Brandon Sawade with Coach Lett.

Cedar Springs senior Tara Tepin, junior Brandon Sawade, and senior Alex Douglas all competed at the MHSAA Division 2 State Track finals.

Coach Rob Neier, senior Tara Tepin, and Coach Covey.

On Saturday, June 3, at Zeeland Stadium, three members of the boys and girls track team competed in the MHSAA Division 2 State Finals Track Meet.

Senior Tara Tepin placed in both the 100 and 300 meter hurdles and earned all state honors. Tara lowered her school record in the 100-meter hurdles in the prelim race to 15.26 to qualify for the finals, where she placed fifth with a time of 15.34. Tara ran the 300 hurdles in 46.79, just short of her school record in that event, for eighth place. Tara also earned academic all state in both events.

Junior Brandon Sawade and senior Alex Douglas competed in the meet for the boys team. Brandon placed fourth in the pole vault with a jump of 13 feet 7 inches and earned all state honors. Alex competed in the 110-meter hurdles and ran a time of 15.52 in his preliminary race, but did not advance to the finals in the event. Alex placed 12^th overall in the event.

Hannah Heintzelman will be running Cross Country and Track for Muskegon Community College next fall. Hannah finishes her high school running career with Cedar Springs as an outstanding athlete. As a Red Hawk she competed at the state level in both cross country and track.

“I wish her all the best as she continues her running career as a MCC Jayhawk,” said Coach Marie Covey. “Her leadership and athleticism will be greatly missed.”

On Friday May 19, both Cedar Springs Red Hawks track teams competed at Houseman Field in Grand Rapids in the MHSAA Regional track meet. The boys team placed fourth out of 15 teams with 52.5 points and the girls placed sixth out of 15 teams with 42 points at the meet.

Three qualified to compete in the State Track meet at Zeeland High School on June 3. Senior Tara Tepin qualified in the 100 and 300 meter hurdles while placing third in the 100 hurdles and second in the 300 hurdles. Senior Alex Douglas qualified in the 110 hurdles and placed second, and Junior Brandon Sawade qualified in the pole vault and was regional champion in the pole vault.

Also placing for the Girls team was:

Faith Peacock 4^th in the 200 meter dash

Hannah Heintzelman 4^th in the 1600 meter run

Jill Detweiler 6^th in the high jump

Rachel Crystal 7^th in the long jump

1600 meter relay team of Hannah Heintzelman, MacKenzie Rugg, Jill Detweiler, and Tara Tepin placed 4^th.

800 meter relay team of Faith Peacock, MacKenzie Rugg, Elayna Male and Melissa Garcia placed 5^th.

400 meter relay team of Faith Peacock, Julia Danielson, Elayna Male and Tara Tepin placed 5^th.

Also placing for the boy’s team was:

Paul Mead 4^th high jump and 5^th long jump

Jaron Spencer 7^th Shot Put

Isaiah Schatz 3^rd pole vault

Anthony Brew 5^th pole vault

John Todd 3^rd 200 meter dash and 6^th 100 meter dash

400 meter relay team of Alex Douglas, Austin Basso, Paul Mead and John Todd placed 5^th.

Cedar Springs girls 1600-meter relay track team (the four in the middle) came in fifth at conference.

Red Hawk Seniors Hannah Heintzelman and Tara Tepin earned all conference honors for the third time in their four-year track career.

The Cedar Springs Varsity boys and girls track teams completed the league and non-league part of their season Friday, May 12, at the Conference meet held at Houseman Field. The Girls Team team was 1 and 5 in the league and 4 and 6 overall. The team placed seventh Friday and was seventh overall in the OK White. The Boys team was 4 and 2 in the league and 7 and 2 overall. A second place finish Friday at the conference meet moved the team up to a tie for second place with Greenville in the OK White. Forest Hills Northern Boys and Girls won the meet and the overall conference championships.

Seniors Hannah Heintzelman and Tara Tepin earned all conference honors for the third time in their four-year career. Tara placed second in the 100-meter hurdles and first in the 300-meter hurdles along with fifth place finishes on the 400 and 1600-meter relay teams. Hannah placed second in the 800-meter run and third in the 1600-meter run, along with with a fifth place on the 1600-meter relay team. Tara set a school record in the 100-meter hurdles Monday, May 8, at a meet in Greenville and lowered it to 15.46 Friday, May 12, at the conference meet.

Also placing at the meet was Jill Detweiler third in the high jump; Faith Peacock fourth in the 200; and Lexis Lee was fifth in the pole vault. All four relay teams also placed. The 400, 1600 and 3200 teams placed fifth and the 800 team was sixth.

On the Boys side five team members were all conference. Alex Douglas (first 110 meter hurdles and third 400 relay), Paul Mead (first long jump, 5^th high jump and third 400 relay), Jaron Spencer (first shot put and third discus), Christian Twitchell (second discus and third shot put) and John Todd (fourth 100 dash, fifth 200 dash, seventh high jump and third 400 relay).

