The game went down to the final relays, but the West Ottawa boys swimming and diving team won the relay to win the OK Red Conference championship by one point.
The Panthers finished with 367 points, one ahead of Grand Haven (366) and just four ahead of Rockford (363) in one of the closest conference games in OK Red history. Granville ranks fourth with 323 points, followed by Hudsonville (288) and East Kentwood (203).
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Combined with the doubleheader portion of the season, Rockford and Grand Haven tied for the OK Red championship. West Ottawa finished third in the doubleheader and thus won the conference but not the conference championship.
More: Zeeland boys swimmer Pyles beats Dutch Christian in competition
West Ottawa won the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay. Noah Williams, Luke Caton, Grady Armstrong and Grant Milobinski won the 400 free relay in a time of 3 minutes, 12.09 seconds.
Milobinski, Simon Prince, Armstrong and Caton won the 200-meter freestyle relay title with a time of 1 minute, 27.83 seconds.
Armstrong and Williams went 1-2 in the 200-yard freestyle. Armstrong won the race in 1 minute, 44.58 seconds, followed by Williams (1 minute, 47.37 seconds). Armstrong finished second in the 500 freestyle (4:44.31) behind Grand Haven’s Levi Rust (4:40.01).
West Ottawa’s Grady Armstrong competes in the 200-yard freestyle during the swimming state championships in Holland on Saturday, March 15.
West Ottawa’s Isaac Kamara-Hagemeier won the diving title with a score of 464.70. Zach Jongekryk was third (399.35) and Eli McNeely was fifth (331.70).
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Milobinski finished second in the 200 breaststroke (1:59.30) behind Rust (1:55.63) and second in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.15) behind Granville’s Ty VanderWall (58.77). Carton was second in the 50 freestyle (21.29) behind Hudsonville’s Aiden Bell (20.94), and Carton was second in the 100 freestyle (45.78) behind Bell (45.54). Simon Prins finished fourth in the 100m butterfly (54.19) and 100m backstroke (56.33).
William Bowyer, Ben Messeburger, Prince and Williams finished fourth in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1 minute, 46.10 seconds. Hudsonville won in 1 minute, 37.27 seconds.
OK Lakeshore: Dutch Christian hangs on
Holland Christian captured the OK Lakeshore Conference championship with 518 points. Spring Lake is second with 498 points and will share the division title with the Maroons as the Lakers win both games this season.
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Grand Rapids Christian was third (311), followed by Hamilton (306), Holland (216) and Mona Shores (61).
The Maroons were victorious in the 200 medley relay as Greg Flermoen, Josiah DeVries, Miles Stock and Jake Shoemaker hit the wall in a time of 1 minute, 36.18 seconds.
Shoemaker won the 200 freestyle in 1:43.34, ahead of Hamilton’s Jake Langland (1:49.00). Aiden Lambers of the Netherlands was fifth (1:53.24).
Shoemaker also won the 100 freestyle in a time of 46.37. Netherlands Christian’s Andrew Benglink was fourth (48.99) and Langland was fifth (49.17).
Josiah DeVries won the 100 breaststroke (1:01.51). Netherlands’ Luke Ahrendshorst was third (1:02.32) and Hamilton’s Zach Bain was fifth (1:04.76).
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Stock finished second in the 200 IM (2:04.98) and DeVries finished third (2:06.77). Allen Shorst was fifth (2:14.99).
Benjilink was third in the 50 freestyle (22.19). Flemorn was second in the 100 meters (51.61) and Jackson Bushell was fifth (59.11).
Benjirink, Stock, Flemoen and Shoemaker won the 400 free relay (3:13.87). Hamilton finished third, followed by Langland, Reese Nijkamp, Cillian Slater and Brett Vandenberg (3:22.09).
Ben Greinke, Charlie DeVries, Zeke Zwepp and Josiah DeVries finished third in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:30.50.
Hamilton’s Jayden Bierschbach won the diving title with 393.90 points, going 1-2 over Brody Brown (370.75). TJ Wolk of the Netherlands ranked third (318.20) and Keegan Wales of the Netherlands ranked fourth (290.60).
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Lamberth finished second in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:08.49, ahead of Holland Christian’s Jacob VanDuinen (5:14.07) and Brighton Walcott (5:14.09).
OK Metro: Zeeland takes second place
The Zeeland men’s swimming and diving team finished in second place at the OK Metro Conference Championships on Saturday, Feb. 28, in Northview.
Zeeland scored 399.5 points, trailing champion Byron Center (442.5). Forest Hills Northern ranked third (292), followed by East Grand Rapids (278), Jenison (247), Northview (201) and Forest Hills Central (153).
Zeeland’s Gibson Meyering won the 100-yard backstroke in 51.80 seconds. He also finished third in the 100-meter butterfly (51.58).
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Zeeland’s Andrew Pyle, Andrew Skaggs, Mayerling and Brandon Posthams finished second in the 200 medley relay (1:34.86) behind Byron Center (1:33.21).
Pyle finished second in the 200 medley with a time of 1 minute, 58.56 seconds and sixth in the 100 medley with a time of 55.02 seconds. Skaggs finished second in the 100 breaststroke (56.75) and sixth in the 200 breaststroke (2:02.40). Dylan Streeter was fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.21). Brady Vroegindewey finished fourth in the 500 freestyle (4:51.83).
Vroegindewey, Posthumus, Hudson Kosten and Meyering finished second in the 400 free relay (3:15.57) behind Byron Central (3:10.44).
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @DanDAddona or facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared in the Holland Sentinel: West Ottawa swims to win OK Red meet, Holland Christian wins