Zeeland East High School student Lewis Miller (right) helps carry the Michigan banner during opening ceremonies of the Hartford Nationals athletic competition for individuals with disabilities last month at Calvin University’s Gainey Athletic Facility. Miller competed in the 100-meter wheelchair race.
(Photo provided)
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
Lewis Miller loves to compete.
The rising sophomore at Zeeland East High School recently had an opportunity to test his abilities as a wheelchair athlete at the Hartford Nationals, a national event for athletes with disabilities that was held in Grand Rapids.
“It was a fun experience,” the 16-year-old Miller said.
Miller competed in the 100-meter wheelchair race at the Hartford Nationals, recording a personal-best time of 20.91 seconds. He lowered his time from earlier this spring, when he ran a time of 21.05 representing East in the adaptive 100 meters at the state Division 1 high school boys track and field finals at Rockford High School.
In an interview with the Zeeland Record last week, Miller explained the differences between the two races.
“I was the only wheelchair (athlete) in D1 (at the state track finals),” he said. “I was against people who could walk … At Hartford I was against guys who were in wheelchairs, that were as impaired as I am.”
In addition to competing in the 100-meter race, Lewis helped carry the Michigan banner in the Parade of Athletes during the opening ceremony, held at Calvin University’s Gainey Athletic Facility, and he led all of the athletes in the Athlete's Oath.
“I was a little nervous because there were a lot of people there, but I got through it,” he said.
The oldest of three children born to Coleman and Lauren Miller, Lewis Miller was born with spina bifida, a birth defect marked by an incomplete closing of the spinal column and the membranes around the spinal cord.
Track is a relatively new sport to Miller. On the other hand, he has been a wheelchair basketball player for the last 10 years. He currently competes at the varsity level for the Mary Free Bed Junior Pacers, a wheelchair basketball team based out of Mary Free Bed Hospital in Grand Rapids.
Lauren Miller is thankful her son has gotten opportunities for athletic competition such as Hartford Nationals.
“He is a competitive, serious athlete,” she said. “I feel like a lot of people have an idea in their head of what wheelchair athletics is, and they don’t realize it’s really competitive and exciting.”
Miller’s long-term goal is to compete in the Paralympic Games, the international event that runs shortly after the Olympic Games every four years and are held in the same city where the Olympics are held.
A total of 428 athletes from 38 states competed in the Hartford Nationals this year, competing in the following sports – archery, boccia, para powerlifting, paratriathlon and aquathlon, shooting, swimming, track and field, and wheelchair and para standing tennis. Miller was one of a record 35 athletes from Michigan to compete in the games.
It was announced at the closing ceremony July 17 that the Hartford Nationals will return to Grand Rapids next year, marking the third straight year the city has hosted the competition. The event is hosted locally by the West Michigan Sports Commission with support from Mary Free Bed Wheelchair and Adaptive Sports.
“Making the decision to return to Grand Rapids for a third year reflects what a wonderful experience our host organizations have provided to our competitors and families,” said Glenn Merry, chief executive officer of Move United, the organization that oversees the Hartford Nationals. “The venues are top notch, hotel accommodations are accessible and first rate, and the friendly and hospitable community and volunteers have really shown the light on how remarkable Grand Rapids is for sports.”
Seven local venues hosted competition events this year, including Calvin’s Gainey Athletic Facility (track & field and welcome ceremony), Calvin’s Venema Aquatic Center (swimming), Mary Free Bed YMCA (archery and para powerlifting), Millennium Park (paratriathlon), MSA Fieldhouse (boccia and shooting), MVP Athletic Club (tennis) and the Grand Rapids Public Museum (closing celebration).
Mary Free Bed Wheelchair and Adaptive Sports is one of the largest programs of its kind in the country. Every year, Mary Free Bed provides recreational opportunities to hundreds of people with disabilities – last year it totaled over 1,700 participants. Athletes of all ages and abilities participated in over 40 different classes, clinics and teams – including wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, handcycling and wheelchair softball.
