Sturgis Girls Strong Again After 1st Finals Win, Surging in Repeat Pursuit
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
May 12, 2026
STURGIS – Sturgis girls track & field coach Lesley Starkey recalls working with a special group of young athletes a few years back in the Girls on the Run Program.
She is now reaping the rewards of that group's early introduction to running.
After winning the 2025 MHSAA Lower-Peninsula Division 2 Finals championship, Sturgis is off to another fabulous start this spring.
Led by seven returning runners who competed at the Finals a year ago, the Trojans haven't missed a beat despite losing some big-time contributors off that squad.
Sturgis has continued to thrive, completing the Wolverine Conference dual-meet season with a 7-0 mark and earning first in Friday's league meet in Vicksburg to capture a second-consecutive outright conference title.
Now the Trojans' attention shifts to repeating as Regional, St. Joseph County and Finals champions. The Trojans host their Regional on Friday.
Starkey, a native of Albion and a University of Michigan graduate, knew her team had the potential to do something out of the ordinary last season.
"We knew this group was special. I had watched these girls from the time they were in elementary school, junior high and they were very composed once they got to high school," said Starkey, a distance-running standout when she competed for the Wolverines.
The Trojans' coach used a situation at the 2025 Finals meet as an example when describing her athletes’ resolve.
"We were thrown a curveball last year at state with only one coach being allowed down on the infield during the meet. I decided that person should be Elton Raines, our sprint and relay coach,” Starkey said. “Our girls proved it wasn't necessary to have all us coaches there. They showed great maturity by doing it all on their own.”
J.B. Starkey, Lesley's husband, also grew up in Albion and then competed for Albion College in the steeplechase. Lesley teaches at Congress School in Sturgis, while J.B. is a physical education instructor at the high school and also the boys track & field coach. The couple have two children – 10-year old son Henry and daughter Alice, an eighth grader.
Sturgis' team was powered last season in the sprints and relays by now-Michigan freshman Keyanna O'Tey, who recently broke the Wolverines' record in the 200-meter dash at 23 seconds in the Duke Twilight Meet in Durham, N.C.
"Keyanna was home and came down and led our warmups at one of our practices. That shows that track & field is a path to something bigger in life than just sports," Lesley Starkey said.
Depth is once again a major strength at Sturgis with more than 50 athletes on the squad. The Trojans are especially strong in the relays and swept all four at the conference meet.
"Our relay teams have been huge for us this season. Our distance runners have also been a big focus, along with our hurdlers. Those kids have really stepped up and scored a lot of points in those areas," Starkey said.
Sturgis’ senior-dominated 3,200-meter relay of Sydney Bir, Tessa Hatt, Kinder Smith and Berkley Holtz has posted the second-fastest time in LP Division 2 this spring at 9:25.03 after earning third in the state as juniors.
"Winning state in the 3,200 relay has been in the back of our mind all year and we want to break our school record again. We have very good runners, and the coaching staff really pushes us. The girls before us set high standards and I believe we want to prove we can do that as well," said Bir, who will continue running at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and plans to study education with the intent of becoming a teacher and coach.
Among Bir's other goals before she's done with her prep career are to qualify for the Finals in the 400, in which she owns a personal-best time this year of 59.97.
Unlike most of her teammates, Smith concentrates solely on the four relay events.
"I really enjoy the relays because I'm so diverse in my running. I can go run a good 800 time in the longer relay and come back with a good 100-meter dash time in the 400 relay,” she said. “Everything can be individual in this sport, but we all know what we have to do to show up and get the job done for the team. No one complains, we just kind've lift one another up. It takes hard work and determination to get this done."
Smith will run for Spring Arbor University next and pursue a career as a nurse practitioner.
Sturgis' coach is excited about the Trojans' chances at the Finals in multiple events, especially the 3,200 relay.
"Sydney, Tessa, Kinder and Berkley are the most hungry event group of anyone on our team. They want to show what they can do. All four of them are college-bound runners. I've enjoyed working with them since they were really young, and its been so much fun," Starkey said.
Hatt signed recently to run cross country and track at North Central College, where she will study psychology with plans to obtain a degree in pediatric pre-occupational therapy.
"I used to want to be a teacher, but I became interested in helping kids in a different way," Hatt said.
In addition to the 3,200 relay, Hatt concentrates on the open 1,600 and 800 as well. She qualified for the Finals her junior year in the 800.
"We added Kinder to the 3,200 relay last year, and we all just really clicked. Since then we have all just done our part, and everything we do is to obtain the goal of winning state,” Hatt said. “Sydney gets out to such a strong start for us before she gives the baton to me. I try to maintain that. Kinder is faster than most teams’ third-leg runners, and Berkley does such a great job of chasing.”
Smith, Holtz and Bir team up with sophomore Olivia Green in the 1,600 relay, where the Trojans rank fourth in 4:10.01. Sophomore Addison Eicher, Smith, freshman Madelyn Oswald and senior Angela Cary are rated fifth in the 400-meter relay (50.87). Eicher, Cary, Bir and Smith comprise the team’s fourth-ranked 800-meter relay (1:47.21). The quartet already have met the Finals-qualifying time.
Cary has shined brightly in the high jump, where she is tied for third-best at 5-foot-5. She also long jumps (16-1) and competes in the two relays.
"As a junior I was only about a quarter inch off the school record in the long jump. I've been working on my landing, and that's a big key to reaching my goals there," she said.
"As a group we all enjoy spending time together. Our close connection is a big thing with this team. It helps to avoid any drama. We definitely are looking forward to Regionals and winning state again."
Holtz recently broke Ann Marie Arseneau's 10-year school record in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:09.63.
"I was feeling really good that day and just went for it. They had combined the boys and girls races and I ran with one of my friends from the guys team. It was a little unexpected considering I hadn't ran the 3,200 since I was a freshman. The meet was against Otsego, so we were just trying to score as many points as possible to win," said Holtz, who has prospered following a late-season ankle injury as a junior that required offseason surgery.
Holtz credits Sturgis' success on the track to her team's strong work ethic and a solid coaching staff.
"Our success is built on great teamwork. We all work well together and lift each other up. Our coaches put in a great deal of effort and that encourages us to give 100-percent effort during practice and running faster times," said Holtz, who plans to study nursing at U-M.
Holtz also owns Sturgis' school record in the open 800 (2:16).
Oswald is also a rising star in the pole vault with a personal-best effort of 9-9.
"Madelyn is a very versatile kid who has made a very big impact so far," Starkey said.
While Sturgis is relatively young in the throws, junior Vivian Massey – last year's Division 2 adaptive shot put champion, returns for her third season and is primed to repeat. She is a two-time Finals qualifier and placer.
"We graduated some good kids last season, but the leadership our current seniors bring to practice every day has helped shape our younger kids. It shows that they can be just as successful if they are willing to put in the work as well,” Starkey said. “This is a real driven group who are super positive, and they celebrate each other's success. Their main goal is to build on the program's success. We have great team chemistry and a lot of these girls run cross country, play basketball and the opportunity to spend time so much time together has created a tight bond.”
Scott Hassinger is a contributing sportswriter for Leader Publications and previously served as the sports editor for the Three Rivers Commercial-News from 1994-2022. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Sydney Bir, right, hands off the baton in the 800-meter relay to senior teammate Kinder Smith during a meet. (Middle) Berkley Holtz carries the baton during her leg in the 3,200-meter relay. (Below) Senior Tessa Hatt prepares to take the baton from a teammate during the 3,200-meter relay this season against Otsego. (Photos provided by Sturgis Public Schools.)
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.)