Heritage Park 25′

COYOTES STATE CHAMPS! HIGH SCHOOL COMPOSITE WINNERS, BAAAABBBYYY!

Read that again. STATE. CHAMPIONS. Say it like the one and only sports announcer legend Dick Vitale…hands waving, voice cracking, coffee replaced by Red Bull: “It’s AWESOME, BAAAABBBYYY!”

The Coyotes rolled into the 2025 MiSCA State Championship like a sugar fueled fever dream and rolled out on top of the state. Months of grit, snacks and questionable life choices all came together under a Sunday morning fog thick enough to make your Garmin lose GPS. You couldn’t see more than two bike lengths ahead (we are totally exaggerating here), but that didn’t stop anyone. Out of the mist came Coyotes calm, focused and clearly hyped on sugar and destiny…which coincidentally, is also how most parents survived the 5:30AM wake up call.

Every climb, every sprint, every single “GO COYOTES!” echoing from the woods added up to one thing: High School Composite State Champions. The cheers at the finish line? Deafening. The pride? Off the charts. The snack table? Looked like a Vegas buffet hit by a pack of raccoons. This wasn’t luck…it was earned. Every practice, every pedal stroke, every empty Gatorade bottle rolling across the tent floor built to this moment. STATE CHAMPS, BAAAABBBYYY. And yeah, we’ll be saying that until at least April 2026.

First and foremost, a huge congrats to James Broughton, this year’s MiSCA Sportsmanship Award winner. James embodies everything that makes this team special. Always positive, always out in the woods cheering for others and always lifting up his teammates. He doesn’t just race…he builds the kind of culture everyone wants to be part of. Well deserved, buddy.

The infamous 2ft drop once again became a full blown mythological feature…the kind of trail obstacle that somehow gets taller with every retelling. Depending on who you ask, it was either a gentle roll or an OSHA violating cliff dive that required a signed waiver and emotional support snack. You could hear the collective gasp of parents who haven’t breathed properly during a race since 2022. Every rider had a strategy…some launched it like Red Bull was filming, some rolled it like they were protecting their parents 401k and a few hit the brakes so hard they almost endoed. Somewhere, a coach is still muttering “KEEP YOUR WEIGHT BACK!” in his sleep while a GoPro battery dies quietly in the background, capturing pure, fog covered drama.

Now about those chicken shirts. It started in the high school group chat…someone (definitely Kaden) dropped an Amazon link with “Hear me out…” and two days later, it was done. The shirts arrived, not yellow, not normal, just…weird. Some kind of chaotic barnyard energy that defied explanation. Naturally, the kids loved them. They wore them like a badge of honor…no context, no shame, full confidence. When the fog lifted, a flock of Coyotes in bizarre chicken shirts rolled up to the start line, completely unbothered and yet totally on brand.

The MiSCA theme was “Sweet 16” this year, so we picked “Sweets” for the costume contest and we understood the assignment. The Coyotes arrived looking like a walking vending machine cupcakes, donuts, gummy bears, nerd gummies and one coach who took “fully committed” to new heights by literally jumping out of a cake for Autumns birthday. Yes, Coach Ryan. Yes, it was epic. No, we’re not cleaning frosting out of the tent again. The video is amazing….check it on the gram.

Coach Ryan the human confetti cannon, somehow managed to pop out of baked goods, organize warm-ups and still find time to cook breakfast mid warm-up on Sunday. If enthusiasm were watts, we’d all be in the Tour de France by now. Then there was Coach Drew W, channeling Tina Belcher from Bob’s Burgers…awkward hips, deadpan stare, pure “I can’t believe this is my life” energy.

And if you think the kids were the only ones racing, think again. The Coaches Race did not disappoint. Coach Drew C stormed the course like a man late for the last donut at the snack table, taking the overall win in the two lap division. Brett and Chris weren’t far behind, both cracking the top ten and proving the Coyotes coaching crew has more watts than common sense.

The rest of the pack, Jeff, Luis, Dan, Mike, Drew W came charging through like it was a team-building exercise sponsored by ibuprofen. The coaches once again proved they don’t just talk about “sending it”… they live it (with slightly more Advil and slightly less traction).

But the real story? The women absolutely crushed it. Coach Michelle powered to fifth overall in the two lap women’s field, while Coach Jen rode strong into eighth…both looking smooth, fast and completely unbothered by the chaos. In the one lap race, Coach Katie snagged second, Coach Emily rolled in third, Coach Yidzza took fifth, Coach Lena seventh, Coach Amanda fifteenth and Coach Katrina sixteenth. The Coyotes women didn’t just show up….they owned it.

And then there’s Jacob, the announcer. The man’s a legend! Energy for days, but during awards he called us Huron Valley. Said he “read the paper wrong.” Sure, Jacob. Sure. We still love you. We might even send you a shirt for the 2026 season, preferably one with the correct team name printed in 200-point font. LOL

The Coyotes went full retro glam with photo roulette family portraits…pure 80s mall-studio chaos meets trail-dust chic. Think shoulder touches, soft gazes and smiles that say “we haven’t done laundry since race 3.” Somewhere, Olan Mills is weeping tears of joy.

And the Cammies fan club? We didn’t start it. We promise. But we’re absolutely here for it. If there’s merch, we’ll buy it. If there’s a membership card, we’ll laminate it.

Alexander lined up for his first ever MiSCA race and handled it like a pro…zero hesitation, all heart. Meanwhile, half the Clemo parents debated if they should sign up for therapy or a gravel bike knowing their littlest ripper is now officially a racer.

