Copper Country Distance Stars Cap Senior Seasons with Fast Finals Finishes
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 13, 2022
CALUMET — It was quite a workout for Dollar Bay’s Nik Thomas and Houghton’s Eric Weiss whenever they met in area track meets this season.
A prime example was on display during the Houghton County Invitational on May 13 at Houghton when both seniors were clocked under 10 minutes in the 3,200-meter run.
Thomas won in a school-record 9:54.91, and Weiss was runner-up at 9:56.47.
Thomas also set a school record at that time in the 1,600 while winning in 4:26.58. Weiss was clocked at a personal-best 4:30.71.
“Breaking 10 minutes in the 3,200 was a huge accomplishment.” Thomas said after winning four races in the Division 3 Regional at Lake Linden on May 18. “I was really proud of that. Kolson Kytta (last year’s UPD3 1,600 and 3,200 champ and now assistant track coach at Chassell) called out my splits at Houghton, and I really appreciate that. What’s neat is every time I ran a PR, I set a school record.”
Thomas then established Upper Peninsula D3 Finals records June 4 in the 1,600 (4:25.91) – which topped his previous school record – and 3,200 (10:05.59).
He also won the 800 (2:01.27) at the U.P. Finals in Kingsford.
Weiss was Division 1 runner-up in the 800 (2:03.18) and 3,200 (10:07.12) and third in the 1,600 (4:37.2) at the Finals.
Thomas also set the school record in the 800 (1:59.92) in the Copper Country Invitational in Houghton on May 16 and added three victories in the Copper Mountain Conference meet at Wakefield on May 24.
“Nik is crazy fast,” said Weiss, who won the 3,200 in a personal-best 9:49 at the Ontonagon Invitational May 6. “I was very happy with running a 4:30 in the Houghton County Invitational. That was also a great race when I got my PR at Ontonagon. I definitely felt good that day.”
Also in the mix was Ewen-Trout Creek senior Jonah Nordine, who was the UPD3 Finals runner-up in the 800 (2:06.39), 1,600 (4:40.3) and 3,200 (10:26.51).
Weiss, who took the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference title in the 1,600 (4:37.44) and 3,200 (10:21.03) on May 31 at Calumet, became interested in distance running as a freshman.
“I went out for cross country and started enjoying it,” said Weiss, who plans to continue his running career this fall at North Dakota State University in Grand Forks. “I’ve also done cross country skiing and a little bit of running in the winter.”
Thomas, who temporarily battled paralysis during his sophomore year, says he was proud to represent his school.
“I got into such a zone,” said Thomas, who also set two meet records in the Houghton County and Copper Country Invitationals. “There were times when I lost my vision. While I was paralyzed I never thought this would be possible, but everybody was so supportive.
“Going under two minutes in the 800 was unbelievable. We’re such a small school. Everybody knows everybody. I don’t think you’ll find this kind of experience anywhere else.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Dollar Bay’s Nik Thomas leads the pack near the end of the first lap of the UPD3 800 race at the June 4 Finals at Kingsford. (Middle) Houghton's Eric Weiss runs a straightaway during the UPD1 3,200 championship race. (Photos by Cara Kamps/Run Michigan.)
Machiniak Sets Pace as Berrien Springs Edges Corunna in Matchup of Recent Champs
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
June 1, 2024
HAMILTON – After a rainy afternoon Saturday, the precipitation let up long enough for Berrien Springs’ boys track & field team to put the finishing touches on another MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals championship.
After Shamrocks head coach Jon Rodriquez collected his program’s second team title in three years, rain fell again at Hamilton High School’s Hawkeye Stadium, only heavier this time.
The reign returned for Berrien Springs.
“It feels great, man. It’s hard to say what it feels like,” said Shamrocks senior standout Jake Machiniak, who sprinted to first-place finishes in the 100- and 200-meter dashes plus anchored winning 400 and 800 relays.
“This team, they worked all offseason. This is the hardest group of workers I’ve ever had. All these guys, all the guys that scored, they’ve all come year-round. The relays, we performed. I performed in the opens. It’s great. It’s a great feeling, man. Two times, man. Two times. Second time winning the state. It’s fantastic, man.”
Machiniak, a Grand Valley State University commit, repeated in the 100 with a time of 10.74 seconds. He won the 200 in 21.76 seconds in addition to running the closing leg on Berrien Springs’ first-place 400 relay (42.13) and victorious 800 relay (1:28.24).
Machiniak powered Berrien Springs to 40 points as a team, allowing the Shamrocks to edge runner-up Corunna (38 points), the 2023 champion. DeWitt was third (34) and Charlotte fourth (28), followed by Pontiac Notre Dame Prep and Parma Western tied at fifth (26).
