Kloss Raring to Make His Move in D3
April 20, 2018
By Dennis Chase
Special for Second Half
HARBOR SPRINGS – Jeremy Kloss is growing weary of northern Michigan’s cold, snowy spring.
“I’m a little frustrated,” said the Harbor Springs junior, who won the 1,600 and 3,200 meters at last June’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Track & Field Finals. “I really want to get a meet in.”
A mid-April snowstorm blasted the area with more than a foot of snow last weekend. Most schools were closed Monday – and some Tuesday.
Kloss used the extended weekend break to put in an eight-mile run – his longest of the year.
“I had to find roads that weren’t as snow-covered as others,” he said. “It wasn’t the best footing.”
No sport has been able to gain traction.
According to the National Weather Service in Gaylord, this is the coldest and snowiest April on record in the northern Lower Peninsula. Some 37.3 inches of snow has fallen in Gaylord this month, eclipsing the previous record of 27 inches in 1923. Traverse City has had 27.1 inches, surpassing the mark of 17.3 in 2007. In addition, the average daytime temperature has been running 18 degrees below normal in this part of the state.
Harbor Springs had its first three track meets cancelled or postponed. The weather is expected to start turning this weekend, so there is hope the season will get underway next week, about three weeks from Regionals.
“I looked on athletic.net and it appears most schools, even downstate, haven’t had too many meets,” said Mike Kloss, Jeremy’s father and the longtime Rams boys track coach. “That makes me feel a little better. If they’re running downstate, and you’re not, then you feel like you’re behind the 8 ball.
“The weather’s got to give us a break.”
Jeremy sure hopes so.
“I don’t know if my mom (Emily, the girls track coach) has taken the snow tires off her vehicle yet,” he said. “I haven’t taken the sand bags out of my truck.”
Once the season starts, Jeremy Kloss is hoping to build off last year’s accomplishments when he set personal bests in capturing the 1,600 (4:25.73) and 3,200 (9:46.25) at the Finals. He was also on the 3,200 relay team that took third and the 1,600 relay that placed seventh. That helped spark the Rams to a third-place team finish.
Kloss, whose three older brothers previously ran for the Rams, jokingly noted last June before the championship meet that his brothers always had one question for him – “Why aren’t you running faster?”
“If you’ve been around us, you know it’s not an easy crowd at times,” said Mike with a laugh.
The 17-year-old put that to rest and now owns bragging rights in the family with the fastest 1,600 and 3,200 times.
Now he’s hoping to keep dropping and challenge school marks in the 800 (Jacques Henning, 1:56.36), 1,600 (Tec Adams, 4:16) and 3,200 (Adams, 9:24).
“My goals are ambitious,” he said. “Aim high.”
“He’s self-motivated,” added his father. “Like (Monday), he went out and ran eight miles in crappy weather. He has big goals in what he wants to do, and that’s what drives him. He wants to be good. He works hard.”
Kloss finished second to Caro’s Yami Albrecht (15:44.7 to 15:47.1) at the LP Division 3 Cross Country Final in the fall. Then, for the most part, he put training on hold to play basketball during the winter.
“Toward the end of the (basketball) season I would wake up at 6 a.m. and run three times a week, and then on the other two mornings I would go to the gym with a couple buddies for workouts (before school),” he said.
All in hopes of getting off to a fast start in track.
Then, Mother Nature intervened.
Kloss is motivated since he’ll have to now prove himself in Division 3.
“There’s a really good group of (distance runners) in Division 3,” he said. “It’s a tough group to hop in with, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
The field includes Albrecht, Hanover-Horton’s Landon Melling, Cass City’s CarLee Stimpfel, Saugatuck’s Corey Gorgas and Kent City’s Fraser Wilson. Gorgas was second (9:20.16), Stimpfel third (9:30.77) and Wilson fourth (9:36.23) in the Division 3 3,200 last June. In the 1,600, Melling finished second (4:17.04), Albrecht third (4:18.49), and Stimpfel fourth (4:19.55).
“That 9:20 Corey (Gorgas) ran in the 3,200 is fast, and I think he ran that fast indoors (over the winter),” said Mike Kloss. “D-3 is a lot different. In D-4 you might have one or two (vying for the title), but in D-3 you’ll have five or six. It’s another challenge, another step.”
In D-4 a year ago, Kloss won the 1,600 by nearly three seconds and the 3,200 by nearly eight.
“I think Jeremy could have gone 4:20 (in the 1,600) in the right type race,” said his father.
East Jordan coach Matt Peterson agrees that Kloss will face a stiffer challenge in Division 3.
“The times will be quicker and the fields will be deeper,“ he said. “But having said that, he was close to winning the D-3 cross country title. It wouldn’t surprise me if he placed very well or won at the state track meet.
“It goes back to his persistence. That’s the one word I would use to describe him. I’ve seen him run since middle school and I’ve never seen him run what I consider a bad race. I’ve never seen him mentally quit in a race, no matter how he feels. Every runner has an off day where they don’t feel right. He runs through that. That’s huge in anything, including life.”
