This year, especially this past winter season, has been quite a time for the West Ottawa Panthers and their athletic program. They won trophies, a state championship, and much more. These are just some of the stories of West Ottawa’s 6 winter sports: Basketball, Wrestling, Cheerleading, Dance, Hockey and Boys Swimming.

Basketball: 

   This season, the West Ottawa Boys Varsity basketball team won the district championship, led by captains Ben Beetham, Hudson Vellinga, and Jake Geritts, as they beat Grand Haven 66-58 at Holland High School. It was a decent season for the team, filled with lots of good memories.

   One of Jr. Zac Honeycutt’s favorite memories from the season was a team overnight bonding experience at Coach Jared Redell’s house. “Towards the start of the season, we had a team retreat over at the coach’s house, where we emphasized forming a bond with each other and, kind of, coming together as a team and a family and I think that played a role in some of our success this season. Helped us get to know each other, trust each other, and build a brotherhood that led us to play well together on the court. At the retreat, we did various team-building exercises. We did trust falls to help us build trust with each other and we had some conversations just about, kind of, our why and our motives for playing the sport. That kind of helped us understand each other and understand each other’s goals. It was overall just a fun experience with the team and my friends that I won’t forget.” 

   Sr. Ben Beetham’s favorite memory was winning the district championship, but not just that they won it, but how they won it, showing that the team retreat at the beginning of the season may have really paid off in bringing them together. “I think my favorite memory of the season was winning districts, and coming back that game as we were down for a large majority of the game. We had our ups and downs this season, but we showed how much of a team we were that night and how special we were.” 

   For Girls Basketball, Sr. Captains Aubree Veltema and Brooke Villemure led their team this season, during which they faced adversity and challenges. Throughout the season there were coaching and player changes, which affected the team a lot.

   The head coach was replaced a month into the season, so the team called back the previous coach, Paul Chapman. Upon Chapman’s return, former players who had opted not to play this season changed their minds and joined the team. 

   Aubree Veltema recalls that her favorite memory was from their game against Hamilton. “It was away and there was some drama and misunderstanding from the whole team and ultimately it got blown out of proportion, but what really stuck with me is how it made us play. Although this conflict was right before our game, we managed to talk it out right before and let it go on the court so that we could play our game. And that is exactly what we did. In my opinion that was the most we’ve played all together, and it felt like somehow it brought us closer and it was shown on that court. Nobody could tell that we just had a [difficult] team talk.”

Wrestling:

   The girls wrestling program took some big leaps this year as they had a state champion, Isabel Anaya. “A key aspect that stood out to me would be how we all really bonded while we were there (at the state championship). We got to spend a lot of time together like swimming together or just going to each other’s rooms. It was super bittersweet. I was happy because I got to spend it with my friend Le’Anna and my coaches but it was sad because I wouldn’t be able to do this next year. The experience at states was amazing besides that.” 

   The boys wrestling team also just finished up their season. Jr. James Foster had quite a successful season by winning the conference tournament this year in dominant fashion, following in his brother’s footsteps, who won it three times while in high school. “It was memorable because I was the only West Ottawa wrestler to win it this year and the first one in three years since my older brother won his third conference title his senior year. Another reason it is so memorable is the dominance I had during the tournament. I teched my first opponent from Rockford 19-3. Then, in the finals, I super teched my opponent 17-2 with a pin in the end, to secure my first conference title.” 

   Overall, the wrestling program as a whole, both girls and boys, took big leaps this year, securing titles that will certainly be cherished for years to come.

Cheerleading: 

   This year’s Cheerleading team made it to districts in competition and faced challenges head on, relying on each other to get the job done. 

Soph. Addley Field said she had an amazing season with lots of great memories. “My favorite memory from this season would definitely be when our team spontaneously went sledding on a snow day when we didn’t have practice! It was a blast and a super good bonding time! I also really enjoyed our back-to-back home competitions, it is really fun to have a lot of people you know cheering you on.”

   Field was also very happy with her own and the team’s growth this season. “As a team, we learned a lot of valuable lessons of consistency, trust, and perseverance. As an individual, this greatly helped me and improved me not only as an athlete but as a person. Skill-wise our team also grew a lot… by the end of the season majority of the team was throwing tucks (backflips) and our scores had gone up drastically from the beginning of the season, ending our last completion with our highest scores and reaching all our goals for the season (breaking 700s). I think we walk away with highs and lows in every season, but as I reflect upon it, I feel lots of pride in our growth and it was exemplified in our scoring.”

