While the Climax-Scotts boys track team finished eighth in the 15-team Division 4 Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association Team State meet May 25 at Mt. Pleasant High School’s Community Memorial Stadium, the team piled up 13 personal records.

C-S qualified with a state ranking of No. 7 in the Division 4 Power Rankings May 13. The Panther boys track team was slotted in at No. 11 in the Division 4 MITCA May 19 Power Rankings.

The MITCA Team State Meets in Track & Field are meets that are put on by MITCA in an attempt to have a true Team State Champion in each Division. True team scoring means that each team is allowed 3 entries per individual event and 1 relay team. Depending on the number of teams 1st place in individual events scores the total number of entries allowed, with 2nd place earning 1 less point, all the way down to the final place scoring 1 point. Relays score double of an individual event total and decrease by 6.

Kalamazoo Hackett won the event with 1597.5 points. C-S finished with 1012 points.

The 4x100-meter relay team made up of Ryan DeHaan, Jordan Grove, Miles Shannon, and Chase VanMiddlesworth placed fourth with a time of 45.40 for C-S’ highest finish at the event.

2024 MITCA D4 Team State
Mt. Pleasant High School - Community Memorial Stadium, MI US
Men’s
1.Kalamazoo Hackett, 1597.5, 2. Hillsdale Academy, 1594, 3. Riverview Gabriel Richard, 1492, 4. White Cloud, 1258.5, 4. Centreville, 1258.5, 6. Marlette, 1089.5, 7. Petersburg-Summerfield, 1017.5, 8. Climax-Scotts, 1012, 9. Three Oaks River Valley, 1011.5, 10. Harbor Beach, 944, 11. Mayville, 806, 12. Morrice, 762, 13. Athens, 695.5, 14. Breckenridge, 448, 15. Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart, 415.5
C-S Results
100 Meters Boys - Finals: 9. Chase VanMiddlesworth, 11.74a (-1.0), 19. Miles Shannon, 12.16a (-1.0), 24. Josh Walman, 12.38a (-1.0); 200 Meters Boys - Finals: 7. Chase VanMiddlesworth, 23.41a (2.9), 23. Jackson Bagwell, 25.39a (0.9)PR, 25. Josh Walman, 25.54a (1.2); 400 Meters Boys - Finals: 9. Ryan DeHaan, 55.93aPR, 17. Jordan Grove, 58.01aPR, 38. Jose Espino, 1:09.57a; 800 Meters Boys - Finals: 13. Ryan Dehaan, 2:17.31a, 29. Maddox Wyman, 2:33.42aPR, 32. Sam Bleeker, 2:43.65aPR; 1600 Meters Boys - Finals: 34. Jackson Bagwell, 5:56.60a, 40. Zack Roebuck, 7:00.07aPR, 41. Leo Bagwell, 7:05.55aPR; 3200 Meters Boys - Finals: 21. Dean Parks, 12:24.89aPR. 24. Rosendo Garcia, 12:35.62aPR, 38. Ethan Seage, 15:27.36aPR; 110m Hurdles - 39” Boys - Finals: 26. Eli DeWaal, 20.40a (-0.6)PR, 27. Blake Buddemeier, 20.67a (3.9), 35. Aiden Klusman, 23.48a (-0.6); 300m Hurdles - 36” Boys - Finals: 31. Blake Buddemeier, 52.11a, 33. Eli DeWaal, 53.06a, 35. Aiden Klusman, 56.78aPR; 4x100 Relay Boys - Finals: 4. Climax-Scotts (Ryan Dehaan, Jordan Grove, Miles Shannon, Chase VanMiddlesworth), 45.40a; 4x200 Relay Boys - Finals: 5. Climax-Scotts (Chase VanMiddlesworth, Logan Gilbert, Josh Walman, Jordan Grove), 1:37.44a; 4x400 Relay Boys - Finals: 12. Climax-Scotts (Jackson Bagwell, Logan Gilbert, Ryan Dehaan, Jordan Grove), 4:08.02a; 4x800 Relay Boys - Finals: 10. Climax-Scotts (Jackson Bagwell, Logan Gilbert, Maddox Wyman, Dean Parks), 10:16.49a; Shot Put - 12lb Boys - Finals: 6. Ryan Pejakovich, 42’ 8, 8. Sam Bleeker, 41’ 4, 22. Brayan Simbron, 33’ 8, 39. Logan McNabb, 26’ 9.5; Discus - 1.6kg Boys - Finals: 10. Gabe Walliczeck, 115’ 4, 17. Ryan Pejakovich, 101’ 4, 35. Sam Bleeker, 84’ 5; High Jump Boys - Finals Field Series: 7. Miles Shannon, 5’ 8, 11. Rosendo Garcia, 5’ 6, 24. Mason Shannon, 5’ 0; Long Jump Boys - Finals: 19. Miles Shannon, 16’ 4, 26. Carter Pio, 15’ 3.5PR, 27. Rosendo Garcia, 14’ 11.5

