VanderKooi & Friends Deliver Western Michigan Christian's 1st Track Title
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2022
HUDSONVILLE – Abby VanderKooi just needed a little help from her friends.
The Muskegon Western Michigan Christian senior distance runner convinced her friends, volleyball standouts Kyla and Maddie Wiersema, to join the track team in their senior year to give WMC an added boost at the end of the season.
At Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals, Kyla scored in three events, while Maddie scored in two. That, combined with VanderKooi scoring in four of her own, gave the Warriors the lift they needed to win their first track & field Finals title, posting 52 points to finish just ahead of 2021 champ Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, which scored 48.
“They’ve been friends since they were little kids, so they decided to come out this year,” WMC coach Greg Gould said of the Wiersema twins and VanderKooi. “We knew they were super talented and just added a lot to this team. To see them perform so well (Saturday) and help this small team of athletes win a state title is pretty incredible.”
VanderKooi herself had a big day, setting an LPD4 Finals record in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 10:49.25. It was her third time winning a Finals title in the event to go with four cross country state titles as well.
She also finished second in the 1,600, fourth in the 800, and was part of the 3,200 relay team that finished second.
“Today wasn’t about me, it was about what I could do for my team,” VanderKooi said. “I’m really happy with my performances, but I’m most excited about what we’ve been able to do as a team.”
The Irish had a big performance from senior Nicole Olivieri, who won the 200 in a time of 26.37, then set an LPD4 Finals record in the 400 with a time of 56.01. She was also the anchor leg of the winning 800 relay team (1:49.21) and the runner-up 1,600 relay squad.
“I was pretty tired after that 400, but I knew my team was depending on me for points in the 200, so that gave me a little more push,” Olivieri said. “(The 400 record) has been my goal since missing it by 0.18 seconds last year. That .01 was tough, but I can’t be mad. It’s an amazing accomplishment for me.”
Olivieri’s teammate, Anna Plum, came away with the championship in the 300 hurdles with a personal-record time of 47.03.
Frankfort finished third on the day with 39 points, thanks largely to senior Tara Townsend.
Townsend collected her third pole vault state title with a leap of 11-6. She attempted to set an LPD4 Finals record of 12-1, but just couldn’t quite get over the bar.
“It was a little disappointing because I went 12 last year and I wanted to go higher, but I can’t really be too disappointed,” Townsend said of her vault performance. “I just took a deep breath on the last one and gave all I had.”
Townsend followed up her pole vault title by winning the 100 dash championship in a time of 12.79. She also was the anchor leg of the winning 400-meter relay team (51.87), while placing third in the 200 dash. Not bad while dealing with a hamstring injury in the process.
Buckley sophomore Aiden Harrand had an impressive day, as she took home titles in the 800 and 1,600 runs. In the 800, Harrand had a PR of 2:19.25, while she finished the 1,600 in a PR of 4:56.38.
Fowler won the 1,600-meter relay with a time of 4:10.11 to close out the meet. The Eagles came in fourth as a team with 35 points. Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest won the 3,200 relay with a time of 9:59.16.
Brynn Mericle won the 100 hurdles with a PR time of 15.93 to spark East Jackson to a fifth-place finish as a team.
In the field events, Morrice senior Emma Valentine repeated as the LPD4 high jump champion with a leap of 5-6.
“It was very nerve-wracking, because I wanted to repeat but I wasn’t sure how the day would pan out,” Valentine said. “I was very excited to be able to clear (5-6) again. It was great to be able to show up and perform well.”
Hillsdale Academy’s Anna Roberts took home the long jump title with a jump of 16-5.5. Gobles’ Elli Stender won the discus with a PR toss of 122-9. Kalamazoo Christian’s Tess VanDyk repeated as champion of the shot put with a throw of 41-7.
PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon Western Michigan Christian's Abby VanderKooi runs her leg of the 3,200 relay Saturday at Baldwin Middle School. (Middle) Frankfort's Tara Townsend, middle, wins the 100. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/Run Michigan.)
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.)