The Sun and News, 1351 N. M-43 Highway, Hastings, MI (2026)

05/30/2026

No medals for the Fighting Scots at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Track and Field Finals, but no girls have ever run a faster 4x200-meter relay in Caledonia's purple and gold than the foursome of junior Averi Rosted, freshman Addisyn Gerken, junior Isla Sheely and sophomore Brynn Ward did Saturday.

Not even themselves.

They improved their own school record to 1 minute 44.31 seconds in the race – finishing 14th overall. The same foursome palced 17th in the 4x100-meter relay with a time fo 49.19 seconds. Ward also had a 15th-place time of 12.79 in the 100-meter dash.

Senior Noah Johnston and junior Olivia Hawkins were the only two members of the Caledonia varstiy track and field teams to compete in two individual events at the 2026 Finals. Johnston was a third of a second behind the last of the eight medalists in the 1600-meter run, placing ninth in 4:17.27 – a new personal record time.

Johnston, the school record holder in the 3200-meter run, placed 35th in that race. He also teamed with senior Luke Smith and sophomores Bennett Snapper and Sean Thompson top lace 19th in the 4x800-meter relay on the boys' side.

Hawkins placed 13th in the 300-meter low hurdles and finished 13th in the prelim's of the 100-meter hurldes on the girls' side.

The lone Fighting Scot in a field event was senior Benjamin Moss, who placed 22nd in the pole vault clearing 12 feet 3 inches.

05/30/2026

Level up complete.

The Thornapple Kellogg varsity girls' track and field team, a stallwart on the Divison 2 4x400-meter relay medal stand for years, earned its first D1 medals Saturday in school record time.

The Trojan team of sophomore Amya Gater, senior Payton Gater, junior Ellie Harmon and senior Mia Hilton won the penultimate heat of the 4x400-meter relay at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Track and Field Finals at Rockford High School in 3 minutes 57.00 seconds. They bested their previous school record time by nearly two and a half seconds, and set themselves up in great position to finish among the top eight with eight teams set to run in one final heat.

Just three teams in the top heat of the race beat out their time putting the Trojan foursome in forth place.

“We were in a circle holding each others hands and squeezing as tight as we could,” Payton said. “When we saw the 3:57 cross at fourth we exploded. We exploded.”

For Hilton, it was the second medal-winning performance of the day. A state medalist in the 300-meter low hurdles in her freshman and sophomore seasons in D2, she missed the medals by one spot in the Trojans' first season in D1 last spring. She improved her own school record in the race Saturday with a time of 44.17 seconds which put her in fifth place …

Read more about the D1 Track and Field Finals in the June 6 edition of the Sun and News ...

05/30/2026

“One more.”

It’s the tagline on the tail of the Fighting Scots’ warm-ups.

“That’s been a motto for us, just one more extra push of effort, since my first year when I took over the program about five years ago,” Caledonia varsity boys’ lacrosse coach Kolin Herron said

It was also the number of postseason wins the Fighting Scots were hoping to add this spring - at least.

But it was Forest Hills Central that earned one more match with an 11-5 win over the Fighting Scots in the MHSAA Division 2 State Quarterfinals at Coopersville High School Friday.

FHC built a 5-2 lead early, and fought off a Fighting Scot surge that had the score at 5-4 by the half. The Rangers got a quick goal with a man advantage to start the second half, and then rolled to a 6-1 edge in the second half by controlling possession and taking advantage of some Caledonia turnovers.

This season marks the first time the Fighting Scots program has won back-to-back regional championships. The Caledonia boys were knocked out of the state tournament by Forest Hills Northern in the quarterfinals a year ago.

Senior Rylan Bultema led the Scots with three goals. Ryder Born and Corbin Ryder each scored once …

Read more in the June 6 edition of the Sun and News …

05/28/2026

There was “thwik” of the ball skipping between the fingertips of Caledonia goal keeper Lilli Ward and the left post as she dove to her right.

Then the louder sound of the ball hitting the back of the net, and the Grand Ledge fans exploding.

The Caledonia varsity girls' soccer team was bested 4-3 in shootout to fall 1-0 to the Comets in the MHSAA Division 1 District Semifinals hosted by East Kentwood at Pat Patterson Field Tuesday.

The Fighting Scots had an advantage in the shootout after an early save by Ward, but had one shot glance off the crossbar, down and away from the line and then a save by keeper Lilli Nichols for the Comets gave her team the chance to clinch the victory.

