Despite Storms, Athletes Deliver at Weekend Invitationals
- 13 hours ago
- 11 min read
Despite thunderstorms causing long delays during Friday night's invitational meets and more chilly, windy conditions during Saturday's competitions, local athletes rose to the occasion and saw personal bests across a variety of events. Here's a wrap-up of this week's performances from Blue Water Area track and field.
100 Meters
Several athletes moved up on the Blue Water Area top-ten performance list with PRs in the 100-meter dash this week, but only a few new names were new additions. For the boys, Armada’s Jak Klee entered the boys’ top-ten list with his 11.61 win at the BWAC duel against Algonac.
For the girls, Port Huron High’s Malencia Price and Mila Wheeler are now first and second on the area performance list after their MAC Gold matchup with St. Clair, running PRs of 12.54 and 12.94, respectively.
200 Meters
At the Blue Devil Invitational at Richmond, the top three times were set on the area list: Isaac Miller in 23.03 (PR/Macomb Lutheran North), Kai Fisher in 23.27 (Memphis), and Will Haskins (23.3/Macomb Lutheran North). Brett Lestage of Imlay City climbed to fourth on the 200 list with a PR in 23.54, winning the BWAC matchup with North Branch and Imlay City. Todd Seiler joined the list in 23.94 (PR) for Armada on April 23 at the BWAC meet versus Algonac.
Malencia Price maintained her reign at the top of the area's sprints list for girls with another best in the 200, running 26.44. New names joining the list this week:
Ava Lovett ran a 27.48 PR to win the Richmond Blue Devil Invitational; she's a freshman.
Brooklyn Shadley of Anchor Bay ran 27.53 to win the event at the MAC Red versus Utica.
Brooklyn Khon of Armada ran 27.7 to win the BWAC duel versus Algonac.
Penelope McNutt of North Branch set her PR of 27.96 to win the BWAC tri versus Yale and Imlay City.
In the adaptive wheelchair events, Luke Bowman (Anchor Bay) lowered all his times in the 100, 200, and 400 at April 22’s MAC Red meet. He also threw his shot put best of 22'-4.5".
400 Meters
Kai Fisher (Memphis) and Roman Cody (MLN) battled out the one-lap race Friday at Richmond, with Fisher ultimately winning in 52.18, a PR and a school record. Cody ran a 52.53. Ethan Jackson ran close to a two-second best to move to third on the area performance list in the 400, running 52.79 for Cros-Lex at their dual meet with Almont/Richmond on April 22. Marysville freshman Ty Busen makes his first appearance in the area top ten, with a best of 53.17, run on April 23 versus Sterling Heights, as does Steven Foltz of Yale, running 53.81 (PR) at the BWAC matchup with Imlay City and North Branch on April 22.
Several girls set PRs or season bests throughout the week, but Richmond freshman Ava Lovett ran a 1:01.15 PR to move to the top of the list by almost a full second with her win at the Richmond Blue Devil Invitational.
800 Meters
Vasilios Kirchhoff lowered his top area time ever so slightly at the highly competitive Barnyard Invitational and Elite Mile Showcase in Romeo (2:01.45), while Aaron Osterman (Anchor Bay, 2:04.59 PR), Jerry Westrick (St. Clair, 2:04.73 PR), and Jack McMahon (Macomb Lutheran North, 2:06.35) all saw several seconds fall off their times. Yale’s Wyatt Murtos jumped onto the list for the first time with a statement, running his PR of 2:04 at Tuesday’s BWAC competition against North Branch/Imlay City.
Sisters Alannah and Faith Wessel of MACH both join the girls’ Blue Water Area performance list in the two-lap event, with Alannah clocking a 2:23 (which is the second-fastest in the area) and Faith a 2:36 at the Barnyard Invitational. These times were personal bests for both girls. Algonac’s Kate Bennett ran an eight-second season best and a six-second PR at Romeo in 2:28.
1600 Meters
Every single time now on the Blue Water Area top-ten performance list for the boys’ 1600 meters came from this weekend’s competitions, and nine out of ten were run at Romeo’s Barnyard Invitational, along with ninety percent of the athletes running a PR. Josh Macri tops the list with his 4:26, which is the second-fastest time for a Mustang at MLN.
