The 7th and 8th grade boys track team finished with an undefeated record for the third year in a row.

Sixteen 7th and 8th grade track athletes from Cedar Springs competed at the Mega Star meet and won the team championship.

The CSMS boys track team finished its dual meet season with a third consecutive undefeated record.  The team completed their season by splitting into separate 7^th and 8^th grade teams to compete in separate conference championship invitationals. The 8^th grade team placed first with 157 points, which was followed by Greenville, with 102 points. The 7^th graders finished in first place with a total of 134 points, outdistancing second place Lowell, with 108.

In addition to their outstanding performances at their conference championships, the 7^th and 8^th grade team combined to send 16 athletes to compete at the Mega Star meet in Shepherd, Mich. There were 80 teams around the state represented at this meet. In order for an athlete to compete, they must have one of the 16 best times in an individual event, or in the top 8 for a relay team. The team fought hard and won the team championship with 83 points, over second place Traverse City West, with 70 points. Individuals who earned first place medals include Alex Nylaan, Spencer Bray, Caleb Peacock, Corey Bowers, Nathan Elliston, Carter Bayink and Aiden Brunin.

Seven school records were broken this year, which is the most by one team in the history of the middle school program. Corey Bowers set three school records in the 3200m, 1600m and 800m runs. Jeremy Campione broke the school record in pole vault by going 11’0. The 1600 meter relay team of  Spencer Bray, Caleb Peacock, Aiden Brunin and Corey Bowers broke the record that was established just last year and set the Mega Star meet record by running a time of 3:48. Tucker Cooke, Daniel Vaughn, Christian Moleski and Jeremy Campione broke the 400m relay record by sprinting to a 49.16 time. Finally, the 800m relay team of Daniel Vaughn, Christian Moleski, Aiden Brunin and Landon Totten set the school record with a time of 1:41.56.

The track team enjoyed an unbelievable and historic season this year due to their hard work, dedication and commitment to individually do what was necessary to make the team a success.

Congratulations to all team members on a fantastic season. A special thank you to all parents, staff members, high school coaches and athletes who are always on hand to cheer our team on and for running great home meets.

Cedar Springs Middle School’s red cheer team took first place at Coopersville and remains undefeated this season.

The two teams from CSMS Competitive Cheer traveled to Coopersville Middle School this week for a conference meet, where eight teams met to compete against each other. These girls train like champions and it shows every time they step on the mat. Scores are as follows:

Cedar Springs White was in 5th place after round two, where they earned a score of 105.52. They came back and earned another 251.50 points in round 3, for an overall score of 345.02, and third place in the meet. This score is their highest scoring competition so far and highest ranking of 3rd Place.

Cedar Springs Middle School’s white cheer team took third place at Coopersville.

Cedar Springs Red took the lead after round 2, with a score of 139.20. They earned an additional 265.90 points after Round 3, and remain undefeated with an overall score of 399.10. They scored 22 more points than Kenowa Hills, who came in second place, with an overall score of 376.88.

Their next competition will be held at the Cedar Springs High School this coming Saturday, January 10, at 10 a.m. Come support the Cedar Springs Middle School, Junior Varsity and Varsity Cheer teams when they take the mat and show off their skills. These girls work extremely hard to represent their coaches, school and community.

The CSMS Competitive Cheer Program had two teams representing their program for the 2013-2014 Season.

Amy Arnold coached our CS White team, where more than half of the girls that joined had no prior experience in the sport. This team showed determination and perseverance each week and the improvements showed on the mat.

Anne Olszewski coached our CS Red team and had a group of girls who have cheered together every other year since kindergarten and have the gymnastics skills that are much needed to earn points in Round 2 of competition.

“Coaching CS Red Team this season has been a ton of fun!” remarked head Coach Anne Olszewski. “This season gave me a great group of talented, hard working young ladies, with parents that supported their endeavors wholeheartedly. I had many girls who took gymnastic lessons out side of the season and it showed in our rounds. Gymnastics is an awesome sport that builds strength and body control. Those two skills are the tools for great stunters as well. I love coaching and the young ladies in Cedar Springs have always risen to the challenges I have placed before them! We have been MS Conference Champions for the last two years! I am excited to be handing off some tremendous talent up to the High School Varsity program!”