Grand Ledge senior defender Hannah Hall put the final shot high and to her left to clinch the victory.
The two teams battled through 80 minutes of scoreless regulation, and then two ten minute overtime sessions before going into the penalty kick (PK) shootout.

“Tough. You never expect your keeper to make a save. So, when you get one save you feel like you're in a good spot,” Caledonia head coach Taylor Kastens said. “Proud of my girls. All I asked was for them to get it on frame, make the keeper make a save. They did that. It just didn't fall our way.”

Read more in Saturday’s edition of the Sun and News … in the mail or online.

05/28/2026

The party was out beyond the infield dirt along the first baseline before the Fighting Scots had teammate Ethan Sova's helmet off rolling in the outfield grass.

He hit first base and just kept right on going, as teammate Jackson McNew raced home from third to score the winning run on a walkoff in the bottom of the seventh inning Thursday against visiting West Ottawa in the regular season finale.

Caledonia's varsity baseball team closed the 2026 regular season with four consecutive one-run victories including Thursday's 3-2 tally against the Panthers.

West Ottawa scored a pair of unearned runs in the top of the sixth inning, and then the Fighting Scots rallied for a three-run seventh to win it. Hayden Paggeot and Carter Berends walked with one out to start it off. Jaeger Tidey came on to run for Paggeot, and eventually a passed ball moved the two Scots to second and third with two out.

McNew drilled a two-run single to center field to tie the game. He went to second as the Panthers worked to get the ball into the infield, and soon moved to third on another passed ball. Sova delivered an RBI single to bring him home.

Caledonia will try and keep things rolling in Middleville Saturday. The Fighting Scots take on Thornapple Kellogg in the first of two MHSAA Division 1 District Semifinal ballgames. Game time is set for 10 a.m. with Forest Hills Central and Lowell set to squre off in the day's second semifinal about noon.

05/22/2026

“The culture our class nurtured was one of cooperation and collaboration,” Thornapple Kellogg senior Alex Frizzell told his fellow graduates during his senior class address. “We never grew together by pretending to know it all. We struggled, we worked hard for this and we uplifted each other. Even if I didn’t help myself, I’ve always seen others step up and take that role. These small acts mean more than what we take for granted, and I am grateful to have such a loving class.

“After this, when I reflect on our years together, I think I can put it into simpler words. We mattered to each other in ways we didn’t always notice. But everything we said gave lasting impact.”

Thornapple Kellogg High School honored its 230-member graduating class of 2026 during the annual commencement ceremony in Middleville Thursday.

Thornapple Kellogg High School assistant principal Jeff Dock had just chased down Frizzell’s rogue mortarboard on a sunny, but breezy, evening inside Bob White Stadium.

The symphonic band and high school choirs performed, senior Thomas Poll provided an opening, and senior Lilian Runert offered an introduction for keynote speaker Ms. Tricia Rickert - who continued the tradition of a TKHS teacher being selected to address the students and gathered spectators.

Senior Jacob Newland provided a closing before senior McKenna Hoebeke led her classmates in the tassel ceremony …

Read more in the May 30 edition of the Sun and News …

05/21/2026

The hosts of the toughest MHSAA Division 2 Girls' Soccer District in the state will stick around for another round.

Plainwell took a 2-0 victory over the Thornapple Kellogg varsity girls' soccer team at Bob White Stadium in Middleville Wednesday.

The Plainwell Trojans are hosting the final two rounds of the district tournament, and those blue and white Trojans, who enter the postseason ranked 11th in the state's Division 2 poll, will likely be the underdogs for as long as they last in the district. They'll take on No. 2 Gull Lake in one semifinal next week. No. 4 South Christian earned a spot in the district's other semifinal with a 14-0 win over Hastings Wednesday. No. 6 Otsego is set to take on Wayland in their opening round match-up Friday for the right to face South Christian in the district semifinals.

Gull Lake, South Christian and Otsego all enter the state tournament with just one loss on their record this season.

The Thornapple Kellogg girls, who see their season come to an end with an 11-5-2 record, never looked out of place against those ranked Plainwell girls. TK was about four inches from taking a 1-0 lead ten minutes into the second half.

