Truly the area's best: Recap of the Hillsdale County Area Best Track and Field Meet

[caption id="attachment_641" align="alignleft" width="450" caption="Left, Hillsdale Academy senior Connaught Blood and her parents. Middle, Susan Stout of the Hillsdale Community Foundation, and Mary and Gary Beach. Right, Reading senior Steven Smith and his parents. Blood and Smith won the Beach Memorial Scholarships."][/caption]

A trio of records were set, dozens of personal best's were lowered and Hillsdale County's top track and field athletes delivered as promised Tuesday.

Reading stars Trent Morris and Shawna Smith were voted the Ralph Crume Athletes of the Meet by local coaches for their efforts at the Area Best Track Meet at Hillsdale College and a pair of area seniors were awarded plaques as the 2009 Jennifer Beach Memorial Scholarship winners.

Morris won the pole vault with a top mark of 14-0, two feet ahead of second place and he also was victorious in the 300 meter low hurdles with a time of 41.2.

Smith set a new meet record in the 300 hurdles to win the event in a time of 46.3 and also was a member of the winning 400 and 800 relays.

Also setting a new meet record Tuesday was Hillsdale's Hilary Kast who ran a 5:11.5 in the mile, and senior teammate Joe McAvoy tied Tim Jagielski's meet record in the mile with a 4:25.6.

Reading senior Steven Smith and Hillsdale Academy senior Connaught Blood were awarded the Jennifer Beach Memorial Scholarships as the county's top student-athletes following the playing of the national anthem, an honor presented by Gary and Mary Beach in honor of their late daughter Jennifer, who was killed in a car accident as a North Adams-Jerome high schooler.

Both athletes received $250 toward college and plaques from the Hillsdale Daily News.

Here is a complete rundown of the podium finishers at the Area Best meet. It should be noted that there may be some athletes who technically qualified for events that did not participate Tuesday because they were allowed to compete in a maximum of four events.

Boys results
Discus
1. Ben Wines, Pittsford 150-9; 2. Brett Dailey, Jonesville 144-3; 3. Roger Jermeay, Jonesville 125-0
Shot put
1. Ben Wines, Pittsford 48-5; 2. Steven Smith, Reading 47-4.5; 3. Matt VanNuys, Reading 43-7.5
High jump
1. Stephen Sykes, Litchfield 5-11; 2. Garet Lee, Pittsford 5-9; 3. Rob Moore, Jonesville 5-9


[caption id="attachment_642" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Jonesville's Evan Clendening won the 110 meter hurdles at the Area Best meet."][/caption]

Pole Vault
1. Trent Morris, Reading 14-0; 2. Austin Billington, Pittsford 12-0; 3. Billy Julian, Reading 11-0
Long jump
1. Sonny McCoy, Hillsdale 20-10.5; 2. Logan Jenkins, Jonesville 20-0.25; 3. Andrew White, C-F 19-1.5
3200 meter relay
1. Pittsford 8:41.72; 2. Jonesville 8:41.77; 3. Hillsdale Academy 8:51.38
110 meter hurdles
1. Evan Clendening, Jonesville 16.00; 2. Josh Jenkins, Reading 16.16; 3. Jeremy Cornish, Litchfield 16.26
100 meter dash
1. Mitch Green, Hillsdale 11.09; 2. Tanner Bricker, C-F 11.46; 3. Bryan Black, Jonesville 11.55
800 meter relay
1. Jonesville 1:33.34; 2. Reading 1:33.48; 3. Camden-Frontier 1:37.24
1600 meter run
1. Joe McAvoy, Hillsdale 4:25.6; 2. Damien Davenport, Reading 4:39.63; 3. Blake Fix, Waldron 4:42.15
400 meter relay
1. Hillsdale 44.84; 2. Reading 44.98; 3. Litchfield 46.71
400 meter dash
1. Tom Lundberg, Hills. Acad. 51.63; 2. Fletcher Masters, Waldron 51.93; 3. Chad McOscar, Jonesville 54.18
300 meter hurdles
1. Trent Morris, Reading 41.2; 2. Seth Brotherton, Hillsdale 42.51; 3. Evan Clendening, Jonesville 42.81
800 meter run
1. Ethan Smith, Hills. Acad. 2:00.84; 2. Ethan Gehrke, Hills. Acad. 2:01.63; 3. Joel Calvert, Hills. Acad. 2:05.41
200 meter dash
1. Mitch Green, Hillsdale 22.7; 2. Sonny McCoy, Hillsdale 23.2; 3. Tanner Bricker, C-F 23.32
3200 meter run
1. Sebastian Reisch, Hillsdale 10:11.65; 2. Brent Smith, Pittsford 10:24.2; 3. Michael Borton, Hillsdale 10:35.97
1600 meter relay
1. Hillsdale Academy 3:27.51; 2. Reading 3:29.1; 3. Jonesville 3:42.51

