Cooper Leads Munsing to Dominant Win
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 1, 2014
KINGSFORD — Prior to Saturday, 18 years had passed since the Munising boys last hoisted a trophy at the Upper Peninsula Track and Field Finals.
The Mustangs, who were competing in Class C at that time, earned their first Division 3 title on Saturday with 107½ points. They were followed by defending champ Felch North Dickinson with 68 and Rapid River at 60.
Munising junior Andy Cooper won high jump at 6 feet, the 110-meter hurdles in a school-record 16.11 seconds and the 300 (40.77) and 200 dash (23.89).
Four days earlier, Cooper captured high jump with a school-record leap of 6-5 in the Bark River-Harris Invitational.
“Andy had a great day,” said Munising coach Matt Mattson. “Two school records and four U.P. championships makes for a pretty good year.”
Sophomore Brett Hannah, who had a hip problem at BR-H, retained his 3,200 title (10:49.97), captured the 1,600 (4:41.62) and was runner-up in the 800 (2:08.7) on this sunny and hot day.
“I had a PR (personal record) in the 1,600,” said Hannah. “I’m pretty happy with that and had my best time in the 800. The 800 is a rough race, but I qualify in that. I can’t just scratch from it. The two-mile didn’t go as well. I think the heat may have drained me a little. The wind helped a little. It felt good on the home stretch.”
Junior Austin Kelto placed third in the 100 (11.9) and long jump at 18 feet, 7 inches, and Alex Hill added a third in high jump (5-10).
“We made Brett take two days off this week. It’s pretty hard to get him to do that,” Mattson said. “The cold weather earlier this season made it pretty tough to compete, but our kids handled it well. I think our boys and girls are going to be pretty good next year.”
North Dickinson senior Tim Hruska retained his 100 title (11.83) and was runner-up in the 110 hurdles on a lean (16.12) and second in the 300 (42.93).
“I like the warmer weather,” said Hruska. “The 100 went real well. I had a real good start, and the 110 hurdles were real close. He (Cooper) was good. This is the first time I ran against him. It was fun.”
Big Bay de Noc senior Cole Potvin repeated as 400 champion in a school-record 51.17 seconds and was runner-up to Cooper on a lean in the 200 (23.91).
“This is my last race of high school,” said Potvin. “You can’t save it. I knew I was going to go out harder than I normally do because there’s nothing to save it for. It’s hard to maintain the pace for the 400. You wait till you see your time because you don’t know if you ran the pace you wanted or not.”
Rapid River senior Jake Pearson, who suffered a hamstring injury at BR-H, swept the throwing events. He threw 46-10 in shot put and 130-10 in discus, and classmate Hayden Hardwich was runner-up in shot (45-11).
Sophomore teammate Dan Blair added a first in the 800 in a personal-best 2:05.71 and was runner-up in the 1,600 (4:46.08) and fifth in the 3,200 (11:27.68), and helped the Rockets place fifth in he 3,200 relay.
PHOTO: Munising's Andy Cooper (right) edges Felch North Dickinson's Tim Hruska in the 110 hurdles at the U.P. Division 3 Final on Saturday at Kingsford. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Gladstone Takes Back Top Spot in UPD1
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 1, 2019
KINGSFORD – The Gladstone boys had quite a championship reign at the Upper Peninsula Track & Field Finals during the previous decade, taking the Division 1 titles from 2004-09, then winning again in 2013.
They returned to the winner's circle here Saturday, bringing home the championship trophy for the eighth time in 16 years with 127 points. Ishpeming Westwood and four-time reigning champ Marquette shared runner-up honors at 97.
Gladstone senior Adam Bruce, who underwent hip surgery in late January, earned his first 1,600-meter title in four minutes, 35.73 seconds and also won the 3,200 (10:04.67), both in season-best times.
"The 1,600 is the one that evaded me for four years," he said. "It felt great to go under 4:40. I think good training all week really helped and having the break (nine days from competition) helped my hip heal.
"In the 3,200, I just wanted to go out relaxed in the first lap, and I stayed relaxed. I was hitting my splits each 200 (meters). I'm proud of my time after hip surgery. There was no guarantee I'd be able to run like this so soon. The guys were around the track cheering me on, which I really appreciate. I'm just thankful for everybody, especially Zoie (Berg) who's there for me all the time.
"We also wanted to do this for Mr. Houle (longtime coach and athletic director Matt Houle, who died last fall), who always told us 'It's a great day to be a Brave.'"
Sophomore teammate Calvin Thibault retained his 110 and 300-meter hurdle titles in 15.35 and 40.35, respectively, and placed second in the 200 (23.13) and third in the 100 (11.58).
The Braves showed their depth especially in hurdles with sophomore Blake Servant taking second in the 110s (15.99) and senior James McKnight runner-up in the 300s (41.66).
Servant added a first in discus (137-9).
Escanaba junior Dayton Miron set a U.P. and school record in pole vault at 13-8, erasing the previous U.P. Finals record of 13-7 by Mike Coyne of Gladstone in 2007 and the 47-year-old school record (13-6¾) by John Noblet.
"It felt amazing to clear 13-8," Miron said. "It felt real good to see the bar stay up there after I rolled over. I couldn't stop thinking about it on my 14-foot attempts. I couldn't have done it without the help from my coach (Joe Royer), who gave me a lot of pointers. I won it at 13, then decided to go for 13-8. I'm really glad it happened here. I have a new pole, which separated me from 13 feet."
Marquette senior Raphael Millado captured high jump (6-3) and long jump (20-7), and classmate Mathurin Gagnon took the 800 (2:03.84) and helped the Redmen take the 3,200 relay.
Westwood senior Nathan Beckman won the 200 (22.96), and junior Chad Pohlman won the 400 (51.13).
The Patriots also swept the sprint relays, and senior Blake Hewitt added a first in shot put (44-4½).
PHOTOS: (Top) Gladstone’s Calvin Thibault powers through the finish to take first in the 300 hurdles, while teammate James McKnight follows to finish second. (Middle) Marquette’s Raphael Millado clears the bar on the way to winning the high jump. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)