C-S boys earn all-state medal in 1 event

Four members of the Climax-Scotts boys track team earned all-state medals in one event at the MHSAA Division 4 lower peninsula State Finals June 1 at Baldwin Middle School, while five members of the Panther girls team fell short of obtaining an all-state medal but competed well.

The top eight finishers in each event earned an all-state medal.

The Panther 4x100-meter relay team made up of Luke Lawrence, Ryan DeHaan, Miles Shannon and Chase VanMiddlesworth earned C-S’ lone all-state medal, finishing in eighth place with a time of 44.91.

C-S’ 4x100-meter relay team of Jordan Grove, Lawrence, VanMiddlesworth and Shannon finished 11th with a time of 1:34.44, just under one second behind the eighth place time (1:33.79).

Panther senior Miles Shannon just missed out on an all-state medal in the high jump, finishing in ninth place with a height of 6’0”. While the eighth place finisher also had a height of 6’0”, the tie breaker is misses and Shannon had more misses then the eighth place finisher.

The C-S senior also came up short of an all-state medal in the long jump, finishing in 10th place with a distance of 19’7.25”, just nine inches from the eighth place finisher (20’4.25).

C-S sophomore Ryan Pejakovich finished 28th in the shot put with a throw of 39’0.25”.

Lawrence, in the 110-meter hurdles, and VanMiddlesworth, in the 200-meter dash, also qualified for the state finals in the those events but nagging injuries prevented the duo from competing in both events. Senior Ryan DeHaan has also been dealing with a hamstring issue but ran in the 4x100-meter relay.

C-S coach Dave Lodes said Lawrence twisted his ankle about three weeks ago and has been limited in his running, preventing him from running in the hurdles event.

Lodes adds VanMiddlesworth has been dealing with hamstring issues for a few weeks and was not at full strength so he chose to stay out of the 200-meter dash, but did run in the relay events.

While no Lady Panthers were able to earn an all-state medal, five members of the team offered competitive efforts in three events.

The 4x200-meter relay team made up of Paige Amos, Sophie Braithwaite, Annabelle Edwards and Lillie Edwards finished 18th for C-S’ highest finish, posting a time of 1:53.81, just under three seconds from the eighth place finishers (1:50.86).

The quartet came into the meet seeded 27th out of 40 relay teams. Lodes said the time they posted at the state finals is third in C-S history.

C-S sophomore Sophie Braithwaite competed in the 100-meter hurdles competition, but did not advance out of the preliminaries, finishing 28th with a time of 13.94.

The 4x100-meter relay team composed of Paige Amos, Sophie Braithwaite, Lillie Edwards and Paige Fraley finished 28th with a time of 54.99, just under three seconds from the eighth place time (52.09).

Addy Reeves qualified in the long jump but she was competing for C-S in the girls softball district tournament at Gobles.

MHSAA LP Division 4 Finals
At Baldwin Middle School
Women
C-S Results
100 Meters D4 - Prelims
28. Sophie Braithwaite, 13.94a (-1.0); 4x100-meter relay: 28. Climax-Scotts (Paige Amos, Sophie Braithwaite, Lillie Edwards, Paige Fraley), 54.99; 4x200-meter relay: 18. Climax-Scotts (Paige Amos, Sophie Braithwaite, Annabelle Edwards, Lillie Edwards), 1:53.81); Long jump: Addy Reeves, DNS

MHSAA LP Division 4 Finals
At Baldwin Middle School
Men
C-S Results
4x100-meter relay: 8. Climax-Scotts (Luke Lawrence, Ryan DeHaan, Miles Shannon, Chase VanMiddlesworth, 44.91a; 4x200-meter relay: 11. Climax-Scotts (Jordan Grove, Luke Lawrence, Chase VanMiddlesworth, Miles Shannon), 1:34.44a; Shot put: 28. Ryan Pejakovich, 39’ 0.25; High jump: 9. Miles Shannon, 6’ 0; Long jump: 10. Miles Shannon, 19’ 7.25

No state finals qualifiers for C-S golf team

The Climax-Scotts golf team came away from the Division 4 regionals May 30 at Coldwater Golf Course without a state finals qualifier.

