HILLSDALE — It can be tough for a student athlete to take the leap to the next level of competition in any sport. Distance running may be one of the toughest sports to transition to the collegiate level. For one Hillsdale 2024 graduate, he will not only distance run for cross country but also for track and field at Trine University.
Hillsdale distance runner Nolan Grant finished up his prep sports career for the Hornets and now takes his talents to the Thunder men's running teams. Grant, who also competed for Hornet bowling and his dad/coach Jeff Grant, will now be a 365-days-a-year runner for the Thunder.
The National Honor Society and LCAA Scholar Athlete honoree was an important part of both the Hornet cross country and track teams during his athletic career at Hillsdale High School. It was a part of his plans to continue those events at the school he would look to study at after graduating.
After looking at 10 schools, including Michigan State, Trine kept coming back around as the one school that stood out amongst the pack.
“We got to spend the day down there with the coach and tour the campus, and we just had a nice feeling about the school," Nolan's parents, Jeff and Molly Grant, said. "It was in proximity to our home, which might be selfish on our part, but it’s 45 minutes down the road and if he needed something, we’re not that far away.”
The Grants said that Trine’s great running program, smaller school atmosphere and feelabout the campus class sizes were enough to sell them right away that the Thunder wouldbe the place Nolan would run for.
“I know some people down there that run on the athletic teams, and they say they love it a lot,” Nolan Grant said. “I really like Trine’s facilities for athletics, too. They have a bowling alley, too, so that’s pretty cool.”
Nolan looks to study exercise science at Trine and eventually pursue a chiropractic career and graduate school.
3-sport commitment with the Hornets
During his four years running and bowling for the Hornets, Grant went to the state finals on multiple occasions.
Grant was a state qualifier his junior season of bowling, taking 29th at the D3 finals tournament. He finished just one spot shy of qualifying during his junior season.
“I want to thank Ben Brock for always being the funniest teammate and cheering the whole team up when we weren’t always doing well. I'm probably going to participate in leagues if I have time to come back and participate in leagues with my parents and maybe join the Bowling Club down at Trine.”
During the fall semesters, Grant was an integral leader and runner for Hornet cross country. During his career, Grant went to two MHSAA state finals at Michigan International Speedway. He had six top 10 finishes his junior year, including fourth at the conference finals and fifth at the regional finals, qualifying him for the state race. He took 43rd overall at the 2022 state finals with a time of 17:17.7. He was featured on two All-Area Dream Team cross country lists before his senior season.
His freshman running season for Hillsdale Track saw him help the boys track team earn runner-up at MITCA team state. He competed in the 1,600, 3,200 800 and distance relay events. He took third at the Area Best Meet in both the 1,600 and 3,200, and he took seventh at the 2021 MITCA team state meet.
His sophomore season saw Grant earn four top five finishes in the 800, win two races in the 1,600 and win one race in the 3,200. Grant helped lead the 4x800 team to two wins, including the league championship, a third place finish at the regional finals and a ninth place finish at MITCA team state. He had 15 top 10 finishes between the 1,600 and 3,200.
During his junior season, he helped the 4x400 and 4x800 team earn wins. The 4x400 team took third at the league championship. The 4x800 team took fifth at regionals. He made his first appearance in the MHSAA track state finals with a 18th place finish in the 3,200. He took third with a career best time of 10:09.54 at the regional event that season. Grant took first at the league finals in the 800 and took second at the Area Best Meet.
Senior Running Seasons
Grant was on a mission to earn all-state honors his cross-country senior season. Grant won two events his final season, including the Hillsdale and Sturgis Invitational. Grant took third overall at the LCAA finals and runner-up at the regional finals to qualify for the state race.
Grant placed 32nd overall, just two spots shy of all-state, but the Hornet grad set a personal best time of 16:30.4, beating his previous state finals time by 47 seconds. He had seven top five and a grand total of nine top 10 finishes his senior season. For his efforts, he was a first team All-Area Dream Team runner.
His senior track season was dedicated to relay distance events, the 1,600 dash and the 800 dash. He helped the 4x800 team take fifth place at MITCA team state.
He helped the 4x400 team qualify for the state finals after taking runner-up honors at regionals. The team ran a 3:31.19 at states to take 14th overall. The team won two events together this spring.
Grant ran to top five finishes in every 1,600-meter event he participated in this season, including an individual regional title where he ran a career best time of 4:28.83. He took second in the LCAA championships, fourth at MITCA team state and won a total of three events. He qualified but did not run at the state finals.
He focused on his 800-meter efforts his final season, taking top five finishes in every event leading up to the finals, including runner-up finishes at regionals and at the Area Best meet. He won the Clare Invitational. He ended his prep track career with a seventh-place finish in the 800 at the state finals with a time of 1:59.32, earning all-state honors.
He helped his team earn a team regional championship at his home track.
Grant thanked all of his coaches that led the cross-country teams during his career.
“It was pretty rough, but I’m really happy for the seven years of cross-country experience I had before that. I would love to thank all the coaches we've had because we've had about four coaches over the cross-country year, and they've all done a great job.”
Grant thanked Hillsdale coach Clay Schiman and his distance coaches, who always pushed him and had an answer to every question he encountered on and off the track. Grant said the biggest supporters were his two parents and younger brother Evan.
“There were days I didn’t want to run, and my parents motivated and pushed me to work.”
Grant is not the only 2024 graduate who chose to run for Trine. Fellow graduate Annemarie Moore will run for Trine women's track and field, both indoors and outdoors.
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