#87 - The Return Of Donavan Brazier

Inside This Issue

• The Return Of Donavan Brazier

• Battle Is On A Roll

• Fast 400s At Champion of Champions

• Hansen Wins At Brooks PR

• More State Meet Highlights

• HS Highlights

• College/Pro Highlights

• Other Things

Brazier Is Back, Baby

We’ve missed him. Donavan Brazier, one of the most exciting talents to ever come out of Michigan. In 2015, he ran a State Record 1:47.55 for Kenowa Hills High School. In 2016 he won the NCAA title as a frosh in 1:43.55. In 2019, he won the World Championships in an American Record 1:42.34.

Then we lost him, for three years, as he battled injuries, had multiple surgeries, and slowly, behind the scenes worked on making his way back to the sport.

On Friday night in an offbeat race in Nashville, Tennessee, Brazier got to hear the starting gun again. He lead through the first lap in 52.09, then left the field behind with his 52.61 second lap. Crossing the line in 1:44.70, he showed little emotion on his face. Yet that time is stunning to track insiders. Suddenly the wunderkind of the 800 is back among the contenders at the age of 28. That time makes him No. 6 in the U.S. this season. He is set to run a more competitive race in Portland next weekend.

He told Flotrack, “It felt pretty good. First one back in a few years, I didn’t have too much expectations so it’s just kind of about going through the motions again, you know not even just the race itself, but just the travel and the pre-race routine, and all that stuff I had to kind of relearn a little bit so this is just another stepping stone.”

Battle On A Roll

This is getting crazy. Anavia Battle just keeps winning. The Wayne Memorial/Ohio State grad has added the Rome Diamond League and the Hengelo FBK meets to her win streak. In Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, she ran 22.53 with an 0.8 wind. Then in Hengelo, she hit 22.75 (-0.5) to take the win.

It’s easy to dismiss Battle’s recent wins by noting that Olympic champion Gabby Thomas and a few other key sprinters are concentrating on Grand Slam Track this season and so Battle may be getting an easy ride on the Diamond League circuit. Yet she’s still beating athletes who figure to make the World Championship final in Tokyo in September. She is clearly one of the contenders to make the U.S. team, and being on a roll like this is only making her more confident.

400 Fire at Champion of Champions

The big race between D2 champ and state leader Sydney Kuhn and D1 champ Neveah Burns came at the MITCA Champion of Champions meet in Davison, and fans were treated to the second race in history with two Michigan girls breaking 54-seconds (the first came at New Balance Nationals in 2016, when Taylor Manson placed 2nd in 53.34 and Chloe Abbott 3rd in 53.38).

This time, it was Sydney Kuhn who ran to a state-leading 53.48, with Neveah Burns closing fast for a 53.98 PR. Dayshana Kellogg finished 3rd with a PR 55.19. Burns also won the 200 in 24.48.

The boys race was equally impressive. Rondre Austion, disappointed in his 4th-place finish in the D1 finals, reeled off a list-leading PR of 47.55. He needed all of that to beat Rodney Endsley’s PR of 47.67. So far this season, six Michigan preps have broken 48—a possible record.

Collin McLaughlin topped a deep 800 with his PR 1:52.62, finishing ahead of Rece Grezak (1:53.33), Abenezer Cereone (1:53.41) and Maddi Duke (1:53.47). In the 1600, August Rohde survived what sounds like an overly ambitious pacesetting plan to set a big PR 4:11.99.

Layla Jordan ran 2:09.91 to win the 800 over Victoria Garces (2:12.45) and Kate Ort (2:12.52). An impressive 8th-grade run came from Aubrey Burt of Motor City in 2:13.05. Natasza Dudek won the 1600 in 4:48.40.

Caleb Washington nailed a PR 37.86 in the 300 hurdles.

On the field, three boys vaulted over 15-0: Reece Emeott, Ben Goran and Sean Cinzori. Similarly, three girls topped 12-0: Brooklyn Zylstra, Marra Collins and Izzy Robbins. Conrad Squitieri hit a PR 175-1 in the discus, while a double in the girls throws went to Makenzie Price (41-7/133-11).

On Day One, Marek Butkiewicz won a swift 3200 in 9:05.43 over Luke Long (9:09.41), with Katie Berkshire taking the girls race in 10:26.91.

You can find the video of the livestream at Freetrack Live.