Also placing for the team was: Brandon Sawade, second, pole vault; Isaiah Schatz, third, pole vault; Austin Basso, third, 400 relay; Anthony Brew, fifth, pole vault; Jaydon Moleski, fifth, 1600 meter run and sixth, 800 meter run; Nate Perry, sixth, 400 dash; Dilan Sargent, seventh, 1600 meter run; and eight, 3200 meter run; and Patrick Ellison, eight, 400 dash. The 800-meter relay team of Nick Cummings, Bryant Maley, Ethan West and Ben Shaw placed sixth.

On Friday, May 19, both teams will be at Houseman Field in Grand Rapids competing in the MHSAA Regional track meet. Athletes will be competing to advance to the State Track meet at Zeeland High School on June 3.

The Cedar Springs Middle School boys track team had an outstanding performance this spring. Coached by Kevin Martens and Steve Banagis, the boys finished their season undefeated. The season came to a close on June 1 at the Megastar meet in Shepherd. Athletes qualified for this meet by ranking in the top 16 for each individual event and in the top eight for relay teams. The coaches accompanied 10 young men to the meet, and they competed in the large school division. While there, the boys displayed just how much they had learned from their coaches through their amazing performances, including personal bests, medals, and even new school records.

Individual medal winners for the meet included Michael Pigorsh placing fourth in the 800 meter with a time of 2:13.67; Jaydon Moleski placing third in the 1600 meter with a time of 5:00.51; and Nate Perry placing fourth in the 400 meter with a time of 55.56. Corey Bowers and Landon Totten also represented the school in the 3200 meter and the shot put, respectively. The school also had three qualifying relay teams. Landon Totten, Da’Monte Barnett, Ben VanDusen, and Ben Shaw represented the Hawks in the 800 meter relay. A close race was had in the 1600 meter relay, where Jaydon Moleski, Zak Schmid, Michael Pigorsh, and Nate Perry received a third place medal for the event with a time of 3:51.74, finishing just 1.32 seconds behind the overall event winner. While not quite fast enough to win the event, the boys did leave their mark with a new school record.  The school record for the 3200 meter relay was also broken at the Megastar.  The team of Michael Pigorsh, Zak Schmid, Brendon Carlson, and Jaydon Moleski finished with a time of 9:12.65 seconds to become not only the division champion, but the overall event champion as well.

Congratulations to not only these athletes, but the entire Cedar Springs Middle School track team and coaches on a great season.

Senior Katie Weiler was the lone member of the girl’s track team to qualify for the MHSAA Division 2 State Final Meet, which was held last weekend. On Saturday June 1, at Forest Hills Eastern High School, Katie ended her high school track career, with an eighth place finish, in the 3200-meter run, with a time of 11:22.38. Katie earned all state honors and academic all state honors with her performance at the state meet.

Over her four years career she earned all conference four times, three individual conference championships, one relay conference championship, state qualifier four times, all state three times, academic all state two times and was key contributor to the teams 2012 OK Blue Conference Championship.

Katie will continue her education and running career this fall in Mt. Pleasant at the University of Central Michigan.

The Lady Red Hawks Track team traveled to Ferris State University in Big Rapids to compete in the non-scoring Pioneer Classic All Star Meet. The team earned two first-place finishes. Katie Weiler won the 1600 meter run and the 1600-meter relay team of Emily Shaft, Christina Dean, Ellie Ovokaitys and Katie Weiler closed out the night with the teams other first place of the night.

Marissa Oakes placed second in the long jump with a season best jump of 16’ 7 ¼”. The 3200-meter relay team of Caitlin McClurken, Ellie Ovokaitys, Maddie Pekrul and Katie Weiler and the 400 meter relay team of Marissa Oakes, Taylor Vanlangen, Abby VanDusen and Olivia Finch also earned second place finishes.

Abby VanDusen earned two third-place finishes. Abby placed third in the long jump and a season best jump of 8 feet in the pole vault earned Abby third place. Maddie Pekrul placed third in the 3200-meter run to go along with her fourth place in the 1600 meter run. Also placing third was the 800 meter relay team of Marissa Oakes, Taylor Vanlangen, Abby VanDusen and Olivia Finch.

Ellie Ovokaitys placed fifth in the 800 meter run. Jeanette Sukstas placed sixth in the shot put. Shayne Mann earned two sixth places in the 1600 and 3200-meter runs. Shayne took ten seconds off her best time in the 1600-meter run with a time of 5:50.9. Briana Pierson place sixth in the pole vault. Senior Christina Dean took 18 seconds off her year’s best time in the 1600-meter run to place seventh in the event with a time of 5:53.9.

The Lady Red Hawks Track team traveled to Houseman Field in Grand Rapids, on Friday, May 19, to compete in the 14-team MHSAA Regional track meet.  The team scored 31 points and placed seventh in the meet. Senior Katie Weiler was the loan Red Hawk to qualify for the MHSAA State Finals. Katie qualified for the fourth year in a row. Katie will compete at the State meet in the 1600 meter run and the 3200 meter run. She was regional champion in the 3200 meter run with a season best time of 11:06.22. Katie also ran a season best in the 1600 meter run with a time of 5:08.8 to place second.

