Blue Water Area schools are set to officially begin the girls' 2024 outdoor track and field season on Monday, March 11. Meet the top-performing athletes leading their teams in our season preview.
RUNNING EVENTS
100 Meters
200 Meters
Senior Grace Clemens of North Branch was dominant during the 2023 season, taking first or second in every 100-meter dash she entered, including a win at regionals and the competitive Davison Twilight Invitational in a PR of 12.58. However, Almont’s Ava Panduren (senior) is no longer running in the shadow of graduated teammate (and state champion) Devin Johnston and has a 100-meter best of 12.87, finishing as regional runner-up and 16th in the state. As North Branch is D2 and Almont D3, they won’t match up at regionals, but Panduren looks to pose a real challenge in BWAC competition. Rising through the ranks are sophomores Natalie Korotko (Yale) with a best of 13.66 and Ava Ruffino (Macomb Lutheran North) at 13.55. Korotko was fifth at the Blue Water Meet of Champions as a freshman behind all seniors, while Ruffino took second to Clemens at last year’s D2 regional and earned a state meet berth as a ninth-grader.
Marine City’s Casidhe Flesher (senior) took fifth in the MAC Blue with a best of 13.49, having only run the 100 once in the entirety of the 2023 season. In D4, Dryden’s Olivia Stickler, a senior, placed 13th in her state meet with a 13.13. In D1, Port Huron Northern’s Kayla Faust (junior) has a personal best of 13.44: she was second at the Marysville Invitational and fifth in the MAC White.
Clemens is also the defending regional champ in the 200-meter dash: her only losses in the 2023 season were to Johnston and Panduren, who ran the 200 just a handful of times. Clemens’ best is 26.38 to Panduren’s 26.91. Flesher won the Marysville Invitational, was MAC Blue runner-up, and finished third at regionals with a best of 27.21 seconds.
As an eighth grader in 2023, Jordyn Jones (Richmond) won the BWAC Junior High track meet in the 70, 100, and 200-meter dashes and would have placed in the top five spots at the high school BWAC Championships: she was under 14 in the 100 (13.94) and won the 200 by almost two full seconds (28.78), so she stands poised to have a solid freshman season.
400 Meters
Marine City’s Flesher finished third at regionals, narrowly missing a state qualifying spot: she won the MAC Blue Championships and the Blue Water Meet of Champions with a best of 61.2 seconds, along with qualifying for the MITS Indoor State Finals. Aubrey Sargent (sophomore) of St. Clair returns for her second season with a MAC Gold championship under her belt and a 400-best of 63.09. She was fifth at regionals. Marysville’s Jenna Ebenhack (junior) and Carlee Woolum (senior) both have personal bests in the 63-second range as well: they took third and fourth at the Blue Water Meet of Champions, respectively.
Armada’s Brooklyn Khon (junior) is the defending BWAC champion, winning every regular league match-up she entered along with earning Macomb All-County honors by finishing third (61.06 seconds) at the county meet. Her senior teammates Ava Baltierra and Breanna Feys have bests of 66 seconds, while incoming Armada freshman Valeria Ricossa has a best of 68 seconds, which would have been good enough for fourth in the BWAC finals.
Stickler of Dryden (D4) was first or second in every 400 she ran last season and is the defending regional champ. She was third at the state meet with a personal best of 60.83.
800 Meters
Senior Morgan Newton finished no lower than third in the 800 the entire 2023 season, winning the Marysville Invitational, the BWAC League Meet, the Blue Water Area Meet of Champions, and the Thumb Meet of Champs. With a 2:26 best, she was third at regionals and helped her 4 x 800-meter relay team place second to secure a trip to the state finals. She has won the BWAC 800 every year since she was a sophomore. Her teammate Eva Thompson (junior) was second to Newton in the league and has a best of 2:27. Armada’s Khon and Baltierra have competed in the 800 with personal records of 2:27 and 2:28, respectively. Aubree Deshetsky of North Branch had a stellar freshman season in 2023, running a 2:27 best to take fourth in the region. Senior Brianna Albers (Richmond) was third in the BWAC in 2:34, while sophomore Isabella Nestle (D1 Port Huron Northern) only ran the 800 once last spring but still snagged a personal best of 2:35. Algonac’s Kate Bennett has a season-best of 2:34 and qualified for the D3 state meet by winning the regional title as a sophomore.
