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HILLSDALE COUNTY — This spring sports season, readers will be able to vote for their favorite athlete of the week. With early spring sports events in the books, it’s time to announce the nominees for the first HD Mechanical Heating, Cooling and Plumbing Supply House Athlete of the Week of the spring sports season.
More: Four area boys prep hoops athletes earn honorable mention D4 all-state honors
Readers can vote as many times as they want through Wednesday, April 9. In addition, we will make our own choice for who we think was the Week 1 Athlete of the Week. Readers can view our pick below. Coaches can submit nominations by Sunday morning each week in order to have an eligible honoree.
Schools may have more than one nominee for different sports. Up to 10 athletes may be nominated each week. Polls will be monitored for foreign IP addresses. Athletes can be added to the voting poll up to one day after it opens. Polls close at 11:59 p.m. Schools that win two polls in a row will not be eligible for the next poll but will be eligible for our honoree pick.
Dawson Scharer – Hillsdale Academy – Boys Track and Field
The junior hurdler brought home his first two wins of the spring sports season at the Jack Beilfuss Invitational. The junior won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.85 seconds. He also won the 300 hurdles with a time of 40.82.
Effie Heckel – Hillsdale – Girls Track and Field
The freshman sprinter had an impressive debut for the Hillsdale varsity girls track team at the Jack Beilfuss Invitational. In front of a home crowd at Baumgarten Stadium, Heckel took first in the 200-meter sprint event with a time of 28.01 seconds. The freshman also helped the girls 4x200-meter relay team take first overall with a time of 1:53.64. Other relay members include fellow freshman Emily York, sophomore Kiely Kroa and senior anchor runner Megan Kast. Heckel also helped the 4x100 relay team take second overall with a time of 54.97.
Leah Headley – Reading Softball
The sophomore pitcher made an impressive debut helping the Reading varsity softball team defeat Pittsford 10-0 on opening day for their season. Headley pitched five innings, giving up just one hit and striking out 11 total batters. The sophomore also added two runs to the team’s tally.
Heidi Gawronski – Camden-Frontier Softball
The sophomore helped the RedHawks varsity softball team win its opening doubleheader against league rival Waldron. The team won scores of 14-3 and 6-4. Game one’s margin of victory was thanks in large part to Gawronski’s season debut on the mound. Gawronski pitched a four-inning no-hitter. Gawrosnki would only give up two earned runs from walks but struck out seven batters. In game one, Gawronski had a 3-for-3 day at the plate with two doubles, three RBIs and three runs. Gawronski was perfect at-bat in game two with two hits, three RBIs and one run.
Kherington Ladd – Hillsdale Softball
Ladd pitched an impressive 18 innings in the first week of softball events for the Hillsdale varsity Hornets. During that stretch of games against Quincy and Vandercook Lake, the Hornet pitcher had 24 strikeouts. This included a seven-inning, 13-strikeouts, five hits and two-earned runs performance in game one against Vandercook Lake (a 5-3 Vandercook win). Ladd also had three hits, two RBIs and three runs in that stretch.
Zach Franks – Camden-Frontier Baseball
After a rocky start in two close losses to Addison, the RedHawks got back on track with 12-6 and 9-2 victories over the Waldron Spartans. Helping lead the way was senior Zach Franks. The senior ended the four-game stretch with three hits, all of them doubles, three RBIs, four runs and five stolen bases. He is hitting at a .750 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage to start the year. He earned his first win on the mound for the RedHawks against Waldron in a four-inning appearance. He gave up one hit and one earned run versus a seven-strikeout day with a 1.059 WHIP.
Anderson Hollaway – Hillsdale Baseball – Hillsdale Daily News Pick
The senior Hornet helped the Hillsdale varsity baseball team off to an impressive 3-1 start to the 2025 season with wins over Quincy (7-5), and Vandercook Lake (13-3, 17-1). In game one against Quincy (a close 8-6 loss), Holloway had a perfect day at the plate with three double-base hits, two RBIs and two runs. He hit another RBI double and scored two runs in the win over Quincy. He had another double in the games against Vandercook Lake. He had a total of three hits, three runs and two RBIs. In game two, he pitched three innings, earning a win and eight strikeouts whilst giving up just one hit. He stole five bases in the four-game stretch. For his efforts, he is our choice pick for Athlete of the Week.
Connor McKay – North Adams-Jerome Baseball
The senior Rams pitcher started his final season with a big win on the mound in a 5-2 win over Styker. McKay pitched 6 1/3 innings with 11 strikeouts, giving up just three hits and two earned runs. He begins his season with a 2.1 earned run average, but even more impressive might be his .789 WHIP.
Nicholas Fowler – Jonesville Boys Track and Field
The junior Comet took first place in the 400-meter dash at the Jack Beilfuss Invite with a time of 52.4. The junior then helped two Comet boys relay teams earn second place in their first races of the season. The 4x200 team of senior Mikinlee Packer, sophomore John Milks, Fowler and senior Zander Goodwin took second place with a final time of 1:35.43. The junior then helped the 4x400 team of Reece Rundquist, Caleb Blonde and Mason Jordan take second with a time of 3:39.32.
Drew Elder - Reading Baseball
The senior Ranger pitcher put in a 10-strikeout performance against the Pittsford Wildcats in a 5-4 win. His three-inning stint saw him just give up two hits and one earned run. He was supported by Kevin Denison, who ended the game with three innings and seven strikeouts. Elder scored one run after making his way around the bases with a steal, which put the Rangers up 3-2 at the bottom of the third inning.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Vote for the Week 1 Spring Sports HD Mechanical Athlete of the Week
Continue reading...
