Alexander Nylaan, a senior at Cedar Springs High School, officially signed with Siena Heights University on Wednesday, March 10. He was a member of the Cedar Springs High School Cross Country team for 2 years and Track and Field for 4, where he competes in hurdles. The University saw great potential in more than just his athletics, though. His academic achievements and participation in the University’s Scholarship Competition earned him a Dean’s Scholar designation, for which he will receive a 4-year academic scholarship. 

Alexander is excited to bring his talents to Siena Heights University and is looking forward to furthering his education. He has plans to major in Business Management. 

Congratulations and best of luck in your future, Alex!

In nearly perfect race conditions, at what is widely considered Michigan’s best cross country course, the Red Hawk boys finished 3rd in their session at the Shepherd Bluejay invite to two teams competing for state titles this year and placed 8th overall with over half of the team running season best times.

“Our goal this past weekend was to take some risks during the race. With a few boys not racing, we wanted to make sure those who were able to be there were taking some steps forward and using the race to prepare for the end of the season which is fast approaching,” said Coach Justin Jones.

Corey Bowers (15:52, 1st) took charge of this race from the gun, and went through the mile and 2 mile at 4:50 and 9:56 – his fastest ever in a XC race. Clayton Akerman (16:49, 8th) pulled off a 30 second personal record (PR) and is now number 9 on the all-time sophomore list at Cedar Springs High School. Austin Mann (17:34, 19th), Carter Moleski running his season best (17:50, 24th), and Eli Malon (17:54, 27th) rounded out the top five with Malon running a lifetime PR.

Cayden Steinebach was not far behind at 18:07 finishing in the 31 spot. Gabe Minnich ran the race of his life and a PR with a strong move at the halfway point finishing at 18:27 in 39th place. Justin Voskuil ran a lifetime best of 18:32 placing 41st and freshman Elliott Moleski ran his lifetime best breaking into the 18s finishing at 18:43 at 46th place. Another win for the JV team stemmed from the 1-2-3 finish from Caleb Menefee (18:39, 1st), Zach Reed (18:46, 3rd), and Eli Kleynenberg (18:50, 4th) who ran a huge breakout race. Alex Cole who placed 11th ran his fastest time ever with consistent splits across the board finishing at 19:43. Luke Price (22nd) was just short of his lifetime PR but finished with one of the best kicks of the day at 22:09.

The Red Hawks are preparing for their next race which takes place on Saturday, October 10, at the Autumn Sunrise Invitational in Hudsonville with a 9 a.m. start time.

Staff and coaches at CTA are looking forward to providing student-athletes as traditional of an experience as possible this season. CTA provides two fall sports for students. The Boys and Girls Cross Country team is coached by Nancy Freyling and is open to 6th-12th grade students. “ This year we have a couple of seasoned runners, but the majority of the team is new to cross country,” stated Freyling. “I was a little shocked and excited to see so many new runners. It is great to see these kids get out there and push themselves, and learn how running is a great outlet. The experienced runners have taken the new runners under their wings, helping encourage and lead them. They are a young, fun group, keeping me on my toes and always making me smile.”

The CTA Boys Soccer team is coached by Mark Winters and is open to 6th -12th grade. “This is our third year of CTA soccer. We started out as a very young Varsity team and the boys have grown in size, speed, and as a team, shared Winters. “We have put in a lot of hard work and can’t wait for the season to start.”

CTA is prepared for a fun, and perhaps unpredictable, Fall Sports Season, and is committed to working together to provide a safe and exciting experience for its student-athletes.

For five months, the Cedar Springs boys cross country team prepared for Michigan International Speedway and the state finals. The time came on Saturday, November 2, to show what they could do, and they came away with a 17th place finish in what was a very strong year in Division 1.  

“I could not be more proud of the way these boys prepared for this day and competed once the gun went off,” said Coach Justin Jones.  

Junior Corey Bowers led the Red Hawks and placed 37th in a time of 16:12. Senior Jaydon Moleski ran a strong first half of the race leading him to a finish in the top half of the race placing 109th at 16:43. Senior Daniel Vermulm ran another smart race with a conservative start and a strong finish putting him in the 132nd spot in a time of 16:54. He passed a net total of 24 racers after the 2-mile mark. Seniors Dilan Sargent and Gavin Braciak ran nearly side-by-side the entire race finishing 153rd (17:02.0) and 154th (17:02.8). Junior Austin Mann passed a net total of 10 runners after the 3-mile mark adding another race to his amazing finish to the season placing 169th in 17:09. Sophomore Carter Moleski came through the mile in 234th and finished in 232nd (18:13), which is a testament to his training and fitness.  