Athletes wishing to compete at The Hartford Nationals 2027 must qualify through one of more than 35 sanctioned competitions that take place across the country throughout the Move United member network, a national governing body, or High School Athletic Association sanctioned event. To learn more, visit thehartfordnationals.org.
Zeeland Record
Lewis Miller loves to compete.
The rising sophomore at Zeeland East High School recently had an opportunity to test his abilities as a wheelchair athlete at the Hartford Nationals, a national event for athletes with disabilities that was held in Grand Rapids.
“It was a fun experience,” the 16-year-old Miller said.
Miller competed in the 100-meter wheelchair race at the Hartford Nationals, recording a personal-best time of 20.91 seconds. He lowered his time from earlier this spring, when he ran a time of 21.05 representing East in the adaptive 100 meters at the state Division 1 high school boys track and field finals at Rockford High School.
In an interview with the Zeeland Record last week, Miller explained the differences between the two races.
“I was the only wheelchair (athlete) in D1 (at the state track finals),” he said. “I was against people who could walk … At Hartford I was against guys who were in wheelchairs, that were as impaired as I am.”
In addition to competing in the 100-meter race, Lewis helped carry the Michigan banner in the Parade of Athletes during the opening ceremony, held at Calvin University’s Gainey Athletic Facility, and he led all of the athletes in the Athlete's Oath.
“I was a little nervous because there were a lot of people there, but I got through it,” he said.
The oldest of three children born to Coleman and Lauren Miller, Lewis Miller was born with spina bifida, a birth defect marked by an incomplete closing of the spinal column and the membranes around the spinal cord.
Track is a relatively new sport to Miller. On the other hand, he has been a wheelchair basketball player for the last 10 years. He currently competes at the varsity level for the Mary Free Bed Junior Pacers, a wheelchair basketball team based out of Mary Free Bed Hospital in Grand Rapids.
Lauren Miller is thankful her son has gotten opportunities for athletic competition such as Hartford Nationals.
“He is a competitive, serious athlete,” she said. “I feel like a lot of people have an idea in their head of what wheelchair athletics is, and they don’t realize it’s really competitive and exciting.”
Miller’s long-term goal is to compete in the Paralympic Games, the international event that runs shortly after the Olympic Games every four years and are held in the same city where the Olympics are held.
A total of 428 athletes from 38 states competed in the Hartford Nationals this year, competing in the following sports – archery, boccia, para powerlifting, paratriathlon and aquathlon, shooting, swimming, track and field, and wheelchair and para standing tennis. Miller was one of a record 35 athletes from Michigan to compete in the games.
It was announced at the closing ceremony July 17 that the Hartford Nationals will return to Grand Rapids next year, marking the third straight year the city has hosted the competition. The event is hosted locally by the West Michigan Sports Commission with support from Mary Free Bed Wheelchair and Adaptive Sports.
“Making the decision to return to Grand Rapids for a third year reflects what a wonderful experience our host organizations have provided to our competitors and families,” said Glenn Merry, chief executive officer of Move United, the organization that oversees the Hartford Nationals. “The venues are top notch, hotel accommodations are accessible and first rate, and the friendly and hospitable community and volunteers have really shown the light on how remarkable Grand Rapids is for sports.”
Seven local venues hosted competition events this year, including Calvin’s Gainey Athletic Facility (track & field and welcome ceremony), Calvin’s Venema Aquatic Center (swimming), Mary Free Bed YMCA (archery and para powerlifting), Millennium Park (paratriathlon), MSA Fieldhouse (boccia and shooting), MVP Athletic Club (tennis) and the Grand Rapids Public Museum (closing celebration).
Mary Free Bed Wheelchair and Adaptive Sports is one of the largest programs of its kind in the country. Every year, Mary Free Bed provides recreational opportunities to hundreds of people with disabilities – last year it totaled over 1,700 participants. Athletes of all ages and abilities participated in over 40 different classes, clinics and teams – including wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, handcycling and wheelchair softball.