Last year, Berrien Springs tied for seventh, which fueled the Shamrocks’ hunger all offseason.
“Jake was on that team two years ago. He ran the 4x100 for us,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve kind of had our eyes on this the last two years. Last year we fell short a little bit, and this year the kids were hungry. They worked their butts off all year long, running in the summertime, running in the hallways in the wintertime, just getting ready for this moment. It’s awesome. It’s awesome to see.”
In the 400 relay, Machiniak was joined by Zander White, Samuel Magesa, and Kameron Autry. In the 800, it was Magesa, White, and Noah Jarvis.
Notre Dame Prep senior Zachary Mylenek took first place in the 400, finishing nearly a second better than his personal-record time of 48.49 seconds, and he was runner-up in the 200 (with a personal season-record 21.92).
Bound for Purdue University, where he plans to study mechanical engineering and perhaps walk on to the Boilermakers’ track team, Mylenek also anchored Notre Dame Prep’s seventh-place 1,600 relay team.
He adapted to his circumstances and performed at a high level.
“The rain sucked, but I’ve been fortunate enough because we’ve been running in the rain a lot this year and I ran last year in it,” he said. “I just ran my race and other guys, I was listening, they don’t like running in the rain. It’s a mindset thing, and I just dialed in.”
Grosse Ile junior Sam Vesperman repeated in pole vault with an effort of 14 feet, 7 inches.
Vesperman was not expected to win last year, and he pulled it off. Being ranked No. 1 in pole vault coming into Saturday’s meet created more pressure for him.
“It was definitely different because I was projected to win it (this season),” Vesperman said. “Last year I was the second guy, right – I wasn’t the big name. It was definitely different having everybody (saying), ‘Oh, that’s the guy to get, so … .’”
Vesperman’s official personal record in pole vault is 15-3. On Saturday, he was pushed by Whitehall senior Ca’Mar Ready, who turned in a PR effort of 14-4, but Vesperman was able to execute when needed.
“Yeah, it’s really nice to win, but we just keep chasing that next bar, that next height. That’s definitely the motivational factor,” Vesperman said.
Other event winners included: Clio’s Elliott Sirianni in the 800 (1:55.09 PR), Freeland’s T.J. Hansen in the 1,600 (4:11.31), Pinckney’s Paul Moore in the 3,200 (9:07.53), Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Mill Coleman in the 110 hurdles (14.49), Charlotte’s Cutler Brandt in the 300 hurdles (38.48), Coopersville’s Gabe VanSickle in the shot put (61 feet, 2 inches), Wayland’s Adam Huff in discus (172-0), and Stevensville Lakeshore’s Declin Doroh in high jump (6-7) and Kaden Griffiths in long jump (22-9.25).
Hamilton won the 1,600 relay (3:23.40), while Marshall took first place in the 3,200 relay (7:48.49). Chelsea senior Jacob Nelson won the 100, 200 and 400 adaptive events.
Rodriguez started coaching at Berrien Springs in 2012, and he became head coach in 2014.
He said the Shamrocks improve in practice because there’s a lot of competition. Everybody is chasing Machiniak.
“I mean, we have Jake Machiniak, one of the top sprinters in the state, in practice and the kids want to beat him. They don’t just want to just, like, run with him; they want to try and beat him, so that competition in practice has been huge,” Rodriguez said.
“I’m just very proud of them. We showed up on the days that were important. On a big meet like this, it’s about being your best today – we had our best on the best day.”
Like Vesperman, Machiniak entered the 2024 season with a lot of pressure. He noted, however, that the only way to improve is to put oneself in pressure situations.
Machiniak said this team title feels better than the one won in 2022 because he played a bigger role. There’s strength in numbers, though, and Berrien Springs has been known to possess depth, especially in the sprints.
“That’s all Coach Rodriguez. Best coach in Michigan – it’s not even close,” Machiniak said. “He has us training in the offseason. He has us training winter, summer, spring, fall – all the time, man. We have a lot of guys at the state meet that come (put in the work) in the offseason, all year round. Year-round athletes that do speed training. As far as the sprints, that’s all Jonny Rodriguez – best coach in the nation.
“This group, I’ve grown up with this group, man. I’ve known these guys for a while. I’ve grown with them, I’ve trained with them, I’ve cried with them. You know, these are the guys that I’ve grown up with.”
PHOTOS (Top) Berrien Springs’ Jake Machiniak, second from left, crosses the finish line first in the 100 during the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals on Saturday. (Middle) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Zachary Mylenek, left, and Corunna’s Wyatt Bower race to the finish in a 200 prelim. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)