It was an incredible day across West Michigan for track and field athletes in all divisions. Blue Water Area schools returned from the state meet competition with several individual state championships and multiple all-state podium finishes. Many other competitors saw season or personal bests on the track and field. Check out the full results of each meet for other Blue Water Area athlete finishes.
D1
Thomas Westphal of Anchor Bay was runner-up in the D1 1600 (4:06.98 PR) and earned his first state title in the 3200, running 9:07.56 to win. “It felt A LOT better (on the number one podium spot) than the four times I’ve placed second. I couldn’t have asked for a better state meet,” Westphal stated. Westphal also set a new school record in the 1600. Adaptive racer Luke Bowman won the shot put, 200, and 400-meter titles and was second in the 100-meter dash for the Tars. Photos courtesy of Thomas Westphal/Anchor Bay Track and Field.
D2
The Yale girls finished second overall as a team, earning 39 points to D2 champion Dearborn Divine Child’s 46 - and they won’t graduate a single athlete.
Sadie Dykstra won four regional events to qualify for the state finals and left Hamilton a champion in two, a runner-up in another, and earned a fourth All-State finish in the final event of the day. “I surprised myself a little,” Dykstra said of her efforts, but as one of the projected favorites in all her events, things turned out pretty much as predicted. She won the long jump (18-0.5), the 300 hurdles (45.00 PR), was second in the 100 hurdles (15.19 PR), and teamed up with Keirra Taube, Julia Ferguson, and Madeline Sepsey to take fifth in the 4x400-meter relay (4:06.99 PR). Combined with Taube’s exceptional runner-up finish in the high jump (5-3), the Bulldogs had enough points to claim a second-place team award. Photos courtesy of Brad Dykstra.
Distance star Eva Thompson of Cros-Lex dropped huge personal bests right when it mattered most, taking sixth in the 1600 in 5:01.73 and earning the last 3200-meter All-State spot (8th; 11:02.92). She was also the lead leg on the Pioneers’ 4x800 relay.
Janae Hudson of Marysville traded one state title for another: last year she was first in the shot put, but for 2024 it was a win in the discus and a runner-up finish in the shot. Her efforts were 45-4 (a new best) in the shot put and 140-3 in the discus to climb to the top of the podium in both throwing events. Hudson alone earned Marysville an eighth-place team finish with 18 points. Brennan Francek was All-State for the Vikings in the boys’ 300 hurdles, taking seventh in 40.06.
Aubree Deshetsky of North Branch was All-State in the discus and shot put as well: she took sixth (124-3) and fifth (39-5), respectively. Deshetsky’s teammate Grace Clemens also visited the awards stand twice, with a seventh-place finish in the 100 (12.65) and 25.43 (PR) in the 200-meter dash.
D3
Chase Battani of Almont was third in the pole vault, clearing 14-0 to earn D3 All-State status. Check out Almont Varsity Track’s Facebook page for many more pictures. https://www.facebook.com/AlmontVarsityTrack
Full results: https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/529793/results.
D4
Tyler Lenn of Marine City Cardinal Mooney repeated his 2023 win in the 1600-meter run, making him a back-to-back D4 champion in 4:16.43. He placed fourth in the 800 (1:58.62) and helped his 4x800 relay team to a sixth-place finish in 8:21. Teammate Isaac Zammit joined him on the podium in the 1600 - Zammit placed sixth in 4:28.73 (PR), along with a 3200 eighth-place finish in 9:54.38. Zammit was also on the 4x800 team with Evan Jacobs and Jack Luzynski. Photos courtesy of Isaac Zammit.
Dryden’s girls had a strong team showing: multiple athletes earned All-State status. Olivia Reynolds was fifth in the 200 (26.62 PR) and third in the 400 in 59.14, also a PR. She joined Sophia Peter, Delaney Wolle, and Keirra Miller in the 4x200 relay to take the last All-State spot in 1:50.86. The same ladies teamed up in the 4x400 to take sixth (4:17.94), making Reynolds four-for-four on the podium for the Cardinals.
Photos courtesy of Dryden Track and Field.
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