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- #106 - MICHIGAN SHINES AT NATIONALS
Inside This Issue
A Heartfelt Thanks
Before we get to talking about all the great track last weekend, I want to give me sincere appreciation to all that responded to our funding plea and are helping Michtrack keep going. You are the real stars of this weekend!
If you want to join the cool kids, please go here: https://michtrack.org/donate
New Balance: Blue Tops In Vault
Blue, Michigan’s first 14-footer.
Boston, March 12-15—Grand Ledge’s Katie Blue and Catholic Central’s Zacchaeus Brocks were the only Michiganders to win championship titles here, but across the board Michigan performances were quite impressive. Altogether, 6 State Records fell.
Day 1 Highlights:
Frosh MIle - Boys: Skyline’s Hudson Doll took the lead at the bell but was outkicked for the win. Still, he ran 4:19.46, a state 9th grade record for the mile, breaking the 4:20.92 that Saline’s Logan Wetzel ran in 2012. We haven’t seen Doll’s 1500 split yet, but it is a likely 9th grade record as well. Note that the 4:19.46 will also stand as the 1600 record.
Frosh Mile - Girls: Northville’s Alexandra Scappaticci unleashed her scrappy racing style on the national field and ended up the winner, fighting off some tough challenges in the final laps to win by 0.13. Her time, 4:54.03 is a state 9th grade record, beating the 4:56.91 by Hannah Meier of Grosse Pointe South (2010) as well as the oversized 4:55.69 that Anna Jensen of Midland Dow ran in 2017. It will also stand as the 9th grade record for 1600, beating the 4:55.49 that Natasza Dudek ran last year at the MITS Finals. Eliza Schwass set the oversized 1600 best of 4:42.08.
MS Mile - Boys: Langston Bickerdt and Cody Lam placed 3rd and 4th, both of them going under Hudson Doll’s 8th grade record of 4:32.47. Bickerdt, who goes to U-D Jesuit, got the nod by 0.04 with his 4:31.17 to Lam’s 4:31.21.
Frosh 400 - Girls: Oak Park’s Jordan McNeely ran a solid 57.49 in 9th place.
MS 400 - Girls: Motor City showed up, with Bailey James (57.90) in 2nd, Aubrey Burt (58.10) in 4th and Jaya Rogers (58.99) in 10th.
Championship 5000 - Boys: Milford’s Kyle O’Rourke took 2nd in the first section and 9th overall with his 14:41.41. Howell’s Jack MacGregor got 14th overall with his 14:48.39. The times are significant. O’Rourke is now No. 3 all time in state history on a legal track and MacGregor is No. 4.
Championship 5000 - Girls: Emma Hoffman shattered the State Record with her 3rd place finish in 16:09.65, breaking the 16:18.02 that Erin Finn of West Bloomfield set in 2013. She nearly caught her own oversized best of 16:09.51 set earlier this winter. Pioneer’s Sienna Klemmer ran 17:06.12 in 16th; that’s a 10th grade record, bettering the 17:31.85 mark that Saline’s Jessie Larson ran in 2016., as well as her own OT 17:13.01. Lucia Lachappelle of Northville ran 17:51.20 in 39th.
Championship 4×8 - Boys: Pioneer, running as the Purple TC, placed 6th in a stunning 7:45.67, the No. 2 clocking in state history. Splits: Quinn Davis 1:58.34, Theo Sacks-Thomas 1:58.08, Beckett Crooks 1:56.56, Kamari Ronfeldt 1:52.69. Northville’s Six Mile club ran 7:52.37 for 8th (Brandon Cloud 1:58.68, Lucas Mullan 2:01.16, Benjamin Hartigan 1:56.24, Ryan Stojov 1:56.29). In 29th, Motor City/Oak Park also broke 8, with its 7:58.62 (Shondell Warren 1:57.02, Christian Collier 1:59.72, Austin Edwards 2:03.72, Kharon Thompson 1:58.16).
Championship 4×8 - Girls: The Very Nice TC from Skyline delivered a magnificent effort, placing 4th in 9:07.31, a state leader by nearly 20 seconds. They now claim the No. 3 spot in state history. Personnel: Irie Scrase 2:18.06, Becca Van Lent 2:17.90, Isla Tharp 2:18.54, Lucia Llanes 2:12.81.
Day 2 Highlights
MS 800 - Boys: The national title went to UD Jesuit’s Langston Bickerdt, running for Motor City. His sterling 1:57.30 sliced more than a second off the previous 8th grade state record of 1:58.69 that Hudson Doll held. Cody Lam ran 3rd in 2:02.05, with Mateo Lindenmeyer 5th in 2:02.92.
MS 800 - Girls: Motor City’s Aubrey Burt ran 9th in 2:17.18.
Frosh 800 - Boys: Hudson Doll got another 2nd, this time running 1:56.27, a time that surpassed the old meet record.
Championship 400 prelims - Boys: A 48.01 was big for Ann Arbor Huron’s Kinley Poole, making him =6 in state history, but he missed the final by 0.06. Wendell Childs Jr ran 48.27.
Championship 400 prelims - Girls: A 55.53 got Nevaeh Burns a non-advancing 10th place, with Mauriel Seeberger running 55.74 for 14th. Willow Mason ran 55.95 for 22nd. Janae Coleman ran 56.06 and Malise Brown 56.16.
Championship Two Mile - Boys: Jonah Workman placed 20th in a very deep race in 9:02.65. A total of 16 runners broke 9:00. If it’s any consolation, his time will show up on the 3200 list as a converted 8:59.51. Kamari Ronfeldt and Brandon Cloud crossed together in 9:07.89 & 9:07.91.
Championship Two Mile - Girls: The lion’s share of the attention went to Ohio’s Katy Zang, who stunned by taking down the national record with her 9:37.15. Behind her, our own Natasza Dudek waged a see-saw battle with Abigail Hennessy, and her 9:52.57 got her 3rd in a new State Record. On the way, she also broke the sophomore record for 3000 in 9:19.09. (That’s a time that could get faster. It’s her 3018m split—it’s okay to count a record if the athlete ran longer than the distance. However, the timers sometimes get the 3000m split exactly at this event, and I will find it out in the coming days and revise this.) More on the complicated 3000/3200/2M record below.
Championship 4 × 200 heats - Boys: Spirit of Pre from Saline clocked a nice 1:30.81 but did not advance. Both Motor City and the Unity TC (Ann Arbor Huron) were disqualified.
Championship 4 × 200 heats - Girls: With the third-fastest time of 1:38.04, Motor City advanced to the final. Cass Tech’s Courageous club missed by just 0.013. Very notable is that the timers report that Courageous anchor Malise Brown split an FAT 23.42.
Championship Distance Medley - Boys: Milford’s Red Tide club placed 21st overall in 10:28.32. Splits: Todd Tobin 3:13.65, Rowan DeHority 53.63, Gannon Wheeler 2:04.06, Kyle O’Rourke 4:16.98.
Championship Distance Medley - Girls: Romeo’s Runner’s High placed 17th in 12:26.56. Splits: Reese Rosbolt 3:53.49, Samantha Sackfield 59.59, Emmie Clor 2:29.79, Natalia Guaresmio 5:03.69. A Breen foursome from Rochester ran 12:36.75.
Championship Sprint Medley - Boys: Skyline’s Very Nice TC placed 9th in 3:31.29. Splits: Andre Neal, Hudson Doll, Adam Repp 51.05, Kyle Krasan 1:54.59). Just behind them was Motor City at 3:32.08. Splits: Sterling Diop, Quinton Blakely, Alex Patterson 50.45, Shondell Warren 1:56.36.
Championship Sprint Medley - Girls: Oak Park, in the form of the Motor City TC, placed 2nd in 3:57.21, a time that is 0.41 short of the State Record and is No. 2 all-time. Personnel: Jordan McNeely, Payton Gee, Nevaeh Burns 54.25, Leah Thomas 2:13.82. Motor City’s B team ran 4:11.48, a time nearly three seconds faster than what won the state finals two weeks earlier.
Boys HJ: Clayton Ramsdell placed =18th with a 6-6.75.
Day 3 Highlights
60H prelims - Boys: Ho-hum. Unbelievable times from Catholic Central senior Zacchaeus Brocks are becoming common. His 7.64 to lead the first round is the No. 4 time in state history. EK’s Shukuru Makechi advanced with a 7.91, and Mason Darke from Reeths-Puffer with a 7.98. Not advancing, Leland VanAlstine still ran a PR 8.17.
