Manchester Dutchmen track & field teams kick off a strong start for spring season

Photo courtesy of Mary Bortmas, Unforgettable Photos

submitted by Cheryl Smith

On a cold spring evening in early April, both the Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams finished in the top of their division brackets at the Whitmore Lake Trojan Relays and brought home trophies and many individual medals. It was so great to see our skilled athletes back on the track and many new members join the group. The Women’s team placed first and Men’s second overall with some steep competition. These athletes battled the freezing cold temps and high winds where their hard work and training paid off!

One week later, on Friday, April 14, the Dutch Track & Field Teams attended the Napoleon Invitational on another blustery evening with 15 surrounding schools. The field events commenced at 4 pm with the last race starting at nearly 10 pm where a limited number of athletes were invited to compete due to the size of the meet.Both teams were short team members due to other conflicting school events the same evening but worked hard to fill in the gaps. The Dutch team again made a strong showing for their school with the Women’s team placing fifth and Men’s team tenth overall and were awarded numerous medals. It was amazing to experience the commitment of our talented athletes translate into achieving personal records and celebrated wins.

"Manchester Track and Field is starting off great early in our season” stated Coach McCaffrey. “We have battled adverse weather conditions, illness, early injuries, and low numbers in some events. Our athletes are working hard and are already showing great improvement as we progress through the season. I'm honored to work with a great coaching staff.  Gary Lowe leads the way with our sprinters and jumpers, Stephanie Johnson is an amazing mid distance and distance coach.  Liam Riley is a newcomer to our staff and is already proving to be a huge asset for our throws. We are also thankful to have the support of our athletic director, Lon Pinhey, who is always there when we need him. The athletes who have committed to our team are a great core group of kids. They have a great work ethic, positive attitude, and they make coaching them very rewarding."

On Saturday, April 9, the Track and Field Teams hosted a Cornhole fundraiser at the Raisin River Distillery which was a huge success and will plan to host again next May outdoors. Many thanks for all who organized and participated with entry fees, silent auction items, custom board raffle, 50/50 tickets, and extra donations brought in $3,898 of profit. We are very excited to have purchased a VideoLynx Camera System which should be arriving soon and has been the goal of fundraising efforts over the past years. This equipment will provide electronic timing/FAT for both Cross Country and Track & Field team and a great investment to support all future running events.

Coach McCaffrey commented, "It was a great event and shined upon our community showing our strong commitment that our parents and community have in supporting our programs. We are greatly appreciative of the immense support and participation in our event. I would like to thank: local businesses who donated, Manchester Athletic Boosters, Masons Lodge 148, and Krista and Joe Jarvis at River Raisin Distillery. Krista and Joe not only hosted our event but they also heavily promoted it. Our event was also successful due to the help of Jill Corwin and Amelia Woods for all their hard work setting up and organizing our silent auction."

The Dutchmen Track and Field teams are managed by Sarah McCaffrey and assisted by Gary Lowe, Stephanie Johnson, and Liam Riley. We would like to express our genuine appreciation to our dedicated coaches for all their time and investment to make the Dutch Track and Field Teams strong competitors. We are looking forward to a successful season with upcoming events scheduled on the following dates:

Tuesday 4/26 Vandercook Lake/East Jackson/Manchester @ East Jackson

Tuesday 5/3 Napoleon/Hanover Horton/Manchester @ Napoleon

Friday 5/6 43rd Annual Manchester Metrics @ Manchester

Tuesday 5/10 Addison/Grass Lake/Manchester @ Grass Lake

Saturday 5/14 Hillsdale Jack Beilfuss Invitational @ Hillsdale

Friday 5/20 MHSAA Regionals @ Hillsdale

Friday 5/24 Cascades Conference Championship @ Napoleon

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.