“This was a strong finish to a historic season for our team,” said Jones. “Our senior group leaves our program with countless accolades and all-time great performances under their belt. Their presence on the team and performances on the scoreboard will be missed in the coming years, but the bar has been set for our future. I look forward to seeing our younger runners follow in their footsteps and achieve some of the same things that these four boys have.” 

The girls and boys traveled to Shepherd on Saturday, September 28, for the Shepherd Bluejay Invite. Despite rain and muddy conditions, the course was fast and both teams ran some great times with almost everyone either running a personal best or season best. 

On the boys’ side of things, both the varsity and JV squads finished as runner-up out of 22 teams competing in the large school/elite division with 15 of 17 runners finishing with season bests, seven of which were all-time bests. 

For the varsity and placing in the top 10 were Corey Bowers (4th) and Jaydon Moleski (10th) each running their season bests of 16:07 and 16:25 respectively.  Also securing medals were Dilan Sargent (27th, 16:50, season record), Gavin Braciak (38th, 17:09, season record), and Daniel Vermulm (39th, 17:10). Rounding out the varsity with some great performances were Austin Mann (69th, 17:53) and Carter Moleski (74th, 18:00, season record).

The JV team had an equally impressive day with each boy running either a season best or personal best. Freshman Clayton Akerman came in 2nd overall at 17:50 running a new personal best by 55 seconds. Espen Wood (4th, 18:06, personal best) and Cayden Steinebach (5th, 18:10, personal best) got experience as front runners taking away some huge PRs along with it. Ben Mallory (38th, 19:17) came away with a new 51 second PR. Justin Voskuil also ran his season best placing 45th in a time of 19:30. Freshman Eli  Malon broke into the 19s running a 19:40 and placed 50th. Both running their season bests were Gabe Minnich (54th, 19:45) and Caleb Menefee (60th, 19:53). Matthew McQueen (148th) had a lifetime PR by almost 2 minutes at 21:44 and Jonathan Reed (159th) took off over 1 minute from his best time finishing at 22:09.

“Our goal for this meet was to get out fast, get in position, and see how well we could hold on. An aggressive race plan is never the easy one to execute, but it worked in our favor and we came away with season-best performances from nearly every member of the team. This experience will bode well going into the Portage Invite next weekend—Michigan’s biggest cross-country event,” said coach Justin Jones.

Not to be outdone, the varsity girls also took to the course where each of them either ran a personal record or season record for the day. Ally Ladd placed 55thand was just shy of the 21 minute barrier running a 21:06 and setting a new PR. Danika Fessenden finished 69th, also setting a new PR by running a 21:18.  Coming in next for the Red Hawks were Isabel VanDusen (98th, 22:15) earning her season best, Larissa McGrath (113th, 22:52) running her new personal best, Molly Bentley (114th,  22:54.4) running her new personal best, Lily Howland (115th, 22:54.6) running her season record, and Tonya Tepin also running her season best placing 117th coming in at 22:57.  As a whole, the varsity team finished 17th out of 21 teams.

The entire JV squad ran either season bests or personal bests finishing 11th out of 16th teams. Alexis Wood (40th, 23:22) and Jade Yowtz (55th, 24:03) both ran their PRs with Jade shaving off over 3 minutes from her previous best time this season. Placing 72nd was Madison Golliver running a 24:39, her season best.  Next for the ladies was Cloe Shoffner (73rd, 24:40) running her new personal best, Lauren Lett (108th, 26:37), and Isabella Smith (125th, 27:25) rounding out the team with her new personal best.

“These girls continue to amaze not only myself but spectators, parents, and other coaches/teams. Going in knowing Shepherd’s course and how fast it was, I was still blown away at how fast our girls were as a whole. Despite the rain and muddy conditions, the course and competition ran just as fast. I’m still stoked about our girls. They are really moving up and the positive energy is improving each week. They work hard and are an amazing group,” said coach Melinda Stressman.

 The Red Hawks will travel to Portage where they will compete in the Portage Invite on Saturday, October 5.  

The varsity boys and girls teams ran at the 2019 MSU Spartan Invite on Friday, September 13, which took place at Forest Akers East Golf Course. The course was soft with high humidity but that did not stop both teams from putting out some great performances.  

The boys finished 14th out of 40 teams competing and this was against some of the best teams across the state and in all divisions. Competing in the Spartan Elite division, Corey Bowers secured himself a spot as a medalist finishing the race in 16:48 (29th);  Jaydon Moleski (17:08, 48th); Dilan Sargent (17:23, 68th); Gavin Braciak (17:47, 108th); Carter Moleski (18:46, 202nd); Austin Mann (19:19, 250th); and freshman Espen Wood (19:25, 256th) ran very strong in his first ever varsity race on a big stage. 

