Pittsford's Burger steps down as track coach

[caption id="attachment_694" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Pittsford boys' track and field coach Mike Burger has stepped down after six successful seasons at the helm."][/caption]

After winning six SCAA championships in six seasons as the Pittsford boys' track and field head coach, Mike Burger is calling it quits to focus on another group of young athletes — his own kids.

Burger said he will continue his coaching duties as an assistant with the football program and as the head varsity basketball coach for now, but it is the right time to try and find a bit more balance in his life.

"Track is a tremendous time commitment you know, with almost every Saturday in the spring — we only have one Saturday off at Pittsford and that's for prom," he said.

"There are some other opportunities available. I'm going to try to spend some time coaching some little league baseball for (my son) Jake, and (my daughter) Stacy, she's playing softball and I don't want to miss that."

Burger had big shoes to fill when he took over the boys' track and field program, those of Bruce Caswell — a state championship winning coach — to be exact, and he did Caswell, as well as the legendary Ralph Crume's tradition justice by creating a winning tradition of his own.

Even though his  boys dealt with affliction throughout the 2009 track season and lost a pair of SCAA dual meets, they ultimately came out on top at the league championship meet, just like they have the previous five seasons.

Burger was visibly stirred on May 19 when his team achieved that feat, and he held nothing back in showing how he felt.

“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 following the SCAA championship meet. “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.”

That championship victory came just one day after Burger told his squad that this would be his final season at the helm.

"I think that they were disappointed. It it is good I guess, but it didn't make the decision any easier," he said.

Burger informed Wildcat athletic director John Hoeft midway through the season and he admits the entire process has been far from easy.

"It was pretty difficult. Especially the way the season ended, the kids really overcame some adversity this year and some injuries and stepped it up and won the league, and then Ben (Wines) did a great job at the state meet, so it wasn't easy," he said.

Burger said some of his favorite memories, aside from going 6-for-6 on league championships, were watching some of the individual and relay team state champs he coached train for success all year long and then come through in late May.

When asked who he thinks would be a good choice to succeed him, he said he hasn't really concerned himself with that, as it's really in the hands of Hoeft. Several messages were left with Hoeft, but the calls were not returned.

But Burger said he obviously wants somebody good, and he would have some simple advice for whoever takes over.

"Whoever is next to take it, I would just say they have to work hard, try to be the best that they can be and make sure they represent Pittsford well," he said.

Burger said he also feels confident that he isn't leaving the cupboard anywhere close to bear.

"I think the team should honestly be fine next year. We only have two seniors, we have Garet Lee back, we have Brent Smith back, we have guys who can step into Ben's shoes, good throwers, in Jason Smith and Brandon Williams," he said. "We have great pole vaulters. We don't have a whole lot of sprinters, but we didn't have them anyways."

Burger said he is thankful for the role coaching plays in his life and he absolutely loves the kids he coaches, as if they were his own, but it certainly is only part of who he is.

"For now. I try not to let anything dominate my whole life," he said. "To me coaching has been part of my career, it's not my life. I read something a long time ago, from legendary basketball coach Don Meyer (the winningest NCAA men's basketball coach of all time and currently the head coach at Northern State University). He said you've got to work in a way that will allow you to keep working that way for 20 years, and that's how I want to be."

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Colts' relay team and Reading's Morris win titles at D-4 Track and Field championships

[caption id="attachment_663" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="The state champion 3200 relay team from Hillsdale Academy. Fron left to right, Joel Calvert, Ethan Smith, Ethan Gerhke and Tom Lundberg."][/caption]

By James Gensterblum / Hillsdale Daily News Correspondent

At the MHSAA Division 4 Track and Field State Finals, a meet where nothing is certain, the Potterville Vikings’ 3200 meter relay team had to be considered a sure bet to win.

The Vikings were bringing back all four runners from a dominant state title-winning team last season, including the top two 800 runners in the state, Larry Julson and Colin Ward. They had already gone seven seconds faster than their best time last season, and 11 seconds faster than any other team in Division 4 all season. The only question seemed to be whether or not they would break the state record during their inevitable victory.

However, in one of the biggest upsets in state meet history, Hillsdale Academy senior Tom Lundberg out-kicked Julson to the line to secure the Colts’ first title in school history and shock the seemingly invincible Vikings.

“It’s incredible to be a part of from a coach’s perspective,” said Hillsdale Academy coach Mike Roberts. “To have everything come together and have all four runners do exactly what they needed to do to pull off the victory is something that’s hard to achieve, and somehow this group did it. We’re all very proud of them.”

The team of Ethan Smith, Joel Calvert, Ethan Gerhke, and Lundberg finished in 8:03.94, two seconds off the state meet record of 8:01 but 15 seconds faster than their previous best.

“We’ve had so many second place finishes here, so we know how hard it is to get a victory at the state meet,” Roberts said. “It’s a tremendous accomplishment and to beat a team as good as Potterville to get it makes it even sweeter.”

The area’s other state champion, Trent Morris of Reading in the pole vault, seemed just as unlikely to be on the podium a couple of weeks ago.

After finishing fourth at the state meet a year ago, Morris had struggled the entire season, vaulting just 12-6 heading into last Tuesday’s Area Best meet. There, however, the Ranger vaulter finally put it together, clearing 14-0 for the first time in his career.

Morris carried that momentum over to the state meet, where he easily cleared the 14-foot bar on his first attempt to sew up a state title.