Girls results
Discus
1. Amber Smith, Jonesville 118-3; 2. Heather Lantis, Hills. Acad. 112-5; 3. Jami Newell, Reading 108-2
Pole vault
1. Alex Mailahn, Reading 9-0; 2. Nicole Marsh, Reading 8-6; 3. Katie Shalosky, Hillsdale 8-0
Shot put
1. Brooke Schmucker, Reading 36-5.5; 2. Amber Smith, Jonesville 34-9; 3. Heather Lantis, Hills. Acad. 33-5
High jump
1. Jackie Page, Pittsford 4-7; 2. Jessica Fink, Reading 4-5; 3. Amie Petrie, Reading 4-5


[caption id="attachment_643" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Reading's Shawna Smith was the Ralph Crume Female Athlete of the Meet Tuesday. "][/caption]

Long jump
1. Elainee Poling, Pittsford 16-0.5; 2. Grace Leutheuser, Hills. Acad. 15-10.5; 3. Jessica Fink, Reading 14-11
3200 meter relay
1. Pittsford 10:40.51; 2. Waldron 10:46.16; 3. Jonesville 10:49.72
100 meter hurdles
1. Kristyn Jones, Jonesville, 16.63; 2. Nicole Marsh, Reading 17.56; 3. Jackie Page, Pittsford 17.63
100 meter dash
1. Ciara Brown, Jonesville 12.78; 2. Kim Davis, Reading 13.25; 3. Gabe Hoag, Hillsdale 13.27
800 meter relay
1. Reading 1:49.18; 2. Hillsdale Academy 1:54.2; 3. Camden-Frontier 1:56.42
1600 meter run
1. Hilary Kast, Hillsdale 5:11.55; 2. Elyse Lisznyai, Hills. Acad. 5:40.67; 3. Morgan McFaul, Pittsford 5:50.93
400 meter relay
1. Reading 51.9; 2. Jonesville 52.11; 3. Hillsdale 54.3
400 meter dash
1. Tessa Pridgeon, Reading 1:01.74; 2. Connaught Blood, Hills. Acad. 1:02.4; 3. Shaley Albaugh, Hills. Acad. 1:03.45
300 meter hurdles
1. Shawn Smith, Reading 46.3; 2. Kristyn Jones, Jonesville 48.77; 3. Nicole Marsh, Reading 50.65
200 meter dash
1. Ciara Brown, Jonesville 26.4; 2. Gabe Hoag, Hillsdale 27.65; 3. Kim Davis, Reading 27.95
800 meter run
1. Elainee Poling, Pittsford 2:30.32; 2. Anna Woods, Hills. Acad. 2:33.96; 3. Ashley Jagielski, Waldron 2:37.46
3200 meter run
1. Morgan McFaul, Pittsford 13:09.47; 2. Cassandra Hastings, Hillsdale 13:24.02; 3. Kelsey Duryea, Reading 13:55.86
1600 meter relay
1. Hillsdale 4:14.7; 2. Hillsdale Academy 4:15.8; 3. Jonesville 4:24.22

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Top-notch talent: The 2009 Jennifer Beach Memorial Scholarship winners

One way to honor a lost loved one is to continue their legacy through other people and that’s exactly what Gary and Mary Beach continue to do.

The Hillsdale County couple lost their daughter Jennifer in a car accident when she was a high school student at North Adams-Jerome. Jennifer had a passion for life, especially athletics and in her honor the Beach family presents a pair of college scholarships each year to two of the county’s finest student-athletes.

All applicants were required to have lettered in at least two varsity sports, carried at least a 3.5 GPA and were asked to submit an essay about their life goals.

