Avondale Star, St. Mary's Chase History
May 30, 2015
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
ZEELAND — Everyone else was chasing Joshuwa Hollomon on Saturday as he was chasing his place in MHSAA track and field history.
Hollomon became only the 10th Lower Peninsula boy in the 91-year history of the Finals to win the 100-meter (or 100-yard) dash three times in his career, finishing the feat at the Division 2 meet at Zeeland Stadium.
The Auburn Hills Avondale senior won a tight finish against Flint Southwestern Academy senior Jonathan Fife with a time of 10.71 seconds. Fife's time was 10.81.
Hollomon won the LP Division 1 title as a sophomore in 2013 before taking Division 2 his final two years.
"To win it three years, going unbeaten, I can look back and tell that to my kids one day and say, 'I did this' and have that be an influence on them," Hollomon said. "This is a great accomplishment."
Hollomon is only the third Lower Peninsula boy in the last 24 years to win the 100 three times, joining Baldwin's Jason Johnson (1995-97 Class D) and Sparta's Brandon Vandriel (2007-09 Division 2).
Hollomon also was trying to sweep the 100 and 200 in the Finals for the second straight season, but Fife turned the tables in the 200 to win in 21.55 seconds. Hollomon settled for second in 21.98.
Going into the meet, Hollomon had no idea of what to expect from Fife.
"I don't know anybody I race," said Hollomon, who will play football at the University of Cincinnati. "I don't watch them. I study myself. I know the person next to me on both sides wants to win just as bad as I do. When you get fast people, it makes you faster."
The biggest disappointment for Hollomon came in the 800 relay, as he never received the baton for the final leg because of a dropped first exchange.
While Hollomon has become accustomed to winning MHSAA championships, a school with a championship pedigree in nearly every sport except track and field won its first title.
Orchard Lake St. Mary's scored 52 points to beat runnerup Zeeland East by 7.5.
The Eaglets' best finish in an MHSAA final meet was third in Division 2 in 2006. They laid the groundwork for Saturday's championship by placing fourth last year.
"We broke six school records this year," St. Mary's coach Sean Clouse said. "We're pretty young still. We have a great group of seniors and a lot of young kids, too, so hopefully we'll be back again next year."
Six of the 14 athletes who scored for the Eaglets were sophomores, including 300-meter hurdle champion Richard Bowens. Bowens posted a time of 38.42 seconds and was also on the seventh-place 1,600 relay team.
St. Mary's won the 400 and 800 relays for the second year in a row, but was able to take the team title by having more firepower throughout its lineup. The Eaglets scored in eight events, including all four relays.
Junior Tyler Cochran was on the winning 800 relay team and took third in the 400 in 49.83 seconds. He was also on the seventh-place 1,600 relay unit.
Senior Ross Moore was on both winning relay teams and placed eighth in the long jump. Sophomore Kahlee Hamler was also on both first-place relay teams. Freshman Ky'Ren Cunningham was on the 800 relay team, while sophomore Ryan Johnson rounded out the 400 relay.
Sophomore Trey Bryan was fifth in the long jump, while senior Brian Agomuoh was seventh in the discus.
"Our long jumper surprised us a little bit," Clouse said. "We knew our relay teams were going to do well. We're just so happy with them. The sprint teams doubled up last year and doubled up again this year. Cochran in the 400 came through really big. The hurdler, Bowen, was amazing."
Cool, rainy conditions favored distance runners, but were a detriment to other athletes. Algonac senior Mitchell Mueller was able to repeat as pole vault champion by going 15 feet, 6 inches, but was left wondering what might have been under more ideal conditions. He attempted to break the LP Division 2 Final record of 16-1 set by Marine City's Jaime Salisbury in 2012, but came up short in three tries at 16-2.
"It was definitely challenging," Mueller said. "It kind of stunk that today had to be that kind of day, but I still got to go 15-6, still got a chance to go for the record. By the time we got to the chance to go for the record, it was raining pretty good. The last attempt was pretty close. It was just too much rain, not a good day. It was really cold, but it was still fun and I still had a great time."
Algonac had another champion in junior Morgan Beadlescomb, who won the 1,600 in 4:13.58. He sat on the shoulder of Cedar Springs senior Austin Sargent most of the race before making an explosive move with 300 meters to go. It was a flashback to a similar scenario in the cross country finals in November, when Beadlescomb out-dueled Sargent for the title.
"I work on my kick a lot," Beadlescomb said. "I kind of rely on that. In cross country, it was exactly the same. The last 300 meters is when I took off and won."
The host Zeeland school district had three of the top four finishers in the 800, with senior Sam Plaska of Zeeland West making his move with 100 meters remaining to overtake Sturgis junior Daniel Steele, who had opened up a large lead. Plaska won in 1:55.11, just ahead of Zeeland East's Matt Cramer. East's John Groendyke was fourth in 1:56.83.
"It's unbelievable," Plaska said. "I'm so happy to have the home crowd here, my family and friends cheering me on. It's such a great day."
Zeeland East provided some excitement for the home crowd early by setting the LP Division 2 Final record in the 3,200 relay. The quartet of Scott Binder, Dan Cramer, Matt Cramer and Groendyke won in 7:50.70, breaking Fenton's mark from 2007.
Other individual champions were Freeland's Nathan Whitting in the high jump (6-6), Melvindale's Anthony Fitzgerald in the long jump (22-5), Mason's Justin Scavarda in the discus (172-2), Coldwater's Logan Targgart in the shot put (57-3.75), Lake Odessa Lakewood's Noah Caudy in the 110 hurdles (14.70), St. Johns' Steven Linton in the 400 (49.04) and Corunna's Noah Jacobs in the 3,200 (9:27.49).
Williamston won the 1,600 relay in 3:22.98 with the team of Hunter Grischke, Seth Kerby, Steffan Smalley and Tyler Lamar.
PHOTOS: (Top) Auburn Hills Avondale's Joshuwa Hollomon rushes toward the finish during one of his championship runs Saturday. (Middle) Orchard Lake St. Mary's hoists its first MHSAA track and field championship trophy. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Baustert Stands Tall Leading Whitehall
April 15, 2019
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
Sam Baustert has never allowed his size to hold him back.
Baustert may be only 5-foot-6 and 125 pounds, but the Whitehall senior has come up big over and over again – with one more track season to go.
“I’ve always been one of the smallest kids in my grade,” said Baustert, who will earn his 12th varsity letter this spring. “That just forced me to work harder, to be more focused and to prepare more.”
He was also blessed with the ability to run far and to run fast.
Baustert embarks on his senior track season as one of the top distance runners along the lakeshore. He won the 3,200 meters last spring at the West Michigan Conference meet and at the Greater Muskegon City meet.
“I expect him to have a great senior year,” said Whitehall boys track coach Kirk Mikkelson, who is starting his 25th season leading the program. “He ran 10 seconds faster in the mile at our meet at Grand Valley than he did in the same meet last year, so that’s a great sign.”
Baustert said one of the secrets to his success is choosing the right sports.
“I played basketball one season and I found out I wasn’t very good,” Baustert said.
So instead of trying to force a square peg into a round hole, Baustert pivoted to wrestling, where the 14 weight classes provide a spot for every height and weight.
He compiled a standout four-year career on the mat, culminating this winter, when he won West Michigan Conference, county and District titles at 112 pounds. He also was a quiet leader as the Vikings made a run to the Division 3 Team Semifinals, where they lost a tight match to eventual champion Dundee.
Baustert is now shifting his focus back to track, another sport where his small stature doesn’t hold him back. He will run cross country and track at Grand Valley State, where he will be following in the footsteps of his two older siblings, Kyle and Lauren.
“I feel very comfortable at Grand Valley,” explained Baustert, who sees himself specializing in longer distances in college, like his running idol, Mo Farah of England. “It’s close to home, so my family will be able to come see me run. I’m excited to be on a team with a lot of great runners that will make me better.”
His specialty is the 3,200, where his goal for this season is to break the 9:30 mark. He also regularly runs the 1,600, where he hopes to break 4:30. In many meets he helps his team out by running a leg on the 3,200-meter relay.
That grueling, “team-first” mentality forces him to conserve energy for other races and prevents him from running his best times in his favorite event, the 3,200. That is one of the reasons he is looking forward to the Meijer West Michigan All-Star Meet on May 23 at Reeths-Puffer.
“I’ve run my PR at that meet the last two years, because it’s an individual event and I don’t have to run anything else,” said Baustert.
But for the most part, Baustert is a team-first kind of kid, which has made him a key part of the Vikings’ continued success. Whitehall has won or shared 15 consecutive West Michigan Conference boys track & field titles, and won more than 93 percent of its dual meets during Mikkelson’s 24-year tenure.
Mikkelson believes this year’s team has a chance to continue that WMC title streak and also make a run at snapping five-time reigning city champion Fruitport’s stranglehold on that meet’s crown.
Turrell Harris and Tyler Brandel are two of the senior leaders in the sprints, and they combine with sophomore Jaegar McGahan and senior Brett Evans on a formidable sprint relay team. Logan Thomas is strong in the pole vault, and Brandon Kallhof and Bailey Taranko are expected to contribute key points.
As for the distance events, Mikkelson said Baustert is like another coach with that group.
“Sometimes he just takes off with the distance guys, and I know that they’re in good hands,” said Mikkelson. “He’s very analytical about everything. He has the respect of all of his teammates.”
Baustert has stayed busy throughout his high school years, rarely having a day off from practice or a meet with cross country, wrestling and track. Now with less than two months remaining as a prep athlete, he knows it’s his turn to pass on what he’s learned to his younger teammates.
“It’s kind of weird being the team leader, but I guess that’s how it’s supposed to work being a senior,” said Baustert, who plans to major in electrical engineering. “It seems like I was just a freshman, trying to figure things out; now I’m the one with all the answers.”
Another place he’s always had the answers is in the classroom, with a 4.1 GPA and ranking No. 4 in his graduating class of more than 150 students.
“Sam is the epitome of what you look for in a student-athlete,” said Mikkelson. “He’s not a loud kid who is going to get in anybody’s face, but he is an inspiration to our younger kids because of how hard he works and how serious he is. He has been leading by example his whole life.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS: (top) Whitehall senior Sam Baustert keeps a close eye on his teammates as he waits his turn to run. (Middle) Baustert, far left, runs on the outside last season, looking for a chance to make his move. (Photos courtesy of the Whitehall boys track & field program.)