2009 Male Athlete of the Year

Brendan was outstanding three sport athlete...cross country, wrestling and track & field. What was unique is that Brendan played football his first three years of high school and decided that he was going to pursue running in college and turned to cross country during his senior year. During his very successful athletic career at Holly, he earned nine varsity letters…four in wrestling, three in track (would have been four but he was injured his sophomore year), one in football and one in cross country.

His accomplishments include:
--Cross country – 1st year runner – State Bank Athlete of the Week –

--Senior - 1st team Flint Metro League
-- 13th place finish at the regional meet
--42nd place at the state meet
--Team MVP. Pretty impressive for someone just taking up a sport!

Coach Matt Weisdorfer stated, “Brendan inspired our team and in a sense willed our team to be fierce competitors. It is without any doubt in my mind that he left the cross country program in better shape than it was before he participated and the impression will last for many years to come. The “wrestling” grit that was instilled into our runners is incalculable. My only regret is that he was only with us for one year. It is amazing that he was only 11 spots out of All-state honors, in only his 1st year of cross country. 11 places in the division I state finals, equates to about 8 seconds…which is not much time in a 5000m race. I often ponder what more we could have achieved together.”

Wrestling –
--Freshman Year – 5th place at the Oakland County tournament

--Junior - 3rd place finish in Oakland County

--Senior - 3rd team FML
--4th place at the MHSAA district tournament
--3rd place at regionals and, once again, qualified for the state meet…the second state this year.
--He also won the teams’ award for “Best Role Model for Younger Children”

Coach Don Pluta stated, “Brendan is the ultimate team member. As a junior he battled injuries most of the year and he missed many meets due to these injuries. However, at the end of the season, despite not being 100% he wrestled in the FML league meet and also the team districts. He said, "I cannot let my team down." This year Brendan's leadership skills were evident from day one. He frequently would work with the younger team members and nurtured their wrestling skills and well as teaching them what being a Holly Wrestler embodied.

Track and Field – State Bank Athlete of the Week

--Freshman - Brendan finished 1st in the 800m run and 2nd in the 400m run at the Oakland County FR meet, his 1600m relay team finished 3rd in the league and 5th in the regional meet;

--Junior - His all-league honors included HM in the 800m run, 3rd team in the 400m dash, 2nd team in the 3200m relay and 1st in the 1600m relay

--Senior – Brendan led his team in an undefeated dual meet season and a 1st place at the league meet to win the FML title for the second year in a row. His FML honors this year include 1st team 400m dash, 1st team 800m run, 1st team, 1600m relay, and 1st team 3200m relay
--Brendan holds track records at both Holly HS and Farmington HS for his performance on their track in the 800m run.
--He was the Oakland County champion in the 800m run.
--Brendan was also the 800m run regional champion beating both last years state champ and the time he ran at the state meet last year. Additionally, at regionals his 3200m and 1600m relay teams earned 2nd place Brendan led the team once again to a title…a regional title and the first since 1982.
--Due to his stellar performance, Brendan earned a trip to his third state meet this year…the MHSAA Division I track and field state finals at East Kentwood. Brendan ran the race of his life and a personal best of 1:52.91 to finish just a ½ second behind the new state champion. He finished the 800m run with a 2nd place at the state meet, earning all state honors and leading our team to a 4th place finish.
--Training for Brendan has not stopped as he will be competing in the Midwest Meet of Champions on June 13th.

Track & Field coach Rob Basydlo stated “Brendan is an outstanding leader who pushes his teammates to become the best they can be. As an athlete, he has all of the intangibles it takes to be a successful…the physical ability, the mental toughness and the heart and guts to run through his barriers to achieve his ultimate goals. “