Junior Kayla Bohy placed 6^th in the discus with a throw of 92’ 6”.  Her throw was 10 feet improvement on her best throw of the year. Sophomore Marissa Oakes placed sixth in the long jump with a jump of 15’ 6 ½”. Senior Jeanette Sukstas had her best throws of the year in the shot put and discus of 30’ 1” and 87”. Both earned Jeanette seventh places. The 3200-meter relay team of Caitlin McClurken, Ellie Ovokaitys, Allie Veltkamp and Christina Dean placed seventh with a time of 10:47.89.

The team next competes in the Pioneer Classic on Friday May 24 at Ferris State University and then in the Daily News All-Star meet in Greenville on Tuesday May 28.

JV Conference

The Lady Red Hawks Track team competed in the non-scoring OK Bronze JV Conference meet at Greenville on Tuesday May 14. With only four girls competing the team took 4 first places. Ellie Ovokaitys was a double winner. Ellie took 22 seconds off her best time in the 1600 meter run winning in a time of 5:51.9. Ellie also won the 800-meter run. Alison Hall won the long jump with her best jump of the year of 13’ 8 ¼”. Alison also was second in the 400-meter dash and sixth in the 2oo meter dash. Ali Colley won the shot put and placed third in the discus with a season best throw of 64’ 4”. Vana Havens also set season best times in the 100 meter and 200 meter dash.

Katie Weiler in the 3200 meter run.

The girls track team traveled to Chippewa Hills for the Warrior Invite on Saturday April 20. On a cold, windy and at sometimes-snowy day, the team took fourth place in the Big School Division, which was won by Rockford. Taking first place in the big school division for the team was Senior Katie Weiler in the 1600 and 3200 meter runs. Sophomore Marissa Oakes placed second in the 100 hurdles and long jump in the big school division. Taking third places in the big school division for the team was senior Abby VanDusen in the long jump and the 3200 meter relay team of Caitlin McClurken, Christina Dean, Allie Veltkamp and Maddie Pekrul.
Also placing for the Red Hawks was:
4th Place: Abby VanDusen Pole vault; 400 Meter Relay team of Marissa Oakes, Taylor Vanlangen, Abby VanDusen, and Olivia Finch.
5th Place: Jeanette Sukstas Discus; Briana Pierson High Jump; Maddie Pekrul 3200 meter run; 800 meter relay team of Taylor Vanlangen, Emily Shaft, Kellie Spahr, and Olivia Finch; 1600 meter relay team of Emily Shaft, Abby VanDusen, Allie Veltkamp and Katie Weiler.
6th Place: Briana Pierson, Pole Vault
7th Place: Kaitlyn Twork, Discus
8th Place: Jeanette Sukstas, Discus

Cameron Klompstra passing baton to teammate in relay.

Mother Nature continued to play havoc with the Cedar Springs boy’s varsity track team as another meet was postponed and forced them to have a double dual meet against Belding and Comstock Park at Red Hawk Stadium last Thursday, April 30. The team showed resiliency by defeating Comstock Park 118-19 and Belding 124-13 on a very cold, misty, and windy night to improve their record to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in conference. The Red Hawks took all the possible points in 13 of the 17 events against Belding and 10 of 17 against Comstock Park by winning all the events except the shot put against Comstock.
Individual field event winners were Dan Sagorski(discus), Nate Jones(high jump), Derek Ash (shot put), Hank Porter (long jump), and AJ Olszewski (pole vault). The sprint winners were James Putnam (100), Alex Hemry (200), Ron Fisk (400), and Justin Balczak (110H and 300H). Connor Mora led the distance crew by winning the 800m, 1600m, and the 3200m runs.  The 400m relay (Putnam, Hemry, Olszewski, and Ryan Austin), 800m relay(Hemry, Fisk, Balczak, Austin), 1600m relay(Hemry, Fisk, Balczak, Aaron Leal), and the 3200m relay(Mora, Fisk, Alex Bray, and Aaron Brooks)  were all undefeated on the evening.
“We had to go into the evening with the mind-set that we must do what it takes to get better,” said Coach Myers. “As everyone knows, the weather has limited our opportunities to train to our potential and to work on things during competition. We are running out of time to prepare for the most important meets of the year. We have to go full throttle in every event to maximize our potential,” he explained. “Our training this upcoming week must come from the meets that we participate in. Practice is now for fine-tuning and muscle memory training. It is time to test our mental toughness.”

Justin Balczak jumping hurdles. Photo by M. Balczak.

The team enters this week with the biggest meets of the year, but in this season it must prefaced with the caveat “weather permitting.” Tuesday the 3rd we are home against a tough West Catholic team, while Thursday the 5th we travel to Sparta to take on the Spartans and Coopersville.  The week concludes Saturday the 7th as we host the Red Hawk Invitational at Red Hawk Stadium.  Field events begin at 9:00 am, while the running gets underway at 11:00 am.
“This will be a tough meet for us to compete at,” said Coach Myers.W”e have invited three Division I schools.  After a big week against West Catholic and our biggest rival, Sparta, we cannot relax on Saturday.”