Hansen Wins At Brooks PR

This time around, TJ Hansen did the leading. Facing off against Corbin Coombs, whom he outkicked when both broke 4:00 in Huntsville, this time the Colorado-bound Hansen went with the pacing lights. His first lap, 61.39, included the extra 9.34m. Then he reeled off 400s of 58.93, 60.20, and 60.71, leaving Combs behind coming off the final turn. His final 4:01.23 is the No. 4 outdoor performance in state history. He split 3:44.83 for 1500 and 3:59.75 for 1600 in becoming the third Michigander to win this race, after Nick Foster in 2019 and Seth Norder last year. Video

“It definitely shows I’m learning how to push myself,” said Hansen, who noted that this was his last race as a prep. “It’s a weird feeling being done… weird but fulfilling.”

In the girls 800, Emmry Ross took her first 800 loss of the year. The Onsted senior blazed through the first lap in 58.02 with a 9-meter lead. She held that until the last turn, passing through 600 in 1:29.9. Then New Jersey’s Paige Sheppard unleashed an unbelievable kick (she was only 7th at 400). She passed Ross with a 100 to go and won in a national 10th grade record of 2:01.50, as Ross clocked 2:02.83, her No. 3 time ever. Video

In the 110 hurdles, Zacchaeus Brocks did not look recovered from the apparent injury that kept him out of the state finals. The 13.69 performer hit an early hurdle before struggling home last in 15.15. Video

In the Junior (middle school) girls mile, Eliza Schwass took the lead on the final backstretch and appeared to have the win in hand, but Pennsylvania’s Brianna Reilly kicked hard and had the better lean, winning by 3/1000, both getting an official 4:47.96. Schwass split 4:30.13 (1500) and 4:46.56 (1600). All three of her marks are state 8th-grade records. In 10th was Alex Scappaticci of Northville in 5:02.70. Video

The Junior boys mile saw Ann Arbor’s Hudson Doll close well to finish 2nd in 4:23.77 (4:05.79, 4:21.89—all of those marks, state 8th grade records), in a race where every lap got faster. His last 800 took just 2:08.58. Video

Also, Cayla Hawkins of Track Life placed 3rd in the Junior (middle school) 400, running 55.14. Video 

Pioneer/UM alum Nick Foster placed 4th in the pro 1500 at 3:39.96. Video.

The Competitions I Wish I Had Seen

I love being the announcer for D1, which simply because of the facts of math, is always the best of the state finals in terms of the overall quality of performances. That certainly does not mean that the other divisions are lacking in talent. Every year, there are events that make me wish I was at one of the other sites. Frankly, I get jealous when I hear about other states where they have all of their divisions at the same site over a 2 or 3-day state meet. If you’re a true track fan, as opposed to a follower of just one program, you want to see all of the good action!

Without further ado, here are the MHSAA Finals competitions I am wishing I could have seen in person this year:

Jaiden Melton’s winning 100: It’s safe to say that Melton wasn’t on our radar until he popped a late-season 10.82 we figured was windy. But then a 10.71 at regionals with a legal wind suddenly changed everything. Turns out the whole season he has been building strength after knee surgery last fall. In the D2 final, with a 1.1 wind, he blitzed a 10.62 to go 1-2 with teammate Donpaul Keith (10.74). Hopefully we’ll get to see Melton on the track again. He’s bound for Sacramento State for football.

Emma Hoffman’s Distance Double: The Otsego junior is improving fast. Last year, she ran bests of 5:02.17 and 10:50.40. At D2 in Hamilton, she opened up with a PR of 4:52.86 and then won the 3200 by a most of the straightaway in 10:27.44. She ran her PR a week earlier in winning the race at Distance Night Under The Lights at Houseman Field in 10:17.08. She is already committed to Colorado.

Kaden Griffiths’ Big Long Jump: We’ve written before about the amazing jumpers coming out of Stevensville Lakeshore. Leading the pack is Kaden Griffiths, who is still just a sophomore. He won the D2 title last year, and this time around he didn’t dilly dally at all. He raced down the runway on his first attempt, a slight wind at his back (legal at 1.0) and launched himself out to a stunning 24-0.25. He didn’t come within a foot of that the rest of the day, but no one else could either. He ended up winning by more than a foot-and-a-half. Now that we have Quincy Isaac jumping 25+, it’s easy to forget how good a legit 24-foot jump is. In the last 25 years, only 7 Michigan high schoolers have gone that far with a legal wind.

Aubrey Wilson’s sprints: The Divine Child sophomore had horrible luck with the wind this year. From meets that neglected to use a wind gauge to getting wind-aided readings when a gauge was there, Wilson had a hard time getting on the legal list for the 100 and 200. At D2 finals she showed that she is indeed very, very fast, winning the 100 in 11.55—wind-aided (3.3) of course, and taking the 200 from Sydney Kuhn, 23.85-24.13. Yes, also wind-aided at 3.6. Hopefully she’s aiming at nationals, where the likelihood of fast legal times is quite high. Windy or no, only four athletes in state history have run faster than that 11.55.