“In the face of some injuries and sickness, our varsity squad still finished well within the top half of what was arguably the toughest field in the state of Michigan we will see all season,” said Coach Justin Jones. “Our boys got out aggressive and held on to their positions very well. Corey walked away from this meet as a medalist, which is a big accomplishment as well. I was very proud of his patience and grit during the race. He’s a pretty special kid and proved he’s one of the most talented runners in Michigan.” 

The girls took to the course with Ally Ladd running a lifetime best of 22:04 finishing 184th; Isabel VanDusen (23:07, 263rd); Danika Fessenden ( 23:13, 268th); Larissa McGrath ( 23:33, 279th); Tonya Tepin ran her season best of 23:48 placing 291st; Molly Bentley (24:01, 298th); Alexis Wood had a personal record by 30 seconds running 24:09, placing 306th; Lily Howland (24:18, 310th); Paige Marsman ran her season best of 24:39 placing 320th; and Marjorie Hosking (27:08, 340th).  

“My purpose for them running this race was to get them engaged in tougher competition,” explained girls coach Melinda Stressman. “The field was very tough. We had some teams there that were the best in the state. It’s good that they get exposed to that so when we go to regionals, state finals, and so forth, it will make them better prepared, and you only get better put in situations like that. I was extremely impressed with how they ran the race. Race conditions were not ideal with the weather and the course, but they stuck to their game plan. I didn’t want them to focus on times, just see what they could do and where we stand right now. I think they handled it very well and worked together and made some moves as the race went on. Everyone ran so well,” she added.

The Red Hawks will compete at home in the Red Hawk Invitational this Saturday, September 21.  

Jaydon Moleski earned all-state recognition at the boys cross country state meet last weekend.

The Cedar Springs boys’ cross country team traveled to Michigan International Speedway for the Division 2 State Meet on November 3. The team finished in 7^th place, which is the team’s best finish since 2012. The team improved three spots from their 10th place finish at the state meet last year.

The team was led by Jaydon Moleski who finished 28th overall in a time of 16:28 to earn all-state recognition, the first of his career. Dilan Sargent was next across the line in a personal lifetime best of 16:39, finishing 32nd overall and just barely missing all-state honors. Corey Bowers was 41st overall in a time of 16:46. Gavin Braciak finished 103rd overall in a time of 17:11. Daniel Vermulm 141st overall in 17:29. Austin Mann 213th overall in 18:34, and following close behind was Carter Moleski also in 18:34 finishing 214th.

“I am very proud of everything that the boys were able to accomplish this season. We were hoping for a little lower finish, but are still very excited about our 7th place finish at the state meet this past weekend. A couple of our runners had off days, but the rest of our guys really stepped up allowing us to have a top 10 finish for the second year in a row. It was a great year for us that resulted in an OK White Conference Championship, a Kent County Championship, a Regional Runner-Up finish, and a 7th place finish at the D2 State Meet. We have no seniors on our team, so we are very excited about our potential moving forward into next season,” said Coach Garrett Lacy.

The Cedar Springs boys and girls cross country teams traveled to Portage on Saturday, October 6, for the biggest invitational in the state. Early morning storms came through creating muddy sections on an already relatively difficult course containing hills.

The boys’ varsity team finished 4th overall, but was only 15 points from 2^nd and 3 points from 3^rd. There were nearly 320 runners representing 46 schools in this race. The team proved they are capable of running right up there with the best teams in the state, with wins over other state ranked teams. 

Corey Bowers led up front with a 6th place finish in a time of 16:03. Dilan Sargent and Jaydon Moleski gave two more low finishes as they finished in 22nd and 25th overall in times of 16:46 and 16:49. Bowers, Sargent, and J. Moleski all earned medals for placing in the top 50. Gavin Braciak had a great comeback race finishing in 62nd overall in a season best time of 17:17. Austin Mann rounded out the top 5 finishers coming in 89th in a time of 17:39. Freshman Carter Moleski performed admirably in his first race of this caliber finishing in 133rd in a time of 18:07. Daniel Vermulm had a season best time of 18:19 finishing in 152nd.

JV medalist Freshman Cayden Steinebach

The boys JV team finished 14th overall out of 27 teams. Cayden Steinebach led for the Red Hawks finishing 39th overall in a time of 19:10 earning a medal for a top 50 finish. Alex Nylaan just missed a personal lifetime best coming in 67th overall in a time of 19:38. Caleb Menefee finished 101st overall in a time of 20:14. Justin Voskuil ran a 20:33 and placed 125^th. Logan Douglas had a personal lifetime best of 20:39 (133^rd). Sam Kleynenberg ran a 21:33 (184^th) and Gabe Minnich 23:05 (278^th).