1600 Meters
All eyes are on Cros-Lex’s Eva Thompson (junior) to dominate this event: she never finished lower than third in regular season competition (with an early-season best of 5:21) and her times began dropping quickly in the post-season: she was regional runner-up in 5:16, Blue Water Champ in 5:19, Thumb Championship runner-up in 5:22, and then crushed her record at the state meet in extreme heat, running a 5:05 to earn all-state honors with a seventh-place finish in a highly competitive field. Teammate Morgan Newton is a solid miler as well, finishing second to Thompson in the BWAC and third at the Marysville Invitational in a personal best of 5:39. Richmond’s Albers has a best of 5:41, as does Armada’s Khon, who only raced the mile once during the 2023 season. Almont’s Laila Evola was third in her D3 regional (5:57) as a freshman last season. In Division 1, Anchor Bay’s Lauren Thomas has run a 5:38.
3200 Meters
Familiar distance athletes are the favorites again: Thompson is the defending BWAC champion and was first in every 3200 she entered until regionals, where she was runner-up. She ran her season-best time at the state meet to finish 11th in 11:27. To put Thompson’s distance dominance in the Blue Water Area into perspective, she never finished lower than first or second in ANY season race in the 800, 1600, or 3200 (other than the state finals). Her teammates Abagayle Barkley (senior) and Brynn Hurley (junior) were third and sixth at the Blue Water Meet of Champs in their personal bests of 12:47 and 12:55. Marine City Cardinal Mooney’s Maya Ferguson was fifth with her PR of 12:55.
After battling for fifth and sixth places at regionals - and running the same clock time of 12:48 - Lillian Rutallie of Marysville (junior) and Albers of Richmond both ran their 3200 personal bests of 12:19 at the Blue Water Meet of Champions, with Albers narrowly edging out Rutallie for the victory by tenths of a second. Rutallie has some distance improvement under her belt as she was the champ for the MAC Blue division in cross country. A few other sophomores return with experience from last year: Almont’s Evola was the D3 regional runner-up in 13:24 as a freshman last year so it will be interesting to see what she can do in 2024. For Division 1, Samantha Langolf of Port Huron Northern was fifth in the MAC White as a freshman and fourth at the Blue Water Meet of Champions with a personal best of 12:54.
100/300 Hurdles
A freshman last spring, Sadie Dykstra of Yale came out of the blocks dominating all hurdling events: she was the BWAC champ and regional runner-up in the 100-meter hurdles, and regional champ in the 300-meter hurdles. She was undefeated almost the entire season with a personal best of 15.59 in the 100 and 47 seconds in the 300, earning All-State honors with 5th (100) and 7th (300) place finishes. Her teammate Keirra Taube is a solid hurdler as well, with bests of 17.63 in the 100 and 53.07 in the 300. She was fourth in her regional and BWAC runner-up for the 300 distance. Cora Katulski (Cros-Lex senior) has a best of 52.27 and was third in the BWAC.
Port Huron High’s Mariah Turner is also returning as a sophomore, second to Dykstra in the Blue Water Area with a personal best of 49.24, although she competes at the D1 regional, where she took sixth last year as a freshman. Her teammate Alaina Haller has a 100 best of 17.71, winning the MAC Blue. Sophomore Allie Markel of Marine City was third in the MAC Blue and at the Blue Water Meet of Champions with a PR of 52.42: she also competed at the 100-meter hurdle distance.
Dryden’s Sophia Peter, a senior this year, finished no lower than third in either hurdle event she entered throughout the 2023 season. She won the 100 hurdles in her D4 regionals with a best of 17.08, eventually finishing 13th in the state. She qualified in the 300-meter hurdles with a second-place finish at regionals and narrowly missed All-State honors with a ninth-place finish at the Division 4 State Finals: her personal best is 49.16.
RELAYS
4 x 100 Relay
Almont 50.92
Driven by sprint powerhouses Johnston and Panduren, Almont’s 4 x 100 relay was three full seconds ahead of the BWAC runner-up and finished on the podium at the state finals by placing fourth. With all but Johnston returning, they still pose a threat in league and regional competition.
North Branch 53.10
Hailey Green, Rowan Conley, Grace Clemens,?
