As the snow begins to fly, so do pole vaulters, high and long jumpers, hurdlers, sprinters, distance runners, and the implements of throwing athletes. Though colder temperatures and weather force track and field competitors inside, the indoor track season is just heating up in December for high schools and colleges. Indoor tracks are often 200 or 300 meters long, versus the outdoor 400-meter length, but include events not usually seen during high school outdoor competition, such as the 60-meter dash, 60-meter hurdles, triple jump, weight throw, 600 and 1000-meter runs, distance and sprint medley relays, and others.
While indoor track is a collegiate sport, high schoolers in Michigan must run unattached or with various club names - specifically for relays - as the MHSAA doesn’t officially recognize indoor track as a high school sport. The Michigan Indoor Track Series (MITS) is run by a group of volunteers who coordinate meets at high school or college indoor track facilities around the state where high school athletes can qualify by meeting set standards for the MITS State Meet. The 2023-2024 season has several meets each Saturday in a variety of locations.
On Saturday, Dec. 2, the first MITS meet kicked off at Grand Valley State University. Ethan Dinanath of North Branch competed in the 200-meter dash, running a time of 23.68 seconds, his indoor personal best and close to his outdoor best of 23.59. He also ran his PR in the 60-meter dash in 7.46 seconds.
The next opportunity to compete indoors for track and field athletes comes on Saturday, December 9 at three different venues: the Lincoln Athletic Building in Ypsilanti, Saginaw Valley State University, and the Vault Barn, a specific facility just for pole vaulters in Vermontville. At the Vault Barn, if you wear an ugly sweater, you get an extra fourth attempt to vault, and judges will be voting on their favorite athlete apparel and awarding prizes.
You can find the MITS indoor season schedule and linked information to each individual meet’s location, registration, and events on the MITS website: https://www.mitstrack.org/
MITS State Meet Qualifying Standards: https://www.mitstrack.org/qualifying-standards
As we continue to follow and cover indoor track, it can be difficult to report consistently on every athlete due to the large amount of entries and the unavailability of school names to match each individual. If you are planning on competing and using a club or team name, please email us using the contact info on the website or message us on social media so we can keep an eye out for your results! Also, please share Blue Water Running with your track and field teammates who may not be aware of our website!
LOCAL COLLEGIATE RESULTS
The collegiate track and field season has already begun for most schools and several former Blue Water Area athletes had notable performances. Friday, Dec. 1 was the Saginaw Valley State University Holiday Open. Oakland University’s Sam Vitale (St. Clair HS) and Haileigh Bissett (North Branch HS) both competed in the mile, with Vitale finishing 11th in the men’s race in 4:31 and Bissett fourth in the women’s in 5:29. David Harris (St. Clair HS) ran unattached to place tenth in 4:25. Vitale also finished ninth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:03.
At the Findlay University (Ohio) Oiler Invitational, former Port Huron Northern athletes Jayde Ullenbruch and Maya Freeman represented Concordia University with great efforts. Ullenbruch scored 2,244 points in the pentathlon for a 12th-place finish and a new school record. Freeman threw 37 feet 6 inches (11.43 meters) and 36 feet 10 inches (11.23 meters) to qualify for the NCCAA meet, which will be held later in the season at Cedarville University.
Former Yale Bulldog Michael Ferguson now competes for the University of Detroit Mercy: he ran the 400-meter dash in 51.2 at the Notre Dame Blue and Gold Invite on Dec. 1. His teammate Gabriela Gashaj (Marine City Cardinal Mooney) took ninth in the women’s 200-meter dash, setting a personal record of 26.85.
If you know of another notable performance, feel free to contact us using the form on the webpage or through any of our social media platforms. You can find links to recent Blue Water Area graduates who are now collegiate athletes on the “Collegiate Athletes” tab at https://www.bluewaterrunning.org/projects-8.