Amid Life's Hurdles, Mendon Sprinter Rises
April 11, 2018
By Wes Morgan
Special for Second Half
Sam Cleveland remembers a day back in elementary school, or at least parts of it, that changed his life forever.
He recalled feeling lightheaded, seeing a fuzzy image of the floor before passing out. After regaining consciousness, he was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Now a junior three-sport athlete at Mendon High School, Cleveland was diagnosed with severe hypoglycemia, a condition caused by a low level of blood sugar (glucose), which is the body’s primary energy source. Since then, he has been on a strict diet that requires many meals a day.
Despite the health concern, Cleveland has been able to navigate a twisting path through life, academics and athletics. Without going into detail, his coaches noted how Cleveland had been able to remain focused in the face of a challenging home life as a youngster.
Now he lives with his grandmother, who is battling cancer and relies heavily on the support Cleveland provides. Through all of this, Cleveland has been an integral component to the success of both the Mendon football and wrestling teams. The Hornets advanced to the MHSAA Division 8 Semifinals in football, and the grapplers followed that up this past winter with a trip to the Division 4 Quarterfinals after claiming their first Regional crown in nearly three decades.
Cleveland’s role in football was mostly on special teams, where he returned both a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns in one game. He missed the majority of his sophomore season in 2016 with a broken fibula. On a power-packed wrestling team, Cleveland filled the 152-pound spot when one of the Hornets’ top performers, Kaden Frye, missed a good chunk of the season recovering from a severe leg fracture.
“I’m not very good at it at all,” Cleveland said, noting his still-solid 11-12 record on the mat. “This year I wasn’t going to wrestle. I had a lot of stuff going on personally. It wasn’t appealing at all to me because the year before that I had a really bad year. But I’ve realized wrestling is one of those things that keeps me going. It’s the pinnacle of my athletic ability because of how hard we go. There’s no other practice like wrestling practice.
“I can’t cut weight, or I will die. I have to eat like eight times a day on a schedule. It’s a struggle to wrestle, but I do it anyway because I love my coach and the kids on that team. There’s nothing like that atmosphere. Here at Mendon, wrestling and football are the hardest things you’ll do. We try our best and put everything on the line.”
That Cleveland decided to return for another year of wrestling didn’t surprise coach Caleb Stephenson, who said the student-athlete has accepted a number of challenges he didn’t necessarily ask for in life.
“A kid like Sam is exactly what you think about when you think about small-town sports,” Stephenson said. “He’s so crucial. You’ve got to have these guys that are three-sport athletes. He’s going to give you everything he’s got every single day, and you just love kids like that.
“He’s had to deal with so much more than he ever told you. He’s had a rough upbringing and has had to deal with some things kids shouldn’t have to deal with at such a young age. Without Sam this year, we wouldn’t have been the wrestling team we were. When Kaden got hurt, Sam stepped up. That’s the way he’s grown up. He’s had to; he’s had no choice.”
On the track is where Cleveland’s confidence noticeably comes alive. As a freshman, he qualified for the Division 4 Finals in the 100 meters. Last season, he secured the final (eighth) all-state spot in the event with a time of 11.5 seconds, along with a seventh-place performance with the Mendon 800 relay team and an 11th-place finish with the 400 relay. Cleveland also qualified for the Finals in the long jump.
“He’s a tough kid,” Mendon track coach Vic Wilczynski said. “This might be one of the first years he has started out not hurt. He’s a good leader and is out there working with the younger guys. Not many guys have qualified as a freshman in the 100 (from Mendon), and he followed that up with all-state. You look up at that (program) record board, and there aren’t that many guys up there in the 100, period.”
He may not headline the football and wrestling rosters, but the spring is when Cleveland has a chance to shine.
“I’m pretty psyched about the 100,” Cleveland said as the 2018 track season gets going. “It was never really my thing. In middle school I used to run the 800 and the 400. I never thought of myself as a sprinter, to be honest.
“Track season is the most important season to me. It keeps me in the best shape and is something I thrive at. I strive to be better every day.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTO: Mendon’s Sam Cleveland charges forward during a 100-meter preliminary at last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals at Houseman Field. Evart’s Major Griffin is to his left, and Wyoming Potter’s House Christian’s Shelton Rodriguez is to his right. (Photo courtesy of JoeInsider.com.)
Concord Conquers LP D4 Convincingly
May 31, 2014
By Chip Mundy
Special to Second Half
HUDSONVILLE – Concord distance runner Jesse Hersha imagined the Yellow Jackets would win the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 track and field championship as far back as last summer.
