna Lindstrom vaulted 7'6" to earn second in the pole vault, and Alayna McGowan jumped 13'11.75" for third in the long jump.   The Eagles return to action on Saturday when they compete for the Regional Championship in Ionia. Come on out and support Eagle athletics!  

The Eagles took first in the OK White final, edging out rival and neighbor East Grand Rapids. Because EGR beat the Eagles during the season, the Eagles will be co-OK White Champs. The two day finals saw the Eagles with a huge first day, scoring 70 points, a full 25 points ahead of the next team. The Pioneers slowly chipped away at the lead until the Eagles put the meet out of reach on the penultimate event. Top scorers on the day were KJ Callwood who took first in the disc and 4th in the shot. Violeta SanMarino who took first in the 100 hurdles, 4th in the 300 hurdles, 5th in the 200, and 3rd on the 4x100. Madelyn Frens led the distance group taking 3rd in the 4x800, 2nd in the 1600, and 1st in the 3200. But the big point scorer of the meet was Rowan Cebulski, scoring 32 points alone. She took first in the long jump and high jump, 2nd in the pole vault, and 5th in the 100 hurdles. The Eagles head to Ionia Saturday for regionals. 

Girls' Track and Field Report:   The Eagles took home the title at the East Grand Rapids Classic on Saturday, scoring 129 points. The team defeated East Grand Rapids, Petoskey, Forest Hills Eastern, Rockford, and Greenville.   The Eagles earned five individual events victories on the day. Annika Bouwman won the 600-meter run in 1:52.99, while Violeta Sanmarino won the 100-meter hurdles in 16.33. Rowan Cebulski won both the high jump (4'10") and the pole vault (10'0", a personal record). In the long jump, Nadia Schoon won with a leap of 14'3".   The 4 x 100-meter relay team of Allie Groenenboom, Violeta Sanmarino, Paris Rodgers, and Alayna McGowan also took home the win in 54.00. The Distance Medley Relay team of Natalie VanOtteren, Payton Holtz, Naomi Nelson, and Madelyn Frens also won with a time of 12:40.   Other notable performances came from Sanmarino in the 300-meter hurdles (52.45), Kijana Callwood in the discus (92'2" for second) and the shot put (30'6" for third), and Anna Lindstrom in the pole vault (7'6" for third).   The Eagles return to action on Tuesday when they host Byron Center. Come on out to support Eagle Athletics!  

Girls Track and Field Grand Rapids Christian's Girls Track and Field team swept a dual meet in frigid conditions at Northview High School on Tuesday. The Eagles trounced Northview by a score of 90-42, and edged Forest Hills Central, 74-62. Earning wins on the day were Olivia Brunink in the 100 (13.21), Violeta Contell Sanmarino in the 200 (28.69) and the 100-meter hurdles (15.96), Natalie VanOtteren in the mile (5:20), Madelyn Frens in the two-mile (10:55), Rowan Cebulski in the 300 hurdles (52.94) and high jump (4'10), and Kijana Callwood in the shot put (30'0.5") and discus (92'11). The Eagles return to action this Saturday in East Grand Rapids for the EGR Classic in what one hopes will be warmer conditions. Come on out and support the Eagles Track and Field teams!  

Girls T&F:   The GRC Boys Track and Field team opened their season by sweeping Lowell and Greenville on Wednesday, drubbing Greenville by a score of 107-30 and defeating Lowell, 82-55.   The Eagles won nine events on the day, led by Rowan Cebulski's victories in the pole vault (9'0" and the high jump (5'0"); she was also second in the 100-meter hurdles, behind teammate Violeta Sanmarino's 16.60. Kijana Callwood earned the win in the discus (118'4") and finished second in the shot put (31'11"), while Madelyn Frens took first in the mile in 5:07.   In the sprints, Olivia Brunink won the 100-meter dash with a PR time of 13.02, while Anika Bouwman also set a PR to take second in the 400 (1:05.95).    The Eagles dominated the relays, winning the 4 x 100 in 52.92 and the 4 x 800 in 10:17.63. In the days' final event, the team of Anika Bouwman, Payton Holtz, and Molly Padilla got the baton to Madelyn Frens just a few meters from the lead. Frens pulled even with a hundred meters to go and powered away down the homestretch to earn the Eagles' third relay win of the day.   The team returns to action on Saturday when they compete at the Houseward Invitational at Unity Christian. Come on out and support the Eagle athletes!