Hornets set records and earn All

Head coach Clay Schiman and the Hillsdale boys and girls track teams headed to Kent City to participate in the LP D3 MHSAA state championships. The Hornets had athletes qualify in 12 events for the state finals. The Hornets competed with the best teams and athletes in the D3 level of competition. At the end of the Saturday, June 3 finals, the Hornets had a total of six athletes who participated and earned medals and all-state recognition.

Hillsdale senior and Olivet track commit Peter Moore ended his hornet career with a seventh-place finish at the state finals. Moore set a new long jump personal best distance of 20' 11.25. The PR earned him an all-state finish. This is the senior's first all-state honor of his career. This year, he had four wins in long jump and earned a second-place finish at regionals and at the conference championship meet.

In the girls 100-meter hurdles, long jump school record holder Mia Hinz set another school record, this time at the state finals. The Hornet had a final time of 15.73 in the 100 hurdles to set a new PR and a Hornet school record. The record-breaking time also earned the Hornet a third place finish and all-state honors. Hinz won six of those events in the regular season, including a first-place finish at the MITCA D3 team state finals and at the regional finals. It was one of Hinz' four all-state honors on Saturday.

Hinz also took second with a new PR and school record jump in the long jump event. Her final distance was 17' 8.25. This gave Hinz another all-state honor. Hinz won this event at the MITCA D3 Team State Finals, the conference championship and at the regional finals.

Her third and fourth all-state honors were earned with three of her teammates. The relay team of Kia Charboneau, Annemarie Moore, Amelia Dietz and Mia Hinz had already qualified for the state finals and set new LCAA record times in the 4x100 and 4x200. The team headed to the state finals with aspirations of winning a state championship in both events.

The team took second and all-state in the 4x100-meter event with a time of 50.44. The team finished just .14 seconds behind the champion team from Olivet. The team then took second place again in the 4x200-meter relay, earning all-state and recording a time of 1:47.58. They finished just over a second behind the champions from Grand Rapids West Catholic.

Another senior for Hillsdale High School earned all-state honors in a state finals field event. This was Rianna Vincent's third trip to the state finals qualifying for the high jump event. The Siena Heights track commit finished as an all-state high jumper in her 2021 and 2022 seasons, taking third in 2022. The senior cleared 5' 0 to take sixth overall in the 2023 state finals, earning her third all-state honor for her career. The senior won seven high jump events this season, including the high jump at regionals and took second at the LCAA championships. She took first in the high jump at the Hillsdale Area Best meet, setting a new school and Area Best Meet record.

Other athletes that competed for Hillsdale at the state finals included junior Hunter Wilson, who took 12th in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.16. The junior took first place in the 100-meter dash at eight events this season. He took second at the LCAA championships, first at the regional finals, first at MITCA team state and first at the Area Best Meet.

Wilson was a part of the 4x200-meter boys relay team who qualified for the state finals. The team of Hayden Handy, Peter Moore, Dawson Adams and Hunter Wilson took 14th overall with a time of 1:33.25.

Sophomore Hayden Handy also qualified in the long jump event. He battled senior teammate Peter Moore throughout the year. Handy ended his sophomore season with a 16th overall finish at the state finals. Handy had won six events this season in the long jump competition. He took first at the Area Best Meet with a final distance of 20' 11.25, his current personal record. He won the LCAA championship and took third at the regional finals.

Hillsdale's long distance runner Nolan Grant qualified for the state finals in the boys 3200-meter run. The junior took 18th overall with a time of 10:29.90. Grant had one win and three second place finishes in that event this season. he took third at the regional finals, setting a new PR time of 10:09.14.

This was the final MHSAA sanctioned event of the season for the Hillsdale Hornets. The 2022-23 Hornet track teams earned several accolades and set new records this season. The girls track team won the D3 regional championship. The teams had several champions at the Area Best Meet, Conference Championship and at the MITCA D3 State Championships.

Champions at the MITCA finals included Hunter Wilson, Mia Hinz and the girls 4x200 relay team. Conference champions included Nolan Grant, Hayden Handy, Mia Hinz and the girls 4x100 and 4x200 team. Regional champions included Hunter Wilson, Kia Charboneau, Mia Hinz, Rianna Vincent and the girls 4x100 and 4x200 relay team. Area Best champions included Hunter Wilson, Kia Charboneau, Marius Zwick, the boys 4x100 team, the girls 4x100 team, the girls 4x200 team, Rianna Vincent, Mia Hinz and Hayden Handy.