Ross Emerges from Running Family to Earn Historic Finals Accomplishment
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
June 5, 2024
Emmry Ross had some assistance Saturday when she won four individual events at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals.
Her late grandfather, Phil Six, was with her every step of the way.
“Every time I run I think of his presence,” said the Onsted junior. “He helps me get through the harder times of my races.”
Ross won the 400, 800, 1,600, and 3,200, scoring 40 points by herself, good enough to put Onsted in second place as a team.
She was just the third Lower Peninsula girls track & field athlete and seventh in state history to win four events at an MHSAA Finals.
The stunning performance wasn’t all that stunning to Ross.
“It feels amazing, it was such a perfect day, and it turned out exactly as I was hoping, and better,” she said. “It was a very great feeling after I processed what happened, and it was so exciting to share that with all my family and coaches behind me supporting me.”
Ross has been an outstanding runner for the Wildcats since middle school. Her training, she said, set her up for the historic performance.
The daughter of Daryl and Alicia Ross said once she glided past the finish line to win the 1,600, she gained even more confidence. She maintained that level of confidence throughout the day.
“After I ran so good in my 1,600, and felt so good in that race, I definitely thought I could do it,” Emmry Ross said. “I think that was part of the reason I did it. I was ready to do it in my head, and had a positive attitude the whole day.”
Ross always has drawn inspiration from her family, which has a significant sports background.
Her grandfather was an Onsted record holder in the 400 for decades. Her parents were high school athletes. Her older sister Rayne and younger sisters Hadley and Stylar participated in multiple sports, including track. Hadley and Stylar also are on the track team at Onsted.
They are close and push each other. Rayne and Emmry earned all-state honors two years ago together on a relay.
“I set such high goals for myself because I believe the sky is the limit, and there is no limit if you set your mind to it,” Emmry said.
Ross hesitated to pick which race was most difficult Saturday because they all went relatively smoothly.
“They all came with some things that I wasn’t expecting,” she said. “I might have to say the 800, mainly for the fact that the first 200 meters I was nervous because I got boxed in for a split second, but I got out of it, and finished really strong.”
Ross has earned seven individual first-place finishes and ran on a winning relay over her three MHSAA Finals. She isn’t worried about an encore yet.
“I have thought a little bit into next year, and I think it would be awesome to do it again,” she said. “But with MITCA (Champion of Champions Festival) and nationals coming up, I’ve been pretty focused on that and doing the best I can there before I look into next year.”
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 Emmry Ross (far left) leads a pack during one of her championship races Saturday at Kent City. (Click for more from Mary Wilson/RunMichigan.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.)