Owner of State's All-Time Farthest Shot Put Aiming for National Record, Olympics
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 25, 2026
From the first time Montrose's Addyson Stiverson picked up the shot put at a sixth-grade track & field practice, it was clear there was something there.
Even if she wasn’t quite clear on the name.
“I ran at the first couple practices, and was like, this wasn’t for me,” she said. “They said, ‘You’re strong, try the heavy ball thing.’ I honestly never threw it like a baseball. It wasn’t impeccable, but I kind of knew the basics. I definitely had some sore elbows and shoulders.”
Five years later, Stiverson sits atop the record books as she’s thrown that heavy ball thing farther than any female in Michigan high school history.
Her personal best of 53 feet, 7½ inches, which she threw Dec. 13 at an indoor meet at Grand Valley State University, is nearly two feet farther than the previous record of 51-11 held by Byron great Sarah Marvin, according to MichTrack.org, which tracks records from all meets. (The MHSAA record book is for Finals meets only.)
And as she enters her junior outdoor season having already won the shot put twice and discus once at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Track & Field Finals, Stiverson’s goals go well beyond the state’s borders.
“(Competing in the Olympics) is the goal,” Stiverson said. “Throwing in 2028 would be nice, but I think a good goal is to be a good contender in (2032). Even going to trials in 2028 and getting close to making the team would be a big win for me.”
It’s a huge goal, but not at all outlandish for Stiverson, who is already fielding scholarship offers from between 20 and 30 major Division I programs and is part of the Nike Elite Team, which includes 40 of the country’s top high school track & field athletes.
She also trains with Dane Miller at Throws University in Reading, Pa. Miller has trained two national champions and 12 World Team members.
“When he texted me like a month or two after we went out there and he was like, ‘I want to coach you,’ I was like, holy crap. I was kind of fan-girling for a moment,” Stiverson said. “He’s like one of the only reasons I throw as far as I do. When he first started coaching me, he was like, you’re not doing this anymore, we’re doing this. He cut out all the bad stuff.”
Stiverson’s 53-7½ would rank seventh all-time on the National Federation of State High School Associations list. The listed record there is 57-1¼, by Alyssa Wilson of New Jersey. But Wilson threw 58-1 during the summer after her senior year, and that’s the record Stiverson is chasing.
Plus a little more.
“She always has that goal in the back of her mind of breaking that 58-1,” said Adam Stiverson, Addyson’s father and Montrose’s girls track coach. “She kind of has a little future goal that no one really talks about it: Could a high school female thrower ever hit 60 feet?
“She wants to compete in college no matter what, and she wants to get better. There’s always room for improvement. If she can fix some things, get a little bigger, a little stronger, 60 feet could be possible. But let’s get 55 feet out of the way, 56 feet out of the way, 57 feet out of the way. If we can get to 57, then we can talk about that 60, because then we’d know that 58-1 is coming.”
While chasing down national goals, Stiverson has been dominating locally.
She’s never been beaten in the shot put during the high school season, and she’s never finished lower than third in the discus, despite it being much less of a focus for her, as she doesn’t want it to affect her form in the shot.
“I’m not going to lie, I don’t touch a disc that much,” Stiverson said. “I give it maybe 75-25, maybe 70-30 during the season. I feel like if I give it too much attention, it could mess up my shot.”
While throwing is her main focus now, Stiverson did play varsity basketball as a freshman and sophomore at Montrose. She also played football all the way through freshman year.
At 5-foot-9, her all-around athletic ability and explosiveness are a great base for her throwing ability, and while she hasn’t shown it off in a while, she can run, too.
On the day she set the Montrose school record for the shot put as a freshman, she also won the 100 meters at a Mid-Michigan Activities Conference quad meet.
“That was for team points,” Stiverson said with a laugh. “Our coach said, ‘One of the girls didn’t show up, we need you to run.’ And I had my spikes with me, so I did.”
Stiverson was the Division 3 Finals champion in the shot put both of the past two years, and won the discus in 2025 as well. She was runner-up in the discus as a freshman.
There are still two full seasons to go, but she’s on pace to become the first female thrower in the Lower Peninsula to win four Finals titles in the shot put.
“I think that was my biggest goal when I came into high school; I wanted to be a four-time shot put state champ,” she said. “When it does happen, that would be one of the coolest things. That was a dream.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS Montrose's Addyson Stiverson competes in the shot put at last season’s LPD3 Finals. (Photos by Mary Wilson/RunMichigan.com.)