C-S finished in a share for 12th place with Marcellus with a 406 in the 21-team regionals, which was hosted by Hillsdale Academy.

Hillsdale Academy (331), Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (335) and Kalamazoo Christian (336) occupied the first three spots and qualified for the state finals as a team.

Jackson Bagwell’s 96 was low score for C-S. Cole Reitz finished a stroke behind Bagwell with a 97, followed by Carter Pio (102), Ryan Pejakovich (111) and Cole Curtis (117).

C-S posts 3-4 record at final SCAA event

The Panther golf team went 3-4 at the final SCAA event of the year May 20 at Ella Sharp Park.

C-S finishes the season with an overall record of 15-23 and 14-21 in the league.

Hillsdale Academy won the event with a 291. C-S finished fifth with a 374.

Cole Reitz’ 87 after 18 holes was C-S’ low score. Ryan Pejakovich and Carter Pio each shot a 93, Jackson Bagwell had a101 and Cole Curtis finished with a 102.

SCAA event #8 at Ella Sharp Park Golf Course

1-Hillsdale Academy, 291, 2-Jackson Christian 348, 3-Will Carleton Academy, 358, 4-Colon, 366, 5-Climax-Scotts, 374, 6-Mendon, 382, 7-Burr Oak (not enough golfers to score as a team - avg. 116.5), 8-Battle Creek St. Philip (not enough golfers to score as a team - avg. 120.3)
C-S Results: Cole Reitz, 87, Ryan Pejakovich, 93, Carter Pio, 93, Jackson Bagwell 101, Cole Curtis, 102

Panthers carry momentum
into tournament opener

The Climax-Scotts varsity baseball team carried plenty of momentum into the Division 3 district tournament after capturing a 11-0 win over Camden-Frontier May 28 at C-S for the Panthers’ seventh straight win.

Three C-S pitchers teamed up on a one-hitter in the 11-0 victory over Camden-Frontier.

Starting pitcher Carter Dzwik hurled the first two innings to earn the win. He allowed one hit and one walk to go with three strikeouts.

Logan Gilbert (two innings) and Gavin Eyre (one inning) did not allow a hit in relief.

Gilbert had two hits, drove in two runs and stole two bases and Eyre had a two-run double.

Camden-Frontier 000 00 -  0-1-0
Climax-Scotts      431 3x - 11-6-0

C-S hits: Logan Gilbert 2 (2 RBI), Gavin Eyre (double, 3 RBI), Ben Crocker 1 (1 RBI), Chandler Latimer 1 (2 RBI), Jacob Sheets 1 (1 RBI)
C-S stolen bases: Logan Gilbert 2, Tyler Smith 2, Josh Walman 1, Jacob Sheets 1

Winning pitcher: Carter Dzwik - 2 IP, 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
Logan Gilbert - 2 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts

Gavin Eyre - 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts

Miscues, Union City’s timely hitting,
strong pitching lead to 8-1 loss
for Panthers in semifinal game

By Bruce Rolfe

While the Climax-Scotts varsity baseball team overcame some early miscues to remain close, the Panthers couldn’t answer Union City’s timely hitting and struggled to solve Charger starting pitcher Elijah Payne in an 8-1 loss in the district semifinal game June 1 at C-S Jr./Sr. High School.

Jonesville, 9-3 winners over Bronson in the other semifinal game, defeated Union City 6-1 in the district championship game.

An error, walk, passed ball and wild pitch gave the Chargers a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

Payne then dominated the Panthers, scattering four hits and yielding two walks while striking out nine over six and two-thirds innings worked. At one point he retired 10 straight Panther batters.

A lead off double, RBI single, and a two-out, two-run single gave Union City a 4-0 lead entering the top of the fourth inning.