Joshua Macri 4:26.75 PR Macomb Lutheran North
Xavier Roman 4:36.19 PR Macomb Lutheran North
Greg Vogt 4:36.95 PR New Baltimore Anchor Bay
Wyatt Murtos 4:40.44 PR Yale
Maxwell Durham 4:47.24 PR New Haven
Ted Rutkofske 4:49.28 PR Yale
Aaron Osterman 4:50.66PR New Baltimore Anchor Bay
Samuel Kochensparger 4:51.78 PR Macomb Lutheran North
Ethan Kreger 4:52.10 St. Clair
Connor Pepin 4:52.49 PR Croswell-Lexington
For the girls, it was another nine out of ten on the list from this week’s meets. MACH’s Alannah Wessel tops the list with a 5:10.95 PR. Cros-Lex’s Eva Thompson ran her season best of 5:16, pushed by the girls from Goodrich at Friday night’s North Branch County Press Invitational, where she took third place. Freshman Saige Cole of Yale continues to impress, running 5:32 (PR) at Barnyard.
Other bests:
Samantha Langolf 5:33.97 PR Port Huron Northern
Lena Janssen 5:37.40 PR Yale
Faith Wessel 5:41.83 PR Michigan Athletic Club for Homeschoolers
Cassidy Bowers 5:48.44 PR Austin Catholic
Kate Bennett 5:51.96 PR Algonac
Taylor Stanczak 5:52.29 PR Almont
Cara Prusakiewicz 5:53.11 PR Dryden
3200 Meters
MLN’s Xavier Roman dropped quite a bit of time in the 3200 this week, moving from a 10:38 last week to a 10:05 this weekend at Romeo’s Barnyard Invitational: he now sits at the number three spot in the Blue Water Area. Richmond’s Mason Pietrykowski put the Blue Devils on the list in a distance event for the first time this season with his PR of 10:56 at the BWAC tri with Cros-Lex and Almont. Levi Fitchett of Dryden ran a six-second PR of 10:54 at the Hurd Invitational on April 25.
For the ladies, Eva Thompson had another competitive race at North Branch in the 3200, running her first season sub-12 in 11:45 for another third-place finish behind Goodrich’s one-two distance punch. Thompson tops our area list by ten seconds over Port Huron Northern’s Samantha Langolf, who ran her PR at Romeo, also going under 12 minutes for the first time. Laila Evola (12:55 PR/Almont /North Branch Invite) and Evelyn Buckley (13:03 Macomb Lutheran North/Barnyard Invitational) earned a top-ten spot on the area performance list this weekend, as well.
110-Meter Hurdles (boys)
Anchor Bay’s Jonah Konarz and Kacy Agyeman top the area list and went one-two at the Barnyard Invitational in the event. You can read about them in this article on the Macomb Daily’s website. The only newcomer to the list from this week’s competition is Ethan Everhart of Imlay City, who hurdled his PR of 16.78 at the Elmer Ball Oxford Invitational on April 26.
100-Meter Hurdles (girls)
In the 100 hurdles, Yale’s Sadie Dykstra remains untouched at 15.44, close to two seconds ahead of her nearest competitor, but several girls saw significant improvements this week.
Ella Swoish of North Branch dropped a second off last week’s performance on her home track, racing a 17.74 PR at the County Press/NB Invite. Tessa Meredith of St. Clair also dropped a second to run 17.64 (PR) at the MAC Gold matchup with PHH. Allie Markel of Marine City (18.16) made her season’s first appearance on the list at the April 24 MAC Blue meet versus Warren Mott, as did fellow Mariner Victoria Morris (18.62).
300-Meter Hurdles
Konarz and Agyeman top the boys’ list here, too, with lowered times this week. Almont’s Brody Corneau ran his PR of 43.67 at the County Press/North Branch Invite.
While Armada’s Brooklyn Khon didn’t drop time this week in the 300 hurdles, she still sits at the top spot on the girls’ list (47.93) and added a win in the event at the North Branch Invite. Dryden’s Caila Fitchett ran her best of 51.38 at the Hurd Invite over the weekend, while Marine City’s Markel (59.91), Richmond’s Madison Starnes (53.46 PR), and PHH’s Mia Reed (55.14 PR) added their names to the top-ten area hurdlers’ list. Jessica Probst (53.58 PR/MLN) and Mia Reed (55.14 PR/Port Huron) also saw new personal bests.