TK senior Alexa Eden put a header on a ball coming in towards the net and deflected it past Plainwell keeper Olivia Ranger. The ball struck squarely on the left post, and Ranger turned around and caught the ball there looking back at her net.

The chances were nearly equal at each end of the field, Plainwell just capitalized on its one best push at the TK net. Junior Caitlyn Ridgway rolled a pass ahead throug the final third of the field, and senior teammate Alayna Eldred got to the ball just ahead of TK senior keeper McKenna Hoebeke and knocked the ball past her and into the net with 23:27 to play.

A minute and a half later, the Plainwell team was awarded a penalty kick for some contact in the box by a TK defender. Hoebeke pounced in the right direction, but Ridgway managed to put her shot halfway up the right post just out of the TK keeper's grasp.

A one-goal deficit over 20 minutes would have been a challenge for the TK ladies, but a two-goal deficit was daunting.

TK put together back-to-back corners with 14 minutes to play. One shot deflected wide, and then a header just missed the net. TK put a handful more chances on frame in the final ten minutes, but nothing too dangerous for Ranger to handle.

Plainwell improved its season reord to 14-5 with the win …

Read more in this weekend's edition of the Sun and News ...

05/17/2026

Among the first to greet Thornapple Kellogg senior Mia Hilton and her 4x400-meter teammates on the hot turf to the side of the finish line was Caledonia assistant coach Joe Zomerlei.

Zomerlei is wrapping up 50 seasons of coaching Caledonia varsity girls' track and field athletes this spring, set to retire after also filling most of those years as a teacher, football coach and basketball official too.

Hilton is close to wrapping up a stellar TK track career in which she now holds the 300-meter hurdle record and is a part of TK's record-setting 4x400 team along with fellow senior Payton Gater, junior Ellie Harmon and sophomore Amya Gater. Hilton won a pair of regional titles in those two events Saturday at the MHSAA Division 1 Regional hosted by Portage Central High School and she'll get to compete in those races and the 100-meter hurdles at the upcoming state finals.

Zomerlei will get to help coach a handful of Caledonia girls at those state finals too, and be there to cheer on Hilton, who he said he has gotten to know as neighbors with her family in the summers.

“It's all about the kids,” Zomerlei said Saturday. “Just look at today. Just look what's happening. The TK kids are my kids, you know? You look and think you're going against schools. This is such a fabulous sport. They're all our kids. They all need our support. It's all about them.”

Hilton won the 300-meter hurdles Saturday in 45.12 seconds, and also qualified for the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 State Finals in the 100-meter hurdles with a seventh-place qualifying time of 15.37 – a new personal record (PR).

Caledonia junior Olivia Hawkins also qualified for the finals in both races. She set a new PR in the 100 hurdles of 14.99 to place fifth and was fourth in the 300-meter hurdles in 46.28.

Caledonia sophomore sprinter Brynn Ward was a part of three state qualifying performances. Ward, the CHS record holder in the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash, placed fourth in the 100-meter dash in 12.59.

Ward and her sprint relay teammates have set CHS records in the 4x200-meter relay and the 4x100-meter relay this season too already. They hit state qualifying times in both races at the regional The team of junior Averi Rosted, freshman Addisyn Gerken, junior Isla Sheely and Ward placed third in the 4x200-meter relay in 1 minute 45.11 seconds and fourth in the 4x100-meter relay in 49.38.

The Caledonia varsity boys' track and field team had three state qualifying performances on the day. Senior Noah Johnston improved his PR in the 1600-meter run to 4:18.22 in a third-place finish. He also teamed with senior Luke Smith and sophomores Sean Thompson and Bennett Snapper to qualify for the finals in the 4x800-meter relay thanks to a time of 7:55.97.

In the field, Caledonia senior Benjamin Moss met the qualifying mark in the pole vault, clearing 13 feet 3 inches, to place sixth.

As a team the Caledonia boys were eighth and the girls ninth. The TK girls placed tenth and the TK boys 15th.

The The MHSAA L.P. D1 Track and Field Finals will be held Saturday, May 30, at Rockford High School.

Read more about regionals, the CHS and TK state qualifiers, and coach Zomerlei's retirement in the May 23 issue of the Sun and News ...

05/09/2026

One after another they got faster, and faster, and faster and faster.

