Hillsdale Begins March Toward Big June
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
April 3, 2018
HILLSDALE – The MHSAA Track & Field Finals are still a couple months, a few thunderstorms and maybe even some snow showers away.
But, there’s once again one thing you can most likely count on – the Hillsdale Hornets boys track & field team will be well represented June 2 at Comstock Park High School.
In Clay Schiman’s first season coaching the Hornets track team in 2013, Hillsdale scored three points at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals meet. In 2014, Hillsdale made the big jump to a fourth-place finish. In each of the three seasons since, Hillsdale has finished second. In each of the past two seasons, they finished five points out of first place; Chesaning won the championship in 2017 and Sanford Meridian in 2016.
Schiman says it’s much too early to tell if the Hornets will have the depth and points to finish that high again. But, no one is counting Hillsdale out.
“It takes so many points in so many different areas to win that state meet,” Schiman said. “We haven’t set our team goals yet. We try and get a few meets under our belt first, then take a realistic look. I’d say we have a chance to score some points and have a few all-state athletes.”
That translates into a team to watch come June.
“Our kids value hard work, whether that is in the weight room or the classroom or learning technique,” Schiman said. “The kids know if they are going to be an athlete here, they are going to work.”
Hillsdale had eight seniors qualify for the boys meet last year, either in an individual event or relay. They have 33 out for track this season, which is slightly down from the last couple of seasons but enough to give the Hornets some depth and options when it comes to dual meets, Lenawee County Athletic Association events and invitationals.
“For a Division 3 school, we have a lot of options for kids,” he said. “It’s just about getting them out and motivating them. We don’t focus on winning every meet or invitational. It’s all about progressions and improving from one meet to the next or one year to the next.”
A good example of how an athlete can improve from one year to the next is what Rees Nemeth did last year for the Hornets. The pole vaulter went from 11-foot-6 as a junior to winning the LPD3 championship last year.
“Track is unique in that way,” Schiman said. “You never know who else is out there or who is going to take that leap from one year to the next.”
At the top of this year’s list of Hornets is junior Spencer Eves, the Division 3 high jump champion last year. He has a good track pedigree. His older brother was an all-state distance runner who now races in college. Spencer went 6-7 last year at the Finals.
“He was on the MITCA team, representing Michigan in the high jump,” Schiman said. “For a Division 3 athlete, that is really impressive. We are excited about his prospects and potential this year.”
Sam Nash was on the Division 3 championship 1,600 relay team in 2016 and will be in multiple events this year, including the 400.
“In his first event of this season he was right where he left off in June,” Schiman said. “That doesn’t happen very often. It was a great start to the season.”
Hurdlers Noah LoPresto and Colby Nash have a ton of potential and Ryan Reiniche is one of those athletes that Schiman expects to make great strides. Reiniche is a discus thrower.
“He finished (last) season really strong,” the Hillsdale coach said.
Hillsdale began this spring like it has for the last several years – at the Charger Preview, hosted annually by Hillsdale College. Hillsdale High uses that meet as a barometer for the season. The school is on spring break next week, meaning the athletes will have a week of working out on their own before returning to action the first full week in April.
“It’s great for us,” he said. “It sets the tone for the whole year. Twenty teams were there competing, so you know, in every event, you are going to get some good competition. It’s good for all of the kids who go to that meet.”
Hillsdale made some strides, Schiman said. Now, its up to the athletes to keep working, improve each week and be prepared for the big stage come June, whether it’s raining, windy or 85 degrees and sunshine.
“We believe in our program and what we are doing,” Schiman said.
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTO: Hillsdale's Spencer Eves competes in the high jump last season.
Record-Setting Sutherland Focused on Final Goals as Glen Lake Career Winds Down
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
May 9, 2025
All that’s left in a stellar athletic career for Colebrook Sutherland is a sprint to the finish line.
There isn’t much he hasn’t done for Maple City Glen Lake. But the four-sport standout and record-setting distance runner does have a few things he’d yet like to accomplish before commencements June 1.
For starters, he’d like to lead his team to a Regional championship next week at East Jordan and maybe set another school record.
But topping his list is to win an individual championship at the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals on May 31 at Hudsonville Baldwin Middle School.