More: Four area boys prep hoops athletes earn honorable mention D4 all-state honors
Readers can vote as many times as they want through Wednesday, April 9. In addition, we will make our own choice for who we think was the Week 1 Athlete of the Week. Readers can view our pick below. Coaches can submit nominations by Sunday morning each week in order to have an eligible honoree.
Schools may have more than one nominee for different sports. Up to 10 athletes may be nominated each week. Polls will be monitored for foreign IP addresses. Athletes can be added to the voting poll up to one day after it opens. Polls close at 11:59 p.m. Schools that win two polls in a row will not be eligible for the next poll but will be eligible for our honoree pick.
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Nominees
Dawson Scharer – Hillsdale Academy – Boys Track and Field
The junior hurdler brought home his first two wins of the spring sports season at the Jack Beilfuss Invitational. The junior won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.85 seconds. He also won the 300 hurdles with a time of 40.82.
Effie Heckel – Hillsdale – Girls Track and Field
The freshman sprinter had an impressive debut for the Hillsdale varsity girls track team at the Jack Beilfuss Invitational. In front of a home crowd at Baumgarten Stadium, Heckel took first in the 200-meter sprint event with a time of 28.01 seconds. The freshman also helped the girls 4x200-meter relay team take first overall with a time of 1:53.64. Other relay members include fellow freshman Emily York, sophomore Kiely Kroa and senior anchor runner Megan Kast. Heckel also helped the 4x100 relay team take second overall with a time of 54.97.
Leah Headley – Reading Softball
The sophomore pitcher made an impressive debut helping the Reading varsity softball team defeat Pittsford 10-0 on opening day for their season. Headley pitched five innings, giving up just one hit and striking out 11 total batters. The sophomore also added two runs to the team’s tally.
Heidi Gawronski – Camden-Frontier Softball
The sophomore helped the RedHawks varsity softball team win its opening doubleheader against league rival Waldron. The team won scores of 14-3 and 6-4. Game one’s margin of victory was thanks in large part to Gawronski’s season debut on the mound. Gawronski pitched a four-inning no-hitter. Gawrosnki would only give up two earned runs from walks but struck out seven batters. In game one, Gawronski had a 3-for-3 day at the plate with two doubles, three RBIs and three runs. Gawronski was perfect at-bat in game two with two hits, three RBIs and one run.
Kherington Ladd – Hillsdale Softball
Ladd pitched an impressive 18 innings in the first week of softball events for the Hillsdale varsity Hornets. During that stretch of games against Quincy and Vandercook Lake, the Hornet pitcher had 24 strikeouts. This included a seven-inning, 13-strikeouts, five hits and two-earned runs performance in game one against Vandercook Lake (a 5-3 Vandercook win). Ladd also had three hits, two RBIs and three runs in that stretch.
Zach Franks – Camden-Frontier Baseball
After a rocky start in two close losses to Addison, the RedHawks got back on track with 12-6 and 9-2 victories over the Waldron Spartans. Helping lead the way was senior Zach Franks. The senior ended the four-game stretch with three hits, all of them doubles, three RBIs, four runs and five stolen bases. He is hitting at a .750 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage to start the year. He earned his first win on the mound for the RedHawks against Waldron in a four-inning appearance. He gave up one hit and one earned run versus a seven-strikeout day with a 1.059 WHIP.
Anderson Hollaway – Hillsdale Baseball – Hillsdale Daily News Pick
The senior Hornet helped the Hillsdale varsity baseball team off to an impressive 3-1 start to the 2025 season with wins over Quincy (7-5), and Vandercook Lake (13-3, 17-1). In game one against Quincy (a close 8-6 loss), Holloway had a perfect day at the plate with three double-base hits, two RBIs and two runs. He hit another RBI double and scored two runs in the win over Quincy. He had another double in the games against Vandercook Lake. He had a total of three hits, three runs and two RBIs. In game two, he pitched three innings, earning a win and eight strikeouts whilst giving up just one hit. He stole five bases in the four-game stretch. For his efforts, he is our choice pick for Athlete of the Week.
Connor McKay – North Adams-Jerome Baseball
The senior Rams pitcher started his final season with a big win on the mound in a 5-2 win over Styker. McKay pitched 6 1/3 innings with 11 strikeouts, giving up just three hits and two earned runs. He begins his season with a 2.1 earned run average, but even more impressive might be his .789 WHIP.
Nicholas Fowler – Jonesville Boys Track and Field
The junior Comet took first place in the 400-meter dash at the Jack Beilfuss Invite with a time of 52.4. The junior then helped two Comet boys relay teams earn second place in their first races of the season. The 4x200 team of senior Mikinlee Packer, sophomore John Milks, Fowler and senior Zander Goodwin took second place with a final time of 1:35.43. The junior then helped the 4x400 team of Reece Rundquist, Caleb Blonde and Mason Jordan take second with a time of 3:39.32.
Drew Elder - Reading Baseball
The senior Ranger pitcher put in a 10-strikeout performance against the Pittsford Wildcats in a 5-4 win. His three-inning stint saw him just give up two hits and one earned run. He was supported by Kevin Denison, who ended the game with three innings and seven strikeouts. Elder scored one run after making his way around the bases with a steal, which put the Rangers up 3-2 at the bottom of the third inning.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Vote for the Week 1 Spring Sports HD Mechanical Athlete of the Week
Continue reading...
