Hillsdale Academy track teams win team regional titles; multiple Colts qualify for state

HILLSDALE — Hillsdale Academy hosted the Division 4, Region 35 championships at the new track facility in Hayden Park. The Colts have played the role of hosts for this regional for several seasons. However, this was the first year the event was moved from Muddy Waters Stadium at Hillsdale College to Hayden Park.

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The change in scenery did not deter the Hillsdale Academy track teams, and many other local athletes, from making runs for state qualification in several events. When the final team scores were calculated, it was the Colts who emerged as both the boys regional champions and the girls regional champions. Hillsdale Academy girls track won its second-straight regional title, defeating runnerup Pittsford with a final points total of 194-91.

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Taking third was Addison with 84 points, Reading in fourth with 50 points and Morenci in fifth with 47 points.

The boys final score saw Hillsdale Academy defeat runnerup Reading 180-111. It was an intense battle between the two schools. The Rangers were the ones that came out on top last season in the battle for the regional trophy. Taking third was Athens with 61 points. Petersburg-Summerfield took fourth with 60 points. Mendon placed fifth with 55 points.

“It's always a tough regional,” Academy coach Mike Roberts said. “This county is tough. This region is tough. So anytime you can walk out of here with that regional champion, that’s a pretty cool thing. To see the guys and girls do it together at the same time is of course fun."

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Hillsdale Academy will send multiple athletes and relay teams to the D4 state finals. The Colts won 12 individual regional titles.

Boys Results

Sophomore Grayson Rorick put together a regional championship run in the 800-meters, running a 2:04.91 to take first.

Senior Thomas Holm qualified in both the 1,600 and 3,200, winning the individual regional titles for both events. Holm had a 4:37.33 time in the 1,600 and a 10:10.80 time in the 3,200. He was joined in the 1,600 by teammate Karol Schlueter, who took second with a PR time of 4:43.02 to qualify for state.

Holm was joined by two state qualifying teammates in the 3,200. Sophomore James Rahe ran down a 10:17.88 PR time to take second. Rahe broke his previous PR by 19 seconds. Junior Reece Poole lost a shoe a couple laps into the race and finished the event in third overall with a new PR time of 10:21.15.

110-meter hurdles athletes Dawson Scharer and Alex Richards took third and fourth, respectively. They both qualified for the state finals on time, with Scharer earning a new PR time of 15.81 seconds and Richards earning a time of 16.42.

Scharer and Richards both qualified for the state finals in the 300-meter hurdles event. Scharer took second with a time of 40.54. Richards set a new personal best time of 42.01 to take third.

The 4x400 relay team of Alex Richards, Grayson Rorick, Jay Jenkins and Dawson Scharer took second with a time of 3:36.48, qualifying for the state finals.

The 4x800 team of Thomas Holm, Jay Jenkins, Zane Socha and Grayson Rorick were regional champions, earning first with a time of 8:35.55.

Senior Dominic Scharer led the way in field events with two individual regional titles in shot put and discus. He won shot put with a throw of 46-feet, 5 inches. He won discus with a 160-feet, 9 inches throw. Scharer is still ranked first in state discus rankings. Teammate and fellow senior Magnus Heckel took second in shot put with a new PR throw of 44-feet, 6 1/2 inches. He took second in discus with a new PR throw of 133-feet, 2 inches. Teammate Joel Miller qualified for state with a third-place finish and a PR throw of 129-feet, 6 inches.

Girls Results

Hillsdale senior Iris Millies was runnerup in the 200-meter dash with a PR time of 27.07 seconds, qualifying for the state finals.

Senior Angela Alvarez ran down a new PR time of 1:02.02 seconds in the 400 to win an individual regional title.

An impressive group of seven runners qualified for the 800 state finals. Leading the Colts was junior Caroline Roberts with a second-place finish and a new PR time of 2:22.23. Freshman Allie Miller had a PR of 2:28.64 to qualify for state after a fourth-place finish. Teammate Audrey Nehlson qualified for the state finals in eighth place and a PR time of 2:32.65.

Sophomore Ruth Brownlee took second in the 1,600 dash, qualifying for state with a PR time of 5:33.21. In the 3,200, junior Ella Walton qualified for state with a second-place finish and a time of 12:21.98. Brownlee qualified with a fourth-place finish and a PR of 12:27.80.

In the 110-meter hurdles, freshman Lucy Cote took third with a time of 49.65. Madison Sallows took fourth with a time of 50.72. Zoe Plemmons took sixth with a PR time of 51.02. All three Colts qualified for the state finals.

Cote, Sallows and Plemmons also qualified in the 300 hurdles. Cote took third with a time of 49.65. Sallows took fourth with a time of 50.72. Plemmons took sixth with a PR time of 51.02.

The 4x100 team of Lucy Cote, Madison Sallows, Angela Alvarez and Iris Millies won the individual regional title with a time of 51.37.

Alvarez and Sallows helped lead the 4x200 that also included Haven Socha and Georgia Whalen to an individual regional title with a time of 1:48.41. They were the first of nine state qualifying teams in that event.

Socha and Alvarez anchored the 4x400 team that included Lucy Cote and Caroline Roberts. The team won the regional title with a time of 4:09.09.

The 4x800 relay team of Socha, Allie Miller, Roberts and Ella Walton won the individual regional title after running a 10:03.23 time.

A total of three Colts pole vaulters qualified for the state, led by senior Iris Millies. Anne Gray and Ruth Brownlee also qualified. They all had a clearance height of 8-feet.

In the long jump, the Colts finished 1-2, with senior Haven Socha winning the regional title with a new PR of 16-feet, 1 1/4 inches. Freshman Zoe Plemmons took second to qualify with a new PR jump of 15-feet, 4 inches.

It was another successful hosted regional for the Colts, who wanted to give the best atmosphere and conditions for every team to succeed.

“Our athletic director, Nate (Neveau), over the last couple of years has just become a great manager of these meets," Roberts said. "It takes a lot to host a regional, so I’m just so appreciative of all the helpers and all the workers, the kids in the junior high and the other parents and different people in the Hillsdale community that helped us run this meet. Not only is it important for us to compete well, but it’s also important to us to host a great meet for others. These regionals are an important deal for kids. So, we hope we can just help other teams out by having a meet.”

A separate story detailing the entire list of local D4 state qualifiers, including athletes from Camden-Frontier, WCA, Pittsford and Reading, will be released at hillsdale.net.

Finals Information

The MHSAA LP Division 4 state finals will be held on Saturday, June 1 in Hudsonville. It costs $11 per ticket. All tickets must be purchased through GoFan. Tickets are available to purchase through the MHSAA website. There is a parking fee as well for those planning to attend. Running finals are scheduled for 1 p.m., with field events starting at 9 a.m.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Hillsdale Academy girls track wins the regional championship for second year in a row