4x100 Relay
Imlay City’s relay dropped a second and a half to sprint to the first-place position on the boys’ performance list this week, running 44.66. Brett Lestage, Enrique Cardenas, Ethan Everhart, and Alan Valdovinos put the Spartans slightly over Macomb Lutheran North.
Marysville’s Owen Krantz, Mason Delor, Trey Cummins, and Kamdyn Smith shaved a second off last week’s time, which was no easy feat with the pouring rain Friday night at North Branch. Todd Seiler, Jak Klee, Jackson Malburg, and Zefi Gjelaj ran 45.83 to put Armada in the mix and nearly eclipsed a long-standing school record. North Branch’s Isaac Armstrong, Jiovanni Travis, Liam McIntyre, and Braydon Robinson lowered their own team’s top time on their home track (45.88).
For the ladies, North Branch’s relay won their home invitational by quite a large margin, putting down the area’s current fastest time in 52.26 (Ella Swoish, Aubree Deshetsky, Rowan Conley, Penelope McNutt). Anchor Bay’s Saniah Tresick, Brooklyn Shadley, Brooke Laplante, and Skylar Lingerman ran 53.37 to shave two seconds off their previous best and move into the number two area spot on April 22 at the MAC Red versus Utica.
Armada’s team of Brooklyn Khon, Valeria Ricossa, Claire Sniesak, and Allison Mansfield made their first appearance on the 4x100 list in 54.83, which was an interesting feat considering there was no other girls’ relay team to run against during Wednesday’s home BWAC duel meet versus Algonac. Sarah Felten, Addison Horvath, Emma McGrath, and Liana Martoni ran a 56.53 for Macomb Lutheran North at Friday's Blue Devil Invitational. St. Clair’s relay team (yet unnamed on athletic.net) now sits at number ten in the area with a time of 56.74 from the MAC Gold duel on April 23.
4x200 Relay
For the boys, it’s Imlay City claiming the number one spot this week, with Brett Lestage, Enrique Cardenas, Ethan Everhart, and Alan Valdovinos running a time of 1:33.15.
The Anchor Bay girls’ team of Brooke Laplante, Audrey Ciaramitaro, Saniah Tresick, and Brooklyn Shadley went from 1:58 last week to 1:53.61 this weekend at the Romeo Barnyard Invitational.
4x400 Relay
Yale’s Steven Foltz, Jackson Kohler, Mikey Cowhy, and Wyatt Murtos ran 3:37 - a drop of 10 seconds - on April 22 versus North Branch and Imlay City.
Anchor Bay’s Mary Wright, Addison Mckoan, Iyanna Brown, and Tenaya Jendza ran 4:37 to add the Tars to the top-ten performance list in the Blue Water Area.
4x800 Relay
Croswell-Lexington High School makes its first appearance on the boys’ performance list in the 4x800, with Connor Pepin, Matthew Cummings, Devon Chisholm, and Gavin Oleski running a 9:08 on April 22 at home versus Almont and Richmond.
Finishing fourth overall, Eva Thompson, Elizabeth Stanfield, Brynn Hurley, and Madelyn Barkley ran a 10:40.83 for Cros-Lex on April 25 at the County Press/North Branch Invite: this was a 13-second time drop from the Pioneers’ previous time on the list. Marysville’s team dropped over half a minute at the meet, with Joselyn Chapman, Kenzie LeVey, Lydia McBride, and Addison Stevens taking fifth in 10:47. Almont’s Greta Schwarberg, Amanda Fitchett, Taylor Stanczak, and Laila Evola took eighth in 11:09, which is a 17-second slash off their previous best.
Shot Put
Noah Northrup of Marine City joins our boys’ top shot put performers this week, throwing 43'-0.5" on April 24 at the MAC Blue versus Warren Mott. Zach Haywood of Yale moved up with a PR of 44'-9.5", but otherwise the names remain mostly unchanged.