Sophomore Amya Gater, senior Payton Gater, junior Ellie Harmon and senior Mia Hilton raced to a school record time of 3 minutes 59.56 seconds in the 4x400-meter relay Friday. They not only won relay at the OK Gold Conference Championships inside Bob White Stadium in Middleville, but they clinched the outright conference championship for the Thornapple Kellogg varsity girls’ track and field team.

The Thornapple Kellogg girls, who were a perfect 6-0 in conference duals this spring, trailed South Christian by 1.5 points heading into the final event of the championships. It was a race in which the Sailor foursome included the only two girls to finish the day’s 400-meter dash in less than a minute, champion Chloe Rinzema and runner-up Noah Lanning. The other two Sailors in the race were another 400-meter medalist in Julia Sherwood and the conference’s 800-meter champ, Isabelle Oostema.

The TK ladies were a couple seconds back as Amya handed the baton to her big sister Payton. The Trojans and Sailors were close to even when Harmon got the baton from Payton, and she kept growing a TK lead as she went around the first turn. Hilton took the baton from Harmon and blew everybody away with a lap that took only about 57 seconds - and would have put her in contention for a 400-meter dash title in the conference if she hadn’t been so busy winning both the 100-meter hurdle and the 300-meter low hurdle championships.

The TK ladies got ten points for the relay victory to bump their team’s final score to 138.5 points. South Christian’s eight points for a runner-up time of 4:01.87 left the Sailors in second with a team score of 138.

For the Gater sisters and Hilton, it was improving on their own 4x400-meter school record from last year’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Track and Field Finals. For Harmon, she gets her name on the TK record board for the first time - bumping her big sister Brooklyn who was a senior on the record-setting foursome a year ago.

It was the second record-setting relay performance of the meet for the TKHS girls. The team of seniors Madison Kietzman and Jordyn Fitros and juniors Sydney Martin and Estefani Sanchez Vega broke a 35-year-old TK record in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 50.35 seconds - being pulled ahead by the Wyoming team that won the race in 49.94.

Fitros was the long jump champion with a personal best leap of 16 feet 8 inches, and she was also the runner-up in the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash behind Wyoming senior Myah Nabors who was also a part of the Wolves 4x100-meter and 4x200-meter relay wins.

The Thornapple Kellogg boys were fifth overall on the day, and the Wayland boys wrapped up the conference championship outscoring runner-up South Christian 173-113 at the top of the standings.

The TK boys got one individual conference championship in the high jump, just because they weren’t allowed to have two conference champs in the event. Junior Camden Peter beat out fellow junior Layne Schilthroat for the title after both guys cleared 6-0 in the same amount of attempts. Peter was called away during his shot put performance to return for a jump off, working their way back down from 6-2 which neither were able to clear on the first go round.

Schilthroat would close the night anchoring the evening anchoring the TK boys’ runner-up 4x400-meter relay team which also included seniors Franklin Wilkinson and Zach Eldridge and junior Brandan Velting.

Read more about the OK Gold Championships in the May 9 edition of the Sun and News, as well as the Caledonia varsity boys’ and girls’ track and field team’s chase for titles at the OK Green Conference Championships which were held Friday in Byron Center …

04/18/2026

One meet, four wins.

One week, two records.

Caledonia sophomore Brynn Ward won the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, anchored the Fighting Scots’ winning 4x200-meter relay team and helped the Scots to a win in the 4x400-meter relay Friday at the 13-team Hastings Team Invitational. Her winning time of 26.42 seconds in the 200 broke a five-year-old school-record, just four days after she broke the 49-year-old Caledonia 100-meter dash record.

The Scots were at top speed Friday. Fellow junior Olivia Hakwins swept the hurdles races, and she is closing on the school record time in the 300-meter low hurdles. She took that race in 47.50 and also won the 100-meter hurdles.

The Caledonia boys took the team championship at the event with 1,371.5 points. Teams could place three individuals in each event and one team in each relay race, and everyone scored. The Caledonia girls were third as a team. Hudsonville took the girls’ championship, as well as the combined boys/girls title.

The one event win for the Fighting Scot boys came from the 4x800-meter relay team of seniors Luke Smith, Eli Velting, Noah Johnston and sophomore Bennett Snapper that clocked a time of 8:09.92 …

Read more in the April 25 edition of the Sun and News …

The Sun and News

05/30/2026

05/30/2026

05/30/2026

05/28/2026

05/28/2026

05/22/2026

05/21/2026

05/17/2026

05/09/2026

04/18/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category