UNDATED (WTVB) – While the high school sports schedule in Branch County is on Spring Break hiatus until this coming Thursday, when Union City is scheduled to host Parma Western in a baseball doubleheader, we have a chance to get caught up on some stories on the high school scene from the past week.
On Tuesday, the Michigan High School Athletic Association released its list of school classifications for the 2015-16 school year, with no change in classification for Branch County schools. Classifications were made based on the second semester school count date, which took place in early February; schools with 875 or more students will be listed in Class A, while the enrollment limit for Class B will be 420-874, Class C will be 213-419, and Class D will be 212 and fewer. Coldwater, with 863 students, will remain in Class B, while Quincy, with 346 students, stays in Class C along with Bronson, at 313, and Union City, at 298. Tekonsha will stay at Class D with 81 students, 3 more than Pansophia Academy. Thirteen schools across the state will be moving up a class next year, while 17 schools will move down. Of note in the area, Parma Western and Jackson Northwest from the Interstate 8 will move up to Class A, while Jackson Lumen Christi will return to Class B. Sturgis, longtime rivals of Coldwater, will move to Class A for the first time since the 1963-64 school year, while Jonesville will become the first school in the 42-year history of the Big “8” Conference to be placed in Class B. The traditional classifications are used in basketball and volleyball; most other MHSAA tournaments are conducted in equal divisions based on the number of schools competing in a given sport.
In track and field, congratulations goes out to Coldwater thrower Logan Targgart. In the Cardinals’ Interstate 8 tri-meet against Charlotte and Marshall this past Tuesday, Targgart broke a 15-year-old school record in the shot put. His throw of 55 feet, 9-1/2 inches edged the old mark, which was set by Aaron Tagert in 2000, by half an inch. Logan Targgart also owns the school record in the discus, which he set at last year’s Division 2 Lower Peninsula State Finals. Coldwater finished in first place in the boys meet, followed by Charlotte and Marshall. The Redhawks won the girls meet, followed by the Orioles and Cardinals.