A panel of community members who are part of the county’s high school athletic scene select the winners, and the recipients will be given plaques from the HDN at tonight’s Area Best Track Meet at Hillsdale College.

This year’s winners are Connaught Blood of Hillsdale Academy and Steven Smith of Reading.

Here is look at what makes each of these individuals so special.

Connaught Blood
In five short years Blood moved from Alaska to Hillsdale with her family, took on the challenge of embracing a new school and community, and ultimately became a stepping stone for the Hillsdale Academy girl’s sports program.

Connaught and her father Charles helped transform the Academy girls golf program, as they reached their first-ever state finals as a team, Blood became the first Colts basketball player to score 1,000-plus points in her career and she was also a member of the 2006 state championship track team as a freshman.

[caption id="attachment_630" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Hillsdale Academy senior Connaught Blood was successful at anything she touched in high school, in part because of her sheer determination. "][/caption]

That’s not all though.

Blood is one of the most intense competitors you will ever see at the high school level, but not in a cut-throat sort of way, rather in a 110 percent is still not enough effort kind of way.

She’s like that in the classroom and other facets of life as well, whether it be when she’s helping out at her church, cleaning up lawns in the heart of Appalachia, or even just talking about why she loves the NBA so much.

Those reasons, combined with a 3.74 GPA and score of 33 on the ACT made her a natural choice as one of the Jennifer Beach Memorial Scholarship winners — even though she admits she was stunned when she heard the news.

“To me this is crazy, it’s such an honor....I’m just really honored and thankful they gave it to me,” she said. “But it’s been like the last four years of (Hillsdale Academy athletic director Mike) Roberts and my parents and my teams — it didn’t just all happen this year. My parents, friends, teammates and coaches have pushed me here my entire life and I think this award is a testament to them.”

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'Cats, Colts keep league title streaks alive

[caption id="attachment_613" align="alignleft" width="450" caption="The Hillsdale Academy girls track and field team capped off a perfect SCAA duel season with a winning performance at the league championship meet Tuesday."][/caption]

On an evening filled with youngsters turning heads and a high level of camaraderie among local kids, a pair of impressive championship streaks remained in tact.

The Hillsdale Academy girls track and field team won its fifth consecutive SCAA championship meet thanks in part to what head coach Mike Roberts calls “youthful enthusiasm” and Mike Burger’s Pittsford boy’s team won the SCAA championship meet for the sixth straight season, after finishing third in the SCAA D I in the duel meet season.

The Colts finished a stellar regular season with a 145.5-point effort, 37 points better than runner-up Battle Creek St. Phil and 46.5 points more than third-place Colon.

On the boys side, the Wildcats dominated the field events per usual and used quality depth to score 131 points. Runner-up Bellevue tallied 112 points and Hillsdale Academy came in third with 103.

For Robert’s girls, a league championship signifies their ability to overcome the loss of six key seniors form a year ago. Clara Leutheuser, Caitlyn Hubbard, Tera Woods and the Somerville sisters among others, were Colts of the past when the 2009 track season rolled around, and Roberts is pleased how well several different groups of girls gelled together.

"We had some youthful enthusiasm from the young group and just a lot of team depth and hard workers. We could spread our kids out pretty well this year,” he said. "We also had a blend of some experience that was around some of that success. There were some kids on (last year's) team with the great senior talent that got a taste of it and they were able to carry that part over, and they were our leaders."

For the Pittsford boys, the victory Tuesday was especially sweet because of how they faltered on several occasions during the duel meet season (3-2), only to come out on top when it mattered most.

[caption id="attachment_614" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Pittsford boys track and field team won its sixth straight SCAA league championship meet Tuesday."][/caption]

"I don't know if this team is as gifted on the track as some of the others I've had, but this team certainly sticks together well, they work hard everyday in practice and it's been amazing,” Burger said. “We were so focused tonight because we wanted it bad; sure a division title in the regular season would've been the frosting on the cake, but we think this meet is a true representative of our league and it was a goal and it was the biggest one."

Burger said it was a great feeling to be part of another championship squad, but without his predecessors such success might not even be possible.

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2008-09 All County Girl's Basketball Team

Just a tip, the ZOOM function may come in handy if trying to read the top part on this one. Feel free to leave comments on if you agree or disagree with these selections. And just FYI, I did indeed consult most area coaches on who they felt was deserving on the honors.