Zach Cowper’s Big Shot Blast: The Gaylord senior was only a 53-3.75 thrower last year in Kentucky. This year he got serious about the event, and his improvement was stunning. He opened up 5 feet beyond his old best and hit 61-5.5 at the Big North meet. Having a good bloodline helps; his dad is former WMU great Dale Cowper, who spent years coaching throwers at the collegiate level. At D2 Finals, Cowper’s day did not start off very good. The Illinois State recruit opened with a 53-3.75, then followed with three straight fouls. Throw No. 5 reached 59-1.25, but then he caught lightning with his final toss, a 65-0.5 that makes him No. 9 in Michigan history.

Leigha Whitman’s Long Jump: Yes, another jumper from Lakeshore. Whitman was 5th in D2 last year as a frosh. This year she led the competition from her first leap of 17-9.75. She extended her lead with an 18-6 in round 3, but she saved her best for last, a meet record 18-11.5 (0.8 wind).

Dennis Jackson’s 400 Breakthrough: Dennis Jackson, the Track Life junior who runs for Detroit’s Edison PSA, had never broken 50-seconds before this season. At regionals, he ran 48.43, a PR by nearly a second-and-a-half. He had more surprises coming at the D3 finals. First he led the 200 heats at 21.93 (wind-aided at 3.9). Then came the 400, where he absolutely dominated, winning by nearly two seconds with his PR of 47.79. On the same day he placed 4th in the 200 final, anchored the 5th-place 4×1, and also ran on the 4×4.

Bradley Richards Topping 6-10.25: I had seen practice videos that showed the Muskegon Catholic Central senior was ready to go flying. He had jumped 6-10 as a soph but hadn’t gone higher since then, until the D4 Finals. There he broke his PR on his second attempt and then gave 7-feet a go. Hopefully higher bars are coming soon for the Cornerstone recruit.

Emmry Ross Wins Three: Last year, the Onsted standout won four individual events at D3, putting her name in the history books. This year, as the nation’s best 800 runner, she had choices to make. She won the 1600 in 4:45.44. She then took the 400 in 54.81. Then the 800 in 2:07.03. But she opted to pass on defending her 3200 title, so that she could run on the same relay team as her younger sister one last time. With a blazing 53.4 anchor she helped the team to All-State honors in 7th place. The future Wolverine has a very bright future.

Stiverson Doubles In The Throws: We’re getting used to amazing things every time the Montrose soph throws. The D3 finals were no exception. There she won the discus by 5-feet with her 142-6. In the shot, she took a while to warm up but on her last throw hit 50-9.25, a mark only one other girl in state history has ever hit. We can’t wait to see what she does at nationals.

HS Highlights

• Watch for some great results at Oak Park on June 12. The Motor City Nationals Elite Meet is poised to be a high-octane tune-up for the New Balance Nationals. Some of the state’s top track clubs will be there, and the speed events should be extraordinary.

• Colin Murray of Divine Child traveled to Chicago for the Magis Miles and ran a PR 4:14.90, with splits at 1500 (3:57.45) and 1600 (4:12.68).

College/Pro Highlights

• Add Clare McNamara (Northville/UM) to that list of NCAA D1 qualifiers. She will be in the heptathlon.

• Olympian Heath Baldwin (Kalamazoo Hackett) competed at the prestigious Götzis multis in Austria, placing 8th with a score of 8430, the third-best of his career.

• Last week Taylor Manson (East Lansing/Motor City) ran 53.58 in Italy. Her season best is 52.25

• Gabriela Leon (East Kentwood) vaulted to a tie for 2nd at the Golden Gala DL in Rome, with an outdoor PR 15-3. She will be vaulting in Stockholm this weekend.

• Grace Stark (Lakeland) will also be competing in the Stockholm DL.

Other Things

• The Portland Track Festival, where Donavan Brazier will be running, will have a free livestream to watch. They say they will give the URL here when they have it: https://www.portlandtrack.com/spectators

• NCAA D1 Finals will be on ESPN+.

• USATF U20: There are usually a few Michiganders who compete in the USATF Juniors; the main draw is that if they do great, they can be on Team USA and get a taste of international competition. Not so this year. Cash-strapped USATF has decided that it will not send a team to Colombia for the Pan-Am U20s. Next year, look forward to the World U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon.