Manhattan High School has officially found a successor to long-time athletic director Michael Marsh. Marsh will hand the reins to Shadwin Spilski who will spearhead an athletics program that brought home three State Championships in the fall sports season alone this year. 

The USD 383 Board of Education, during a meeting on Feb. 18, approved all HR report recommendations to make Spilski MHS’s next athletic director starting this summer.

Spilski has served as athletic director and assistant/co-principal at Lapeer High School in Lapeer, Michigan, since 2014, part of his 20 years in education.

“[I am] super honored, super humbled that a guy from out of state would even get an opportunity,” Spilski said.

Marsh, who has held the position since 2004 and even played quarterback for MHS back in his day, announced his retirement effective July 1 during a Board meeting in November. 

“I’m going to do everything in my power to live up to the things that he’s done, the expectations and the standards that he has established there over a long period of time,” Spilski said. “…I’m really excited to get to work.”

Though Shadwin Spilski has never worked in Manhattan, his last name certainly isn’t new to the town. Shadwin’s wife, Mary Spilski is the head coach of Cheer and Mascots at Kansas State University, a role she’s had since August 2024. The couple has had to live in separate states over the past two years because of their jobs.

“It’s going to be really exciting to be back together, be in one place,” Spilski said. “So that we can both support each other’s passions, hers’ for the college athletics realm, and then mine, obviously the high school realm.”

Spilski says this new job gives him and Mary the ability to “live out” their dreams and hopefully, like Marsh, stick around for a long time.

“My goal is, obviously, to stay there as long as I possibly can,” Spilski said. “I see it as a place where I can retire. My wife is, I think, very happy with being at K-State until she retires. I don’t plan on leaving.”

In both of his last two stops; Michigan and before that Wyoming, Spilski has been the successor to a highly-decorated athletic director.

“When I was in Wyoming, the lady that I replaced was inducted into the Hall of Fame for coaches in Wyoming.”

His situation in Lapeer was similar.

“When I first came here, [the AD before me] was just inducted into a Hall of Fame in a school that he coached for a long time, taught [and was an] administrator for 37 years,” Spilski said. 

Spilski puts Marsh’s name in the same category.

“He has done a lot of amazing things in Manhattan High and he bleeds everything Manhattan High School,” Spilski said.

The ultimate decision to move forward with Spilski came after a multi-part hiring process consisting of an interview session with a committee of coaches, an interview with a committee of students, lunch with administrators, a tour of facilities and a meet and greet with even more MHS faculty members. Spilski rose above the rest in the eyes of the man tasked with deciding between the four candidates.

“So I’m getting feedback from all these groups,” head principal Michael Dorst said. “And you’re looking for consistency. If one particular group stands out where there was inconsistency, then you have to go back and ask ‘why were there inconsistencies?’ But, Mr. Spilski was very consistent, highly rated amongst all the groups.”

Spilski says he’s helped get a lot done in Lapeer, including rejuvenating their booster club.

“Our Booster Club was really falling apart when I got here,” Spilski said. “So the last 10 years, we’ve raised about $350,000 for our athletic programs and have given a ton of money. A really great thing is we built a brand new weight room and refurbished it.”

Spilski also runs “The Battle of the Big House,” a fundraising event where high school football teams in the Michigan area play regular season games in the University of Michigan’s massive football stadium.

“I oversee the majority of it,” Spilski said. “From printing passes for teams’ press and doing tours for the teams of the facility, to taking care of officials, to the financial piece.”

Spilski will visit MHS during Lapeer High School’s spring break, which starts during the last week of March. 

“I’m going to come and hang out in the building throughout that week,” Spilski said. “…So I’m not coming in blind on July 1.”

Spilski looks forward to the new and challenging role of MHS AD.

“I want to make sure that I’m my best every single day,” Spilski said.