HAMILTON – Alba Rodriguez-Lima was the last one standing when the dust cleared in the high jump on Saturday.
Now the Holland High School sophomore can say she’s a state champion.
“It’s really exciting,” Rodriguez-Lima said. “I knew I had a good chance of winning it this year. But I wasn’t too sure. So it’s nice to see it happen.”
She cleared 5-foot-7 to beat out 27 other competitors in the MHSAA Division 2 track and field state championship at Hamilton High School on Saturday.
“Amazing,” said Marc Miller, the Holland jumps coach. “Beyond description. She’s worked so hard. We had a vision of her reaching that 5-7 mark.”
Rodriguez-Lima already knew she’d won the high jump state title when she cleared 5-foot-6 and no one else did. So she decided to attempt 5-7.
Go big or go home, right?
She did it. And she made a beeline for her coaches to give them a hug.
She did attempt 5-8, but missed on all three attempts. It didn’t matter. She was a state champ regardless.
“We were trying to hit 5-8, but she just nicked it,” Miller said. “The record is 5-8 1/2. We’ll keep moving the needle up and she’ll get better and better.”
It is the first state title for a Holland student since Levi Hondered won the long jump title three years ago.
“Being closer to home played a really big part in it,” Rodriguez-Lima said. “I’ve had a lot of people come cheer me on.”
She finished fifth in the high jump at the state meet last season.
“I knew I had it in me last year,” she said. “So, it feels great just doing it this.”
Sturgis won the girls team title with 54.2 points, followed by Goodrich (39) and Saginaw Swan Valley (38). Holland Christian finished in 16th place with 14.2 points, Holland was 23rd with 10 points and Hamilton scored one.
For the boys, Parma Western won the championship with 44 points, followed by River Rouge (38) and New Boston Huron (30). The top area finishers were Hamilton with eight points and Holland Christian with seven.
“It was such an honor,” Hamilton senior Jeren Bronkhorst said of hosting the state meet. “Since we didn’t have many meets at home. We looked forward to having it at our home track.”
Strong finish in the relays for Hamilton
A year ago, the Hamilton boys won the state championship in the 4×400 relay. They didn’t win a title on Saturday, but they did reach the podium twice in relays.
“I’m very happy with how we did in the 4×100,” Bronkhorst said. “We were seeded 20th and took sixth. In the 4×200, we were still very happy with the podium finish.”
In the 4×200, the Hawkeyes team of A.J. Friedriechsen, Zach Stoel, Gabe Schrotenboer and Bronkhorst finished seventh in 1:29.98. In the 4×100, the team of Noah Vigil, Friedriechsen, Cyrus Berens and Bronkhorst finished sixth in 43.26.
“I’ll remember the people and the cheers from the crowd and competing with our relay teams,” Bronkhorst said. “All of us are running together as seniors. Running our last race together.”
Has it hit him yet that this was his last event as a Hamilton student?
“It hasn’t hit yet,” he said. “Still feels like we still have another practice. This is the first time I’m done with Hamilton sports.”
Big day for the Engbers family
Will Engbers slowly unlaced his track spikes as he sat on the infield after running the 3,200.
The Holland Christian senior was exhausted. But he was happy with a fourth-place finish in 9:20.53.
“It feels good since I kind of struggled in the 3,200 during the season,” Engbers said. “This one felt good to finish fourth. It wasn’t a PR, but it was a good race.”
Engbers, the son of Holland Christian Athletic Director Dave Engbers, also got to have his little sister join him at the state meet.
Avery Engbers, a freshman, not only qualified for the state meet, but reached the podium twice.
Avery finished seventh in the 1,600 (5:07.78) and seventh in the 3,200 (11:07.66).
“It’s a good opportunity to run against some girls that are super-fast,” she said. “It was a hard race (in the 1,600) and it went out really fast. But I had a good time.”
Will was thrilled to see Avery’s success so soon.
“That’s so crazy,” he said. “It’s so much fun, especially for our family. Me and her have always been fast. But I’ve never been that fast. It’s super-cool to see. You’re going to see a few state champions out of her.”
Will plans to run track and cross country at Grand Valley State in the fall. But Avery is just starting her high school career.
“He’s a very good older brother and encourage me,” she said.
Huge undertaking to host a state meet
Hamilton Athletic Director Eric Talsma had so much fun hosting the Division 2 state track meet last year that he decided to do it again.
“It is a large undertaking and takes a mountain of volunteers,” Talsma said. “But it is totally worth it to showcase our facilities and hospitality. It is also an added perk to have our seniors compete in their last meet at home.”
Talsma said he put together almost 300 volunteers to run the event.
Solid day for Holland Christian girls
In the first relay of the day, the Maroons finished with an impressive second-place finish in the 4×800 relay. The team of Eliana Stob, Olivia Hollebeek, Ellery Lampen and Layla Geurink finished in 9:27.34.
Camryn Siegers had to squeeze onto the podium with four other girls after she finished tied for eighth place in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 1 inch.
Junior Kate VanAppledorn finished seventh in the shot put with a throw of 39-2 1/4 inches.
“It was pretty good,” she said. “It was a PR, so I was happy about that. I just didn’t know what to expect with all this. It’s my first year (at the state meet).”
Field events strong for Hamilton
The lone podium finish for the Hamilton girls was by senior Izabella Tamminga.
She finished seventh in the pole vault with a leap of 10-3, which is three inches shy of her PR.
For the Hawkeye boys, the lone individual spot on the podium was by Logan Eding.
The senior had a sixth-place finish in the discus with a throw of 161-1. It was a distant throw from the stunning 187-6 heave by Sparta’s Dustin Warner. His state-title-winning-throw actually hit the back fence, which shocked the crowd.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Holland jumper soars to state title; strong meet for Holland Christian, Hamilton athletes
Reporting by Lenny Padilla / The Holland Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