Anchored by Clemens, North Branch loses one senior (Lilly Muxlow) but returns as defending regional champs/state qualifiers, beating the second-place regional team by close to two full seconds.
St. Clair 55.3
Audrey Lee, Grace Albrecht, Isabella Bratt, ?
Graduating only one senior, the Saints finished third and narrowly missed a state-qualifying berth at regionals. They were also fourth in the MAC Gold.
4 x 200 Relay
Dryden 1:51.67
Delaney Wolle, Sophia Peter, Keira Miller, Olivia Stickler
Despite being the smallest school (D4) in the season preview, Dryden’s 4x200 meter relay posts the fastest time, and all athletes return. They finished first in their regional and fifth at the state meet to earn All-State honors.
North Branch 1:52.37
Rowan Conley, Sarah Munro, Grace Clemens, Hailey Green, Jessica Peters,?
As with the 4x100, the rotating foundation of this relay still stands. They were victorious at the Blue Water Meet of Champions, fourth at the Thumb Meet of Champs, and have several athletes capable of stepping in as needed.
Armada 1:52.72
Breanna Feys, Brooklyn Khon,?
BWAC Champs, third place at regionals, but can they recover from graduating half of their relay?
Marysville 1:54.25
The Vikings were third in the MAC Gold, fourth at regionals, and second at the Blue Water Meet of Champions; three underclassmen return.
4 x 400 Relay
Armada 4:14.12
Breanna Feys, Brooklyn Khon,?
While the Tigers didn’t run their A-squad at the BWAC Championships, they are the defending regional champions/state qualifiers, along with earning Macomb All-County status. This is another relay that has lost 50% of its team to graduation; however, they return junior Claire Sniesak from their 2022 All-State 4x400, who missed last season due to injury.
Yale 4:17.68
Lauren Fowler, Keirra Taube, Sadie Dykstra, ?
Yale lost Abbigail Dykstra to graduation, but the rest of this relay is young, and judging from their vast improvement over the 2023 season, they are a strong favorite in the league and region. The Bulldogs started the season at a 4:43 and ran a 4:24 to win the BWAC Championship, a 4:23 to take second at the Blue Water Meet of Champions, and dropped another five seconds to run 4:17 at the Thumb Meet of Champs.
4 x 800 Meter Relay
Cros-Lex 9:53
The Pioneers’ 4x800 relay won the BWAC, the Marysville Invitational, Blue Water Meet of Champions, and secured a runners-up finish at the Thumb Meet of Champs and the regional meet. They were 21st at the state meet. All runners return.
Armada 9:52
Darrah Mackenzie, Samantha Kook, Ava Baltierra, Brooklyn Khon.
The Tigers’ 4 x 800 relay team took second at the Macomb County Championships, third at regionals, and twelfth at the state meet, breaking their school record. All runners return.
FIELD EVENTS
Long Jump
Adding to her hurdles titles, Dykstra attained All-State honors in the long jump, taking fourth at the state finals with a best of 17’-5”. She took first in all but one long jump competition she entered, including the Yale Relays, BWAC Championships, Marysville Invitational, Regionals, and the Thumb Meet of Champs.
Clemens (North Branch) was a close second to Dykstra at regionals and BWAC championships. She jumped her personal best of 17’-2” to win the Davison Twilight Classic and was first or second in every jump in regular season competition. Teammate Ella Swoish (junior) has also jumped 16 feet and was third at regionals.
High Jump
Alysia Goudelock of NB Anchor Bay had a season-best in the high jump of 4’-10" in 2023 but had already surpassed that height at the beginning of the indoor season, jumping 5’ to win two meets and take second in another at the Lincoln Athletic Center in Ypsilanti. She closed out her indoor track season during the winter by taking fourth with a jump of 5’-2” at the MITS Indoor State Finals. Goudelock was fourth at her regional last year and is looking to make her first D1 state meet as a jumper in 2024. Macomb Lutheran North’s Ava Ruffino had a freshman best of 5'-3” and was third at regionals, almost snagging a state-qualifying jump. She was Macomb County runner-up and finished first, second, or third in all but one competition in 2023.
Yale’s Keirra Taube is the defending BWAC Champ with a best of 5’-4”, which she jumped to take the win at the Thumb Meet of Champions. She also finished on the podium in all but one meet, including regional runner-up. Armada’s Valeria Ricossa jumped a best of 5’-3” as an eighth grader, which would have won the high school BWAC championships by 4 inches and placed fifth at the D2 state finals. Ricossa consistently jumped 4’-8” all season in 2023, so she looks to be a strong contender in league matchups as she begins her high school career.