“I am ecstatic about how our boys competed in what is the biggest invitational in the state of Michigan, against the top competition in the state, on what is a challenging course normally, but even tougher this past Saturday with the amount of rainfall we received creating many muddy sections on the course. To finish 4th in a meet of this caliber is a great step forward for our boys program. We had wins over several state ranked teams, including previously #2 ranked Spring Lake. We still have a long way to go, but I have great expectations for this team at the state meet this year,” said Coach Garrett Lacy.

The Varsity Lady Red Hawks placed 35^th of 45 teams with 297 girls competing in their race. Leading the varsity was Maggie Prins with a time of 22:08 (141^st). Tonya Tepin ran her lifetime personal best of 22:39 (166^th). Isabel VanDusen ran a 22:42 placing 169^th. Lily Howland and Ally Ladd ran lifetime personal bests of 23:19 (202^nd) and 23:55 (233^rd) respectively. Marjorie Hosking ran 24:46 (261^st) and Paige Marsman ran her season best of 25:26 placing 281^st.  Maddie Golliver competed in the JV race running a 25:09 and placing 181^st.

“With weather and course conditions, each girl ran very well. It was the biggest invite in the state, so with having them run against some pretty good competition, they stuck to it and ran more competitively. Tonya Tepin ran a lifetime PR of 22:39 and she really improved on moving up to close some gaps. Paige Marsman ran her season PR of 25:26. Very proud of her breaking through the pack at the end to help her get to that point. Ally Ladd just got back to competing from having a slight injury and she looked great. All the girls did their part so now we just have to keep moving forward with that same momentum,” said Coach Melinda Stressman. 

Cedar Springs girls pushing through the heat at Lowell.

From L to R: Corey Bowers, Jaydon Moleski, and Dilan Sargent running at Lowell.

Girls take sixth

The stifling heat didn’t keep the Cedar Springs Boys Cross Country team from winning the first OK White conference meet on Wednesday, September 5, at Lowell High School.

The team went 1-3-4-12-15 for a team score of 35 points. It was a close race between Cedar Springs and Forest Hills Central, who took 2nd with 42 points. Scoring for the Red Hawks were Corey Bowers, Dilan Sargent, Jaydon Moleski, Gavin Braciak, and Austin Mann.

“Everyone ran great today. We knew the times weren’t going to be fast, but Lowell’s course is probably the toughest we will see all season, and when you consider that along with the heat today I thought everyone ran admirably. I told the team pre-race that more than times I just wanted to see them racing hard out there and competing for spots. Every point matters in meets like these and I was glad to see that kind of fight from everyone,” said Coach Lacy.

The lady Red Hawks had a sixth place finish for their first conference meet.  Scoring for the girls was Maggie Prins, Jill Detweiler, Ally Ladd, Marjorie Hosking, and Isabel VanDusen.  

“The girls ran so well despite the weather. I’m proud of them for fighting through the tough elements. This was the first conference meet and we have some work to do but with it being so hot and the course so challenging I’m proud of the girls for helping each other out and working together to do the best they could,” said Coach Stressman.

The Cedar Springs Cross Country team traveled to the Central Montcalm Hornet Invite on Saturday, September 8, where several members of the team walked away with a season best or a lifetime personal best time. Several also walked away with hardware for their efforts of placing in the top 25 of their race. This meet was different from traditional meets as each runner competed only against his/her grade instead of as a team.

Leading off for the girls was senior Carolanne Merlington, who finished with a time of 28:07 placing 21st. Juniors Jill Detweiler and Tonya Tepin placed 10th and 14th respectively in their race with times of 24:26 and 25:11. Next the sophomores took to the course where Maggie Prins placed 6th with a time of 22:43, followed by Marjorie Hosking 13th (24:41), and Antonia Eigemann coming in not far behind at the 15th spot (25:11). Next for the lady Red Hawks was Paige Marsman securing a medal at the 22nd spot with a time of 26:03. Hannah Helton ran her season best with a time of 37:57 placing 31st. Each of the freshman girls medaled and got personal best times. These ladies included Isabel VanDusen (23:35, 6th), Lily Howland (24:32, 11th), Ally Ladd (25:08, 15th), Madison Golliver (25:31, 17th), Julia Peckover (26:04, 20th), and Emily Caldwell (26:39, 21st).

“This meet was fun to watch and coach. The girls are going to do great things as the season progresses. We’ve just got to keep working hard and doing the little things that makes us better,” said Coach Stressman.