60H prelims - Girls: Leading our qualifiers were Laila Hawkins of Cass Tech (8.62), Payton Gee of Oak Park (8.70)
MS 60 prelims - Boys: Placing 11th but not advancing, Israel Sanders sprinted 7.34.
Frosh 60 prelims - Boys: Lorenzo Pruitt of Motor City sprinter 7.13 but missed advancing by 0.01.
Frosh 60 prelims - Girls: Motor City’s Aubrey Douglas ran 7.63 for 2nd overall.
Championship 60 prelims - Boys: Grand Haven’s Keiavion Korenstra got the last qualifying spot with his 6.89 PR.
Championship 60 prelims - Girls: West Bloomfield’s Kamryn Tatum looked like a contender with her 7.42 for 2nd overall. Willow Mason of Heritage advanced with a 7.62.
Frosh 60 final - Girls: With a blazing PR 7.50, Aubrey Douglas captured the win by 0.09! As a 9th-grader, she is now =9 in state history.
Championships 60H semis - Boys: He cannot be stopped. Zacchaeus Brocks broke his own state record—again—to lead the qualifying for the final in 7.55. That strengthens his hold on No. 4 in U.S. history. Not advancing were Shukuru Makechi (8.02) and Mason Darke (8.07).
Championship 60H semis - Girls: Despite tying her PR of 8.58, Payton Gee did not advance in 13th place. Laila Hawkins ran 8.62 for 16th.
Championship 200 prelims - Boys: Beverly Hills Groves’ Jeremiah Mack ran a PR 21.93, AA Huron’s Kinley Poole 21.97, and Carter Gle of Traverse City Central (22.11) but none advanced.
Championship 200 prelims - Girls: A stunning 23.75 State Record for Kamryn Tatum took down the old best of 23.84 that Kaila Jackson set in 2022. That put her at No. 3 in the qualifying. Cass Tech senior Malise Brown placed 10th but did not advance with her fine 24.01, a huge PR that makes her No. 6 in state history. Willow Mason PRed at 24.25, Portage Northern’s Mauriel Seeberger at 24.52, and Caylin Ivy of Cass Tech at 24.86.
Championship 800 - Boys: Probably not used to pack running, Wendell Childs got caught in the crowd early in the fastest heat, then made a bold move at 800 to take the lead. By the final lap, he faded to a 7th-place finish in 1:51.46. Overall he was 9th. In other heats, Maddi Duke ran 1:53.97, Abeneze Cerone 1:54.16, Ryan Stojov 1:54.49, Shondell Warren 1:56.07 and Cameron Cochran 1:56.08.
Championship 800 - Girls: Ludington’s Eliza Schwass ran 2:13.86 for 41st overall. In other heats, Janae Coleman ran 2:14.43, Kate Ort 2:16.55, Becca Van Lent 2:16.99 and Leah Thomas 2:17.05.
Championship 4 × 1M - Boys: Pioneer’s Purple TC finished 16th overall in 18:03.96. Personnel: Beckett Crooks, Theo Sacks-Thomas, Thomas DeJesus and Kamari Ronfeldt.
Championship 4 × 200 - Girls: Dominating the first section in a 1:37.23, the Motor City team of Payton Gee, Nevaeh Burns, Jordan McNeely (24.41) and Aubrey Douglas (24.20) ended up 4th overall after a second section saw the national record fall to 1:34.25. Motor City’s school record is the No. 2 performance in state history.
Championship 4 × 1M - Girls: Another Pioneer - Purple squad did well, the girls placing 5th in 20:10.75, the No. 3 performance in state history. Personnel: Sienna Klemmer, Hana Boggess, Keira Von Blon and Natasza Dudek. Romeo’s Runners High placed 11th in 20:56.61 (Annie Hrabovsky, Emmie Clor, Ella Goodsell, Natalia Guaresimo). Breen ran 21:45.65 (Ella Abraham, Annie Roraff, Maren Greve, Charlotte Jones).
Championship Weight - Girls: Placing 12th, Shelbie Choponis of Hart threw 51-2.75, the exact same distance she threw at Nike two days earlier!