Balanced Divine Child Celebrates Again
June 1, 2013
By Greg Chrapek
Special to Second Half
ADA – Quality depth is a big key to success in high school track and field.
And over the past four years, no Lower Peninsula Division 2 girls track team has boasted the depth of Dearborn Divine Child.
That depth proved to be the key once again at Saturday’s MHSAA Final at Forest Hills Eastern. Scoring points in 10 of 15 events, the Falcons captured their third team title in the past four years.
Divine Child finished with 81 points while host Forest Hills Eastern finished second with 53.
“We are a team of one and we have demonstrated that throughout the year,” Divine Child coach Anthony Mifsud said. “This is our third title. We did it in 2010, we shared it last year and this year we won a third one. I’m just very happy for the girls. To score points in 10 of 15 events is extraordinary.”
Leading the way for the Falcons was a senior class small in number but big on production.
“Our seniors really came through,” Mifsud said. “Paige Patterson has been a 16-time all-stater during her four years. She was on the 2 by 200 and 4 by 400 relay teams that have been undefeated the past two years.”
“Mallory Myler also has been on the 4 by 200 and the 4 by 400 the last two years. Ashley O’Neill, our thrower, finished seventh in the shot. Those have been our three, main seniors.”
Host Forest Hills Eastern was fueled to its second-place finish by strong performances in the relays. The highlight of the day for the Hawks came in the 400-meter relay when the team of Alli Gutschow, Sam Reno, Camron Nelson and Jaclyn Goble turned in a Division 2 Finals record time of 48.4 that broke a 13-year old record set by Detroit Renaissance.
“We set our goals high at the beginning of the year,” Gutschow said. “We always had an eye on this. To win it on our home track and to set the state record on our home track, especially with the seniors on the team, is special. I feel privileged and lucky to be a part of this.”
Reno also was one of three seniors on the winning relay team.
“It just feels awesome,” Reno said. “It feels real great, especially to win it and set the record at home.”
Detroit Country Day shared last year’s team title with Divine Child, and the Yellowjackets were again a major factor.
Saturday marked the end to one of the most successful high school careers in Michigan history, and Country Day senior Kendall Baisden closed it out in a big way.
Baisden won the 400-meter dash for the fourth time and won the 200-meter dash for a third straight year.
“It feels pretty good,” Baisden said. “To win the 400 all four years and the 200 my last three years shows that throughout my high school career I was pretty consistent. I just wanted to stay focused today.”
Baisden will continue her track career at UCLA next season. The journey to become one of the finest sprinters in state history began in the fourth grade.
“I started running track back in the fourth grade at Saint Regina in the CYO league,” Baisden said. “Today was kind of bittersweet. I have loved coming to the state meet. It’s my favorite meet of the year along with the (Oakland) county meet. It was real special coming here for the last time.”
Remus Chippewa Hills junior Megan O’Neil was one of the busiest athletes at Saturday’s meet. By the end of the day, few athletes were as tired as O’Neil – but all of her work resulted in a pair of championships.
After beginning the day by running a leg in the 3,200 relay, O’Neil then won the 1,600-meter run in a time of 4:52.21.
“I just wanted to go as hard as I could go in the final 800 meters,” O’Neil said.
O’Neil then her sights on the 800-meter run. After winning her second race of the day, O’Neil ended her day running the 3,200.
“I think I finished in last in the 3,200 meter,” O’Neil said. “By the two mile, I was pretty much dead. I do like the order of the races. In the 4 by 800 you run pretty clean and you are running for your team. In the 1,600 it’s more of a tactical run, but then you sprint at the end. The 800 is real fast. They should call it a dash and not a run.”
A standout on the Chippewa Hills cross country team, O’Neil will take some time to rest before gearing up for the cross country season.
“I think I will take it easy and take a little break before starting to build a base for the cross country season,” O’Neil said. “A lot of cross country runners don’t like running track, but I love running track and I love running cross country. I don’t put a label on what is my favorite race; I just set my mind to running and try to do the best I can in each event.”
Mason sophomore Meg Darmofal, another talented runner during the cross country season, also added a track title to her resume as she won the 3,200-meter run.
“It felt awesome,” Darmofal said. “It was everything that I was working for and it feels awesome. I took off with a lap left and it felt good. I had a good mentality. If you tell yourself you are going to win, you are going to do it.”
PHOTOS: (Top) The Dearborn Divine Child girls track team poses with their third MHSAA championship trophy won over the last four seasons. (Middle) Detroit Country Day's Kendall Baisden sprints to the finish line on the way to winning the 400-meter dash. (Photos by Greg Chrapek.)