“That’s for sure a goal,” Glen Lake track coach Jason Bradford said. “Any sport the does, he does well. From fall tennis and cross country and then basketball and now track, he’s just one of those athletes that can do anything.”
Sutherland is going into next week’s Regional as the school record holder in four events. One record – in the 800-meter run – was set this year; he ran a 1:57.61 at the Bruce Garland Invitational. The other three were set last year.
Sutherland ran a 4:25.60 to set the 1,600 record and finish fourth at the LPD4 Finals last June. He entered the record books in the 3,200 last year, too, with a 9:50.9 at the Northwest Conference championships. He’s also a member of the school’s 3,200 relay record-setting team along with Dylan Bixby, Dylan Cundiff and Abraham Feeney.
Sutherland had five school records on his mind when this season started. Actually, he’s been thinking about those five since the end of his sophomore year.
With the help of distance coaches George Drown and Jim Harrelson, Sutherland has only the 400 school record left on that list. The 400 belongs to Finn Hogan, who set it at 49.68 seconds in 2021, and Sutherland has clocked a 51.79 but may not run the race again this season. The Lakers have only one more meet before the Regional – this weekend’s Frankfort Invitational.
“I was thinking about five, but I think I want to just focus on the 800 run and continue to improve that instead of using all my time trying to get another,” Sutherland said. “I’d rather try to win states in the 800.”
While Hogan, too, continues to own four school records, Sutherland also now has been part of a coveted and long-sought team accomplishment. He led the Lakers to their first Northwest Conference track & field championship earlier this week, which also was high among Sutherland’s goals for the season as the conference has been dominated by Benzie Central and Kingsley over the years.
Sutherland ran away with the conference championships in the 800 and 1,600 to lead the Lakers, who were followed by Benzie Central, Frankfort, Leland, Buckley, Brethren and Onekama.
Also helping lead the way in the Lakers’ conference title pursuit was Boden Fisher, who won the 100-meter and long jump championships and finished second in the 200, which was won by his teammate Nolan Bretzke. Jacob Plamondon won the high jump for the Lakers, topping the bar at 6 feet, and Dominic Stein won the discus.
The Lakers also won three relay titles. Samuel Dykstra, Hunter Cox, Fisher, Daniels, Noah Scott, Cox, Liam Palmer, Feeney, Eli Maule, Liam McCaw and Lincoln Bailey ran those relays.
“We haven’t always had the depth of some of the other teams in our conference,” Sutherland said. “This year, we actually do have a lot of depth and talent.”
The Lakers do boast a larger roster this spring and often have multiple top-three placers in running events. They’ll lose just five seniors and plan to carry on the success next season with an influx of current eighth graders to go with the current load of sprinters and freshmen.
“We have someone in each event that can compete,” Bradford said. “It helps build a good program.”
The Lakers have a shot at winning the Regional, Bradford acknowledged. A lot depends on individual efforts of many, he said, as the Lakers could place in every event.
“We have a whole week to prepare after Frankfort, and we need to find a happy medium of pushing the kids and keeping them going so they reach their top potential,” Bradford said. “It is going to be a team effort just like the conference meet. It is the interesting thing about track. As a team, we’re always looking to where can we come up with some extra points.”
Bradford, who also coaches the Lakers’ boys basketball team, believes all sports at the school contribute to the success Glen Lake is finding on the track. Growth in the school’s weightlifting program, led by past St. Ignace multi-sport and Central Michigan football standout Gage Kreski, has also been a big factor.
“Every program here contributes to track,” Bradford said. “We see the benefits that start with our lifting program.”
While the Lakers will attempt to advance several to the Finals, Sutherland is assured of being there. He already has met qualification standards in the 400, 800 and 1,600.
Sutherland is looking forward to the competitors ahead as he expects them to bring out his best. He hopes to better his own marks.
“If I actually have people around me, I am faster than 1:57 (his 800-meter school record),” Sutherland said. “I rarely have competition.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Glen Lake’s Colebrook Sutherland runs his leg of a relay. (Middle) Sutherland, holding the trophy, and his teammates take a photo to celebrate their Northwest Conference championship. (Below) Jacob Plamondon approaches the high jump bar. (Running photo by Meredith McNabb. Team photo by Donna King. Jumping photo by Jill Plamandon.)