Or just about the time he heard that Nolen Bright-Mitchell was coming to Concord from Albion High School, which had closed its doors because of budget issues.
“Last spring, we were already thinking we were going to be really good and we had a shot to win the state title,” Hersha said. “Later that summer, I heard a rumor that Nolen was coming, but they were trying to keep it on the down low.
“I asked my dad - he’s the coach - and he just said, ‘He is.’ I was like, ‘Yea, we’re going to win the state title.’ ”
Concord did it convincingly, too. The Yellow Jackets finished with 78 points, far ahead of the 46 registered by defending champion and runner-up Saugatuck.
Bright-Mitchell was as good Saturday as Hersha was with his premonition last summer. After winning the 200 last year for Albion, Bright-Mitchell swept the 100 and 200 and ran on Concord’s winning relay teams in the 800 and 1,600. He set LP Division 4 records in the 100 (10.7 seconds) and 200 (21.62), and the 1,600 relay also set an LP Division 4 record in 3 minutes, 24.19 seconds.
Bright-Mitchell, wearing a blue shoe on his left foot and an orange one on his right, will attend Grand Valley State University in the fall. But he hasn’t forgotten his Albion roots.
“I wore my Albion warm-ups in every meet we had,” he said. “But I love Concord. It’s a great community with great teachers and a great school.”
It was the second MHSAA championship in five years for Concord, which won the 2010 title.
“It’s been a really good year, and we accomplished a lot,” Concord coach Mark Hersha said. “We had a vision for it at the beginning of the year, and it’s really good to see the guys put it all together.”
Coach Hersha also received a bonus as he watched his son Jesse win his first individual track title as he took the 3,200 in 9:38.54.
“That was kind of nice, too,” Mark Hersha said. “It was a fast 1,600, so it was disappointing he was third. He cooled down a little bit, and it was courageous to go back out there and run again in the 3,200.”
Jesse Hersha, just a sophomore, already is a two-time individual champion in cross country.
“My whole high school career has kind of been like an only-distance track team, but now we’ve had a lot more people to come out from the baseball team and everything,” he said, “and a couple of Albion guys, especially Nolen.
“You have to give a lot of credit to Nolen for winning four events.”
Bright-Mitchell had some help on the relays as was joined on the winning 1,600 relay team by Lonelle Langston, Chase Hinkle and Zach Hudson, another Albion transfer.
The winning 800 relay team also included Brett Lehman, Langston and Chevy Burk. Langston also was seventh in the high jump, Lehman was eighth in the 100 and Burk was 11th in the long jump.
Concord also placed fourth in the 400 as Lehman, Hinkle, Treyvon Miller and Langston finished in 44.77 seconds.
Another Albion connection is on the coaching staff as former Albion coach Mike Jurasek and his assistant Dan Davis serve as volunteer coaches. Jurasek is a Concord graduate, and Coach Hersha welcomed him to the staff.
“From a distance, we’ve all seen the success he’s had at Albion and stuff like that,” Hersha said. “It’s kind of almost a miracle to see the things he does with kids – his personality, the way he prepares himself to prepare them – again, there’s a reason why he’s successful.
“Everything about him is a model of excellence, and it’s been a blessing all year long to have him. He doesn’t only help with the guys but with the girls, too.”
Saugatuck had only one individual champion, but it came with some flash. Freshman Blake Dunn won the 300 hurdles in 40.22 seconds, while David Dykstra of White Cloud took the 110 hurdles.
There were two LP Division 4 state records broken in the field events. Curtis Bell cleared 15 feet, 1 inch to set a record and win the pole vault, while Tyrell Hall of Marion soared 12-11.75 to win the long jump.
Other winners in the field events were Tucker Scharf of Unionville-Sebewaing in the discus (148-6), Tyler Crenshaw of Brown City in the shot put (51-8), and Hunter Weeks of Homer in the high jump (6-7).
In the running events, Austin Sandusky of Morenci won the 400 in 50.48, Bryce DeGrammont of Mio took the 800 in 1:58.09, and Luke Anderson of Harbor Beach captured the 1,600 in 4:17.49. The 400 relay went to Southfield Christian, and Muskegon Western Michigan Christian took the 3,200 relay.
PHOTO: Concord’s Nolen Bright-Mitchell (4) set LP Division 4 Finals records in both the 100 and 200 Saturday in Hudsonville. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)