BWAC Championship: Tuesday, May 7 @ Yale High School
Blue Water Area Conference meet records fell on Tuesday and they were all on the girls’ side of the competition. Many of the previous records were held by all-state athletes who went on to successful collegiate careers, so this bodes well for the future of these BWAC ladies.
In the field events, Keirra Taube of Yale set the new high jump record at 5-4. The previous record stood at 5-3 and was held by Emily Cross of Armada, a state champion in the hurdles and high jump. Aubree Deshetsky of North Branch won the shot put in 37-07.5 but crushed the discus record, throwing 127-1 (PR), seven feet farther than the old standard.
More records fell once running events commenced, and two of them were taken down by distance dynamo Eva Thompson of Cros-Lex. She broke both the 1600 (5:12.54) and 3200 (11:34.38) records held by former fellow Pioneer Leah O’Connor, who later went on to compete for Michigan State and win Big Ten and NCAA titles for the Spartans: O’Connor set several MSU school records including the mile (4:27), so Thompson is in good company. Along with Abby Barkley, Morgan Newton, and Brynn Hurley, Thompson earned a third record for her BWAC efforts in the 4x800 consecutive BWAC title in this event (10:02.43).
Yale’s 4x400 team of Sadie Dykstra, Taube, Madeline Sepsey, and Julia Ferguson took down the old record of 4:12, running a 4:10.55. This ranks them second in the state currently in Divison 2. Sophomore Dykstra was four-for-four in league championship competition, also winning the long jump (17-8.50) and both hurdle events (100=15.8/300=45.87) along with running her PR and narrowly missing the 300-meter hurdle record set by the late Calli Townsend at 45.0. Dykstra already holds the long jump record from her freshman year at 18-1. Other field event winners included Madison Niedermaier of Almont, who won the pole vault in 8-03: freshman Kendal Donahue of Imlay City also reached the same height (a PR) but was the second-place finisher based on attempts to clear the bar.
Grace Clemens of North Branch won every sprint event she was entered in, running 12.74 in the 100, 26.67 in the 200, 60.3 in the 400, and helping the 4x100 relay with Deshetsky, Rowan Conley, and Sarah Munro take the win in 51.68, very close to the record of 51.25. She was named the female BWAC MVP for her efforts. Cros-Lex won the 4x200 relay, just nipping Almont at the line for the victory. Melody Persig, Christina Seghi, Ashton Temple, and Ava Oleski ran 1:55.48.
While no records officially fell in the boys’ competition, there were plenty of efforts that came close. Ethan Dinanath, the meet MVP (also from North Branch), ran 50.88 in the 400 meters, the first time he’s dipped below 51 seconds and less than a second off the old record. Dinanath won the 100 (11.51), 200 (23.49), and was part of the winning 4x400 relay with Bryce Barkowska, Valentino Castaneda, and Thomas Kann to finish in 3:34.21. Cros-Lex's Tye Kirschner won both hurdle events in 15.87 for the 110s and 41.96 for the 300s. Almont’s Tim Miller, Cole Walton, Nolan Maxlow, and Matthew Bacholzky won the 4x200 in 1:34.81.
If there was a distance MVP award, Yale's Giovanni Pardo-Keegan would earn that honor, as he won the 800 meters in 1:59.56, 1600 in 4:41, the 4x800 relay (8:44) and secured a runner-up finish in the 4x400 (3:36). Pardo-Keegan was just fractions of a second from breaking the 800 record, as it stands at 1:59.32, held by former Bulldog Nolan Kudera. Elliot Whitney of Imlay City ran his personal best to win the BWAC title in the 3200.
The Bickel/Haywood BWAC rivalry continued in the throws, with Eli Bickel of North Branch taking the shot put in 43-01.25, while Zack Haywood of Yale won the discus in a personal best of 145-02. Bickel was second in the disc and Haywood second in the shot put. Matthew Bacholzky of Almont won the long jump, leaping 19-11, while freshman Liam McIntyre of North Branch won the high jump in 5-10.
You can check out a full meet highlights video at https://youtu.be/GHTsquVQfbE?si=TzLUdb-5Jpxaipoi so make sure to set your video settings (the wheel icon at the bottom of the player) to HD.
MAC Red Championship: Tuesday, May 7 @ Anchor Bay
It was a battle between the dual meet co-champs but Dakota's depth proved to be a bit much as Anchor Bay came up 17 points short. Jonah Konarz won the 110 hurdles (15.79) and broke 40 seconds for the first time in the 300 hurdles (39.98 PR), putting him in the conversation for a potential all-state run on June 1. Thomas Westphal ran away with the 1600 (4:20.73) and 800 (2:03.45) while helping the 4x800 (Rubicz, Greg Vogt, Aaron Osterman) and 4x400 relays (3:32 - Konarz, Aiden Champagne, Brandon Ziehmer) to runner-up finishes. Mitchel Morrison won the pole vault while Ethan Usrey finished in a tie for 2nd place. Simon Stockwell continued his rapid ascent in the long jump by placing third (19-9.5) while Gerry Hanson was runner-up in both the 100 (11.4) and 200-meter (23.10 PR) dashes. Zach Rubicz placed 3rd in the 3200 (10:01). Meet summary from Jeff Payne, Anchor Bay boys’ coach via the Anchor Bay Track and Field Facebook page.
For the Lady Tars, Brooklyn Shadley took third in the 100 (13.5 PR) and fourth in the 200 (27.7). Korin Hutton earned a podium finish with third in the shot put (31-7.5) and discus (94-5). Alysia Goudelock won the high jump with a PR of 5-0. Photos courtesy of Rick Leslie, Anchor Bay T& F Facebook.
Green Devil Invite: Tues. May 7 @ Brown City
Kendra Spoutz led the way for the Memphis Lady Jackets by placing second in the 100 (14.37) and fourth in the 200 (29.77). Capac’s Bella Wetter won the 100-meter dash (13.98 PR) and was second in the 200 (28.90). In the shot put, Capac’s Ava Klink was second (26-10) and Memphis freshman Maddie Goodwin placed third (23-09). Klink won the discus in 90-4. Keira Smith was second in the long jump for the Chiefs in 14-02.75.
On the boys’ side, Yellowjacket Kai Fisher continued his success by placing first in the open 200 (23.60 PR), 2nd in the 100 (11.67), and third in the high jump (5-2). His teammate Tim Short set another PR, winning the high jump (5-8). Fellow Jacket Isaac Zuniga was second in the shot put in 33-05, his PR.
Photos courtesy of Lori Sanborn, Memphis Sting Report FB Page.
Catholic High School League Intersectional Jamboree: Tues. May 7 @ Greenhills School
Lenn and Zammit go Four-for-Four
Tyler Lenn ran another personal best for Cardinal Mooney at Tuesday’s CHSL Jamboree: his winning time of 1:56.63 was followed by another PR by teammate Isaac Zammit in 2:02.45, who took second. They teamed up with Jack Luzynski and John Bailey to win the 4x400 relay (3:42) and joined Luzynski and Evan Jacobs in winning the 4x800 (8:51). Brady Burns won the long jump for the Cardinals in his personal best of 18-10.75.
For the ladies, Stella Behnan ran her PR of 2:43.44 in the 800 to take sixth and also placed third in the 1600 in 5:53. Maya Ferguson was fourth in 6:09 and third in the 3200 in 13:18.
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