Peterson and Mike Kloss were college teammates at Ferris State in the mid-1980s. He’s watched Jeremy grow up, starting when Jeremy was just weeks old and his parents brought him along to the state cross country meet.
“He’s a nice kid,” said Peterson. “I’ve watched him run at numerous state meets and the way he conducts himself, his attitude, is unbelievable. I was at the D-4 track meet last spring, and after he won the 3,200 he ran across the track and hugged me – and I’m an opposing coach. I can’t say enough good things about him.”
Mike Kloss will let the next few weeks play out to see what events Jeremy will run come Regionals and, most likely, the Division 3 Finals.
“It’s way too early to make those decisions,” Mike said.
Jeremy, meanwhile, is excited to see what the 3,200 relay can do. Senior Max Sydow and sophomore David Harrell return from a unit that posted a podium finish last year. Sophomore Austin Smar will join the mix.
“If we all drop our times, which I think we can, we can be pretty good,” Jeremy Kloss said.
It will be an important few weeks for Kloss as he also tries to showcase his talents for college coaches. He’s received attention from some Division I schools outside the state, although his preference is to remain in-state.
“I would like to be closer to home,” he said.
For Mike and Emily Kloss, this is their 28th year coaching in the Harbor Springs system. They also lead the cross country programs. Mike recently celebrated his 30th anniversary with the Michigan State Police. Most of those years were spent working the nightshift. Now, he’s working days as a court officer.
His training regimen for distance runners is based on low mileage, high intensity workouts.
“It’s not that we went in with that thought,” he said. “We adapted to it. If I ran kids big miles, we would lose them and we don’t have many spares.
“Jeremy has been gradually increasing (his miles), but I don’t want him to run college workouts in high school. It seems to be working for him.”
Jeremy said there’s another benefit to lower mileage.
“Kids are not getting hurt,” he said. “I can’t remember anyone having a stress fracture. The closest thing we’ve had is a couple kids with shin splints for a week or so. We’re staying healthy.”
As a trade-off, runners are asked to test themselves when they do work out.
“My dad likes to say, ‘A little faster if you can stand it,’” Jeremy said. “We have that quote on our sweatshirts and T-shirts.”
Now, if they just had better weather to start applying it.
Dennis Chase worked 32 years as a sportswriter at the Traverse City Record-Eagle, including as sports editor from 2000-14. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Harbor Springs’ Jeremy Kloss leads the pack during last season’s 1,600 championship race at the LP Division 4 Finals. (Middle) Kloss crosses first to win the 3,200 title. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
Not Even Sky Seems Limit as Richards Keeps Calvary Sports Soaring
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
January 4, 2024
Bradley Richards believes that life is all about trying new things, setting bigger goals and pushing yourself to new heights – in his case, literally.
Richards, now a 6-foot-5, 190-pound junior basketball standout at tiny Fruitport Calvary Christian, played on the school’s fifth-grade team when he was in second grade.
He remembers staring longingly at the rim in those days and dreaming about dunking, before making that dream a reality by throwing one down in February of his seventh-grade year.
While his three older sisters - Taylor, Allyson and Kelsey - were leading the Calvary girls basketball program to new heights, he vowed he would do the same with the boys program someday.
Bradley and his teammates accomplished that goal last spring, winning the school’s first boys District basketball title despite a roster with no seniors.
This season, Calvary came flying out of the gate with a 5-0 start and is now 5-2 heading into Friday’s home game against Saugatuck.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” said Bradley, who averages 29 points and 14 rebounds per game. “Our school is so small that we’re more like a family. It’s not about me. I’m just so happy for our school and all of the guys on the team.”
The next goal is to repeat as District champions and try to win a Regional title, before setting his sights at clearing 7 feet in the high jump this spring.
“I’m going to try to get past that this year,” said Bradley in his typical humble, matter-of-fact fashion.
One thing his father and fourth-year Fruitport Calvary Christian boys basketball coach Brad Richards has learned is to not put anything past his only son, the youngest of his four children.
Bradley displayed an interest in music as a young boy and now sings in the school’s worship group and plays the saxophone, piano and guitar. Last fall, he played high school football for the first time as part of a cooperative agreement with Muskegon Catholic Central and wound up starting at wide receiver and defensive back for the state powerhouse program.
“He’s blessed and he’s gifted – yes,” said his father, who also coached all three of his girls during their Calvary Christian basketball careers. “But he works so hard.
“Bradley sets goals and works toward them. He’s always looking for the next thing to do.”
True to his school
One thing he doesn’t like to do is media interviews. Specifically, he doesn’t like calling attention to himself.
“He is pretty quiet and would rather have his teammates get the attention,” said his mother, Joy.
Fruitport Calvary Christian is one of the smallest schools on the entire Lakeshore with 51 students in grades 9-12, and just 17 boys in the high school.
The Eagles take great pride in their ability to compete against much larger schools. They made a huge statement during the first full week of December with three convincing victories over bigger schools.
That week started on Tuesday, Dec. 5, with Calvary’s first-ever boys basketball win over neighbor Fruitport, a Division 2 school that competes in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue. Bradley scored 35 points with 14 rebounds in that game, with clutch free throws by role player Eric Dubois Quayle sealing the win.
