Jun. 6—TRAVERSE CITY — Track and field state finals met with the hottest temperatures of the year in Michigan but that didn’t stop numerous local athletes from earning all-state accolades across the state.
While the heat played a big factor in the times that were run, athletes in over a dozen events came back with all-state honors and several came back with an individual state title of their own.
The team finishes on Saturday were some of the best in school history for Petoskey, whose girls team won the overall title in Division 2, and Benzie Central, whose boys team earned a runner-up finish in Division 3, which is tied for the best finish in school history.
The caveat for Benzie? They only needed two runners to earn it.
Benzie Central sophomore Hunter Jones earned the D3 state title in the 1600 meter run (4:17.18) and placed second in the 800 (1:56.64 PR) and second in the 3200 (9:33.22). Senior Seth Stoltz was the only other male Huskie at the finals, but had two all-state finishes to help Benzie earn second.
Stoltz placed sixth in the 100 (11.51) and fourth in the 200 (23.41).
“You can’t help being a little mad when you know you can do better and know there are guys you can beat,” Stoltz said. “But that is a really good way for us to end the season. I owe a lot to Hunter (Jones); he really is the guy who does a lot for us.”
Also taking home a state championship in D3 was the Traverse City St. Francis 4×800 relay team of Zeeland Tarrant, Jacob Heeringa, Bryson Ellalasingham and Thomas Richards in a time of 8:16.64.
“I am so excited, I just wish it wasn’t over,” TC St. Francis head coach Julie Duffing said. “We are so thankful that we had a season. You feel so bad for these kids who didn’t get to run last year, but they got to come out and show they deserved this.”
Traverse City Central senior Leah Doezema destroyed the competition at the D1 finals in the discus with a personal and school record throw of 145’4″, which won her the state title by nearly four feet.
“I was just thinking about how it was my last high school meet and I really wanted to just put everything that I had into those throws,” Doezema said. “I didn’t even know what to do afterwards … I just couldn’t stop laughing and I was like, ‘Did that really happen?'”
Doezema’s record-breaking toss and a third-place 44’6.75″ in the shot put helped TC Central’s girls to a fourth-place finish overall. She said having a teammate like Mackenzie Bohrer, who placed fourth in the shot put (44’2″) and 12th in the discus (117’7″), gave her top-tier competition in practice for four years and made the difference in winning a state title.
Also winning an individual title for TC Central was junior Julia Flynn with a 4:50.71 in the 1600, the only race she ran.
Emma Squires won dual individual state titles in the 800 (2:14), finishing just ahead of Cadillac’s Chloie Musta (2nd, 2:16.05 PR), and 1600 (4:55.05) while taking second in the 3200 (11:03.80).
Glen Lake’s Finn Hogan showed out at the D4 finals with a state title in the 400 (49.98), while taking sixth in the 100 (11.48), fourth in 200 (23.13) and second in high jump (6’7″).
Joining Hogan in winning a D4 individual title was Buckley freshman Aidan Harrand in the 1600 (1st, 5:14.91). Makenna Scott took home second behind Harrand in the 1600, and she earned her own title in the 3200 in 11:24.55.
Frankfort’s girls 400 relay team of Keyan Clapp, Reagan Thorr, Grace Wolfe and Tara Townsend won the state title in 52.05. Townsend also won her second consecutive D4 pole vault title with a vault of 12′, a personal best.
DIVISION 1
The Traverse City West boys had several school-best finishes when its 4×100 relay placed sixth (42.86) and its 4×200 relay placed seventh (1:29.92).
Jacob Patanella became one of the most decorated jumpers in TCW history with a school record and personal best All-State third place finish in the long jump (22’2.75″) and seventh place and personal best in the high jump (6’3″).
Isabel Spearing helped break two school records Saturday for the Titans. Spearing broke the school record in the 400 (57.1) and helped start the record-breaking 800 relay team with Rylee Herban, Sara Schermerhorn and Madalen Ferrill (145.22), who placed 12th.
“Super proud of our kids,” TC West assistant coach Jason Morrow said. “We kind of thought that we had a chance the last two years to contend for state titles in the 4×100 and 4×200. They contended today and got on the podium so it was an incredible day.”
Avery McLean placed fifth in the 800 (2:15.07 PR) and Drew Seabase placed fifth in the 800 (1:57.26 PR) to get matching All-State finishes for TC Central. McLean placed ninth (5:00.39 PR) in the 1600 and Seabase matched her with a ninth (4:23.55) in the 1600 as well, each finishing just off the podium.
Luke Venhuizen placed eighth in the 3200 (9:19.55 PR) and the 4×800 relay team of Alison Hankins, Madylin McLean, Avery McLean and Katie Venhuizen placed third (9:19.14) to earn all-state honors for TCC.
DIVISION 2
Noel Vanderwall joined Squires on the all-state list for the 1600 with a fifth place finish (5:09.25 PR). Vanderwall also reached the podium in the 3200 (6th, 11:23.98), one spot ahead of teammate Caroline Farley (7th, 11:29.37) to help Petoskey to the state title.
