After Close Calls, Chelsea Claims Title
June 1, 2013
By Greg Chrapek
Special to Second Half
ADA – This spring’s high school sports season long will be remembered for having some of the worst weather in years.
While the wet and cold weather hampered many teams across the state, the Chelsea boys track team used it to its advantage. And the payoff was an MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 track and field championship Saturday afternoon at Forest Hills Eastern.
After coming close the past two years, the Bulldogs came away with this year’s title as they totaled 64 points to edge second-place Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills by eight points.
Chelsea finished second two years ago, and last year the Bulldogs placed third. This year, thanks to some hard training when the weather was at its worst in the spring, Chelsea had what it took to bring home the title hardware.
“Back in March and April when the weather was bad and everyone was complaining about how bad the weather was, we talked about just concentrating and working harder,” Chelsea coach Eric Swager said. “Rain, sleet or snow everyone was out there working their hardest, and it paid off. … Everyone just worked that much harder when the weather was bad.”
The hard work resulted in Chelsea having a deep team capable of scoring points in a variety of events.
“Everybody contributed,” Swager said. “The sprints, the relays, the distance runners, field events. The entire team has been focused and working hard from day one. We have some individual talent, but everybody stuck together and that was the key.”
Berkley Edwards was one of the individual talents that helped pave the way for the Bulldogs. One of the state’s top sprinters, Edwards wrapped up his high school track career by winning both the 100 and the 200-meter dashes.
Edwards turned in a time of 10.58 in the 100-meter dash and then came back to edge Gary Jones of Allegan in a 200-meter dash that came down to the end. Edwards finished with a time of 21.37.
“Things went well for me today, better than expected,” Edwards said. “I ran a 10.58 which was a p.r. (personal record) in the 100, and then I ran a 21.37 which was a p.r. in the 200.”
The highlight for Edwards was holding on to win the 200.
“It was definitely a photo finish,” Edwards said. “It was a real close race. My strategy was to get out to the lead and hold it on the curve. I heard him (Jones) coming. I didn’t want to stress. I just stay relaxed.”
Sweeping both the 100 and 200 was a major key to Chelsea’s title and part of the strategy going into the Finals.
“My coaches told me I had an opportunity to win two races,” Edwards said. “They thought I could get the 100 and possibly the 200, and if I did we had a real good chance of winning.”
The Bulldogs also picked up points in the field events as senior Michael Hovater won the pole vault by clearing 14 feet, 10 inches. Chelsea also won the 3,200-meter relay as the team of Zach Rabbitt, Jacob Stubbs, David Trimas and Tony Vermilye turned in a time of 7:55.84.
Chelsea was pushed for the title by an Ottawa Hills team that had one of its best Finals performances in recent history. Key to Ottawa Hills’ strong effort was the performances turned in by its sprint relay teams.
Ottawa Hills finished in the top three of three of the four relay events, led by the first-place 400-meter relay team of Shawn Kneeland, Sam Beal, Jacori Millbrooks and Teyland Avery.
The relay was seeded second coming into the day but came away with the school’s first title-winning effort at the Finals since 1997.
“This was real big,” Kneeland said. “The key for us was to focus. Not to worry about anyone else and just focus on running our best.”
Senior Teyland Avery ran the anchor leg for the Bengals.
“To win a state title in Grand Rapids was real special,” Avery said. “We had two seniors on the relay team, and to finally win a title is special. Last year we finished third at state and we didn’t do too well. This just feels great. To run in my city and to win in my city is pretty special.”
For Detroit East English senior Marcell Wyckoff and the rest of his teammates, Saturday’s Finals were the first in school history as East English is in its first year as a high school. Wykoff, who came in seeded second, won the 400-meter dash.
“The first thing I wanted to do was to get out fast,” Wykoff said. “I knew if I got out to a good start, nobody would catch me. I had a pretty good start, and I held on.”
Wykoff’s title was the first in school history and was a little bittersweet for the senior.
