Busy Spring Next for Three Rivers 4-Sporter
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
March 6, 2018
By Wes Morgan
Special for Second Half
For anyone complaining about not having enough hours in the day, meet Three Rivers sophomore Hadley Miller, whose productivity within a 24-hour span is nothing short of stunning.
She’s one of those rare student-athletes who, as if there aren’t enough games to play, seemingly makes it a competition with herself to see how much she can pack into a given day.
After completing varsity seasons with the Three Rivers volleyball and basketball teams, Miller will now start a spring regimen that begins at 4:30 a.m. each day and includes a taxing weight-room workout, a full day of school, track practice, soccer practice, homework, sustenance crammed in between, and then a few hours of sleep to recharge the battery.
Miller is coming off an all-Wolverine Conference first-team performance in basketball after guiding the Wildcats to a 19-4 record this season, which ended in a Class B District Final loss to Edwardsburg last week.
Miller averaged 18.6 points, 3.0 assists, 8.1 rebounds and 3.6 steals per game, leading the team in scoring for a second straight year. The Wildcats were 17-3 during the regular season and finished second to Edwardsburg in the Wolverine Conference South.
She’s one of the latest in a line of underclassmen at Three Rivers to emerge as a big-time playmaker, particularly at the guard/point guard positions. Teammate Kali Heivilin, a freshman, earned an all-conference second-team nod.
“I think it’s a combination of things,” Three Rivers girls basketball coach Jason Bingaman said. “Some is the system we play and our focus at the defensive end that can make the transition easier (for younger players). Specifically, from the individual though, (Miller’s) skill set, basketball IQ, and then how hard a player works has a lot to do with their performance, and I have been very fortunate to coach some players that are individually dedicated to basketball and have families that have invested time in their daughters’ development.”
Both Bingaman and Miller landed on team chemistry as the most important variable when it comes to youngsters integrating well at the varsity level.
“If upperclassmen understand how the younger player can help us be successful and are great teammates, it makes it an easier transition,” Bingaman explained. “Every player isn’t going to progress at the same rate, and each player is not brought up for the same reason as the next, but if the aforementioned things are in place, it makes it more likely for a player to be successful.”
Miller’s humility and dedication to all four of her teams at Three Rivers is unquestioned, which makes the process of gaining respect from the upperclassmen that much easier. In terms of hoops, she said the team’s success really was a matter of player rapport after losing five seniors from 2016-17.
“We all clicked well,” Miller said. “Since we played a year together and know how we like to play, going into next year we are going to be even more confident.”
Bingaman said confidence is where Miller made a big leap from her freshman year to her sophomore campaign.
“The big thing in general is her confidence level and mental approach,” he said. “I believe she felt she could have an impact last year, but there was an adjustment period, and as she became more comfortable last season, we became better as a team. She has found out how to deal with teams being physical with her and being patient.
“This year I have thrown a lot at her in terms of what she is responsible for. I moved her from the wing to running our offense as the point guard over Christmas break due to injuries and she has run with it, all while increasing her minutes on the floor.”
Miller has proven she can do plenty in a matter of minutes with a mastery of time management. This month she transitions to soccer as a defender for the Wildcats, and to the track & field team, where she hopes to make a return trip to the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals. Miller was part of the 1,600-meter relay team with Stephanie McLochlin, Shelby Krawczak and Arionne Fowlkes that placed 17th overall in 2017.
Throw in club basketball in April and Miller will be constantly on the move well into the summer.
“I like to keep in shape and keep busy,” she said. “I really like to do sports. So why not? It all fits in there somewhere.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Three Rivers' Hadley Miller, right, hands off the baton during a track relay last season. (Middle) Miller, far left, readies for a pass during a volleyball match at Vicksburg in the fall. (Photos courtesy of JoeInsider.com.)
Kingsford's Kreider Prepared for Next Level After Finishing Stellar Flivvers Career
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 19, 2025
KINGSFORD — After completing a successful high school volleyball career, Maddy Kreider is ready to take the next step.
The Kingsford senior is taking her talents to Michigan Tech, where she’s expected to continue primarily as a setter.
“That will be a big step for sure, but it’ll be exciting being with the girls,” she said. “The girls are taller in college. It will definitely be an adjustment, physically and mentally. We’ll be traveling longer distances, and it’ll be a matter of improving the mental part of my game.”
Kreider was selected the Upper Peninsula’s Defensive Player of the Year her final two seasons after the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association began voting for all-U.P. volleyball.
“That’s quite an accomplishment,” she said. “It’s a real honor playing with girls I grew up with. We had a great season.”
The 5-foot-8 setter was a four-year starter and two-year team captain at Kingsford, leading the Flivvers to three Division 2 District titles and back-to-back undefeated Great Northern Conference championships. She twice was named GNC Player of the Year.
She was also selected all-state first team in the fall and all-state second team in 2023, and all-region throughout her prep career. Her serving percentage also topped .900 throughout her four seasons on varsity.
Last fall, the Flivvers reached the Regional Semifinal at Manistique where they dropped a 3-2 decision to Kingsley.
“I thought we’d get through,” Kreider said. “We came out lights out in the first two sets, then it was close in the last three.”
Also among the team’s highlights this past fall was a victory at Calumet, approximately 2½ weeks after dropping a 3-1 decision to the Copper Kings on Kingsford’s home floor.
“We wanted to play them,” Kreider said. “They’re a great bunch of girls to play against. They’ve been the measuring stick up here for many years. Winning on their floor was super exciting. We knew we had to play well just to be competitive. That was a great confidence builder for our group. We were definitely on a high going into the District.”
The Flivvers opened their postseason with a 3-1 triumph over Houghton, then defeated Escanaba in straight sets in the District Final.
Kreider will join Calumet senior Maddie Torola at MTU this fall. Torola, who recorded a season-high 19 kills in the four-set victory at Kingsford, helped the Copper Kings finish 29-5 and reach the Division 3 Regional Final at Sault Ste. Marie where they dropped a 3-2 decision to Traverse City St. Francis.
“It was fun playing against her in high school,” Kreider said. “It will be even more fun playing as teammates. It’ll be exciting to be playing on the same team.”
Both will be playing under new head coach Cindy Pindral at Tech. Both of Kreider’s parents played for the Huskies, her mother (and Kingsford varsity coach) Jaclynn volleyball from 1998-2002 and her father Jason basketball from 1997-2000.
Maddy Kreider recently earned an additional honor when she was selected Female Athlete of the Year for Kingsford’s Class of 2025. She recently completed a solid track & field season for the Flivvers.
At the U.P. Division 1 Finals, Kreider placed fourth in the 100-meter dash (13.2) and anchored the Flivvers to a third-place finish in the 800 relay (1:51.57) and fourth in the 400 (53.03) on their home track.
Kreider was named one of 32 MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award winners this winter and plans to study exercise science and kinesiology at MTU.
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Kingsford’s Maddy Kreider sets for her teammates during a match last season. (Middle) Kreider, right, takes a photo with Kingsford’s Male Athlete of the Year Gavin Grondin. (Photos provided by the Kingsford athletic department.)