Union City enjoyed some separation in the bottom of the fourth inning by pushing four more runs across.

An error, a stolen base, wild pitch, a walk, an RBI single and a double steal that included a steal of home plate, gave the Chargers a 6-0 lead.  

The big inning continued with a single, a Charger batter that was hit by a pitch and a two-run single for an 8-0 lead.

However the Panther bats were stymied by Payne until the top of the seventh.

After Kasey Carman delivered a lead off single in the top of the third inning, Payne set down the next 10 Panthers.

A one out walk to Logan Gilbert in the top of the sixth inning ended the frustration.

Singles by Carter Dzwik and Chandler Latimer and a walk to Jackson Knickerbocker loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the seventh, however the Panthers managed to score just one run on a wild pitch.

C-S completes the season with a 20-6 record, however the school enjoyed a second straight 20-win season and won the SCAA West Division championship for the fourth straight year.

C-S managed just four hits, singles by Gavin Eyre, Carter Dzwik, Chandler Latimer and Kasey Carman.

Eyre suffered the loss. He pitched the first three innings and gave up five hits, four earned runs, two walks and struck out eight.

Carter Dzwik finished the contest, allowing two earned runs, one walk and four hits with three strikeouts across three innings pitched.

Climax-Scotts 000 000 1 - 1-4-2
Union City      103 400 x - 8-9-0

C-S hits: Gavin Eyre 1, Carter Dzwik 1, Chandler Latimer 1, Kasey Carman 1

Losing pitcher: Gavin Eyre - 3 IP, 5 hits, 6 runs, 4 earned, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts

Carter Dzwik - 3 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts

Martin used a big start and continued to flex its offensive presence the rest of the game in a 13-1 win over the Climax-Scotts varsity softball team June 1 in the district semifinals at Gobles.
Martin went on to capture the district championship with a 7-5 win over Gobles.

The Lady Panthers complete the season with a 12-12-1 record.

Martin jumped on C-S for six runs in the bottom of the first.

C-S responded with a run in the top of the second when Addy Reeves singled, moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Makenzee Grimm and scored on an RBI single by Lylah Parrish.
However Martin responded with a two-run second, two more runs in the third and three runs in the fourth.

Parrish finished with two hits and one RBI.

C-S struggled in the field, committing four errors that led to four unearned runs.

Starting and losing pitcher Addy Reeves struggled with her control at times, issuing 10 walks. She allowed eight hits and nine earned runs with one strikeout over four innings.

Climax-Scotts 010 00 - 1-8-4
Martin            622 3x - 13-8-1

C-S hits: Rylie Altman 1, Addi Dzwik 1 (double), Holly Talbert 1, Hailey Talbert 1, Addy Reeves 1, Lylah Parrish 2 (1 RBI), Jaise Lane 1

Losing pitcher: Addy Reeves - 4 IP, 8 hits, 13 runs, 9 earned runs, 10 walks, 1 strikeout

Lady Panthers win regular season finale

The Climax-Scotts varsity softball team ended the regular season on a positive note by posting a 15-5 win over Camden-Frontier Tuesday at C-S Jr./Sr. High School.

Addy Reeves scattered four hits, but struggled with control, allowing 10 walks, throwing three wild pitches and hitting two batters. She struck out four batters.

Rylie Altman had three hits and drove in one run and Addi Dzwik, who had three RBI, Holly Talbert, who drove in two runs, Hailey Talbert, who drove in one run and Jaise Lane, who drove in one run, each had two hits to lead C-S at the plate.

Camden-Frontier  104 000 -  5- 4-6
Climax-Scotts      341 232 - 15-15-1

C-S hits: Rylie Altman 3 (1 RBI), Addi Dzwik 2 (3 RBI), Holly Talbert 2 (2 RBI), Hailey Talbert 2 (1 RBI), Gina Smith 1 (2 RBI), Makenzee Grimm 3 (1 RBI), Jaise Lane 2 (1 RBI)

Other C-S RBI: Ashlynn Gilbert 1

C-S stolen bases: Makenzee Grimm 2, Jaise Lane 1, Lylah Parrish 1

Winning pitcher: Addy Reeves - 6 IP, 4 hits, 4 earned runs, 10 walks, 4 strikeouts

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