State Champs!

White Cloud Boys Bring Home A Title

From Coach Tod Reeve:

The White Cloud Boys’ track and field team entered the history books last Saturday, bringing home a 1st place trophy at the MITCA Division 4 Team State Track and Field Championship at Mt. Pleasant High School. The boys scored 966 points to defeat pre-meet favorites Hillsdale Academy, who finished with 924.5 points. This is the first state championship for the Indians in any athletic field, and comes on the heels of their first regional championship in 47 years the previous Saturday in Brethren. 
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The boys were led by senior Romeo Johnson who, in his first year of track and field, scored a total of 85 points. For the boys, 1st place was worth 30 points and the points decreased by 1 point per place. Romeo tied for 1st place in the long jump with a leap of 19’2.5”, was 6th in the high jump at 5’8”, was 8th in the 400 meter dash with a personal best time of 55.50, and was part of the 4 x 400 meter relay team that finished 6th. Senior Joel Bradley was also a major contributor to the win, finishing 2nd in the shot put with a personal best throw of 49’1”, his farthest by over 2 feet. Joel also threw the discus 132’10” to finish 4th overall. Fellow senior Kris Hesting had huge personal bests in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles, finishing 7th in the 110 hurdles in 18.60 seconds and 13 in the 300 hurdles in 47.18 seconds to gain 8 points over his initial seeding. 

The most incredible improvement on the day was made by sophomore Noah Robinson who, in the high jump, gained 6 inches over his previous best height to finish 3rd with a phenomenal jump of 6’2”. Other stellar performances included junior Vinnie Ockert, who broke 12 seconds for the first time in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.94 seconds to finish 10th, and followed that up with a 24.45 second 200 meter dash, his best by more than a second, to finish 16th. Fellow junior Bryce Higman had personal bests in both the 110 and 300 meter hurdles, finishing 12th in the 110 hurdles in 19.60 seconds, and 17th in the 300 meter hurdles with a time of 48.52. 
Overall, the Indians had 15 personal best efforts on the day, while 2nd place Hillsdale Academy came in with 7. White Cloud gained over 100 points on their original seedings compared to Hillsdale to secure the victory. 

A special thank you goes out to assistant coaches Tony McHattie, Arnold Baker, and Jim Higgs, as well as girls’ coach Joan Ludtke, for their phenomenal work throughout the season to help prepare the athletes, and to the administrators, teachers, parents, and students who traveled to Mt. Pleasant to support the team. Without their support, this achievement would not have been possible.

The Indians will be sending 8 athletes to compete in 7 different events at the MHSAA Division 4 Track and Field Championships in Hudsonville Saturday, June 4th. The first event begins at 9:30 a.m. Good luck and congratulations on your successes this season.

Assistant Coaches Tony McHattie and Arnold Baker flank WC girls' coach Joan Ludtke