Championship PV - Boys: A stunning 16-7.5 for Reece Emeott placed him 7th and made him No. 2 in state history. He went out at a would-have-been State Record of 16-11.5. Sean Cinzori was 19th at 15-7.75, with Ben Goran 22nd and Grady Myers 24th at the same height.
Championship PV - Girls: NATIONAL CHAMPION! Katie Blue of Grand Ledge became the first Michigan girl to top the 14-foot barrier with her amazing win over a tough field. She didn’t have her first miss until 13-4.5, where she needed 3 tries. She needed 2 to get over 13-8.5, and three to get over the historic record. Her mark is No. 2 in the nation this season and makes her No. 19 in U.S. history. Izzy Robbins of Grand Haven took 3rd at 13-4.5. Marra Collins was 12th at 12-4.75.
Day 4 Highlights
Championship 60 semis - Girls: A 7.40 for Kamryn Tatum gave her 3rd overall.
Championship Mile - Boys: A 4:14.90 gave Jonah Workman 44th overall. Adrian’s Moises Salazar ran 4:16.85; also Jackson Lam 4:17.98, Gavin Katic 4:18.74 and Lennox Naswell 4:19.65.
Championship Mile - Girls: Otsego’s Emma Hoffman ran 4:49.17 to place 19th overall. Eliza Schwass hit 4:54.55, missing by 0.52 the 9th grade state record set three days earlier by Alexandra Scappaticci. El McMahon ran 4:55.34, Jaelyn Ray 4:57.38, Maddie Lindley 4:58.67.
Championship 60 final - Girls: Maybe with her mind more on the 200 some 35 minutes later, Kamryn Tatum ran to a 7.44, good for 7th place.
Championship 60H final - Boys: NATIONAL CHAMPION! In one of the most stunning hurdle races we’ve seen, Zacchaeus Brocks started perfectly, then ripped through the race in flawless form, crossing the line with a massive lead in 7.44, a new State Record and the No. 2 performance in U.S. history, after only Trey Cunningham’s 7.40. Note that in 5th place was Schmar Gamble of Archbishop Carroll in DC; last year he placed 2nd in the Michigan D1 hurdles for Belleville in 13.36. Watch the race
Championship 200 final - Girls: In another amazing race, Kamryn Tatum went for the win from the first section, rocketing around the track in 23.35, slicing a massive 0.40 from the State Record she set the day before in the heats. After the second section went in 23.10, she claimed 2nd overall.
Championship 4 × 400 - Boys: Running without Ron’Dre Austion, apparently injured, Motor City still placed 14th overall in 3:19.92. Splits: Alex Patterson 50.13, Shondell Warren 49.53, Christian Collier 51.33, Quinton Blakely 48.93. Ann Arbor Huron’s Unity TC ran 3:22.77 (Nolan Prevost 50.93, Andrew Simpson-Vlach 51.84, Xisco Dura 52.45, Kinley Poole 47.55).
Championship 4 × 400 - Girls: All-American finish in 3:44.01 for 5th for Motor City, as the team put down some incredible splits: Rhiann Jeffries 59.31, Payton Gee 54.63, Leah Thomas 56.65, Nevaeh Burns 53.42. The Motor City B team ran 4:02.77. Note that scorching Burns anchor was the fastest leg by any runner from any school this weekend.
Nike: Robbins Wins the Pole Vault!
Louisville-bound Robbins won a national title of her own.
New York, March 12-15—Some great Michigan performances here. Izzy Robbins winning the national title in the vault is the top highlight. Overall, though, despite Nike investing heavily in its NIL program (and I think requiring that those athletes compete here), depth at the meet continues to lose ground to New Balance. Certainly from a Michigan perspective, much more of our elite talent bypassed the Big Apple and went to Boston.
Day 1 Highlights
MS Mile - Boys: Eighth place went to Drew Franken of Holland in 4:38.60.
MS 60 - Boys: Southfield’s Israel Sanders placed 6th in 7.41.
Championship 5000 - Girls: After gamely trying to stay with the leaders, Katie Berkshire of Gaylord ran 16:37.96 for 3rd and is now the No. 3 performer in state history. Raley Keith( finished 9th in 17:34.88.