Their first competition was held at Kenowa Hills for a conference meet with eight schools in attendance. CS White earned a final score of 353.90 points securing a 3rd place title. CS Red earned a final score of 392.34 points securing a 2nd place title.

The next competition was held at Coopersville for a conference meet with eight schools in attendance. CS White earned a total score of 296.06 points securing a 4th place title. CS Red earned a final score of 384.76 points securing a 1st place Championship Title.

Jenison hosted the next Invitational with 26 schools in attendance. CS White competed in Pool A and earned a total score of 294.34 points securing a 5th place title. CS Red competed in Pool B and earned 380.98 points securing their 1st Place Championship title.

Sparta hosted the next conference meet with seven schools in attendance. CS White earned a final score of 309.58 points securing a 3rd place title. CS Red earned final score of 357.2 points securing a 1st Place Championship title.

Cedar Springs hosted an Invitational with nine schools in attendance. CS White competed in Pool A and earned a final score of 286.7 points securing a 1st place Championship Title. CS Red competed in Pool B and earned a total score of 421.48 points, securing a 2nd Place title.

Comstock Park hosted the next Conference Meet with 16 schools in attendance. CS White earned a total score of 342.42 points securing a 5th place title. CS Red earned a total score of 410.74 points securing a 1st Place Championship title.

Catholic Central hosted the final invitational of the season with five schools in attendance. CS White earned a total score of 288.84 securing a 4th Place title. CS Red earned a final score of 403.54 points ending their season with a final 1st Place Championship title.

Congratulations to our Lady Hawks! These coaches and cheerleaders worked extremely hard and their placements were well deserved. This year’s theme has been “Hawks Let’s Win . . . Go All In” and that’s just what they did!

by Justin Glyshaw, 8th grade American Studies

Remington Swade

Caden Burrows

Evan Kobayashi

Who knew that geography could be exciting?
That was certainly the case last Friday, January 7, when the Cedar Springs Middle School held their annual geography bee.
Students in the American Studies classes in both seventh and eighth grade competed in preliminary rounds in December before the holiday break, sending two students from each class to compete in the CSMS bee.
In the semi-final round of competition, students each answered the same ten questions.  All questions were based on knowledge of United States geography. Students with the most correct answers then moved on to the final round of questions. Those making it to the final round included Caden Burrows, Derrick Chong, Logan McGahn, Justin Jones, Mackenzie Weiler, Hannah Serek, Evan Kobayashi, Allyson Marvel, Remington Swade, Kyle Spahr and Jonathan Wolfarth.
The first 10 questions of the final round was a 3-strike process. At the third incorrect answer a student was eliminated. Students again were asked questions about US geography, but this time they were asked to read a map to identify the longitude and latitude to locate the correct state. The field of 13 was whittled down to the final three, Remington Swade, Evan Kobayahsi, and Caden Burrows. The three were neck and neck until Remington missed his third question leaving only Kobayashi, with 2 strikes against him, and Burrows with only one strike. The final three questions were:
3. The Morris Reservoir, which supplies water for Pasadena, is in what state?
Both Kobayashi and Burrows responded correctly with California.
2. A frog-jumping contest is one way the city of Hannibal celebrates Tom Sawyer Days.  This city is located on the Mississippi River in what state?
This time only Evan, due to his knowledge from reading Twain, knew the answer was Missouri.
The score being tied and 2 strikes apiece, the entire competition came down to one final question:
1. The Pecos River flows past Carlsbad before it crosses into Texas from what other state?
Evan Kobayashi managed to answer New Mexico correctly, thereby handing Burrows a second place finish for the second year in a row. As a seventh grader, Caden also finished second to Alexis Lucarelli, a semi-finalist this year.
Kobayashi, a student in Mr. Marten’s Green House American Studies class, was all smiles as he received his champion medal. Evan will now have an opportunity to move on to the state-level competition in which cash and prizes are possible. We’ll keep you updated on his progress in the National Geography Bee competition as we hear more.
Congratulation to all participants this year!