Optimist chess tournament results

High school winners

LUDINGTON — The 59^th Annual Ludington Optimist Youth Chess Tournament was held at Ludington High School on Saturday, March 1, 2014.  This is the longest-running scholastic tournament in Michigan.  Sixty students from throughout Michigan played

Middle school winners

five chess games to determine the winners in four divisions.  Mario Arnson, a senior from Muskegon, came through undefeated and won first place in the High School Division.  Mario won first place three years ago as a freshman, and this was his fourth year in a row of placing in that division.  Josh Meisenheimer was the only Ludington-area student to place in the tournament.  Josh is a sixth grader at O.J. DeJonge Middle School, and took third place in the Middle School Division.

The winners in the four divisions were:

High School Division (grades 9-12):

1^st: Mario Arnson, 18, Muskegon

2^nd: Adam DeHollander, 15, Bryron Center

3^rd: David Meyer, 15, Traverse City

4^th: William Chown, 16, Traverse City

Upper elementary winners

Middle School Division (grades 6-8):

1^st: Joshua Posthuma, 13, Zeeland

2^nd: Joshua Vander Meulen, 15, Spring Lake

3^rd: Josh Meisenheimer, 11, Ludington

4^th: Noah DeHollander, 13, Byron Center

Upper Elementary Division (grades 4-5):

1^st: Levi DeHollander, 10, Byron Center

2^nd: Callen Carrier, 11, Spring Lake

3^rd: Leonard Chown, 10, Traverse City

4^th: Brett Carrier, 9, Spring Lake

Lower elementary winners

Lower Elementary Division (grades K-3)

1^st: Charlie Reese, 7, Zeeland

2^nd: Eli Sevensma, 6, Muskegon

3^rd: Ian Zuber, 9, Holland

4^th: Mia Milner, 7, Hesperia

The 2014 Optimist Youth Chess Tournament was sponsored by the Ludington Optimists.  It was organized by Tracy Thompson, assisted by Tom Walsh, Greg Bailey, Pete Meyer, Andy Catlin, Doug Kelly, and Bob DelBarker.  The Ludington Optimists wish to thank Ludington High School for the use of the cafeteria, and Greg Bailey and the Carrom Company for the donation of chess boards for the raffle.