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Spartans survive an instant classic with Colts, march on to district finals

By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor

As published in the Hillsdale Daily News on March 5, 2009

The Hillsdale Academy Colts stole away the SCAA East title from Waldron several weeks ago, but on Wednesday the Spartans put a dagger in their foes' season in euphoric fashion — but only after one last fateful bounce was overcome by the school that hasn't won a girl's basketball district crown since 1973.

Both teams turned the ball over 23 times and the Colts (15-6 overall) had a slight 45-42 edge on the boards, but a timely 3-pointer by a Waldron senior not known for her outside shot propelled the Spartans to a 59-57 overtime win in the district semifinals at Litchfield.

In the final game of her decorated career Colts senior guard Connaught Blood hit an off-balance 3-pointer with no time remaining on the clock in regulation to send the game to overtime, but Spartans senior star Ashley Jagielski buried the Academy with a long-range bomb of her own with 22 seconds left in overtime.

It may have been an unexpected finish to an unforgettable classic, but Jagielski's range was something Waldron head coach Jeff Knowlan knew might come in handy down the stretch this season.

"She wasn't shooting 3-pointers until a few weeks ago and I told her she needed to shoot some jump-shots because (defenders are) sagging one you and don't want you drive," he said. "So I've been really harping on her in practice to shoot them and she would tell me, 'I can't make them' and I'd tell her you can't make them if you don't shoot them and I'm glad she shot that one."

That shot erased Jagielski's nine turnovers and countless lay-ups that she and her teammates missed throughout the evening as they failed to put the Colts away. As Knowlan said, his girl's panicked with the lead several times, but he assured them they could pull it out with relentless defense and good shot selection.

"It feels great. Did you see the girl's faces?" he said. "I've been telling them in practice all week that it's just effort, I know we had some injuries and were hurt and my daughter had to come out (tonight) and have her ankled taped over here  in the middle of the third quarter...it was just effort and hustle and making good shots."

The Spartans (18-4) hit a host of clutch free-throws down the stretch and Abbe Wines finished with 21 points and 19 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end. Jagielski put in 13 points to go with seven assists, 12 boards and four steals and MacKenzie Price added eight points.

The Colts had to rely more than ever on Blood, when sophomore forward Heather Lantis went out for several minutes in the second quarter and had to play the rest of the game with a taped up hand, but Blood and her youthful teammates gave it everything they had.

"We fought valiantly. When you lose your second best player and she's immobile and hanging tough and yet we were on the edge and just couldn't make it happen....I'm very proud and I'm sad this season is ending because I've enjoyed them so much and for what this young has accomplished, it's been amazing," Colts head coach Jeff Hubbard said.

Blood finished with a game-high 31 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer which ricocheted off the far side of the rim and in with triple-zeros showing. Along side her were two freshmen and three sophomores playing major minutes, something Knowlan said factored into the end result because they struggled to hit shots in the second half.

Blood finishes her career as the Colts all-time leading scorer and with her guidance Academy teams have gone 76-14 over the past four years.

Hubbard said he doesn't even want to think about life after Blood — at least not right now.

"A few weeks ago, I always go in before the game and write the starters on the board and I wrote her name down and I realized it was one of the last times I would get to do that — and I panicked," he said. "She's helped turn our program around and make us a recognizable program in the area and the state. I won't even know what to do at the start of practice next year without her, but she's got a bright future ahead of her."

Although Lantis scored just one more basket after being injured, she tallied 17 rebounds to go with her four points and Meg Ryan scored nine points, all on 3-pointers. Emily Pewe pitched in three points and 10 rebounds.

Hubbard said the future is brighter than ever with this group of girls and he's already excited to start next season and see where the 2009 SCAA East champions can go.

As for Knowlan, he's concerned about Friday's district finals bout with Camden-Frontier, a team they split with in the regular season. One thing he's certain of, thanks to what he saw Wednesday, is his team's ability to handle pressure.

Knowlan said his girls easily could have froze up after Blood's tying 3-pointer, but his leaders took charge.

"We could've folded, but the girls came over here and I heard Ashley, Kelsey and Abbe, our three captains tell the team we could do these, even before I said a word and I was so happy they all hung together," he said.

"That's huge, because we're 18-4 now and we haven't won a district game in I don't know how many years and I'm proud of what they've done."

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