11/03 -- The State Finals were held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.  Kelly Carter placed 23rd in the Division 2 race for girls, earning her All-State honors.  Congratulations, Kelly!  The Sparta boys placed 17th as a team, and were led by A.J. McConnell, who ran a personal best time of 16:35.  Also running personal bests were Mike Snowden (17:29), Dan DeRivera (17:35), and Zach Kurek (17:51).

10/27 -- At the MHSAA Regional held at Sparta, the boys placed 3rd in the 17-team field and earned a trip to the State Finals on November 3.   A.J. McConnell led the way for the Spartans with a personal best time of 16:38.   The girls' team placed 5th in the meet, and Kelly Carter qualified for the State Finals with her 5th place individual finish.  For complete results, click here.

10/22 -- The OK-Gold Grade Level Meet was held at Sparta.   Personal bests were run by Tom Anderson, J.J. Shangle, Justin Hills, and Ken Shangle.  Carrie Debski recorded her best time of the season.

10/18 -- At the OK-Gold Conference Meet at Johnson Park, the boys finished in 3rd place behind Caledonia and Cedar Springs.  Medaling for the Spartans were A.J. McConnell (3rd) and Joe Skripka (5th).  The girls also placed 3rd in the meet, finishing behind Caledonia and South Christian.  Kelly Carter was the conference champion, running a time of 20:54.  Also medaling for the girls was Sara Young (10th).  In JV competition, both the boys and girls were JV team champions.   Tom Anderson was the league champion for boys, and Renee Murdock was 2nd for the girls.

10/12 - 10/14 -- The team went on their annual color tour in Glen Arbor.  They stayed at Leelanau School, where they go for cross country camp in the summer.  Despite rainy weather, everyone had a great time.  For pictures of the weekend,  click here.

10/10 -- The Sparta boys and girls defeated both Hastings and Unity Christian in double dual action at Johnson Park.  The top 7 runners for the girls were Kelly Carter, Sara Young, Sara Rodgers, Carrie Debski, Brittany May, Renee Murdock, and Kim Rodgers.  The boys were led by A.J. McConnell, Joe Skripka, Mike Snowden, Dan DeRivera, Zach Kurek, Tom Anderson, and Tony Shelton.

10/06 -- The Spartans traveled to Allegan for the Allegan Invitational.  Both the boys and girls won their divisions, and were overall meet champions.  For boys, the top 3 from each team run in the first race, runners 4 - 6 in the second, and runners 7 - 11 in the third race.  For girls, the top 3 runners run the first race and runners 4 - 8 run in the second race.  Additionally there is a JV race for all other runners.   Ken Sokolowski was the 1st place finisher in the 7 - 11 race with a personal best time of 18:10.  Randy Jacobsen also ran a personal best time (19:36) while winning the JV boys' race.  Katie Stouten won the JV girls' race, also with a personal best time (23:14).  Other personal bests were: Tom Anderson - 18:50: J.J. Shangle - 19:26; Justin Hills - 19:44; Ken Shangle - 21:24; Amanda Young - 22:43; Karla Upton - 23:33; and Maggie McBride - 24:38.

10/03 -- The Spartans competed in a double dual at Johnson Park against Caledonia and Wayland.  The girls won both duals and were led by Kelly Carter, Caitlin Hoseth, Sara Young, Sara Rodgers, Sara Nemecek, Renee Murdock, and Brittany May.  The boys lost both dual contests, despite personal best efforts at Johnson Park by A.J. McConnell, Joe Skripka, Tom Anderson, and Alex Jantz.

09/26 -- In OK-Gold competition at Johnson Park, the Spartans ran against both Wyoming Park and Kenowa Hills in a double dual.  Both the Sparta boys and girls defeated Kenowa Hills, the boys by a score of 21 - 40 and the girls by 15 - 50.  The Spartans were also victorious over Wyoming Park, with the boys winning by 24 - 30 and the girls by 27 - 32.  The boys were led by A.J. McConnell, Mike Snowden, Joe Skripka, Dan DeRivera, Mike Haskell, Tony Shelton and Ken Sokolowski.   The top seven for the girls were Kelly Carter, Sara Young, Sara Rodgers, Brittany May, Sara Nemecek, Ashley Greenup and Renee Murdock.

09/22 -- At the Lowell Invitational, the Sparta boys placed 4th out of 12 teams in a very competitive field.  A.J. McConnell lead the boys with a time of 17:07.    In the Reserve race, freshman Randy Jacobsen earned his Varsity letter by running 19:50.  The girls placed 2nd in the meet behind Holland Christian, and were led by Kelly Carter's 3rd place finish in a time of 20:47.

09/18 -- In OK-Gold competition at Johnson Park, the Sparta girls defeated Cedar Springs by a score of 15 - 50, while the boys lost a close one, scoring 29 points to Cedar's 26.

