11/12/99 - The 1999 Cross Country Academic All-State athletes and teams were announced today. The Sparta boys team placed first in the state with a grade point average of 3.918! The top 5 GPA's of each school's 7 runners at the State Finals are used. Congratulations to Cody Van Dyke, Matt Korreck, Andrew Hitzeroth, Brent Shirey, and Nick Carter. To qualify individually, a runner must have finished in the top half of the state final race, and have a GPA of at least 3.8. Earning Academic All-State as individuals were Cody (10th) and Matt (26th). The girls team also earned Academic All-State honors, finishing 6th with a GPA of 3.90. Congratulations to Sarah Merdzinski, Kristy Debski, Tracy Bitely, Jodie May, and Jamie Platt. Girls earning individual Academic All-State honors were Sarah (6th), Kristy (19th), Tracy (48th), and Jodie (51st). Great job, Spartans!
11/06/99 - A very successful cross country season came to an end today at the State Meet held at Michigan Speedway in Brooklyn. The boys team placed 17th out of Class B schools statewide, and were represented by Matt Korreck, Cody Van Dyke, Dan Leversee, Mike Snowden, Nick Carter, Brent Shirey, and Andrew Hitzeroth. The girls team placed 11th, and were led by Sarah Merdzinski, Tracy Bitely, Kristy Debski, Jodie May, Haleigh Thompson, Renee Murdock, and Jamie Platt. Running personal best times were Matt Korreck, Cody Van Dyke, Tracy Bitely, Jodie May, and Haleigh Thompson.
10/30/99 - Regionals were held at the Grand Rapids Christian Recreation Center. The weather was warm (around 70º). Both boys and girls cross country teams qualified for the state finals next weekend! This is the first time in Sparta cross country history that both the boys and girls squads have qualified to the state finals the same year! The boys placed third behind Holland Christian and Caledonia. Dan Leversee (16:56) was the first Sparta boy to finish, followed by Matt Korreck, Cody Van Dyke, Mike Snowden, Andrew Hitzeroth, Brent Shirey and Tony Shelton. The girls barely missed coming away with the Regional championship, placing second with 69 points to Kelloggsville's 68. Sarah Merdzinski (19:36) was the Regional medalist, and was followed by Kristy Debski, Tracy Bitely, Jodie May, Renee Murdock, Haleigh Thompson, and Caisha Haraldsson.
10/21/99 - It was a successful day for Sparta at the OK-Gold Conference Meet at Johnson Park! Despite injuries to several of the girls, the team proved its rightful place as the #1 team in the league, placing four runners in the conference top ten. The top runners for the day were Kristy Debski, Tracy Bitely, Sarah Merdzinski, Renee Murdock, Haleigh Thompson, Jodie May and Caisha Haraldsson. This was the first league championship for girls cross country since 1986. The boys ran to a 2nd place finish behind a tough Caledonia team, and placed 3 runners in the top ten. Leading the boys were Matt Korreck, Dan Leversee, Cory Van Dyke, Brent Shirey, Mike Snowden, Joe Skripka, and Trent Barnhart. The Spartans also made an excellent showing in the Reserve Race. The boys won the 1st place trophy and were led by Jim Carrow, Nick Carter, Ken Sokowlowski, Tim Shangle, and Tony Shelton. In the girls race, Jamie Platt placed 1st overall.
10/13/99 - The girls defeated both Cedar Springs and Forest Hills Northern in a double dual meet, thus capping up a perfect OK-Gold dual conference record. The boys easily outdistanced Forest Hills Northern, but fell short of Cedar Springs despite a great effort. The top seven for the girls were Sarah Merdzinski, Kristy Debski, Tracy Bitely, Haleigh Thompson, Renee Murdock, Jodie May and Caisha Haraldsson. The boys were led by Dan Leversee, Matt Korreck, Cody Van Dyke, Andrew Hitzeroth, Brent Shirey, Phil Mc Rae, and Trent Barnhart.
10/09/99 - The girls won their division at Allegan, while the boys team placed 2nd. The meet is scored by adding up the times of the top 6 girls for the girls races, and the top 9 times for the boys. The top 6 girls were Sarah Merdzinski, Tracy Bitely, Kristy Debski, Renee Murdock, Caisha Haraldsson, and Jamie Platt. The top boys were Matt Korreck, Dan Leversee, Cody Van Dyke, Brent Shirey, Mike Snowden, Andrew Hitzeroth, Phil Mc Rae, Trent Barnhart, and Jim Carrow.
