HILLSDALE —Hillsdale High School has hosted a regional championship meet the past several years. Baumgarten Stadium has become the site of several memorable finals runs, standout athletic performances and rivalries. This year, the Hillsdale track team and coach Clay Schiman will host the Division 3, Region 25-3 championships this Friday, May 17.
The following teams will be in attendance: Bronson, Brooklyn Columbia Central, Constantine, Galesburg-Augusta, Jackson Lumen Christi, Jonesville, Michigan Center, Napoleon, Grass Lake, Hanover-Horton, Hillsdale, Homer, Quincy, Springport and Union City.
Last year, the Hillsdale girls track team brought home the regional championship crown after battling through a torrential downpour. The boys team took fifth overall but has plans to win the regional crown this season. The Jonesville boys team took third overall and also has aspirations of beating their in-county rivals to qualify as a team for states. The girls team took 13th.
Amongst those returning athletes from last year's teams, there are several individuals and relay teams who are ranked top 30 in the state, Division 3, heading into regionals who will look to help their team earn titles and medals.
Hillsdale
Girls
Two runners from last year's all-state 4x100 and 4x200 teams return to anchor a top-five state ranked Hillsdale girls relay team.
Seniors Annemarie Moore and Amelia Dietz helped the 4x100 team from last season earn second at the D3 state finals and also helped the 4x200 team earn second, setting LCAA record times in both events. The Hornet 4x100 team of Jayce Graham, Annemarie Moore, Amelia Dietz and Megan Kast are ranked fifth in the state currently. Their 4x200 team currently ranks 34th. Their 4x100 team should be in line to win a regional title this Friday.
Moore currently ranks outside the top 30 in the 100 and 200 dashes but should be in contention to score meaningful point for her team in those events. The Trine commit ranks 32nd overall in the 400.
Hillsdale junior Natalia Galindo Gabande is the highest ranked hurdler between Jonesville and Hillsdale. The Hornet is ranked 38th in the 300 hurdles standings.
Kiely Kroa looks to help get Hillsdale back into regional consideration for girls high jump after '23 grad Rianna Vincent earned all-state last season. The freshman Hornet is tied for ninth in the state for that event.
Hillsdale senior and Olivet commit Kelah Hodge looks to earn state qualification in pole vault, currently tied for 17th in state rankings.
Hillsdale junior Chloe Stalhood ranks 27th in the state in the 1,600-meter dash and 21st in the 3,200. Stalhood took third and fourth at last year's regionals to help her team win a title.
Boys
The Hillsdale Hornets return a couple state qualifiers from last year's regionals that will help their team chase down a regional title this season.
Starting with the 100-meter dash, senior Hunter Wilson returns looking to repeat as regional champion. The senior is ranked 16th in the state in the 100 and took 12th at the state finals last year. Wilson ranks 11th in the 200 this season.
Teammate Dominick Coke currently ranks 26th in the 400-meter dash. He will battle Comet Nicholas Fowler for potential medals at this year's regionals.
Hillsdale senior Nolan Grant falls outside the top 40 in the 800 rankings, but the 2023 3,200 state qualifier is ranked 19th in the 1,600-meter dash standings. He took third and qualified on time for the state finals last season in the 3,200. He did not run the 1,600 last season and hasn't ran in the 3,200 this year. The Trine commit will be an athlete to keep an eye on this Friday for which events he looks to run for the Hornets. His freshman teammate, Logan Youngman, ranks 37th in the 3,200.
Hillsdale senior Brice Van Zant is ranked 31st in the 110-meter hurdles.
One of the strongest areas of potential title contention for the Hornets is in their 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams. Adams and Wilson return from last year's 4x200 state qualifying team.
The 4x100 team of Stephen Petersen, Hunter Wilson, Cam Arnold and Dawson Adams ranks first in Division 3 standings. They should be favored to win a regional title.
The 4x200 team of Dawson Adams, Miles Brown, Dominick Coke and Hunter Wilson are ranked second in the state. There are several teams separated by just seconds in the standings that will compete with the Hornets on Friday, but they will be one to watch for regional championship aspirations.
Hillsdale's 4x400 team of Miles Brown, Hunter Wilson, Jace Lennox and Dominick Coke rank 22nd in the state for D3. The team trails the second-ranked Comet team by about five seconds.
Junior John Petersen is the highest ranked discus thrower for the Hornets or Comets, coming in at 38th overall.
Sophomore Ashton Thornsbury is ranked ninth overall in the high jump competition.
Looking to earn his second-state qualification so far in his career is junior Hayden Handy. Handy was a part of last year's state qualifying 4x200 relay team but qualified individually for long jump, earning 16th overall at the state finals. He ranks 10th overall this year in the standings so far. He will have to overtake several ranked opponents ahead of him that will also compete on Friday.
Jonesville
Girls
Jonesville sophomore Payton Nichelson is ranked 17th in high jump in D3 state rankings.
Senior Brooke Sharp looks to follow up a successful outing at last year's regional finals in the 400 dash when she took third. Sharp ranks 36th in current state rankings.
Boys
Starting things off for the Comets is sophomore Nicholas Fowler, who is ranked 29th in this year's 400 dash rankings.
Senior captain Gavin Van Kampen is outside the top 40 in 400 rankings but is a top 10 ranked athlete in the 800 dash. Van Kampen ranks eighth overall. Looking at the current standings, Van Kampen looks to have a shot at earning a regional championship in the 800 on Friday.
His freshman teammate Caleb Blonde is ranked 29th in the 1,600-meter dash rankings. Blonde then jumps up to 17th in the 3,200 standings. His fellow freshman teammate Collin Fucile ranks 34th.
Jonesville will be in the running for regional title shots in relay events. Their 4x100 team ranks 31st in the state. The 4x200 team of Nicholas Fowler, Jordon VanSickle, Makinlee Packer and Carter Rounds is ranked 27th.
David Fowler and Gavin Van Kampen return from last year's state qualifying 4x400 team that took sixth and earned all-state at last year's state finals. This year's team of Nicholas and David Fowler, Gavin Van Kampen and Carter Rounds ranks second in the state. They should be favored to win regionals in this event.
David Fowler and Van Kampen also helped last year's 4x800 team earn state qualification at regionals. They, along with relay teammates Zachery Childress and Caleb Blonde, are ranked second in this year's 4x800 standings. There's a 17-second gap between their team and the potential competition on Friday.
Jonesville junior Scotty Aube ranks 37th in shot put. He looks to lead the Comets back to shot put state qualification after 2023 grad Chandler Griffiths earned all-state honors last year.
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