09/15 -- It was a great day for the Sparta runners at the Sparta Invitational.  Both the varsity boys and girls were meet champions of their 13-team division.  Joe Skripka earned seventh place on the All-Time Top Ten record board with his time of 16:46, while A.J. McConnell (16:40) improved his place on the record board to fifth place.  The Sparta Reserve squads both earned second place overall, with Zach Kurek winning the boys' competition.  There were many personal best times achieved at the meet, and the coaches were happy with the great team effort.

09/12 -- Both the boys and girls earned OK-Gold victories over South Christian today at Johnson Park.  The girls won by a score of 25 - 34, and were led by Kelly Carter, Sara Nemecek, Sara Young, Ashley Greenup, Sara Rodgers, Brittany May, and Renee Murdock.  The boys defeated their opponents by 19 - 36, and were led by A.J. McConnell, Joe Skripka, Dan DeRivera, Mike Snowden, Tony Shelton, Zack Kurek, and Mike Haskell.

09/08 -- The Spartans had a successful day at the Central Montcalm Invitational, where each grade has its own race.  A.J. McConnell was champion of the 10th grade boys, while Joe Skripka won the 11th grade boys race.   Kelly Carter placed first for the 11th grade girls.   Other girls who earned medals were Kimberly Rodgers, Amanda Young, Katie Stouten, Sara Young, Sara Rodgers, Ashley Greenup, Brittany May, Karla Upton, Angela McKellar, Sara Nemecek, and Renee Murdock.  In addition to McConnell and Skripka, boys earning medals were Zach Kurek, Tom Anderson, Randy Jacobsen, J.J. Shangle, Justin Hills, Mike Haskell, Dan DeRivera, Ken Sokolowki, and Mike Snowden.

09/05 -- At the eight-team Hesperia Invitational, the girls' team finished in third place and the boys' team finished fourth in the A-B Division.  Kelly Carter and Sara Nemecek led the girls while Joe Skripka and A.J. McConnell were the top runners for the boys.  The Reserve boys finished third out of 16 teams, and were led by Zach Kurek and David Marker.  Katie Stouten and Kim Rodgers medaled in the girls' Reserve race.

08/30 -- In a race at Sparta, the Spartans defeated Coopersville in the first dual meet of the year.  The girls won by a score of 21 - 39.  The top 7 runners for the day were Kelly Carter, Sara Nemecek, Sara Young, Brittany May, Sara Rodgers, Renee Murdock, and Kim Rodgers.  For the boys' squad, the top 7 were A.J. McConnell, Joe Skripka, Dan DeRivera, Ken Sokolowski, Trent Barnhardt, Zack Kureck, and Tony Shelton.  The winning score for the Sparta boys was 21 - 36.

08/28 -- Both the Sparta girls and boys won championships at the South Haven Invitational.  Kelly Carter (20:45) finished first in the girls' race, while A.J. McConnell's 3rd-place finish (17:23) led the boys to a strong victory.   Trent Barnhardt (18:16) and Ken Sokolowski (18:30) ran times which earned them places on the Top Ten Millenium Milestones list.  Zack Kureck (19:54) earned a spot on the Top 3 Freshmen list, while Mike Snowden (18:02) and Sara Nemecek (21:49) improved their times on the list.  

The girls were happy they won!

08/18 -- The Sparta boys ran in an 8-team scrimmage at Cedar Springs.  A.J. McConnell and Joe Skripka finished one-two in the meet.   Also finishing in Sparta's top seven  were Ken Sokolowski, Mike Haskell, Dan DeRivera, Mike Snowden, and Trent Barnhardt. 

08/06 - 08/11 -- Enduring 90-plus degree heat and humidity for much of the week, the cross country team ran, swam, ate and had fun at the annual cross country camp at Leelanau School in Glen Arbor.  The coaches agreed that this camp was the most successful ever!  There were 17 boys and 16 girls working hard and showing awesome attitudes!   Mrs. Warrick, Mrs. Young, Mrs. Debski, and Mr. McConnell chaperoned at camp and were a tremendous help!  Click here for camp pictures.

07/30 -- The coaches and 18 runners went to Patterson Park in Ottawa County.  After their run, they went to Grand Haven for pizza and swimming.

07/21 -- The annual Michigan Flavorbest Apple Run was held as part of the Sparta Town and Country Days.  In addition to Coaches Pfeffer, Smith, and Thomas, many of the cross country team ran the 5K road race.  Team members, their parents, and other family members volunteered to help make the race a success!  Click here for complete race results.

07/13 - 07/15 -- It was a fun weekend for the team members and other guests who attended Fat Camp!  Click here for some Fat Camp pictures.