“I came over from Crockett Tech,” Wykoff said. “This year was really different. It was not like I thought my senior year would be, but it ended up pretty good winning a state championship. It feels good on the inside.”
Mason senior distance runner Tanner Hinkle ended a few years of frustration both on the track and during cross country season. He won the 3,200 by more than four seconds with a time of 9:13.41.
“I have finished second two different times at state,” Hinkle said. “Winning it my senior year feels real good, to finally win a state title. I also finished second at state during the cross country season. I’ve been very close to a state title a few times before, and to finally win one is a dream come true.”
In the field events, Cadillac senior Riley Norman closed out a successful high school throwing career by winning the shot put for a second consecutive season. He turned in a winning put of 59-10, missing a Finals record by less than two feet.
“I won it last year with a 61-2 ½ and this year I had a p.r. of 62-10,” Norman said. “I wanted to set a new record, but I came up a little short.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Chelsea's Berkley Edwards races toward the finish line on the way to winning one of his two MHSAA titles Saturday. (Middle) Mason's Tanner Hinkle sets the pace in the 3,200. (Photos by Greg Chrapek.)
Preview: UP Boys Finals Feature Fierce Team Races, Statewide Headliners
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 2, 2022
There’s an excellent chance many statewide eyes turn to Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Boys Track & Field Finals at Kingsford High School.
Start in high jump, where Menominee’s Brady Schultz is one of four athletes sharing the top performance in that event in Michigan this season. Ishpeming’s Jonny Matson is another intriguing story; he’s the top seed in four individual events, and if he wins all four will become just the ninth athlete in state history to do so at the MHSAA Finals. Powers North Central’s Luke Gorzinski and Ewen-Trout Creek’s Jaden Borseth are Division 3 contenders who have starred leading their teams to statewide Finals in football and basketball, respectively.
Of heightened interest closer to home, annual favorites Marquette and Ishpeming could face tough challenges in team title competition from Kingsford and Iron Mountain, respectively. Dollar Bay, a first-time team champ in 2021, will look to add another but with Pickford and Munising perhaps the favorites in Division 3 this time around.
Events begin at 10 a.m. (EDT) and tickets to attend can be purchased online only at GoFan. The meets also will be broadcast on MHSAA.tv and viewable with subscription.
Below is a glance at team contenders and individuals to watch in all three divisions.
Division 1
Team forecast: After seeing its latest Finals win streak end at four with Gladstone taking the 2019 championship, Marquette returned off the COVID year with a win ahead of runner-up Gladstone in 2021. Marquette also was first at its Regional two weeks ago, scoring nearly as many points as the other four teams combined. But watch out for Kingsford. The Flivvers, seeking their first team title since 2014, have qualifiers all over the meet and are seeded to have five event champions. Houghton has similar star power and potential for points.
Dryden Nelson, Calumet senior: The Copper Kings’ standout won the 100 and long jump last year, and he’s seeded first in the 100 (11.31) and second in the 200 (23.58) and long jump (19-11½). He will also run on the 400 relay.
Sasha Olsen, Gladstone senior: Last season’s pole vault champion also was fourth in high jump and is seeded third (5-9) in that event and will run on the 400 relay.
Brady Schultz, Menominee senior: Schultz’s 6-7 in high jump at his Regional was seven inches higher than anyone else in UPD1, and his best of 6-9 remains tied for best in the state this spring. He set the UPD1 meet record last year at 6-8. He’ll also run on three relays including the second-seeded 800 and 1,600.
Lucas Tappy, Kingsford senior: The reigning shot put champion is top-seeded in that event by 3½ feet with a Regional toss of 46-2½.
Carson VanderSchaaf, Marquette junior: This half of the distance twin duo is the top seed in the 1,600 (4:35.72) and 3,200 (9:59.88) and won the 3,200 last season.
Colin VanderSchaaf, Marquette junior: The reigning champ in the 1,600 is second-seeded to his brother by 12 hundredths of a second at 4:35.84 and top-seeded in the 800 (2:05.42) by less than a tenth of a second ahead of Houghton standout Eric Weiss. VanderSchaaf also will run the 400 and on the top-seeded 1,600 relay.
Division 2
Team forecast: The Hematites shared championship last season with Norway was its third straight title and sixth over the last seven seasons. Its Regional win two weeks ago came in part thanks to 10 event championships, and the team has six top seeds based on those performances. Iron Mountain has a qualifier in all but one event Saturday as it seeks its first team title since 2008.
Eric Edwards, Newberry senior: Last season’s shot put champion is the second seed this time (42-6¼) and will run on two relays including the top-seeded 800.
Nathan Hochstein, L’Anse senior: After sweeping the jumps last spring, Hochstein is the top seed in the high jump (5-7) and fifth in long jump (17-3), and may also run the 400 and on up to two relays.
Christian Koiveniemi, St. Ignace senior: The reigning 100 champ is seeded in the middle of that race and the 200 and tied for the second seed in the high jump (5-6). He’ll also likely run on the top-seeded 400 relay.
Jonny Matson, Ishpeming senior: He enters his first Finals as the top seed in all four of his events – the 100 (11.68), 200 (24.06), 400 (54.06) and long jump (20-0).
Eli Ostermeyer, L’Anse senior: The reigning discus champion is top-seeded in that event (122-9½), and third in shot put (41-9¼) coming off last season’s runner-up finish in that throw.
Landon Sundelius, West Iron County senior: He won the 300 hurdles and was fourth in the 110 last season, but enters Saturday seeded first for both in 41.59 and 17.34, respectively.
Trevor Visnaw, St. Ignace sophomore: Las season’s pole vault champion is seeded second (10-6) and could run two relays, including on the top-seeded 400.
Division 3
Team forecast: Dollar Bay claimed its first Finals championship in this sport last season, edging Pickford by 12 points. Both should be in the mix Saturday, plus Munising is seeking its first team title since winning back-to-back in 2014 and 2015. The Mustangs have top seeds in four events, while Pickford has qualifiers in every event but one. An interesting addition is Norway, which shared the Division 2 championship last season and finished second at its Regional last month to Stephenson.
Jaden Borseth, Ewen-Trout Creek senior: The basketball standout is also a rare four-field event athlete and the top seed in the discus (127-9). He’ll also compete in the shot put and as the third seed in the long jump (18-9½), and placed in high jump as a junior.
Luke Gorzinski, Powers North Central junior: The 8-Player Finals championship quarterback is also the reigning UPD3 champ in the 200. He’s the top seed in the 100 (11.38), second in the 200 (23.92) and could run on two relays including the top-seeded 800.
Trenton Naser, Powers North Central senior: He finished second in the 300 hurdles and fourth in the 110 last season, but is the top seed in both this weekend at 44.04 and 16.94, respectively. He’s also slated for multiple relays including possibly the 800.
Micaiah Peramaki, Munising junior: After finishing runner-up in the 100 and third in the 200 last spring, Peramaki enters seeded second in the 100 (11.72) but first in the 200 (23.65) and 400 (53.31) – and also second-seeded in the discus (121-8).
Nikolas Thomas, Dollar Bay senior: He contributed to Dollar Bay’s first team title scoring points in the 1,600 and 3,200 and as part of last season’s winning 3,200 relay. He’ll have a much larger role in any repeat attempt as the top seed in the 800 (2:06.08), 1,600 (4:44.86) and 3,200 (10:46.15) and fourth seed in the 400 (54.43).
PHOTOS (Top) Marquette’s Lamb Ngafeeson (left) and Samuel Markey are step for step with each other near the start of their 110 hurdles Regional race last month. (Middle) Kingsford’s Cardel Morton (5) retains a slight lead on Marquette’s Colin VanderSchaaf (3) after the final handoff of the 1,600 relay at the May 13 Negaunee Lions Invitational. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)