Bessemer Speediest for 1st Time since '51
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 3, 2018
KINGSFORD — It had been a long time since a Bessemer track team was last crowned Upper Peninsula champion.
A very long time.
The Speedboys changed that in convincing fashion Saturday, scoring 151 points for their first title since 1951, when they were competing in Class C.
Two-time reigning champ Rapid River was runner-up this time with 84 points, and Pickford took third at 45 in the U.P. Division 3 Finals at Flivver Field.
“Last year we lost by four points after winning every meet before the Finals,” said Bessemer assistant coach Tracy Rowe. “We were pretty hopeful coming in here. Our depth helped us out.”
The Speedboys won the first four running events and finished with nine firsts.
They began their quest with a victory in the 3,200-meter relay, covering the eight-lap race in 8 minutes, 31.15 seconds.
“The 3,200 relay set the tone for the day,” said assistant coach David Rowe. “We emphasized concentrating on the present, and the guys weren’t intimidated. This is something everybody was a part of. Our cross country team (co-op Gogebic Miners) won the U.P. (Division 2) title last fall, and the distances are where we racked up the points.”
Senior Isaiah Aili set a U.P. meet record in the 800 at 2:01.08, topping the previous mark (2:01.45) by Munising’s Brett Hannah run three years ago.
“I knew it was a big race, and there was a lot of competition,” said Aili, who was runner-up in the 1,600 (4:45.66). “I thought to myself, ‘I don’t want to lose this race.’ This means a lot to our school, team and coaches who have been there for us all year.”
Aili also helped the Speedboys win the 1,600 relay (3:37.74), as did senior Brayden Tomes, who took the 100 (11.92), 200 (23.7) and 300 hurdles (41.94).
“I can’t think of a better way to end my career, especially with all my teammates,” said Tomes. “This has been our goal since last year. We wanted to come back here and take the title.”
Uriah Aili added a first in the 3,200 (10:25.29) and took second in pole vault (11-6), and sophomore Jamie Jett captured the 110 hurdles (16.97), took second in the 300 hurdles (44.11) and anchored the winning 800 relay (1:36.72), nipping Rapid River sophomore Tyler Sundling at the wire.
“One of the negative things is our handoffs weren’t as good as usual,” said Jett, who made up a 10-15 yard deficit in the anchor leg. “I like that distance (200 meters). I think 100 meters is a little too short, and I die a little in the end of a 400. I had a good start and used the three-step in the hurdles. I’ve been working on that, and I find it increases my speed (over the four-step).”
Junior Andy Aspinwall was also part of the 800 relay, and Tyler Busch added a first in shot put (46-6).
“We knew it would be real close with (Rapid River),” said Aspinwall. “I think they were our best competition. They’re a real good team.
“It’s awesome to go home with the U.P. title.”
Rapid River senior Logan Hardwick earned his third straight discus title (144-11), and junior teammate Gunnar Larson was runner-up (138-11).
Classmate Lucas Sundling won the 400 (53.06), followed by Tyler Sundling (54.0).
Cedarville sophomore Thomas Bohn set a U.P. meet record in the 1,600 (4:33.24), shaving 77 hundredths of a second off the previous best by Rapid River’s Tyler Crossman (4:34.01) in 2008.
“I knew I had to go out hard and tried to set the pace early,” said Bohn. “I knew there would be a lot of good runners. Bessemer especially had good runners. They have a good program.”
Bohn was runner-up in the 800 (2:02.8) and 3,200 (10:37.25).
PHOTOS: (Top) Bessemer’s Isaiah Aili outdistances the field in the 800. (Middle) The pack takes a turn during the 1,600. (Photos by Cara Kamps. Click for more at RunMichigan.com.)
Benzie Phenom's Story Continuing to Unfold on Track
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
May 14, 2021
As the phrase “history in the making” originated, someone simply had to know there would be a long-distance runner in Northern Michigan named Hunter Jones.
Arguably, he is history in the making.
And, track enthusiasts have a chance to preview some of the history the Benzie Central High School runner will make. Emphasis on will. He already has made history in so many ways.
He is only a sophomore. And, the history he makes will have at least one asterisk —for the 2020 Michigan high school track season that wasn’t.
The Benzie track team is offering its next preview glimpses of history-making Monday at the Titan Last Chance Meet at Traverse City West. The next opportunities after that will be on the Benzie track, during the Northwest Conference meet May 21 and the MHSAA Regionals on May 25.
This history-in-the-making story to watch over the next month is Jones’ likely accomplishment of winning his first MHSAA individual track championship June 5 at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals at Jenison High School. Perhaps the only reason he hasn’t achieved that first title before is COVID-19 cancelled his freshman season.
Many onlookers believe Jones will do that in the 800. They also believe after re-hydrating, resting, stretching and foam rolling, he’ll hit the track again shortly after and win another state title in the 1,600.
And, they further believe, he’ll write even more history after a brief recovery to win the 3,200 and finish with three Finals championships in one day.
Jones is preparing for the Finals by competing is all three of those events in the same day in the remaining meets. He and his coaches are challenging him by adding a 400 in all of those meets including the Finals.
He may run the 1,600 relay in the Finals should his team qualify. So four state championships are not out of the question. He tried the four events earlier this week and narrowly missed winning all four in an eight-team meet on Benzie’s track. He started the open 400 a bit slow and finished less than one second behind Kingsley’s Gage Hessem.
“I don’t know if anybody — I don’t know if I — truly, truly appreciate what this kid is,” acknowledged Asa Kelly, the Huskies’ longtime distance coach and a former college runner. “We knew he was going to be good for a long time, but how good is the question, right?
“We’ve had multiple state champions and loads of all-state kids, but nobody quite like him,” added Kelly, who has coached the boys cross country team to three Division 3 Finals titles. “He’s got this insatiable desire to win.”
At the age of 16, Jones is already in the history books. He owns school, meet and event records. He also has cross country course records. When he runs cross country in the fall, he’ll be pursuing a third Finals championship to go with his Lower Peninsula Division 3 titles won as a freshman and sophomore.
He is also a national champion. He won the sophomore division in the 3,200 of the National Scholastic Athletic Federation indoor track event in Virginia this spring.
“I want to be a state champion in at least three events,” Jones offered as one of his goals for his first track season. “It doesn’t matter what it is – at least three events.
“I have to run four events, so I think it will be challenging for me to go to each event and try to win,” he continued. “I think it is a good goal to try to win those.”
His others goals for this season? He wants to break the school records in the 800 and 1,600. He broke the school record in 3,200 last week in Farmington running an 8:59.
Another of his Benzie coaches, Traci Knudsen Kelly, has no doubt Jones will he will win three Division 3 Finals championships this June. She should know. She competed in the Big Ten as a member of the Indiana University cross country, indoor and outdoor track teams after setting records and winning state titles in 400, 800 and 1,600 runs at Suttons Bay High School.
“It’s a rare kid that comes along like him,” she noted. “I mean, I have never seen a high school kid like that.
“Between just the internal drive ... the will to win, the work ethic ... I mean, he’s the whole package.”
Jones’ brother Rick and sister Sarah are among the standouts in Benzie’s rich track and cross country past. Hunter recalls watching his siblings compete, and as he started running he was winning races as a second grader against fifth and sixth graders.
“I used to be deathly scared of racing, and I would almost cry before races,” Jones recalled. “It was weird going up against people that were like double my height.”
Not so anymore for the decorated runner whose future may not have any limits.
“The fact that he is sophomore is what a lot of people forget,” said Asa Kelly. “He is so young yet, and he’s got so much in front of him.”
Yup, history in the making.
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Benzie Central’s Hunter Jones warms up during a track meet this season. (Middle) Jones, with Benzie coaches Asa Kelly, left, and Traci Knudsen Kelly. (Below) Jones crosses the finish line during the Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway. (Track photos by Tom Spencer. Cross country photo courtesy of Benzie Central's cross country program.)