Aubree Deshetsky of North Branch easily won her home invitational Friday, throwing a PR of 40’-11”: she only went into the forty-foot range once last year and has already topped that mid-season. Deshetsky met the EQ of 38’ last weekend at the Lapeer Lightning Invitational, but now ranks almost eight inches ahead of the next state qualifier in D2. Riley Agee of Armada threw well at North Branch, too, taking second with a three-and-a-half foot PR of 34’-3”. Sydney Slay threw several feet further than her season best at the MAC Red versus Utica, throwing 33'-5" for Anchor Bay.
Discus
As of Friday night, Cameron Gramzow had the longest boys’ D1 throw in the state of Michigan when he launched his disc 174’-11” at the Barnyard Invitational in Romeo. That throw was another PR for Gramzow, and he reset his school record and officially met the EQ standard. By Saturday, the top mark had changed over to Ray Glory Ejoyokah of Beverly Hills Groves, who threw 186'-4" at the Elmer Ball Oxford Invitational. You can read about Gramzow's latest accomplishment in the Macomb Daily. Gramzow’s Anchor Bay teammate Nathan Ring threw a 13 ½ foot best at Romeo as well, measuring 147'-6". With a last name like Ring, he seems destined to see success in the event.
North Branch’s Eli Bickel remains unbeaten in discus competition this season, throwing another PR this week (169’-5”) and nearly eclipsing the 170’ mark for the first time.
While Deshetsky had another PR in girls’ discus this week (134'-8”, Jaeda Tilton (114'-2" PR) and Korin Hutton (112'-9" PR) both had 10+ feet of improvement in the discus over the last seven days: the Anchor Bay Tar teammates hit their new bests at the Barnyard Invitational. Cros-Lex’s Katelyn Welter threw 106'-6.5" (previous mark at 99’-5”) and Sidney James 104'-2.5" PR to put Richmond on the top area marks list by an improvement of seven feet.
High Jump
Trey Cummins of Marysville put himself in the number two area spot at North Branch Friday night, jumping his PR of 5’-11”. North Branch’s Valentino Castaneda also jumped the same to notch another PR on home turf. One of the area’s returning favorites, John Coverdill of Marine City, jumped 5’-10” at his season opener on April 24 versus Warren Mott: Coverdill was undefeated the entire 2024 season before the state meet and has a best of 6’-3”.
St. Clair’s Grace Askew jumped significantly higher, moving from 4’-6” to 4'-10" on the girls’ list. North Branch’s Deshetsky makes yet another top-ten list for the area, trying her hand at high jump and clearing 4’-8”.
Pole Vault
Chase Battani (13’10”) squeaked past Kieran Whitlam (13’-7”) to top the vaulters’ list for the boys and also was the North Branch/County Press Invite champ, while Hunter Cole of Yale vaulted a foot higher than last week, moving from 10 to 11 feet. Nathan Antilla of Yale joined the top ten list by vaulting a 10'-6" PR on April 22, which is a foot higher than last year. William Lawson (10' PR/Yale) and Mconilly Price (10’/Port Huron) both join the list as well.
Emma Pitcel saw a foot gain in pole vault at the Barnyard Invitational (8'-0" PR/Anchor Bay), while Averi Havercamp (6'-6"/Marine City), Madison Starnes (6'-6" PR/Richmond), and Hailey Morrison (6'-6" PR/Croswell-Lexington) all join the performance list this week for the girls’ vaulters.
Long Jump
Two newcomers on the boys’ side hit the list in the long jump: Jaben Holden for Marine City at 19'-1" (PR) and Wyatt Muxlow of North Branch at 18'-9.5". Several returning names saw PRs, as well, so take a look at the new jump measurements.
For the girls, Madison Niedermaier (15'-8" PR/Almont) and Malencia Price (15'-3"/Port Huron) join the top ten area jumpers this week. Ella Swoish won the North Branch Invite girls' long jump in front of a home crowd with a jump of 15’-05”. Ava Lovett jumped onto the list with her 15' 1.75 PR and her third win of the night at the Blue Devil Invitational.
COLLEGIATE RESULTS COURTESY OF SC4 TRACK AND FIELD
CONGRATULATIONS to Acer Campbell on his men's school record in the 1500 for SC4.
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