Hoekstra, Kocol and Zastrow cited for four-year, three-sport commitments.
By Mike Miazga
Correspondent
Timothy Christian recently honored its student-athletes who played a varsity sport for all four years.
Olivia Hoekstra was honored for being a four-year varsity girls’ track athletes as well as playing three sports for four years (track, volleyball and basketball).
Josh Anderson was honored for playing four varsity seasons of soccer and baseball.
Heather Kocol also was honored as a three-sport athlete in volleyball, soccer and cheerleading. Joey Davidson was honored for four years of varsity baseball service.
Frances Mary Apostolos was honored for four years of varsity dance team service.
Hope Zastrow competed in four sports for four years (volleyball, cross country, basketball and softball) and was a four-year varsity softball player.
Danielle Beard was recognized for four varsity years on the girls’ tennis team, while Matt Fox logged four varsity seasons on the boys’ cross-country team. Emily Gifford was a four-year varsity softball player, as was Bianca Jimenez. Samantha Leide was a four-year varsity cheerleader, while Alexis Loerop was a four-year varsity dance team member.
Alex Markewycz was a four-year varsity boys’ soccer player, while Andy Mittlestaedt was a four-year varsity boys’ cross-country runner.
Alyse Schnurr was a four-year cheerleading and girls’ track and field varsity member. Zoe Stanton was a four-year girls’ varsity track team member, while Tommy Troxel was a four-year varsity boys’ cross-country runner. Aiden Shervheim was a four-year varsity performer in boys’ golf and boys’ cross country.
Davidson was named the school’s outstanding senior male athlete, while Hoekstra was named the outstanding senior female athlete.
Davidson is the ninth-leading scorer in Timothy Christian boys’ basketball history and also was a key contributor to the baseball program.
“I think Joey truly understands what high school athletics is all about,” Timothy baseball coach Jim Snoeyink said in remarks read during the awards ceremony at the school. “He understands he is playing a game yet works at it as hard as he can to get the most out of his God-given abilities. He is highly respected by his teammates, opponents and coaches. His is an excellent leader on the team. He has a great time with his teammates, but it also is fun to watch him interact with his opponents. Though he is very competitive, he understands it is a game and he just enjoys playing it.”
Timothy Christian athletic director Jack LeGrand, coached Davidson in boys’ basketball as well.
“I had the pleasure of coaching Joey and also watching him develop not only into an all-conference athlete, but also a young man of God,” he said in his remarks. “Watching him interact with younger players at basketball camps and then being able to interact with his teammates and friends at school has been an enjoyable experience for me.
“Joey has shown the utmost integrity while playing a game of basketball. Our final game of the year we lost a tough championship game and near the end of the game the official made a (tough) call against us at a very crucial time. Everyone in the gym wearing red or cheering for the Trojans, as well as the other fans, could not believe the call and were a bit vocal and energized. While watching this play over and over on tape I was amazed as Joey, (the person who the call was against), was the only person in the gym who calmly handed the ball to the official and went back to playing. He understood the value of a game in the bigger scheme of things. All of his coaches emphasize the importance of his leadership because he is a person of high character and an exemplary Christian athlete.”
Hoekstra earned all-conference honors in all three sports she played and a state qualifier in track and field.
“Even though she is one of the most athletic girls I have seen, Olivia always worked hard to better herself as an athlete,” Timothy volleyball coach Scott Piersma said in remarks read at the ceremony. “She’s a joy to coach because of her strong work ethic, her love of the activity and her commitment to the team and individual goals.”
Timothy girls’ track and field coach Kevin Hackert added: “Olivia has been an incredible teammate on the track and field team for the past four years. I still remember her freshman year when she surprised us all by qualifying to run the open 200 downstate in Class AA against schools three to four times our size. She is hard-working, focused, goal-oriented, really everything you want in an athlete. She also is one of the first to encourage her fellow teammates and even congratulate her opponents on a race well-fought. It is easy to list her accomplishments, but it is her character that I believe makes her an ideal recipient of this award.”
For the spring season, Jill Forgac, Olivia Hoekstra, Valerie Hoekstra, Priscilla Nartey, Gabi Silvia, Stanton, Rachel Stoll, Elise Terpstra and Maggie Troxel were all-Metro Suburban Conference Red Division honorees in girls’ track. Jimmy Allen, Brian Schiff, Noah Marrera, Davidson and Anderson (honorable mention) were all-conference picks in baseball.
Zastrow was all-conference in softball, while Kocol and Maddie Schaafsma were all-conference picks in girls’ soccer.
Xavier Ross, Clint Fincher, Will Terpstra and Tommy Troxel were all-conference in boys’ track, while Jack Rhiner, Nate Daniels, Trevor Hoogendoorn, Zach Huerta, Austin Hoogendoorn, James Shervheim and Luke DeVries were all-confernece in boys’ tennis.
For the 2016-2017 school year, the boys’ soccer team won the MSC Red title. The girls’ volleyball team won 31 matches and won a conference title for the sixth year in a row. The boys’ cross-country team qualified for state as a team for the second year in a row.
The girls’ tennis team won the conference title and Abygale Ahn qualified for state as an individual.
The cheerleading team won the conference title and finished eighth in state. The boys’ tennis team won the conference title.
The boys’ track team had Ross, Fincher, William Terpstra and Tommy Troxel qualify for the state meet.
Olivia Hoekstra took sixth in the state in the 400 run, while Valerie Hoekstra, Elise Terpstra, Forgac and Stoll qualified in the 3,200 relay. Valerie Hoekstra, Olivia Hoekstra, Forgac and Stoll qualified in the 1,600 relay, while Alyse Schnurr, Stanton, Silivia and Nartey qualified in the 800 relay. Elise Terpstra qualified in the 800 run, while Schnurr qualified in the high hurdles.
The Timothy baseball team won the program’s first sectional title, while the boys’ tennis team won the MSC Red title with Daniels and Trevor Hoogendoorn qualifying for the state tournament.