Two days later, Richards scored 36 points with 17 rebounds in a win over Grand Rapids Sacred Heart.
Calvary then capped the 3-0 week Friday with a victory over Kent City, another Division 2 school, as Bradley scored 36 points with 18 rebounds.
Calvary is led by the “big three” of juniors Richards and Quinn Swanson and senior Sam Zelenka. Swanson, the team’s second-leading scorer with 17 points plus six rebounds and three assists per game, injured his knee last week against Schoolcraft and his health will have a huge bearing on the team’s success going forward. Zelenka is the top defender and averages 11 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
The other starters are junior workhorse Zach McFarren, who owns the school’s shot put and discus records and has played all but six minutes over the team’s seven games, and senior Nolan Ghezzi.
Richards, already a two-time Associated Press all-state selection who even made the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan all-state team as an eighth grader, has seen every gimmick defense to try and shut him down, including box-and-twos and triple teams. He credits his experience in football and track with helping him deal with it.
“There is usually a quick guy in front of me and a big guy behind me,” said Bradley, who scored a career-high 47 points in a game last season. “Football has really helped me, because I’m not as scared of the contact. The high jumping has helped me to elevate and get my shot off.”
Great heights
Jim McHugh is a high jump legend from Pentwater who went on to become a two-time national champion in the event at Hillsdale College, and he now coaches West Michigan athletes in the event.
The first time he worked with Bradley Richards, in April of last year, he knew he had something special on his hands.
“Bradley went up and literally hurdled the bar at 5-11,” said McHugh. “I was in shock. I said to myself: ‘This is gonna be a heck of a ride.’ The kid is a generational talent.”
The coaching of McHugh paid immediate dividends, as Bradley improved from a top jump of 6-1½ as a freshman to 6-6½ in last year’s Regional meet. Then came the Division 4 Finals at Hudsonville a few weeks later.
Bradley won the first track Finals championship for Fruitport Calvary with a leap of 6-10 – which was 3 inches higher than anyone else in any of the four Lower Peninsula divisions and entire Upper Peninsula that day – and caught the attention of college scouts from across the country.
The following week, he competed at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in Philadelphia and placed second with a jump of 6-8.24.
McHugh shudders to think of how high his prodigy can soar. He has his sights set on the Division 4 Finals record of 6-10½ (Kurt Schneider, Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, 2009), the Muskegon-area record of 7-0 (Steve Paulsen, Fremont, 1998) and the all-division/class Finals record of 7-1 (John Payment, Brimley, 1989).
“God has given him incredible talent, but he also has the desire it takes,” said McHugh, who is also working with another Division I college high jump prospect in Hart junior Addison Hovey. “I gave him a workout plan, and he has done every bit of it. He has cleaned up his diet, done the cold showers and the cold bathtubs, everything. I’m excited to see the results.”
Richards, whose first love was basketball, admits he is smitten with the high jump and seeing how high he can soar.
Now, when asked about his favorite athletes, he still mentions Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant, but he also includes Olympic gold medalist high jumper Mutaz Barshim of Qatar – who made news by not taking additional jumps at the 2020 Olympics in Japan, thereby sharing the gold medal with Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy.
“I just respect that so much, sharing the gold medal,” Bradley said.
Decision time
Now the Bradley Richards recruiting saga has begun and, for him, it’s not just about choosing what school – it’s also about choosing what sport.
“I would like to do both, play basketball and high jump in college, if possible,” Bradley said.
That would certainly be a possibility if Bradley follows in his family’s footsteps at Cornerstone University. His father was a basketball standout at Cornerstone, which is where he met Joy, and all three of his sisters played for the Golden Eagles. (Kelsey is currently a student assistant for this year’s team.)
Playing both may not be possible if he pursues high jump at the Division I level, where Michigan and Illinois are among schools actively recruiting him.
“I know at some point I’m going to have to make a decision, but I don’t have to right now,” said the 17-year-old Bradley. “So it doesn’t do me any good to sit and stress about it all the time.”
Instead, he is focused on more immediate goals.
The first is figuring out a way for his basketball team to snap a two-game losing skid and get positioned for another postseason run.
Then it will be trying to clear the magical high jump number of 7-0, and beyond. And don’t forget football, where he would love to start off his senior year by helping Muskegon Catholic improve on its 6-5 record from a year ago and make a run at the school’s 13th state football championship.
Only after all of that will it be college decision time.
“It’s not an easy choice, and it will take a lot of prayer and discernment,” admitted Richards, who will look for help from his immediate family and his school family in making his choice. “I’ll figure it out. I usually do.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Fruitport Calvary Christian’s Bradley Richards stands atop the podium after winning the high jump last spring at the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals. (Middle) Richards lines up to shoot a free throw. (Below) Playing as part of a cooperative with Muskegon Catholic Central, Richards works to get away from a Traverse City St. Francis tackler. (Track photo courtesy of Joy Richards; basketball and football photos courtesy of Local Sports Journal.)