'Field & Track' Earns Falcons' Latest Title

By Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com

June 2, 2018

EAST KENTWOOD – Dave Emeott is making some changes to his East Kentwood boys track & field team this summer.

After the Falcons’ field events put on a dominant display Saturday to lead the team to a second straight Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship, Emeott feels it’s time for a new name.

“Officially now, for at least one year, we’re going to be East Kentwood Field & Track from now on,” Emeott said. “Everything changes, the Twitter page, the Facebook page, T-shirts will be made. The field events guys took a lot of pride, and it was fun because those were the first events of the morning. We came out of the morning with 40 points, or whatever they ended up scoring.”

East Kentwood finished with 61 points, well ahead of second-place Ann Arbor Pioneer, which had 39. Saline and Grand Blanc tied for third with 37 points, while Rockford was fifth with 35.

Logan Brown (shot put), Trevor Stephenson (pole vault) and Job Mayhue (110-meter hurdles) won individual titles for the Falcons, who have won seven of the last 10 team championships in the division. By the time Mayhue won the hurdles, the third running final of the day, his team already had 46 points, which would prove enough to clinch the title.

“When you look at where we won, it wasn’t just that we were overwhelmingly more talented than everybody; where the points were scored was in the technical events – shot put, long jump, pole vault – those three events alone we scored with seven guys in those events,” Emeott said. “Then the hurdles and the relays, that was really our day. It’s cool to do it in a different way.”

Stephenson’s pole vault title came after a head-to-head battle with Saline’s Eric Harris that featured multiple MHSAA Finals records. Stephenson won with a height of 16 feet, 9½ inches, a new all-division meet record. Harris took second at 16-6½, which also broke the previous record.

“I was surprised that I cleared that,” Stephenson said. “I was coming in thinking 16 feet might be the winning height, then Eric Harris from Saline just kept pushing the bar up and I just kept going with him. Eventually it got to 16-9½, and I just didn’t feel like it was there, and I got over and it was an amazing feeling.”

Mayhue won the hurdles with a time of 13.99 seconds, while Brown won the shot put with a throw of 57-1½.

Rockford’s Cole Johnson pulled off an impressive double in the 800 and 1,600, winning both with strong finishes. In the 800, he ran past a tight pack in the final 50 meters to win in 1:53.11, edging out Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Netunji Paige who finished in 1:53.41.

In the 1,600, Johnson took an early lead, then had to surge over the final lap to overtake a strong field and win in 4:08.47, less than two tenths of a second ahead of Pioneer’s Nick Foster who was second in 4:08.64.

“My race plan in the beginning (of the 1,600) was to try and push the pace to try and beat our school record held by Dathan Ritzenhein, a 4:05.9,” Johnson said. “The first lap, I knew I was going to go out fast, and I just tried to keep pushing it the second and third lap, but I fell off a little bit. Then the race plan was just kind of holding form a little bit that last lap to try and get the win. I found a lot of energy from all the people supporting me and all the fans; it is packed here today. Winning the mile in Michigan is very prestigious, so that’s kind of what kept me going as I got passed on that last lap.”

Oak Park’s Donnie James pulled off a double of his own, and was four hundredths of a second away from pulling off a triple. James ran 47.14 to hold off a strong field in the 400 meters, and 21.2 to squeak out a win in the 200. He finished second in the 100 with a time of 10.7, just edged by Eric Labonte of Traverse City West, who won in 10.66 seconds.

In the 400, James won from an outside lane, holding off charges from Saginaw Heritage’s Marcus Montgomery (47.65) and Ypsilanti Lincoln’s Matthew Moorer (47.79), who were chasing him from the inside.

“I had that mentality that I know I had to run at full speed because I had Matthew Moorer and Montgomery (behind me),” James said. “It was a lot of competition during that time, so I had to get my head geeked because I knew I had to run this to get first place for our team. My coach said catch the dude off the turn and to just run it like you did indoors.”