10/06/99 - The cross country teams were victorious in double duals against Kenowa Hills and Wayland. The girls defeated Kenowa by a score of 15 - 50 and Wayland by a score of 19 - 44. The girls were led by Sarah Merdzinski, Kristy Debski, Tracy Bitely, Renee Murdock, Haleigh Thompson, Jodie May, and Caisha Haraldsson. The boys were 19 - 41 winners over Kenowa, and 19 - 42 over Wayland. The top seven boys were Matt Korreck, Dan Leversee, Cody Van Dyke, Mike Snowden, Andrew Hitzeroth, Brent Shirey, and Trent Barnhart.
10/02/99 - Running in a light rain and with cool temperatures in the low 50º's, many Spartans enjoyed personal best times at the Carson City Invitational. The boys team placed 1st in their 22-team division, edging out Cedar Springs. The girls team placed 4th. Dan Leversee and Tracy Bitely each earned a place on the TOP TEN record board with their day's effort.
9/29/99 - The Spartans ran a double dual against Belding and Unity Christian on a wet Johnson Park course. The weather was overcast and in the 50º's. The girls defeated Unity by a score of 15 - 45 and Belding 15 - 50. The top 7 runners were Sarah Merdzinski, Kelly Carter, Kristy Debski, Tracy Bitely, Renee Murdock, Haleigh Thompson, and Jodie May. The boys defeated Unity 21 - 38 and Belding 19 - 44. The top 7 runners for the boys were Matt Korreck, Dan Leversee, Cody Van Dyke, Mike Snowden, Andrew Hitzeroth, Brent Shirey, and Tony Sheldon.
9/25/99 - Both the boys and girls teams placed second in their 10-team division at the Lowell Invitational. The girls were second to Cedar Springs, while the boys finished behind Caledonia. The girls were led by Sarah Merdzinski, who placed first in the race. After Sarah, the Spartan finishers, in order, were Kelly Carter, Tracy Bitely, Haleigh Thompson, Renee Murdock, Lindsay Kaye, and Jenny Hall. The top seven boys were, in order, Dan Leversee, Matt Korreck, Mike Snowden, Cody Van Dyke, Joe Skripka, Brent Shirey, and Andrew Hitzeroth.
9/22/99 - The girls team won decisively over Caledonia, with Sarah Merdzinski, Kelly Carter, and Kristy Debski taking the first three spots for the automatic win. Completing the top 7 runners were Tracy Bitely, Haleigh Thompson, Renee Murdock, and Caisha Haraldsson. The boys team lost by a score of 23 - 32. Sparta's top 7 runners were Matt Korreck, Cody Van Dyke, Dan Leversee, Andrew Hitzeroth, Mike Snowden, Brent Shirey, and Joe Skripka. Skripka's time of 19:33 beat his previous best at Johnson Park by over a minute.
9/18/99 - The Sparta Invitational was a huge success, with 47 high schools and 38 middle schools participating in the event. The weather was sunny, and temperatures were in the 60's for the early races and 70's for the afternoon races. The Spartans had another successful day, with the girls team winning the Class B competition. Trophies were also won by the boys team (3rd place), the reserve boys (2nd place), and the reserve girls (3rd place). Many Spartans ran personal best times.
9/11/99 - With sunny skies and cool temperatures, the Spartans enjoyed a successful day at the Central Montcalm Hornet Run. Sparta had 3 race champions: Dan Leversee --10th grade boys race, Sarah Merdzinski -- 12th grade girls race, and Kelly Carter -- 9th grade girls race. The Spartans earned a total of 24 medals, with the boys and girls each earning 12!
9/08/99 - The first OK-Gold meet of the cross country season was held at Johnson Park. The Sparta girls defeated South Christian by a score of 18 - 39, with Sarah Merdzinski placing first overall in a time of 20:59. Completing the top 7 runners for Sparta were Kelly Carter, Kristy Debski, Tracy Bitely, Haleigh Thompson, Jenny Hall, and Lindsay Kaye. The boys were also winners, beating out South Christian by a score of 23 - 38. Matt Korreck finished first for the Spartans and second overall with a time of 18:05. The boys' top 7 runners included Cody VanDyke, Dan Leversee, Andrew Hitzeroth, Mike Snowden, Brent Shirey, and Nick Carter.
9/03/99 - Both the Sparta girls and boys teams beat Coopersville on Friday night. The meet was held during the Sparta-Coopersville football game in Coopersville. The boys won by a score of 20 - 41, with Matt Korreck leading the way with a time of 17:28. The girls won 16 - 47, and Sarah Merdzinski was the #1 runner in a time of 19:23. Freshman Kelly Carter earned a place on the GIRLS' TOP TEN record board with her time of 20:34.
8/31/99 - The Sparta girls and boys teams both took first place at the South Haven Invitational. Sarah Merdzinski was the first female runner overall with a time of 19:58. Matt Korreck was the Spartans' top male runner, and finished 3rd overall with a time of 17:38.