Dance: 

   The Dance team this year had a slow start to the season, but once they got going, they really got going, doing the best they have in over 4 years. Sr. Arisella Rios said, “At the beginning of the season, we had a late start with our dances so we were pretty discouraged. We were still learning dances mid-season and didn’t have all of our uniform pieces. Once the season went on, we gained confidence and got our dances drilled. Our scores were improving and at our last competition we placed for the first time in over 4 years.” 

   Arisella’s favorite memory was generally the whole season and how every moment together with her teammates and coaches made it a memorable experience. “For my last year on the dance team, I couldn’t be more proud of my team’s performance. This season, the dance team had the closest bond I’ve seen. We all had a common goal to keep working hard, which showed when, at every competition, we kept increasing our final placing at competitions. We all had a desire to work on our technique and fix the critiques the judges gave us.”

   This season’s dance team has shown us what true determination is. They started off in a spot where they probably didn’t want to be, but worked hard for what they wanted and got there. 

Hockey:  

   The boys’ hockey team hit the ice at the Grand Rapids Showcase with a determination that had been mounting all season long. They battled through the highs and lows, uniting as the year progressed, and now found themselves eye to eye with one of their toughest opponents yet, Sparta, a top-15–ranked team.

Anderson remembers that night quite well. “My favorite moment of this season was beating Sparta, a 15th-ranked team, at the Grand Rapids Showcase,” he said. The game was intense, pushing both teams to their limits. Sparta was just as intense, and the score was tied 2-2 after regulation. Overtime did not resolve the tie, leading to an exciting shootout.

   Each team had their first two shooters go out to center ice, miss after miss. The tension increased as Anderson went down to make his shot. Deception and skill won the day as he faked out the goalie with a backhand shovel. Goal! The crowd cheered as the team celebrated, but they were not through yet. Jr. Goalie Will Nagelvoort went next, aware that one more save would give them the win. When Sparta‘s last shooter approached, Will executed the play to a letter, making a stop that was a game-saver and sent the team into celebratory mode. “That was unforgettable,” Anderson said. 

   That game was a season-saver. The team had been searching for rhythm at the start of the year, but overall, the players gelled after a couple of months, taking down a few top-25 foes in the process. “For the team, we got progressively more and more chemistry as the year went on and really started to come together towards the end of the season,” Anderson explained.

   There were, of course, tough losses, games they should have won but let slip away. Still, there was no doubt about the team’s potential. “We won some big games but lost winnable ones, so somewhat even with the performance this year,” Krue reflected.

   The later part of the season brought another memorable experience. Tyler Noblett was in the right spot at the right time in the first round of playoffs against Kalamazoo, scoring two timely goals that propelled the team to the next level. “That was definitely my favorite memory of this season,” he said.

Boys Swimming and Diving: 

   The West Ottawa High School swim team faced an uphill struggle this season, but through determination, perseverance, and teamwork, they turned it into a season to remember. They were a small but mighty roster and proved that sometimes size doesn’t always determine achievement, heart does. 

   One of the highlights was at the last meet prior to the conference championships. The 200-yard freestyle relay was a close race, with West Ottawa neck and neck with one other team. It came down to the last stretch. Soph. Graham Tulgetske said, “I remember anchoring the 200-yard freestyle relay, and we were neck and neck with another team. The whole team erupted when I touched the wall and saw that we had won by a fraction of a second. It was a great moment of teamwork and perseverance.” That victory carried the momentum of the team into the conference meet.

   Even though West Ottawa had a smaller team compared to some of their competitors, they would not allow that to be an excuse. Jr. Grady Armstrong said, “The team did all right. We had a really small team, but still won a few meets and got second at conference. I was happy with the team. We all did the best that we could with the team size that we had and my performance.”

   Despite the odds, individual and relay success came when it mattered most. Grady Armstrong said, “As a team, we finished second in the conference and first in the 400 free relay. Personally, I finished first in the 200 free and 500 free at conference.”