Hillsdale Academy teams sweep MITCA D4 state titles at home track
· Yahoo Sports
HILLSDALE — On a chilly, rainy Saturday afternoon this Memorial Day weekend, MITCA Division 4 belonged to Hillsdale Academy.
Visit amunra.qpon for more information.
For the fourth straight season, the Hillsdale Academy girls track and field team has won the Division 4 MITCA Team State Championship. And, for the first time since 2021, the Colts boys track and field team won the MITCA title as well.
“Really proud of the effort today in tough conditions,” track coach and Academy Headmaster Mike Roberts said. “MITCA is a tough meet. It takes good performances, but it also takes a lot of mental toughness, and they were able to do it.”
For the seniors on the boys team, runner-up finishes in recent MITCA finals have been decided by just one or a handful of events. Every season, the Colts have the team state championship in the back of their minds, and the coaching staff does everything to prepare each group for its best shot at a title.
“Honestly, this is something that we start thinking about even in the offseason — how we build a team in every event toward this and how we try different events and work with newcomers,” Roberts said. “All season we’re building toward this lineup.”
The two team state championships are the first sweep for the program since the 2021 season, a sign of how dominant Colts track and field has been at MITCA each year.
Making the sweep more special was the hometown atmosphere at Hayden Park. This is the second year in a row that Hillsdale Academy has hosted the MITCA Division 4 state meet. It is the third postseason event in a row held at Hillsdale College this season, along with SCAA and regional finals, both of which were swept by the Colts.
“Track and field is a big part of our Hillsdale Academy community,” Roberts said. “We are blessed with great facilities here. And then to have the support that we have with parents — we cannot host meets like this if it isn’t for the volunteers and the effort people pour into it.
“My assistant coaches, all the work they do with the athletes, but then also hosting — so not only are we coaching, but we’re hosting. It’s a lot of extra effort, even for the athletes. They’re working the meet and competing, too. To do it at home, on the same day — it’s kind of like anyone with children knows sometimes it’s a good day for one kid but not the other. This is one of those days where it was a good day for everybody.”
In the boys team scores, Hillsdale Academy finished with 1,616 points, followed by Manchester (1,342) and Royal Oak Shrine (1,334). The girls team scores were closer, with the Colts beating Kalamazoo Hackett 1,383.5-1,203.5. Petersburg-Summerfield took third (1,105.5), while Pittsford finished fifth (990).
Hillsdale Academy was led by senior Dawson Scharer, who won four events: the 100 meters (11.18), 110-meter hurdles (14.71), 300-meter hurdles (39.28) and the 3,200 relay (3:32.97) with Robert Whalen, Luke Molenkamp and Timothy Gaebler.
The 3,200 relay team also took first, with seniors Luke Molenkamp, Henry Lindley and Grayson Rorick, along with sophomore Jonah Cuthbert, finishing in 8:24.40.
Other top-five finishes for the boys included Whalen in the 400 (fifth, 54.25); Molenkamp in the 800 (third, 2:01.75); Grayson Rorick in the 1,600 (second, 4:23.95) and 3,200 (9:35.07); Stephen Holm in the 1,600 (fifth, 4:42.46); Henry Rorick in the 3,200 (fourth, 10:26.02); Jack Huffman in high jump (third, 5-10); Zane Socha in high jump (fourth, 5-10); and Kyle Molenkamp in pole vault (fourth, 11-3).
The Colts’ girls championship effort included several wins. Freshman Juliet King won long jump at 14-8. The 3,200 relay team of senior Elizabeth Caspar, freshman Eliza Roberts, senior Mary Schlueter and junior Allie Miller won in 10:15.07. The 1,600 relay team of Miller, Jane and Georgia Whalen, and Lucy Cote finished first in 4:16.59 to seal the championship.
Cote finished second in both the 100 hurdles (15.58) and 300 hurdles (47.66). Teammate Amelia Heath took fifth in the 100 hurdles (17.57) and fourth in the 300 hurdles (50.40).
Heath also placed fifth in high jump (4-10). Senior Eliana Stemme finished second in pole vault (9-0).
Junior Evelyn Meyer set personal bests of 5:24.77 in the 1,600 and 11:57.15 in the 3,200.
Eliza Roberts placed third in the 800 (2:28.41).
Pittsford results
The Pittsford 800 relay team of Tania Williams, Brooklyn McComb, Jaycee Kerspilo and Ellie Bump led area teams with a fifth-place finish (1:55.11). Madison Pickford finished fourth in shot put (30-0). Senior Laura LeMar took second in discus with a personal-best throw of 108-6.
Freshman Alivia Hoover placed fifth in pole vault (8-6), followed by teammates Brielle Clark (8-0) and senior Anne Gray, who tied for sixth.
Clark led Pittsford in the 200, finishing seventh (27.99). Pittsford’s 1,600 relay team of Anna Newell, Arlene Powell, Hoover and Jordyn Slovacek and the 3,200 relay team of Newell, Powell, Lillian Jagielski and Danaja Williams finished 10th and eighth, respectively.
MITCA Division 3 Team State
Hillsdale traveled to Manton High School for the MITCA Division 3 Team State Championship and finished fourth with 1,410 points, behind Adrian Madison (1,482). Ithaca won the title, with host Manton runner-up.
Junior Cam Arnold placed fourth in both the 100 (11.56) and 200 (23.39). Logan Youngman took second in the 1,600 (4:28.87) and third in the 3,200 (9:55.93).
Senior Ashton Thornsbury placed second in the 110 hurdles (15.26) and high jump (6-2).
Thornsbury, along with senior Marshay Harris, Arnold and senior Brayden Taylor, won the 400 relay in 43.53.
Up next
The Hillsdale Area Best Meet is scheduled for Tuesday, May 26. Teams will then prepare for the MHSAA state finals on Saturday, May 30.
Hillsdale will compete at Kent City in Division 3, while Hillsdale Academy and Pittsford athletes will compete at Hudsonville in Division 4.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: MITCA Division 4 Team State titles belong to Hillsdale Academy track