OCP photo
Pirate News is a presentation of Hart Public Schools in partnership with Oceana County Press.
By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
HART — Not only did Hart High School senior Shelbie Choponis break the 41-year-old discus record set by 1985 HHS grad Shelley Kelley-Hartley, she had the opportunity to meet the previous record holder this week.
Kelley-Hartley’s previous record was 120 feet and 9 inches, and Choponis’s record is 125 feet and 7 inches. “She blasted me out of the water by 5 feet,” said Kelley-Hartley.
The track coaches invited Kelley-Hartley, who lives in Scottville, to the school Wednesday, April 29, for a ceremony with the boys and girls teams. Dressed in a Hart Pirate shirt, she gave an inspiring speech for the athletes and presented Choponis with a bouquet of flowers.
“Basketball was my passion, but track was the most fun,” said the former Pirate athlete. She recalled that day back in 1985 when she set the record that ultimately went untouched for four decades. It was her last track event of her high school career. “I’m standing behind the fence, getting a bit emotional, thinking I am never going to touch a discus again after this throw. I had worked so hard since seventh grade, and I really wanted to break that record. I broke that record on my very last throw of my senior year.
OCP photo/Shelley-Kelley Hartley speaks to the track teams while Shelbie Choponis stands to her left.
“So don’t ever count things out, guys,” she said to the teams. “Work hard; stay dedicated to what your passion is no matter what it is—just always give it your all. Represent your school well and your families well and just have fun.
“It has been my greatest pleasure to watch Hart fight back after so many years of being near the bottom.
“My senior year was the first year of this track, and I hear now it’s the last year. I was part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for that.” Hart voters passed a bond issue last May to fund several improvements throughout the campus, including the track.
“She was the first on that track,” said Pirate Coach Calvin Ackley of Kelley-Hartley, “and she was the last one on that track,” of Choponis.
During an interview after the ceremony, Kelley-Hartley said, “It felt awesome,” when she heard the news from Coach Ackley of Choponis breaking her longstanding record. “How many girls have tried to beat that record through all those years? And she did it,” she said, looking at Choponis. “I am so proud to think of all the hard work that she had to put in.”
“It feels amazing,” said Choponis. “I do summer track, indoor track and outdoor track, and it feels really good to finally have my name on there,” she said as she looked at the track records posted on the school wall. Her mom and dad, Sally and Jim, attended the ceremony, watching in pride.
“In the moment, I was on my last throw and I had fouled my third one and I was like, ‘You know what, this is a home meet. It’s one of my last seasons, and we’re just gonna let it go.’”
Choponis, who made second team All-American, plans to attend Muskegon Community College and compete in track for the Jayhawks. “I’m going to start at MCC and hopefully transfer to a bigger program.” Kelley-Hartley played basketball for Muskegon Community College.
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Please Support Local News and Sports Coverage
Receive daily MCP and OCP news briefings along with email news alerts for $10 a month. Your contribution will help us to continue to provide you with free local news.
The payment can be paid monthly through PayPal: Click this link.
To sign up for an annual subscription, email editor@mediagroup31.com. In the subject line write: Subscription. Please supply your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number (indicate cell phone). We will not share your information with any outside sources.
For more than one email address in a household, the cost is $15 per month per email address.
We can send you an invoice for a yearly payment of $120, which you can conveniently pay online or by check. If you are interested in this method, please email editor@mediagroup31.com and we can sign you up. You can also mail a yearly check for $120 to Media Group 31, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454 (please include your email address).
Payment must be made in advance prior to subscription activation.
We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they choose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.
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This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2026, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.
As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.
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