Corunna Star Recovers to Shine Again

By Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half

June 3, 2017

ZEELAND – Noah Jacobs of Corunna is another in a long line of tremendous distance runners to come out of this state.

Among the names he’s chased include Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein of Rockford and Grant Fisher of Grand Blanc.

Jacobs, a senior headed for University of Wisconsin, was the two-time defending Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals champion in the 3,200-meter run and last year he added the New Balance two-mile national championship.

This past fall Jacobs won the Division 2 cross country championship with a time of 15:28.00.

Unbeknownst to him, this year would be different. Challenges always present themselves, but Jacobs was shaken by what he had to face as he began to prepare for the 2017 track & field season.

In February, Jacobs was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left tibia. A stress fracture is more severe. Fortunately for Jacobs, the injury stopped just short of a fracture.

Still, for five weeks he had to shelve his training and deal with the mental anguish of knowing it would be a long, painstaking road back to the MHSAA Finals, if indeed he could return.

A few weeks ago, Jacobs noticed his times were getting back to where they were a year ago. On Saturday, he fought off fierce competition and defended his LP Division 2 Finals titles in the 3,200 (9:11.63) and added a first-place finish in the 1,600 run with a time of 4:14.03 at Zeeland East to complete was has been a courageous comeback.

“Last season I was blessed with great health,” Jacobs said. “This year I was battling. I was losing races, to some good runners. I didn’t have that same kick. I had to break that mental barrier.

“(In February) I was a mental wreck. My teammates and my family kept me going.

“It was around Regional time, in early May, I was running in two or three quality meets. I kind of got my routine back. I got to use the race situations I used to use. The last two weeks have really been good. (My leg) is not perfect. People asked me how it is, and I have one word for them – ready. I’m ready.”

Jacobs had to fend off a couple runners coming into the second-to-last turn to win the 1,600.

“I took the lead with about 250 meters left,” he said. “I knew they wanted it. It could have been a tenth of a second, it could have been five seconds. I don’t know.”

His win in the 3,200 held more drama. He led with 600 meters to go before Shuaib Aljabaly of Coldwater put forth a burst of speed to pass Jacobs by two meters.

“I knew that I had to draft (early in the race),” Jacobs said. “I’ve raced (Aljabaly) before. I didn’t worry about him running. I just had to attack the last half. I had to push and push and push.

“I had a couple of coaches with 100 meters to go screaming at me. When he took the lead, I had to fight, fight. It’s happened before.”

Jacobs overtook Aljabaly with 50 meters left and won by 21 hundredths of a second.

Home cooking

One thing that can top winning an MHSAA Finals title is winning one at home.

Zeeland East won its first boys track & field team title with a score of 71 points. Coldwater placed second with 42.

East had clinched its 1,600 relay team took first as well.

Coach Ralph Neal, in his seventh season, said everything went right for his team.

“It was an amazing day,” he said. “I can look back at two years ago and what we were trying to build. I saw enough talent. I saw the field events. I saw the relays. We had all these pieces that came together. Nothing went wrong today. It’s what a coach dreams about.

“It is special winning it at home. (Athletic director) Tim Ritsema pulls his hair out to get this (event) going.”

Junior Brenden Knoll placed second in both the discus (176 feet, 7 inches) and shot put (55 feet) to earn his team 16 points. He said the formula to winning was basic.

“We put in the work, every day,” he said. “I just had my mind right. I put everything else aside. It feels real good. These are the reasons you work so hard.”

Getting serious pays off

John Adams III of Ferndale never qualified for the MHSAA Finals until this year. Last year he started running track for the first time, to stay in shape for football. That reasoning paid off as Adams, a 5-foot-10, 160-pound slot back and defensive back, will attend Olivet College in the fall with every intention of competing for a starting spot on the football team.

Fearless, Adams competed in the 100 dash, and he certainly wasn’t one of the favorites. That didn’t bother him. With a time of 10.94, Adams placed first in the 100.

“I won because I worked the hardest,” he said. “I didn’t take track seriously until this year. When I got beat in the (Oakland Activities Association) meet (May 11), that’s when it hit me. I finished third. It was hand-held time, and it was really close. I’m not sure anyone knew who won. I didn’t want that to happen again.”

Special days

Sunday is Noah Caudry’s 18th birthday. It’s likely he’ll remember the day before his 18th birthday better in the years to come.

Caudry of Lake Odessa Lakewood won the 110 and 300 hurdles, and helped his team place fifth in the 400 relay even though it didn’t compete in the fast heat.

His time in the 110 (14.05) was a personal best. He’s a three-time champion in that event.

“This is my specialty,” he said of the 110. “I was hoping for (the three consecutive titles). I was hoping to get in the 13s, but I’ll take a PR.”

Caudry is a remarkable person. He graduated with a 3.94 grade-point average and plans on entering optometry school after earning a degree in biology.

New event, new success

Junior Cameron Oleen was a half-miler since he began running track at Fruitport two years ago.