Grace Askew of St. Clair was fifth at the 2023 regionals as a freshman with a best of 4’-10”, along with a third place at the Anchor Bay Invitational and MAC Gold Championships. Lily Caruthers, also a freshman (Marine City) in 2023, has jumped 4’-09” and was MAC Blue runner-up.
Shotput/Discus
Janae Hudson (senior - Marysville) took fourth at the MITS Indoor State Finals in both the shot put and discus this winter. She was undefeated the entire 2023 outdoor season in shotput, including winning the D2 state finals with a season-best of 42’-7”. The only loss she had in discus all last spring was a fourth-place finish at the Division 2 state finals to earn All-State honors. At the Blue Water Meet of Champions, she threw the disc 137’-3", which was farther than the first-place thrower even achieved at the state meet. Her teammate Alyssa Thomas (senior) was runner-up in the shot put at regionals (35’-8”) and was 11th at state, along with taking third in discus at regionals (94’-03”).
A trio of freshmen ruled the discus in 2023 and look to return as BWAC favorites. As mentioned, Deshetsky of North Branch won the BWAC shotput last year in 34’-9”. She also won the Frankenmuth Eagle Invitational shotput with a throw of 33’-10” and the discus in 93’. Another North Branch sophomore returns as a BWAC champion thrower: Katie Gill won the discus in 2023 and was fourth at the Blue Water Meet of Champions with a season-best throw of 99’-1”. Lainee Wagner of Richmond was third in the BWAC shot put, but threw over a foot farther (33’-02”) than her previous personal best during the indoor season to take 18th in the state. To round out the top three BWAC discus throwers - also a sophomore - is Katelyn Welter of Cros-Lex, who was second in with a toss of 96’-10”.
For D1 Anchor Bay, junior Korin Hutton saw improvements of close to ten feet throughout her sophomore season: she placed third in Macomb County with a shotput of 33’-8.5” and has a discus best of 90’-9”. Teammate Jaeda Tilton (junior) saw a similar improvement in her discus season, moving almost thirty feet from the beginning of the season to end with a seventh-place finish (98’-6”) at the Macomb County Championships.
Pole Vault
Almont’s Madison Niedermaier (junior) is the most consistent vaulter returning in the BWAC with a personal best of 8’. She was in the top three in every BWAC meet and invitational at which she competed, narrowly missing the second-place state qualifier by finishing third at regionals in May. Cros-Lex’s Christina Seghi (senior) has vaulted 8’ 6” and just nixed Neidermaier for third at the Blue Water Meet of Champions, but Neidermaier has come out on top at the league level. Jessica Peters (junior - North Branch) also has a personal best of 8’ and was fifth right behind Seghi and Neidermaier at the Blue Water Meet of Champions, along with winning the Frankenmuth Eagle Invitational in mid-May of 2023. Genavieve Brennan of Marysville (best of 8’) won several MAC Gold duel meets and was fourth at regionals as a freshman last season. Imlay City’s Kendal Donahue has an eighth-grade pole vault mark of 8’, which puts her on a level playing field as an incoming freshman. Senior Alexa Hammerle of Anchor Bay has also hit the 8’ mark twice, which placed her seventh at the Macomb County Championships.
Wild Card: Future Heptathlete?
As perhaps the best candidate for a collegiate heptathlete we’ve ever seen, sophomore Aubree Deshetsky of North Branch is a wild card for which event(s) she’ll choose to compete. As a freshman, she won the BWAC shotput (34’-9”), was third in the discus (95’-1”) and second in the high jump (best of 5’), was fourth at regionals in the 800-meter run (2:28) and 4x800 meter relay, and has quality performance marks in almost every relay and event distance. Yale's Sadie Dykstra conceivably could win more events due to her overall athleticism across a variety of disciplines, were she not constrained by the four-event rule.
Statistics used to write season preview:
BWAC, MAC, and CHS League results
Blue Water Area meets (Marysville Invitational, Muskrat Invitational, Blue Water Meet of Champions, Thumb Meet, Macomb County Meet)
County, Regional, and State Finals placements
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