Championship 5000 - Boys: Alma’s Thomas Larson placed 14th in 15:39.22.
MS 400 - Boys: Track Life’s Amari Whitehorn took 2nd in 53.59. Ethan Madison of the Mustangs was 7th in 54.22.
Frosh 400 - Girls: The win went to Cayla Hawkins of East Lansing and Track Life, in 54.98, a time that makes her No. 7 in state history. Track Life teammate Niesha Gomez ran 58.39 in 5th.
Frosh 400 - Boys: Maximum Output’s Jaylen Humphrey placed 8th in 51.79.
EE 5000 - Girls: Freeland’s Clara Kaczor ran 18:16.97 for 8th.
Championship Weight - Girls: Hart’s Shelbie Choponis placed 9th with her 51-2.75.
EE Weight - Girls: Holland West Ottawa’s Elizabeth Watkin threw a PR 45-7 for 3rd.
Frosh Long Jump - Girls: The Mustang’s Jordane Falvey (Divine Child) leaped 17-8.25 for 5th.
Day 2 Highlights
Pentathlon - Boys: Junior from Mt Clemens, Adrian Walker placed 10th with 3079 points. His breakdown: 60H—9.49, LJ—19-9.5, SP—37-8.75, HJ—5-7, 1000—2:54.07. He is now No. 9 in Michigan history.
EE Two Mile - Girls: Stoney Creek’s Leah Corby placed 8th in 10:51.93.
EE Two Mile - Boys: Lowell’s Cooper Byrne placed 21st in 9:30.21.
Championship Two Mile - Girls: Forest Hills Central’s Lilah Yoder ran 10:38.14 for 14th place. Saline’s McKinley Jones ran 10:44.94 for 20th.
Club 4 × 200 - Girls: LAB TC ran 1:47.77 for 19th (Charlotte Warren, Sade Napier, Juliet Lewis 26.44, Ayla Daigneau 26.82). 16Ways ran 1:48.80 for 23rd. Track Life (1:39.55) would have been 5th, but for a disqualification.
Club 4 × 200 - Boys: Placing 4th, Track Life ran 1:27.14. Splits: Peyton Trammer, Keion Boone, Delshawn Laird 22.16, Dennis Jackson 21.35). Michigan Mustangs ran 1:29.49 in 10th. And Track Life’s B team ran 1:31.02. Also 16Ways 1:33.29, All About Speed 1:33.41.
Championship 4 × 1M - Boys: All-American status goes to Breen (Clarkston version) for placing 5th in 18:05.80 (David Dubeck, Vern Clyne, Cooper McNaughton, Ryan Barnes). Alma finished 8th in 18:27.06 (Thomas Larson, Luca Lebron, Elijah Baltierra, Ezekiel Baltierra). Sorry no splits—the official splits as posted make zero sense, unless each of the teams has a few sub-4:00 milers).
Championship Sprint Medley - Boys: Williamston’s Swarm Elite finished 13th in 3:38.74. Splits: Steven Bush, Drew Kersten, Hayden Rogers 56.79, Duncan Palmer 1:55.50.
Championship Shot - Girls: 3rd place went to Addy Stiverson and her 48-4.5. Series: 45-3.5, f, 47-3, f, 46-4, 48-4.5. Charlotte Martin threw 40-9.75.
MS Shot - Boys: Jayden Whitehorn of Track Life threw 37-1.75 for 9th.
MS Long Jump - Boys: 16Ways’ Jacek Hartley placed 2nd at 18-0.25.
EE High Jump - Girls: LAB’s Tiana Vaughn jumped 5-3 for 3rd.
Day 3 Highlights
Championship 60H prelims - Girls: Royal Oak’s Brooklyn Cotton ran 9.12 for 34th.
EE 60H prelims - Boys: 16Ways Kingston Magnotte ran 8.38 for 11th.
EE 60 prelims - Girls: A close miss for Nahya Daza, who sprinted 7.81 for 10th but missed the final by just 0.003! Kira Havard ran 7.97, Nicole DeCoster 7.98.
EE 60 prelims - Boys: St Johns soph Nolan Cullens advanced with his 6.99 in 7th. Also Micah Walker 7.07, Duayne Johnson-Joplin 7.09, Griffin Hamilton 7.15.