This season, it was suggested Oleen run the 400 dash. He’d never run it before but thought he’d give it a shot.

“I really like it,” he said. “It’s the most difficult race. I can pace myself in the 800. In the 400 you have to run as fast as you can all the way through it. You could pace yourself in the first 300 meters and then die in the last 100. You might as well run as fast as you can the first 300.”

It would be difficult to argue that point with Oleen. He won the 400 with a time of 49.21 seconds.

“It’s conditioning,” he said. “The 800 helps me train for the 400.”

Oleen also competes in cross country and basketball. He added that running cross country helps him maintain the proper conditioning for the other two sports.

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PHOTO: Corunna's Noah Jacobs, far right, stays a step ahead of Coldwater's Shuaib Aljabaly during Saturday's 3,200 at Zeeland. (Photo by Janina Pollatz/RunMichigan.com.)

Carrollton's Voltz Making Big Leap in Long Jump

By Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com

May 5, 2021

It makes sense that DJ Voltz excels at the long jump.

The Carrollton junior is fast – he qualified for the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals in the 100 meters as a freshman. He’s also a multi-year all-state honoree in both football and basketball, a testament to his incredible athleticism.

How quickly he has exceled, though, is a little shocking. 

Voltz’s jump of 22 feet, 2.5 inches, recorded April 30 at the Caro Tiger Invitational, is the state’s best early this season. He hit the mark in only his fifth time competing in the event.

“It’s really his first year doing it,” Carrollton track & field coach David Jaworski said. “He knew he wanted to long jump, and we knew with his speed and his athletic ability, it was something he could excel at. He’s a real competitive person. When he started, he was only able to hit (18 and 19 feet), but he’s been working with our jumpers coach, and one day he started hitting 20 and 21 consistently. It’s taken off from there.”

Extraordinary athletic achievement is nothing new for Voltz. He’s a star on the football field and the basketball court for the Cavaliers, having been named honorable mention all-state by The Associated Press in both sports as a sophomore and again as a junior in basketball, and second-team all-state as a junior in football. 

His position listing for football was specialist, which, while accurate, also doesn’t seem to fully encapsulate Voltz’s role.

“He is kind of a jack of all trades,” said Jaworski, who is also Carrollton’s offensive coordinator. “We line him up at quarterback, running back, receiver, punt returner, kick returner. He played corner his first couple years, but this year we had a little more pressing needs, so he went back and played safety for us. He kind of plays where we need him to.”

Carrollton footballFootball is king for Voltz, who plans to attend camps at Central Michigan and Grand Valley State among others this summer, and has a scholarship offer from Division II Gannon University in Florida. 

The 6-foot-3 speedster is being recruited as a cornerback at the next level, which would put him on the taller side of the position – the average NFL cornerback is just under 6 foot.

“They’ve been telling me when I get there, they like how I’m lanky and long,” Voltz said. “It’s easier for me to break up and intercept passes. I’m long and fast, and they said I’ve got quick feet, so I can stay with receivers.”

When asked what his position was on the basketball court, Voltz laughed before settling on combo guard. He averaged 17.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.2 steals and 1.7 blocks this past season for a Carrollton team that was 13-5 and lost by one in the Regional Final.

“He doesn’t specialize in one thing,” Jaworski said. “He still goes and plays his AAU basketball tournaments. He has three or four football camps lined up early in June. He’s at track practice every day. He’s not one to miss things. He works tirelessly. He works with his own private trainer at times, and he’s also working hard at practice.”

That work ethic has quickly transformed Voltz from potential to production in the long jump, and there’s still room to grow.

“It’s all about the technique and how fast you’re running into it,” Voltz said. “You have to count your steps, make sure you jump and make sure you pick your feet up when you jump so you can have extra length in that sand pit. I still have a lot to learn. I really like doing long jump, and I’m getting the technique down. There’s always room to get better at it, and I’m trying to get even farther.”

The newfound success in the long jump has Voltz seriously considering adding track to his collegiate pursuits, and he said the football coaches he’s spoken with are on board with it.

For now, Voltz has his eyes on the school record, which at 23-2, he feels is attainable. He said he’s not thinking, yet, about potentially adding more all-state honors to his resume at the MHSAA Finals on June 5. 

“It’s still early,” he said. “I’m still focusing on getting better for that situation. I’m not really focused on the later on, I’m focused on what’s going on right now.”

His focus and constant presence with Carrollton athletics is something Jaworski said is setting an example for younger athletes in the community. Voltz is more than happy to add mentor to his long list of duties.

“It means a lot,” he said. “I want to set an example, and when I leave this school, I want to be one of the ones they talk about – one of the greats at Carrollton. I want them to want to follow in my footsteps and want to be better than me. I want them to beat my records one day.”

Paul CostanzoPaul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.

PHOTOS: (Top) Carrollton’s DJ Voltz soars through a long jump attempt this spring. (Middle) Voltz fills one of his many roles on the Cavaliers’ football team. (Photos courtesy of the Carrollton track & field program & DJ Voltz.)