Farley, Vanderwall and Squires teamed up with Sarah Liederbach for a state title in the 4×800 relay. They finished almost 15 second ahead of second place Freeland in 9:27.33. Cadillac’s 4×800 relay team of Kendall Schopieray, Renee Brines, Eleanor Cool and Chloie Musta took home an all-state third place finish (9:50.46) as well.
DIVISION 3
McBain senior Grayson VerBerkmoes ran a personal-best 2:00.14 in the 800 to take an all-state seventh-place finish. Maggie O’Malley joined VerBerkmoes on the all-state list for McBain with a fifth place finish in the 1600 (5:12.5 PR), the same race where Benzie’s Mylie Kelly took seventh (5:14.08) as a freshman.
The girls 3200 was filled with local talent as O’Malley (4th, 11:28.12), Kelly (5th, 11:31.14), TCSF’s Sophia Rein (6th, 11:41.79), Manton’s Molly Harding (7th, 11:47.41) and Benzie’s Cierra Guay (8th, 11:53.81) all took home all-state honors.
School record holder Tyler McClure took home all-state honors for Mancelona in the 1600 (5th, 4:25.95) and Charlevoix’s Sam Peterson finished right behind him in sixth (4:27.15).
Manton’s Noah Morrow (3rd, 9:40) and Kalkaska’s Tyler Guggemos (6th, 10:00.36 PR) earned all-state in the 3200 behind Jones.
TC St. Francis’ Zennor Tarrant surprised many, according to Duffing. He placed seventh (16.37) in the 110 hurdles after being seeded 20 out of 21 coming into the race. Tarrant finished just behind Boyne City’s Jackson Menard (6th, 16.34).
Elk Rapids’ 4×100 relay team of Paige Fosdick, Lile Rubert, Sierra Molby and Nevada Molby took home seventh (52.02).
The Gladiators’ broke the school record set in 1996 in the 4×400 relay when they placed second (3:30.11) with a team of Judge Morgan, Ellalasingham, Richards and Tarrant.
McBain’s 4×800 relay team placed fourth in 8:24.20 and included Connor Murphy, Kyle Pylkas, VerBerkmoes and Kadin Eastway. Benzie’s 4×800 relay team of Guay, Elise Johnson, Kelly and Madison Teichman placed fourth in D3 in 9:52.35.
The area saw two all-staters in the high jump with Mancelona’s Jayden Alfred (3rd, 6’4″) and McBain’s Kaiden McGillis (5th, 6’4″). Alfred also placed fifth in the long jump with personal best jump of 21’11.5″. Grace Dawson took sixth in the high jump for Boyne City (5’1″) and Manistee’s Libby McCarthy tied for eighth (4’11”).
DIVISION 4
Frankfort’s Tara Townsend continued to show off in Division 4 with several all-state finishes. Townsend took home second in the 100 (12.73) and 200 (26.82)
Mateo Barnett placed fourth in the 400 (51.46) for Manistee Catholic and Ruby Hogan took home eighth in the girls 400 (1:02.87 PR) for Glen Lake.
The 800 meter race had Petoskey St. Michael’s Sam Paga take fifth (2:01.93 PR) in the boys race. The girls 800 had three local All-State finishers with Buckley’s Aiden Harrand (2nd, 2:24.02), Joburg’s Adeladia Gascho (4th, 2:25.24) and Ruby Hogan (8th, 2:27.43). Buckley’s Shelby Cade finished just behind Hogan in ninth (2:29.95 PR).
Glen Lake’s Makenna Scott took home second (5:25.06) behind Harrand in the 1600 and Gaylord St. Mary’s Miriam Murrell placed sixth (5:40.87 PR), while Brethren’s Alexis Tracy took seventh (12:41.17).
Forest Area’s Emily Norkowski placed eighth in the 100 hurdles (17.38). Gabe Luther, Gavin Allen, Cameron Carpenter and Nick Simon combined to take seventh for Buckley in the 4×200 relay. Gaylord St. Mary’s 4×200 girls relay matched that performance with a seventh place 1:52.04 (Bailey Murrell, Lydia Kirk, Kinzie Jeffers, Abby Zimmerman).
Buckley boys’ 4×400 relay placed fourth (3:37.06) and Joburg’s girls 4×400 relay took home fourth as well (4:18.93). Glen Lake’s 4×400 just made All-State in eighth (4:23.48) and was comprised of Grace Bradford, Kariesue Taghon, Grace Fosmore and Ruby Hogan.
Petoskey St. Michael’s 3200 relay won the state title (8:20.62) thanks to Paga, Micah Bragg, Seth Bragg and Hammond Law. Forest Area’s 3200 girls relay placed eighth as well (10:51.09) with Meagan Lange, Ryen Norman, Maycey Turner and Teri Weiling running legs.
Suttons Bay’s Emily Grant took second in the discus (105′) and Buckley’s Kyle Kaczanowski placed fifth in the high jump (6’4″).
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