Championship 60 prelims - Boys: With a 6.83 for 6th, State Record holder Peyton Trammer advanced. Brody Kelsey ran 7.10.
EE 60 finals - Boys: Nolan Cullens placed 3rd in 6.95.
Championship 800 - Girls: Gull Lake’s Lane Isom placed 25th in 2:14.39. Juliet Lewis ran 2:16.82, Katelyn Egli 2:18.06.
Championship 800 - Boys: He went for it. LAB’s Greg Myers led for three laps of the fast heat (splits 25.83, 53.67, 1:22.67) before fading to 6th (9th overall) in 1:53.18. Blake Kulesza ran 1:54.56.
EE 800 - Girls: LAB’s Ella Lorenz placed 7th in 2:14.49. Chloe Rinzema ran 2:16.67, Violet Tetil 2:17.54, Niesha Gomez 2:18.22, Hannah DePestel 2:19.63.
EE 800 - Boys: Williamston’s Duncan Palmer placed 4th in 1:55.64. Jacob Hylton ran 1:56.79 in 14th.
EE 200 prelims - Girls: Cayla Hawkins qualified in 2nd at 24.21.
EE 200 prelims - Boys: Duayne Johnson-Joplin missed qualifying by two places with his 22.18. Brody Kelsey ran 22.43.
Championship 200 prelims - Boys: Rodney Endsley placed 20th with his 21.94.
Club 4 × 400 - Girls: 8th place went to the Michigan Mustangs in 3:55.60. LAB TC ran 4:04.00, 16Ways 4:05.35.
Day 4 Highlights
EE 200 final - Girls: Runner-up honors go to Cayla Hawkins and her 24.05.
Championship 60 semis - Boys: Running 6.76, Peyton Trammer was 5th in advancing to the final.
Championship Mile - Girls: Alexandra Scappaticci did the double, running here after earlier competing in Boston. She placed 34th in 5:02.35, one spot ahead of McKinley Jones (5:02.92).
Championship 60 final - Boys: After earlier qualifying, Peyton Trammer did not run the final.
EE Mile - Girls: Hartland senior Elliana Neuer ran 5:01.92 for 10th, with Ella Lorenz of LAB 5:02.01 in 11th. Lilah Yoder ran 5:04.40 in 15th.
Championship State Distance Medley - Girls: A new idea to put the best athletes from each state for a DMR could be fun. Definitely some fast times at the front of the race (which don’t go on the national all-time lists because they are mixed teams). However the Michigan team was the Six Mile TC squad, running 12:20.27 for 6th. Splits: Lucia Lachappelle 3:49.36, Katelyn Egli 62.15, Elliana Neuer 2:17.96, Alexandra Scappaticci 5:10.79.
Championship State Distance Medley - Boys: Two states got under 9:50. Michigan’s Breen TC finished 9th in 10:17.00. Splits: Ryan Barnes 3:06.73, Joe Rancilio 51.05, Jacob Hylton 1:56.00, Evan Owczarek 4:25.22.
Championship Pole Vault - Girls: Grand Haven senior Izzy Robbins is the NATIONAL CHAMPION, capping a banner week of vaulting by Michigan’s stick people. The day after clearing a PR 13-4.5 for 3rd at New Balance, she tied that here, then made 13-8.25 on her third attempt. Then she had the bar raised not to 14-0, but to 14-1.75, which would beat the State Record that Katie Blue set in Boston the day before. No luck there, but a phenomenal performance! She is now =2 in Michigan history indoors.
Championship Weight - Boys: Catholic Central’s Paxton Heitsch only got in 3 throws, but his best of 73-0.5 makes him No. 4 in state history. He finished 11th.
State Records Recap
Brocks now No. 2 in U.S. history.
This doesn’t include class/grade records. Just the big overall records here. This was a banner weekend! (Note that all of these marks came in Boston, as most of the top Michigan talent seems inclined to compete in Beantown.)
Boys 60H - 7.55 - Zacchaeus Brocks (Detroit Catholic Central)
Boys 60H - 7.44 - Zacchaeus Brocks (Detroit Catholic Central) - Watch
Girls 200 - 23.75 - Kamryn Tatum (West Bloomfield)
Girls 200 - 23.35 - Kamryn Tatum (West Bloomfield) - Watch
Girls 2M - 9:52.57 - Nastasza Dudek (Ann Arbor Pioneer) - Watch
Girls 5000 - 16:09.65 - Emma Hoffman (Otsego) - Watch
Girls PV - 14-0.5 - Katie Blue (Grand Ledge) - Watch
NCAA D1: McFarland Gets 3rd
Fayetteville, March 13-14—
Michigan’s DMR led going into the final leg, but then things got tactical. They ended up 4th in 9:22.77 (Brendan Herger 2:50.07, Miles Brown 45.78, Camden Law 1:46.78, Trent McFarland 4:00.14). Colorado was led off by frosh TJ Hansen (Freeland) 2:54.13 and got 8th. Watch the race
In the mile, Trent McFarland (Utica/UM) had some problems getting into the right position, and ultimately kicked from too far back, ending up in 3rd with his 3:59.45. Watch the race.
Braxton Brann (AA Huron/Ohio St) anchored the 4×4 in 45.90 to an 8th-place finish, snagging All-America honors. Watch the race
Ben Barton (Seaholm/BYU) PRed at 6025 to place 5th in the heptathlon (60H—6.88, LJ—24-11¼, SP—42-9½ HJ—6-9, 60H—7.96, PV—14-8, 1000—2:40.46).
Elle Adrian (Standish Sterling/MSU) got 10th in the weight with her 70-10.
Kaila Jackson (Renaissance/Georgia) finished 6th in the 60 at 7.22 after a 7.20 heat. Watch the race
NCAA D2: Wins For Haas & Kuzma
Virginia Beach, March 13-14—Full replay of Day 1.
800: Sam Allen (Norrix/GVSU) ran 1:49.97 for 6th.
5000: Koby Fraaza (Gull Lake/GVSU) ran 13:49.98 for 3rd.
HJ: Xavier Santiago (Onaway/SVSU) cleared 7-1.5 for 4th; Braden Prielipp (Marion/GVSU) hit 6-11 for 8th.
PV: Dolan Gonzales (Saline/GVSU) cleared 17-7 for 2nd.
SP: Andrew Quinn (Mason County C/SVSU) got 5th at 59-11.75.
Weight: Ben Haas (Clarkston/Hillsdale) won at 75-4.5. Dom Scharer (Hillsdale Academy/Hillsdale) got 3rd at 70-8.5. Sebastian Tesch (Anchor Bay/GVSU) was 7th at 68-9.75.
4×4: Grand Valley 5th in 3:10.75 with Michiganders Desmond Chapa (West Ottawa) 49.48, Demarcus Chapa (West Ottawa) 47.72, Trannon Aylor (Whitehall) 48.25.
DMR: Grand Valley placed 3rd in 9:40.17. Owen Westerkamp (Big Rapids) led off at 2:59.94, and Colin MacGregor (Dow) ran 1:50.54.
WOMEN
200: Alaina Diaz (Hudsonville/GVSU) sprinted 23.77 for 6th.
3000: Lauren Kiley (Plymouth/GVSU) ran 9:22.42 for 6th.
5000: Allison Kuzma (Zeeland E/Hillsdale) won with her 15:58.57; Abby VanderKooi (Muskegon WMC/GVSU) placed 8th in 16:24.01.
PV: Brooke Bowers (Forest Hills C/GVSU) tied for 4th at 14-0; Tara Townsend (Frankfort/Hillsdale) was 7th at 13-8.25.
LJ: Alaina Diaz (Hudsonville/GVSU) placed 6th with her 19-11.75.
SP: Paige Westra (Zeeland E/GVSU) hit 7th at 50-11.
Weight: Shelby Ulven (Zeeland E/GVSU) was 5th at 65-0.75.
DMR: 5th for Grand Valley. Megan Postma (West Ottawa) 3:29.13, Claire Neumann (Valley Lutheran) 54.26, Addison Washler (Forest Hills E) 2:11.89, Cara Newman (Canton) 4:55.66.
NCAA D3: Schermerhorn Takes 400
800: Abe VanDuinen (Pentwater/Calvin) was 8th in 1:51.62.
SP: Owen Fremeau (Parma Western/Olivet) hit 4th at 58-6.
Weight: Fremeau earned 3rd at 63-0.25.
WOMEN
400: Sara Schermerhorn (Traverse City W/Hope) wins in 54.41.
Coming Up This Weekend
World Indoors - First, a correction. I had figured that Jessica Mercier would be left off the U.S. squad for the Worlds because she didn’t have the qualifying standard of 15-5 for the vault. However, there’s another route to the Worlds using World Athletics ranking points. She must have had enough there because USATF has named her to the team for Poland. The other Michigander competing is Heath Baldwin in the heptathlon. The meet runs March 20-22. It will be televised on Peacock. Live results here.
The official school season has started, with the college-hosted indoor meets that our coaches call outdoor meets! Some have already happened, but we haven‘t had time to cover them yet.
CMU HS Invite: Results
GVSU Laker Challenge - Boys Big Schools: Results
SVSU D1/D2: Results
GVSU Laker Challenge - Girls Big Schools: Live Results
SVSU D3/D4: Live Results
Huron Relays - Small Schools: Live Results
GVSU Laker Challenge - Boys/Girls Small Schools: Live Results
Huron Relays - Large Schools: Live Results
Yooper Invitational: Live Results
Jim Gardiner Invite:
Also happening this weekend are the adidas Track Nationals. Don’t know if any Michiganders are going this year.
Stat Nerd Alert: 1600 & 3200
Most track coaches hate this kind of talk because it gets awfully complicated to be accurate on indoor records in the distance events, and they’d rather convert everything have it be a lot simpler, especially if they’re maintaining a record board with limited space. If you study our state records by class, you will see separate listings for the 1500/1600/mile. Likewise for the 3000/3200/2M. And then, of course, you see the separate “OT” category for oversized/300m tracks, which are not traditionally record eligible (in fact, World Athletics counts them in the same category as outdoor marks).
For starters, why 1500 and 3000? Because these athletes will probably never race another 1600/3200 in their lives once they leave high school. The 1500 and 3000 are the common distances in the track world. Why mile and 2M? Because despite the fact that most coaches use those terms interchangeably with 1600/3200, they are different distances. The Mile is 9.34m longer than a 1600, the 2M is 18.68m longer than a 3200.
A rule in the stat-keeping world comes into play here. Records cannot be converted. All-time lists can. For example, if Hobbs Kessler somehow gets into a 1600m race at his advanced age and runs 3:39, far superior to the mile World Record of 3:43.13, he will not get credit anywhere for running a World Record. The rest of the world thinks 1600m is dumb and it is not an officially recognized distance.
Luckily, at the big national meets, Nike/NSAF usually do things right. They run 1M/2M, the full distances, and they have a camera specifically to get 1500/3000 splits. Plus, like all good timers at a big meet, they get FAT splits for every lap. It’s a statistician’s feast! With New Balance, we’ve had pretty bad luck getting that same information from the timers.
So when someone like Natasza Dudek busts an amazing 2M race, she has the opportunity to get three state records in one go: 3000/3200/2M. Usually the timers do not have a camera at 3200, so her unconverted 2M time counts as the 3200 mark. That’s because of another stat-keeping rule: you don’t penalize an athlete for running long, and you don’t give them credit for something they didn’t run. So while the 9:52.56 she ran converts to a 9:49.14 (using the Track & Field News conversion of X 0.9942), that 9:49 won’t be the 3200 record because no one got her time there. That’s the breaks; I doubt she will cry about this. The 3200 record will instead be the longer 9:52.56.
All-time lists? Convert to your heart’s content, because that’s all about comparison rather than absolute standards.
Probably way too much information here in the hair-splitting department, but just in case you were wondering…
Other Things
Grant Fisher: Had a rough go in his first 13.1M, hanging with the leaders until mile 11 before fading to 14th in 60:53. “That did not feel terrific. That was hard, really, really hard. I was hoping my legs would be a little more resilient out there, but I think I wasn’t quite prepared for the pounding of the hills.… Aerobically I felt good, felt really prepared, but I think the leg pounding, the impact, I think for my next one it’ll be a slightly different preparation with probably just longer efforts on the roads, intentionally looking for some surges within some reps.”
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