For the boys, the three juniors on the team finished in the top six of their race. These individuals included Dilan Sargent (17:08, 2nd), Jaydon Moleski (17:13, 3rd), and Gavin Braciak (17:50, 6th). Each sophomore came away with season or personal best times and included Corey Bowers (16:40, 1st), Austin Mann (18:09, 7th), Alex Nylaan (20:21, 24th), Sam Kleynenberg (20:39, 27th), Caleb Menefee (20:50, 30th), Justin Voskuil (20:52, 31st), and Logan Douglas (21:03, 34th). Each of the freshman boys medaled and came away with some personal records as well. These boys included Carter Moleski (19:06, 4th), Gabe White (19:57, 9th), Cayden Steinebach (20:03, 10th), Gabe Minnich (20:58, 17th), and Trenton Murphy (21:41, 22nd).

“We were very grateful to finally get some cool temps to race in, and the boys did not disappoint. We had members of our team at the front of the pack in each grade level race, and nearly every member of the boys’ team came away with season best times. We have a lot of work to do yet, but this was a big step forward in achieving the goals that we have set for ourselves this season,” said Coach Lacy.

The team travels next to the Sparta Invite on September 15.

The Lady Red Hawks cross country team finished 10th at regionals. L to R): Coach Marie Covey, Alexis Wood, Lauren Lett, Rachel Bowers, Madison Morris, Carolanne Merlington, Jill Detweiler, Tonya Tepin. Courtesy photo.

Cedar Springs junior Carolanne Merlington (right) is headed to the state meet. She is shown here with Coach Marie Covey. Courtesy photo.

Merlington qualifies for State

The Cedar Springs girls cross country team finished their season strong at regionals in Gaylord at the Michaywe Pines Golf Course on Saturday, October 28. The girls placed 10^th overall but each of the seven members of the team had a personal or a season best record. 

Junior Carolanne Merlington led the Red Hawks with an outstanding personal best time of 19:55, placing 14^th overall, and qualifying for the state meet. Jill Detweiler (junior) was next for the team with a season best time of 20:44. Lauren Lett (freshman) followed with a personal best time of 21:27; Alexis Wood (freshman) with a personal best of 22:19; Madison Morris (sophomore) with a personal best of 22:44; Tonya Tepin (sophomore) with a personal best of 22:47; and Rachel Bowers (senior) also with a personal best of 23:00. 

 “This girl’s team is one of the largest in CSHS history, which is exciting,” said Coach Marie Covey. “We have many runners experiencing high school cross country for the first time. They have improved so much over the season. I’m very proud of their accomplishments. I’m especially proud of Carolanne Merlington’s success and look forward to coaching her through state finals.”

Congratulations to the lady Red Hawks on a great season and best of luck to Carolanne Merlington who will be traveling to Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn to compete in the state meet on November 4.

The 2017 middle school cross country team had a successful season this year.  A record-breaking 52 runners, grades 6-8, came out this year.  

The boy’s team placed in the top two at their jamborees and invitationals this season. Led by a tight group of runners together, the boys placed 2nd at the conference meet, losing only by 5 points. Every boy improved his time throughout the season.  

The girl’s team also had a great season, finishing in the top 4 at every jamboree. At the conference meet, they finished 5th, however only 12 points separated 2nd through 5th place. Every girl improved her time throughout the season as well.

The future is bright for our Red Hawk Runners!

Front (L to R): Austin Fisk, Dawson Ingersoll, Jordan Brown, James Hofstra, Collin Bishop, Les Miner, Molly Wortz, Hannah Nickelsen. Back (L to R): Assistant Coach Ben Fredrickson, Ethan Slock, Kevin Miner, Faith Watson, Hannah Hofstra, Autumn Watson, Casen Armstrong, Brin Calkins, Head Coach Todd Bowmar.

The CTA cross country season is drawing to an eventful conclusion. With two races remaining, 12 of 15 runners have achieved lifetime Person Records including Autumn Watson and Hannah Nickelsen who have taken nearly 10 minutes and 5 minutes off their times respectively. As the Chargers move into championship season, they are primed with early successes. Les Miner was runner up in the conference championship race while seven runners medaled, just two days after conferences at the Montabella Mustang Invite. Faith Watson, Hannah Hofstra and Brin Calkins led the Girl’s HS team to a 3rd place finish while Les Miner, Collin Bishop and James Hofstra paced the Boy’s HS team to a solid team finish. Jordan Brown also medaled in the MS race. The Chargers will look for even better Career Personal Records on Sat. Oct. 21st and Sat. Oct. 28th at the Class D and Independent State Championships.