Dollar Bay Cashes In on School Records for 1st Finals Title

By John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com

June 6, 2021

KINGSFORD — History was made in the Upper Peninsula Division 3 Track & Field Finals on Saturday as the Dollar Bay Blue Bolts were crowned champions for the first time with 67 points.

They were followed by Pickford with 55 and Rapid River with 47.

Dollar Bay set school records while winning the 1,600-meter relay in three minutes, 42.88 seconds and 3,200 relay in 8:31.01.

Chassell trackBessemer had won the 3,200 relay eight years in a row. The Speedboys, however, took third this time (8:58.64).

“We got it done,” said senior and Bay College basketball recruit Davin Hill. “Our coach pushed us hard all year. Our practices were harder than the meets.”

Senior John Norland anchored the winning 3,200 relay and took the 400 (51.38) and 800 (2:07.1).

“We knew we had a chance to win the U.P. Finals,” he said. “I ran my second-fastest split (2:01) in the 3,200 relay. The 400 and 800 are tough races. The 800 is very close to a sprint.”

Conner LeClaire added a first in the 300 hurdles (42.33) and second in the 110s (17.63).

Pickford’s lone first came on Hayden Taylor’s toss of 42 feet, 8¼ inches in shot put with Cedarville senior Drew Bailey taking second (42-2).

Rapid River senior Parker Dausey won discus (126-1) and classmate Max Lenaker took high jump (6-1).

North Central took the 400 relay (46.32) and sophomore Luke Gorzinski captured the 200 (23.29), edging Republic-Michigamme’s Isaac Lawrence by two hundredths of a second.

Lawrence won long jump (20-2) and placed third in the 100 (11.69), one hundredth of a second behind Munising’s Micaiah Peramaki.

Carney-Nadeau trackBrimley senior Cameron Hoornstra won the 100 (11.62), and Rudyard’s Gannon Smith took pole vault (10-6).

Chassell senior Kolson Kytta became a double winner, taking the 1,600 in a school-record 4:35.37 and 3,200 (10:45.14) on a hot and humid day in Dickinson County.

“I did a lot of visualization about how I thought the races would do,” said Kytta, who’s considering running at Michigan Tech. “I put in a lot of training to get better. I don’t think the heat affected me too much.”

Lake Linden-Hubbell recorded its lone first in the 800 relay (1:38.04), and Carney-Nadeau senior Tim Hodson crossed first in the 110 hurdles (17.58).

“Our handoffs looked pretty good,” said senior Caleb Klein, who anchored the winning 800 relay. “This was our best time all year ,and I think the competition helped us a lot. All the adrenalin from all the fans being here also got me going.”

Click for full results.

PHOTOS: (Top) Dollar Bay's A.J. Datto passes the baton to Davin Hill during the 1,600 relay Saturday. (Middle) Chassell's Kolson Kytta leads the pack after completing six laps of the 3,200. (Below) Carney-Nadeau's Tim Hodson won the 110 hurdles with Connor LeClaire from Dollar Bay taking second, Pickford's Josh Sullivan taking third, and Powers North Central’s Trenton Naser taking fourth. (Photos by Cara Kamps. Click to see more at RunMichigan.com.)

Be the Referee: Track & Field Exchange Zones

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

May 16, 2023

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Track & Field Exchange Zones - Listen

Let’s work in an exchange zone today – and see how much we know about this area during relay races at track & field events.

First: Exchange zones are now 30 meters in length. Previously, they were 20 meters with a 10-meter acceleration zone. But now, it’s just one 30-meter area. Runners must start inside the zone.

Now, what happens if the baton is dropped during an exchange? There are a couple of outcomes:

► If the baton is passed or dropped outside of the exchange zone – that relay team is disqualified.

► If the baton is dropped inside the zone, the runner can pick it up and re-join the race.

► If it’s dropped inside the zone but rolls out of the zone, either runner can retrieve it, return to the exchange zone and then restart his or her race – provided they don’t interfere with an opponent.

Previous Editions:

May 9: Girls Lacrosse Self-Start - Listen
May 2: Baseball/Softball Overthrow - Listen
April 25: Fifth-Quarter/Third-Half Rule - Listen
April 18: Soccer Referee in Play? - Listen
April 11: Softball Strikeout - Listen
March 14: Basketball Instant Replay - Listen
March 7: Hockey Overtime - Listen
Feb. 28: Baker Bowling - Listen
Feb. 21: Ski Finish - Listen
Feb. 14: Swimming Touchpads - Listen
Feb. 7: In or Out-of-Bounds in Wrestling - Listen
Jan. 31: Over the Back - Listen
Jan. 24: Competitive Cheer Judges - Listen
Jan. 17: More Lines - Listen
Jan. 10: On the Line - Listen
Jan. 3: Basketball Measurements - Listen
Dec. 13: Pregame Dunks - Listen
Dec. 6: Gymnastics Judges - Listen
Nov. 22: Football Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 15: Back Row Illegal Blocker - Listen
Nov. 8: Swim Turn Judges - Listen
Nov. 1: Soccer Referee Jersey Colors - Listen
Oct. 25: Cross Country Tie-Breaker - Listen
Oct. 18: Soccer Shootouts - Listen
Oct. 11: Safety in End ZoneListen
Oct. 4: Football Overtime Penalty - Listen
Sept. 27: Kickoff Goal - Listen
Sept. 20: Soccer Timing - Listen
Sept. 13: Volleyball Replays - Listen
Sept. 6: Switching Sides - Listen
Aug. 30: Play Clock - Listen
Aug. 23: Intentional Grounding Change
- Listen

PHOTO: Negaunee's Nori Korsman gets the handoff from teammate Olivia Lunseth to run the third leg of the winning 1,600 relay at April's Superior Dome Invitational. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)