Kaden closed his MiSCA career exactly how he’s lived it…steady, humble and 100% committed. From those first rides where he found his flow to leading the crew in his final season (in a chicken shirt, no less), he’s been the calm in the chaos. Once a Coyote, always a Coyote Kaden. Come ride with us anytime!

Now, let’s be serious for a moment. As much as we love podiums and trophies, that’s not really what this is about. It’s about how you show up…every ride, every practice, every weekend. It’s about cheering louder for your teammates than for yourself. It’s about the days when your legs are cooked, your chain’s making that noise again and you still clip in anyway. It’s about being 1% better…as a rider, a teammate and a human. You don’t need a medal for that. You just need to keep showing up. That’s how you make it matter.

When the dust settled on the MiSCA season, the Coyotes didn’t just show up…they stacked podiums across every age group. We finished 1st in High School Composite, 2nd in Middle School and 2nd in Elementary as a team in the series. Here are the West Michigan Coyotes riders who finished top three overall in the 2025 Individual MiSCA series:

Six races. Almost zero mud, plenty of fog. Infinite snacks. A few broken chains, a few parents who still don’t understand how donuts to watts ratio work and a team that just made history. We laughed, sent it, coached from cakes and somehow came out STATE CHAMPIONS. It doesn’t get better than that. To our riders, you made it matter. To our parents, you kept the snack table alive. To our coaches, please stretch before next season…your knees sound like gravel.

From varsity to elementary, Coyotes painted the leaderboard. In Varsity Male, Easton, Ray, and Camden all landed inside the top 20, hammering through the fog and keeping the momentum rolling that carried the team to the state title. Over in Varsity Female, Reese threw down a podium level ride in third, with Ocean and Sadie locking in top ten finishes to seal one of the team’s strongest all-around high-school showings yet.

In JV 11–12 Male, Kaden put a stamp on his senior season with the win, Kellen followed with a gritty mid-pack effort, and Sam kept it smooth and steady to finish strong. JV 9–10 Male was all Coyotes chaos…Tristan taking the top spot, Will close behind in fifth, Luke right there in seventh, and Tyler rolling through in fourteenth to round out a stacked field. Kaitlyn flew the flag in JV Female, riding consistent and determined for seventh overall. Robbie rolled through 11th for Novice 9th Male.

The middle-school crew matched that energy. In Advanced Middle School Male, Jakob, Sawyer, and Cruz threw down a 3-4-5 sweep, Max added a solid top 15 and James powered home inside the top 25. On the girls’ side, Advanced Middle School Female was a Coyote takeover, Laila and Sammy on the podium, Harper right behind them in ninth.

The Intermediate 7–8 Male division was pure effort: Calvin landed just on the podium in fourth, Ryland and Michael packed into the top 15, Dylan kept it tight in the mid-field, and Gunnar closed it out like a diesel engine on the final climb. In Intermediate 6th Male, Easton and Michael went one-five for another big team score and plenty of high-fives back at the tent. The Intermediate 6-8th Grade Female girls had a strong showing, Hadley rolled in 3rd and Alida 18th. And in Novice 7–8 Male, Tyler grabbed the win in full send fashion, with Jack and Spencer mixing it up deep into the race.

The Elementary Coyotes turned Heritage Park into a full-send carnival of grit and giggles. In Advanced Elementary, Camden, Raylan, and Ryder went bar-to-bar all race long, stacking the top of the podium like a sugar-rush triple scoop, while Lola kept the energy high and the cheers louder. The 5th-graders rolled up like pros, Anneke charging the front, Fiona holding it down in the chase and the boys crewed by Easton, Henry and Hudson riding with enough snack power to light up the timing tent.

In 4th Grade Male, Sawyer led the way with a fiery 2nd-place finish, Jeremiah kept things smooth in 13th, Miles powered through in 22nd, and Emmett rolled it home in 29th — four racers who proved that grit doesn’t care about age or wheel size. Over in 4th Grade Female, Aspen charged to 4th and Rainey brought home 15th, both showing poise and power that would make the older packs nervous.

The 3rd Grade Boys were flying. Bennet snagged the win with a ride so clean it looked scripted, William hammered home a strong 5th, and Caleb kept the gas on all race to finish 20th.

In 2nd Grade Male, Titus, Jack, and Wyatt went 2-3-5, a full-on Coyote freight train that left the rest of the field wondering what’s in their snack packs. Over in 2nd–3rd Grade Female, Gracelyn and Lucy made the podium with 2nd and 3rd, while Charlotte added her signature grit in 29th…smiling the whole way, because that’s how Coyotes roll.

And then came the tiniest racers, the PreK–1st graders, who turned the short course into a highlight reel. Ryan blasted to 3rd, Everett chased in 4th, Ashton and Rory hung tough mid-pack, and Alexander wrapped it up in 20th…a whole crew of mini Coyotes who raced like they’d been doing this for years. Emalyn repped the girls in style, locking in 4th in PreK–1st Female and probably winning the “cutest podium wave” of the day.

They might be the youngest, but they rode with the same full-send heart as the big kids and maybe a little more snack motivation. From training wheels to podium steps, the future of the Coyotes looks fast, fearless, and just the right amount of feral.

Across sixty-plus riders, the Coyotes left nothing on the course…from first-timers to veterans, every division saw blue and yellow out front. Fog, fatigue and full-send energy couldn’t slow them down. It was a perfect ending to a season that proved once again….when this crew lines up, they make it matter.

Next stop: Iceman.

Full results below the gallery!

FULL RESULTS: