#37 - State Indoor Pre-Meet Stuff, Plus Lots of Action!

Author

Jeff Hollobaugh
February 23, 2024

Inside This Issue

Indoor States Free Live Stream

Thanks to Carey Hammel and the crew at Free Track Live, you’ll be able to see all the excitement this weekend from the comfort of your screen.

Indoor States History

Here it is, the listing of “all” the winners ever going back to 1971, along with all the pertinent history of the state finals in a 19-page PDF file. Did you know there was an earlier incarnation of the state indoor championships, hosted by the University of Michigan, that was a big deal in the 1920s. I will compile that history when time permits.

Note that we are still missing some important things. There are years where we don’t know who won various events. There are years where we don’t know who earned Athlete of the Meet honors. And there are many relay teams where we don’t have the names of the runners. If you can answer any of those questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Click here —→ The History

MITS Issues #1: How Many Events?

In the lead-up to this weekend I have been surprised to hear people complaining about the limit of 2 individual running events (an athlete can go up to 4, counting relays or field events). This isn’t new, folks. If you can remember back just a few years, the rules used to be even tougher for the first 50 years of the state indoor.

Founder Charlie Janke limited entrants to one individual running event, and that remained the rule until the meet went to the LAB. Janke’s rationale, as he explained it to me, was twofold. One, it allowed more individuals the opportunity to win instead of having a superstar grab multiple victories; two, it kept the meet moving fast.

Now perhaps we’re at a point where MITS/MITCA will need to take a close look at things and decide where we want the meet to go. Allowing kids more events means the meet takes longer. And it already goes plenty long in the eyes of many, what with multiple heats of most running events plus the addition of middle school events.

MITS Issues #2: All-Star Relays

Shore TC/Holland West Ottawa coach Kyle Barnes touched on a troubling issue on Facebook: “While within the rules to assemble ‘All Star’ teams for relays at the MITS Indoor State Meet, seeing this year’s entries with clubs that have assembled relays with athletes that 1)have not run for that club all season, 2)did not run the relay that qualified for state, and/or 3)are affiliated with different clubs in individual events at State but are running for another club on relays feels a bit beyond the spirit of the rules and fair competition.”

As Barnes mentions, this has always been allowed. That, however, doesn’t make it any less bothersome to many. We pretty much have three kinds of clubs in this state: those that are primarily comprised of athletes from one school, those that include athletes from a variety of schools but have them train and compete together cohesively, and those all-star groupings that don’t go to school together, don’t train together, and are mostly thrown together via phone calls at the end of the season.

With indoor track not being an MHSAA sport, there is no way to police and control this, and that’s why it’s always been allowed. However, the question of its fairness strikes different people in different ways.

I can only give the Michtrack perspective as a statistician and historian: these pick-up relay teams are the reason why winning a MITS relay title isn’t important from a national perspective or meaningful in any historical perspective. And that’s why state records, and the all-time list in the relays, are restricted to teams where every runner attends the same school.

Michigan HS Indoor State Records: Boys - Girls

Michigan Indoor All-Time Lists updated through ‘22-23 season
Boys - Girls

USATF Indoor: Kessler Makes Worlds Team

Gabriela Leon’s big jump.

In a race he was clearly displeased with (if my lip-reading is any good), Hobbs Kessler made the U.S. Team for the World Indoors in two weeks in Glasgow, finishing 2nd in 3:38.76 in the 1500 in Albuquerque. Running in the midst of a tight crowd, Kessler endued a flurry of elbows, bumps and traffic disasters but still was able to kick his way to the runner-up position. Cole Hocker won, somehow avoiding the traffic disasters and making every one of his passes inside along the rail (don’t try that at home, kids, unless you’re skinnier than everyone in the race, and are OK with getting elbowed onto the infield).

Gabriela Leon just missed the Worlds team, finishing 3rd in the pole vault with a lifetime best 15-5 (4.70). That’s the highest vault ever by a Michigander, topping the 15-3 (4.65) that Kristen Leland has cleared 5 times. Leland placed 5th at 14-9 (4.50) and in 10th was Mackenzie Beukes at 13-11.25 (4.25). I missed her in the preview, because I didn’t recognize her married name (she was Mackenzie Shell, a former state champion from Port Huron Northern).

Morgan Beadlescomb ran a great 3000, placing 3rd in 7:56.70, covering his final lap in 26.77. Hurdler Freddie Crittenden placed 7th in 7.58.

Mason Phillips placed 5th in his 60 heat at 6.72. On the field, Trevor Stephenson was a no-height in the vault. Isaiah Griffith placed 5th in the triple jump at 50-0 (15.24) and Myles Kerner was 9th in the shot at 62-9.5 (19.14).

Anavia Battle ran 5th in her 60 heat (7.34). Taylor Manson finished 9th in the 400 (53.37).

Fisher’s Big 5000

You might have missed it… it didn’t get a lot of play anywhere, but just 5 days after his American Record in the 2 mile, Grand Blanc alum Grant Fisher went to the ultra-fast track at Boston University and ran the second-fastest indoor 5000 ever by an American, 12:51.84, missing the American Record by just 0.23. He is now the No. 5 indoor performer in world history. And in the all-important tabulation of state HS alumni records (I’m half-joking), he beats his own 12:53.73 mark from two years earlier.

He explained that he wanted to get practice at having two hard races somewhat close together, mimicking the schedule at the Olympic Trials and Games. Running alone for the final 3000m, he clicked through 1600 splits of 4:09.14, 4:09.55 (8:18.69) & 4:04.59 (12:23.28).

HS Round-Up

Hansen Blasts 2M At Notre Dame (2/17): TJ Hansen ran his first 2M race of the year, and it was a doozy. In a special HS ”Golden Dome” event as part of the Alex Wilson Invitational, the Freeland junior raced some of the nation’s best prep distance runners. He placed 5th—the winner, Drew Griffith, ran 8:38.67. But Hansen’s time is definitely of note. He clocked 8:51.12 for the full 2M distance. That’s faster than the state indoor record of 8:52.94 set by Dathan Ritzenhein in 2000, but unfortunately, Hansen was aided by the oversized Notre Dame track, the nation’s biggest. (Ritz ran his record on a 200m flat track). On the list of all-tracks/all-conditions indoor 3200/2Ms, Hansen ranks No. 3, behind Hunter Jones’ 8:45.46m (oversized) and Ritzenhein’s 8:47.4m (run against a relay race).

A quick look at the highlights from various MITS meets around the state (meet results can be found by clicking on meet name):

Louisville Indoor Games (2/3): A group from Motor City went down to get a little more experience racing on a banked track. After an 8.82 in the hurdles, Morgan Roundtree hit 25.35 in the 200, with Carrie VanNoy at 25.53 and Kai Allen at 25.88. Nevaeh Burns won the 400 in 56.36 as Dayshana Kelllogg clocked 57.91. And the team’s 4×4 (King>Kellogg>Hunter-Young>Burns) sizzled a 3:52.45.

Valentine Vault (2/10): At the Vault Barn, Brady Lewis won the boys competition at 14-0, the same height as second-placer Adam Cahoon. On the girls side, it was Alison Shelton with a PR 12-3 taking the win over Evie Mathis at 11-6, with four others also over 11-6.

Grand Valley #5 (2/17): GVSU hosted the annual Gazelle Elite 3200 races. Northville junior Ethan Powell won in 9:10.73 over a deep field (four others under 9:14). Whitmore Lake frosh Kaylie Livingston ran 10:24.91 to beat Jessie Jazwinski’s 10:34.39, with Elena Figueroa 3rd in 10:37.62.

In other events, Mason Mayne exploded to 62-1 in the shot to become the No. 7 thrower in state history indoors. He also won the weight throw at 62-6. Boden Genovese took the 800 in 1:56.26 over Shay White (1:56.43). Owen Hager covered the hurdles in 8.14. Shore TC ran 1:29.74 for the 4×2.

Keyanna O’Tey covered 200 in 25.30 and Daisy Speet won the 800 in 2:15.90. Ninth-grader Annie Hrabovsky of Romeo impressed in the “didn’t-get-invited-to-the-elite-race” 3200, winning in 10:38.63 (which would have placed her 4th in the other race). Brooke Bowers vaulted 12-11.75.

Then there’s Nyla Reed. The Otsego senior, trying the triple jump for the first time ever, flew out to 35-5.25 to become No. 10 in state history. (And perhaps college coaches are suddenly a lot more interested in the 17-3 long jumper. Topic for another time—why we need to create more opportunities in Olympic events that aren’t contested by the MHSAA.)

LAB #9 (2/17): Brendan Herger showed his speed is sharp by PRing with a 49.48 in the 400, ahead of Geoff McBurrows (49.64). Anthony Buford long jumped 21-7. On the girls side, the Track Life Jayla’s blistered the heats (7.72 Dace, 7.75 Graham), then skipped the final. Cayla Hawkins took the 200 at 25.29 over Janae Coleman (25.45) (and yes, that’s Coleman the 2:14 half-miler). Lindsay Johnson hurdled 8.95 then sprinted 56.71. Emmry Ross placed 2nd to a Canadian in the 800 but ran a PR 2:14.81 (and took the 1600 at 5:04.29). Track Life put together a 1:41.37 in the 4×2.

SVSU (2/17): Evan Watson continued to mark himself as a big-time threat in the sprints: 6.88 in the 60 and 47.65. That 400 marks makes him No. 5 in history, all-tracks. The 200 saw a great battle, with Noah Morris (21.94) edging Cameron Cheetam (21.95). Kamryn Tatum won the girls 200 in 24.77. The 400 went fast, Nevaeh Burns (56.23) ahead of Motor City teammate Kylee King (56.99). King also won the 1600 in 5:10.86. The hurdles had Canadian Naomi Byam winning in 8.66 ahead of the 8.68 for Morgan Roundtree and 8.73 PR for Carrie VanNoy. Big shot for Rylan Finstrom, as her 45-5.5 adds two feet to the state lead. Lena Cleveland jumped 18-3.

2024 Michigan HS Elite Lists - Boys - Girls

College Signings

If you know of one that wasn’t previously reported here, please let us know! [email protected]. This has been a feature since issue #28. To check back issues, go here.

  • Kai Allen (Detroit Cass Tech) - Indiana State

  • Joey Bonacci (Jenison) - Oregon

  • Hannah DeRoeck (Lake Orion) - Michigan State

  • Andrew Floros (Clarkston) - Central Michigan

  • Madison Morson (Salem) - Central Michigan (basketball)

  • Sydney Smith (Davison) - Wayne State

  • Morgan Whitten (Grand Ledge) - Indiana Tech

Little Things

Wheelchair/Adaptive Athletes? Got any coming up in your program this season? Michael Sudrovich, the coach at Oxford, is organizing two major meets this season, the Oxford Invitational (April 27) and the Oakland County Championships (May 24). He is hoping to invite statewide adaptive athletes to compete at the Oxford Invitational, and Oakland County athletes only for the Oakland meet. Contact him at [email protected]

Pole Vault Clinic: A chance to learn from some of the best on March 2 at the Vault Barn Camp. Details here.

Michtrack Results Archive: The Archive now includes 11,309 old results and clippings, thanks to the many people who have scanned old results and sent them. Check out the Archive!

Past Issues of the Michtrack Newsletter: Can be found here.

The Michigan Track & Field Hall of Fame: A work in progress. See where we are.

Your Contributions Keep Michtrack Going! We have a lot of projects that we’re trying to get to to further preserve the history of TF/XC in our state. Your donations will help us make more happen, faster. Plus, they are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated! Please, join our regular monthly supporters.

Join the conversation

or to participate.