Lansing Waverly’s Keshaun Harris won the 300 hurdles in 37.81 seconds. Pioneer’s Foster won the 3,200 in 9:07.93. Grand Blanc’s Aidan Martini won the discus with a throw of 167-2. Traverse City Central’s Cassidy Henshaw won the high jump with a height of 6-9. West Bloomfield’s AJ Abbott won the long jump with a distance of 23-7¼.

Ann Arbor Pioneer (Foster, Paige, Aldo Pando-Girard and John Florence) won the 3,200 relay in 7:45.64. Detroit Martin Luther King (Jaeveyon Morton, Dylan Brown, Dequan Finn and Jalen McGaughy) won the 800 relay in 1:26.74. Farmington Hills Harrison (Moet Andrews, Alfred Hollie, Joe Stevens and Ben Williams) won the 400 relay out of the second heat with a time of 42.39. Grand Blanc (Austin Rippee, Victor Zarour, Jo Coleman and Jeronn Body) won the 1,600 relay in 3:20.48.

Click for full results.

PHOTOS: (Top) East Kentwood’s Job Mayhue, middle, hurdles to the lead on the way to winning the 110 race. (Middle) Oak Park’s Donnie James, right, holds off Ypsilanti Lincoln’s Matthew Moorer in the 200. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)

3 Upper Peninsula Athletes Among History-Makers in 1st Finals Adaptive Events

By John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com

June 17, 2022

KINGSFORD — A trio of Upper Peninsula wheelchair athletes were among five statewide who concluded their seasons June 4 competing in first-time adaptive events at MHSAA Finals.

This spring, the MHSAA Track & Field Regionals and Finals included its first adaptive 100, 200 and 400-meter dashes and shot put.

“Learning the technique and staying motivated is very challenging,” Houghton senior Maria Valet said after the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference meet May 31 at Calumet. “I go to regional competition downstate and in Indiana and Wisconsin. I also do little bit of weight training, but practice mostly on the track. I also work a little bit with Dean Juntunen (a longtime wheelchair racer from Ontonagon), who gives me some pointers. It’s good to have something to work for and see other people do it.”

Houghton track & fieldJoining Velat at the Upper Peninsula Finals in Kingsford were Marquette freshman Jim Bennett and Sault Ste. Marie freshman Johnny Osborn.

Velat covered the 100 in 26.56 seconds, 200 (51.15) and 400 (1:35.96) and recorded a 10-foot toss in shot put.

Her effort in the 400 at the Finals was nearly a personal-best.

“My best time in the 100 is 25.7 and I’ve done the 200 in approximately 48 seconds,” she said. “I think the 100 is my hardest event because it’s harder to gain momentum.”

Velat will attend the University of Michigan and major in biology. She will also be on the track team.

Bennett shattered his previous best time in the 200 by more than 2½ seconds was clocked at 24.31 in the 100 and 1:39.74 in the 400.

“It feels real good to race against other people,” he said. “I haven’t had the opportunity to do this before. There are so many opportunities available. Colleges are looking for wheelchair racers.

Sault Ste. Marie track & field“Today was my best time in the 200 (47.52). It feels great to do that. I had my best time in the 100 (23.15) in Marquette. The longer distances are more challenging for me. Right now I’m building up.”

Osborn threw the shot 13-4 at Kingsford, missing his personal best by just two inches.

“It means a lot to me to get a chance to compete,” he said. “This helps bring out the competitive spirit. I do cross country, which gives me more endurance and definitely helps me for track. I also manage the basketball team at our school.”

Osborn finished the 100 in 33.18, 200 in 1:17.95 and 400 in 2:21.03.

In the Lower Peninsula, Chelsea junior Jacob Nelson competed in the Division 2 100 meters, and Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett junior Jacob Juip competed in the Division 3 100 and 200.

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) Marquette's Jim Bennett races during the UP Finals on June 4. (Middle) Houghton's Maria Velat competed in all four adaptive Finals events in UPD1. (Below) Sault Ste. Marie's Johnny Osborn also competed in all four events at Kingsford. (Photos by Cara Kamps/Run Michigan.)