“This year was frustrating,” Morris said. “It seemed like no matter how much I worked at it, I couldn’t get any progress. But I’ve learned during my years here that if you just keep plugging away, it’ll come eventually. I’m so glad that it happened at the right time for me to do something here.”

With his victory, Morris became the third pole vault champion in four years from the area, joining Matt Magda of Jonesville and Greg Burns of Litchfield.

“I can’t think of the words to describe being in that group,” Morris said. “Honor isn’t right because it’s beyond that. They’re amazing vaulters and it’s just crazy to think that I’m a part of that legacy.”

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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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Ranger girls win MITCA state championship

[caption id="attachment_636" align="alignleft" width="450" caption="The Ranger girls celebrate the school's third MITCA track and field title."][/caption]

By James Gensterblum / Special to the Hillsdale Daily News

Despite an extremely successful season last year, the Reading Rangers’ Girls Track team still had some unfinished business heading into this season.

An agonizing one-point loss to Potterville in the 2008 MITCA Team State Meet proved a bitter pill for the Rangers to swallow. That loss, however, made the results of this year’s Team State Championship even sweeter for Reading.

This time, the Rangers outdistanced nine of the state’s best Division 4 track teams to claim the title by a 36-point margin.

“Last year was really a tough way to lose, being that close to a state title and falling just short,” said Reading coach Deb Price. “We brought a lot of our team back this year and I think that last year’s disappointment brought out the best in all of them. They all turned in stellar performances.”

The Rangers put up 967 points in the meet, which scores every finisher in every event rather than the top six or eight as in most meets, and put up several memorable performances.

Senior Brooke Schmucker won the shot put (37-1) and took second in the discus (102-9), while fellow thrower Jami Newell took third in the discus (102-1). Alex Mailahn (9-6) and Nicole Marsh (9-0) went one-two in the pole vault, and Jessica Fink took fourth in the long jump (15-1) in the field for the Rangers.

On the track the Rangers were just as impressive. Reading had three sprinters in the top 8 in the 100 dash, led by Kim Davis’ fourth (13.6). Marsh took second in the 100 hurdles (17.7) and third in the 300 hurdles (49.6), while Shawna Smith won the 300 (46.9).

Junior Tessa Pridgeon gave the Rangers a fourth champion on the day in the 400 (1:01) and also took fourth in the 200 (28.1). Reading’s relays were also a strong point, taking second in the 400 (52.4) and third in the 800 (1:52.1).

Reading capped the meet by decisively winning the 1600 relay and clinching their victory. The team of Brittany Couch, Fink, Davis, and Pridgeon ran a 4:17 and won by two seconds.

Although Reading’s stars shone, it was their depth that secured the championship. The Rangers showed few weaknesses on the track as unheralded freshmen and sophomores scored crucial points in nearly every event.

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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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Nothing new: Rangers rock, roll to another regional crown

Winning is not just some worthless mantra for the Reading girls track team, it is a walk they walk and under Deb Price’s watch something that is becoming an expectation they continue to meet.


At Hillsdale College on Saturday the Ranger girls won their 11th regional title with Price in charge, by a 56-point margin over runner-up Hillsdale Academy, with great relay results and five individual regional champions leading the way.


The Rangers and Colts both qualified for the MITCA team state championships at Gobles High School next weekend, as did the Reading boys who finished second on Saturday — but it was Price's squad that stole the spotlight from beginning to end.


"Somebody asked me, 'How do you keep getting these girls?' and I really don't know, I just get talented girls and we've just been lucky to have a successful program here for the last 10 or 15 years. I don't know where they're all coming from — we joke and say it must be in the water here in Reading," Price said. "It's a lot fun. It's nice to have so many girls; I have a lot of sprinters who are not just average, but better than average so it's nice with those three sprint relays not to have to run the same girls in everything."

The relays were just one of the Rangers strong points, as they won the 400 meter and 800 meter relays, while taking third in the 1600.


From an individual standpoint, junior Tessa Pridegeon may have been the star of the meet, winning the 400 dash by shaving several seconds off her previous PR, and also taking home the title in the 200. She was also a member of the winning 800 relay team.


Brooke Schmucker stockpiled points for Reading in field events, winning the shot put and taking third in the discus and teammate AlexMailahn cleared 9-6 in the pole vault to win the event and qualify for the state meet, where Price said "she has a shot at doing some things."

Jamie Newell was the runner- up in the discus throw and Nicole Marsh was right behind Mailahn in the pole vault as the Rangers jumped out to a sizable lead from the get-go.

The final individual champion for the Rangers was Shawna Smith, who won the 300 hurdles, to go with a runner- up finish in the 100 dash. While the upperclassmen carried the team, Price said it was a talented group of youngsters that put her girls over the top.


"I knew we had a chance of doing well this year because we just had so much depth and we have the field events and a lot of others covered. We did lose Whitney (Thorpe) from last year which was huge, but I don't know — we've had some (underclassmen) come in, with Kelsey Duryea doing a nice job in the distance, and little Brittany Couch who has done an awesome job for us," she said. "I think the big thing is we have the depth, so in some events we were able to take two or three places which scores a lot of points."

The Hillsdale Academy girls beat out third place Athens by 9.5 points, despite having just one individual winner.


That winner was sophomore Heather Lantis in the discus.


The Colts were also strong in relays, as Mike Robert's girls won the 1600 and 3200 relays, while taking second in the 400.


Elyse Lisznyai took third in both the one and two mile runs for the Academy.

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