Athletes wishing to compete at The Hartford Nationals 2027 must qualify through one of more than 35 sanctioned competitions that take place across the country throughout the Move United member network, a national governing body, or High School Athletic Association sanctioned event. To learn more, visit thehartfordnationals.org.
Girls Golf, Boys Track, Girls Wrestling
Set MHSAA Participation Records
By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
Girls golf, boys track & field and girls wrestling enjoyed record participation during the 2025-26 school year as 277,533 athletes total competed in Michigan High School Athletic Association-sponsored tournament sports representing 755 member high schools.
Girls golf set a participation record for the second-straight school year, this time with 4,355 athletes – an increase of 9.7 percent from the record total of the year prior. Boys track & field also set a participation record for the second straight year, this time with 25,053 athletes, up 1.2 percent from 2024-25.
Girls wrestling continued its rapid growth, counting a record 1,783 participants this past winter – a jump of 18.5 percent from the year before – to give wrestling, boys and girls combined, a record total of 12,647 athletes despite a small decrease in the number of boys competing on the mat.
This past year’s overall participation total was 1,849 students more than in 2024-25, helped in part by the additions of field hockey and boys volleyball to the MHSAA postseason lineup but also despite a decrease in enrollment at member high schools of 441 students (approximately one tenth of a percent). Boys participation was up one percent to 162,984 athletes, while girls participation was down just two tenths of a percent to 114,157. MHSAA participation totals count students once for each sport in which they participate, meaning students who are multiple-sport athletes are counted more than once.
The addition of field hockey brought 1,169 participants to the girls total, which was also a 15-percent increase for that sport compared to the previous school year. Boys volleyball also saw participation increase during its first year of MHSAA sponsorship, up 49 percent to 2,261 athletes.
A few more sports also saw participation increases in 2025-26. Gymnastics was up 6.2 percent to 528 athletes, boys golf was up 5.4 percent to 7,819, boys soccer increased 2.3 percent to 14,435 participants, and competitive cheer increased 2.1 percent to 6,454. The boys golf total was its highest since 2005-06.
Among sports that saw participation decreases during 2025-26, boys basketball, boys bowling, boys lacrosse, girls soccer, girls swimming & diving and boys tennis all fell by less than one percent from the previous school year’s totals.
Football again was the most popular sport in terms of participation, with 35,635 athletes – 1.6 percent fewer than the year before but still the sport’s second-highest total over the last eight seasons. Volleyball continues to set the pace as the most popular girls sport, with its 19,297 athletes last fall a decrease of 1.9 percent from the previous year but still its second-highest total over the last eight seasons as well.
The participation figures are gathered annually from MHSAA member schools to submit to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) for compiling of its national participation survey.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.
MHSAA.com senior editor
Girls golf, boys track & field and girls wrestling enjoyed record participation during the 2025-26 school year as 277,533 athletes total competed in Michigan High School Athletic Association-sponsored tournament sports representing 755 member high schools.
Girls golf set a participation record for the second-straight school year, this time with 4,355 athletes – an increase of 9.7 percent from the record total of the year prior. Boys track & field also set a participation record for the second straight year, this time with 25,053 athletes, up 1.2 percent from 2024-25.
Girls wrestling continued its rapid growth, counting a record 1,783 participants this past winter – a jump of 18.5 percent from the year before – to give wrestling, boys and girls combined, a record total of 12,647 athletes despite a small decrease in the number of boys competing on the mat.
This past year’s overall participation total was 1,849 students more than in 2024-25, helped in part by the additions of field hockey and boys volleyball to the MHSAA postseason lineup but also despite a decrease in enrollment at member high schools of 441 students (approximately one tenth of a percent). Boys participation was up one percent to 162,984 athletes, while girls participation was down just two tenths of a percent to 114,157. MHSAA participation totals count students once for each sport in which they participate, meaning students who are multiple-sport athletes are counted more than once.
The addition of field hockey brought 1,169 participants to the girls total, which was also a 15-percent increase for that sport compared to the previous school year. Boys volleyball also saw participation increase during its first year of MHSAA sponsorship, up 49 percent to 2,261 athletes.
A few more sports also saw participation increases in 2025-26. Gymnastics was up 6.2 percent to 528 athletes, boys golf was up 5.4 percent to 7,819, boys soccer increased 2.3 percent to 14,435 participants, and competitive cheer increased 2.1 percent to 6,454. The boys golf total was its highest since 2005-06.
Among sports that saw participation decreases during 2025-26, boys basketball, boys bowling, boys lacrosse, girls soccer, girls swimming & diving and boys tennis all fell by less than one percent from the previous school year’s totals.
Football again was the most popular sport in terms of participation, with 35,635 athletes – 1.6 percent fewer than the year before but still the sport’s second-highest total over the last eight seasons. Volleyball continues to set the pace as the most popular girls sport, with its 19,297 athletes last fall a decrease of 1.9 percent from the previous year but still its second-highest total over the last eight seasons as well.
The participation figures are gathered annually from MHSAA member schools to submit to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) for compiling of its national participation survey.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.
Hope 19th in Preseason D3 Football Poll
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
The Hope College football team will open the 2026 season ranked in the top 20 of the nation’s NCAA Division III teams.
The Flying Dutchmen are ranked 19th in the preseason poll by the website D3football.com, the same position they held in the final poll of the 2025 season.
Hope is coming off a 9-2 season from a year ago, including a 6-1 record in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association that was second to conference champion Alma College. The Flying Dutchmen received an at-large bid to the Division III playoffs, marking the first time in school history that Hope had qualified for the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
The D3football.com Top 25 is voted on weekly by a panel of 25 coaches, sports information directors and media members from across the country. Points are awarded on a 25-24-23-22-etc. basis. Hope received 173 points.
North Central (Ill.) College is the No. 1-ranked team in the preseason poll. Bethel (Minn.) University is ranked second, followed by the University of Mount Union (Ohio), Johns Hopkins (Md.) University and Wheaton (Ill.) College. Defending national champion Wisconsin-River Falls is ranked seventh.
Hope is the only MIAA school ranked in the top 25, although three other member schools – Alma, Adrian College and Calvin University – received honorable mention votes.
Led by head coach Peter Stuursma, the Flying Dutchmen open their season Saturday, Sept. 5 in Granville, Ohio against the Big Red of Denison University.
Hope’s home opener will be the following Saturday, Sept. 12, at Ray & Sue Smith Stadium against the Pointers of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. That game is part of the annual Orange and Blue Weekend on the Hope campus.
Information on season and single-game tickets will be announced later this summer.
Zeeland Record
The Hope College football team will open the 2026 season ranked in the top 20 of the nation’s NCAA Division III teams.
The Flying Dutchmen are ranked 19th in the preseason poll by the website D3football.com, the same position they held in the final poll of the 2025 season.
Hope is coming off a 9-2 season from a year ago, including a 6-1 record in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association that was second to conference champion Alma College. The Flying Dutchmen received an at-large bid to the Division III playoffs, marking the first time in school history that Hope had qualified for the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
The D3football.com Top 25 is voted on weekly by a panel of 25 coaches, sports information directors and media members from across the country. Points are awarded on a 25-24-23-22-etc. basis. Hope received 173 points.
North Central (Ill.) College is the No. 1-ranked team in the preseason poll. Bethel (Minn.) University is ranked second, followed by the University of Mount Union (Ohio), Johns Hopkins (Md.) University and Wheaton (Ill.) College. Defending national champion Wisconsin-River Falls is ranked seventh.
Hope is the only MIAA school ranked in the top 25, although three other member schools – Alma, Adrian College and Calvin University – received honorable mention votes.
Led by head coach Peter Stuursma, the Flying Dutchmen open their season Saturday, Sept. 5 in Granville, Ohio against the Big Red of Denison University.
Hope’s home opener will be the following Saturday, Sept. 12, at Ray & Sue Smith Stadium against the Pointers of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. That game is part of the annual Orange and Blue Weekend on the Hope campus.
Information on season and single-game tickets will be announced later this summer.
