Hackett on Track to Roll Again with Distance Ace Among Those Leading Charge
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
March 12, 2024
KALAMAZOO — After breaking one track record as a freshman, Marek Butkiewicz already has his eyes on two more.
Not bad for a runner who did not even plan to run track during his years at Hackett Catholic Prep, a surprise to co-coach Shelly Germinder.
“I had heard plenty about him from some of the ultras (marathons) and different other races he had done,” Germinder said. "His commitment to the sport came through before we ever laid eyes on who he was. We knew he was going to be an asset to us.”
The current sophomore was not so sure.
“At the end of cross country (freshman year), I didn’t even think I wanted to do track,” Butkiewicz said. “Then I did it and it was ‘This is kind of fun.’
“I was good at it. I honestly didn’t have any desire going into (track season), and then I ran a couple fast times and I thought, ‘I can actually do this.’”
Butkiewicz said his freshman cross country season in 2022 was the first time he really took running seriously, and his interest was boosted when he ran a 17:31 at the Kalamazoo Christian Invitational.
“I was super happy to get the freshman record there,” he said.
This past season, Butkiewicz shattered Hackett’s sophomore cross country record, running a personal best 16:12.2 at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final, demolishing the record set by Bryan Martin (16:56) in 2000.
That record also has special meaning to Germinder. Martin is her brother.
The Irish finished in third place at the Final last fall, one point behind Holland Calvary Christian.
With the start of the spring sports season this week, the Hackett boys are hoping to make it three Finals track & field titles in a row and five over six years.
Last year’s boys team made it a sweep, winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Regionals, MHSAA Finals and Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association (MITCA) Team State Finals.
The boys and girls teams also earned MITCA Division 4 academic awards, the girls with a cumulative 3.986 GPA and the boys with a 3.909 GPA.
This year’s team has grown from a combined 54 athletes last year to 64 with 38 boys and 26 girls.
“I think the students as a whole are seeing the successes of the team, but I also think it’s some of the flexibility we have in our sport,” Germinder said. “We know there are kids who want a dual sport and want to be involved in other things, and we want that for them, too.
“In a small school, we can’t be successful if we don’t have kids involved in multiple sports because there just aren’t enough bodies.”
Co-coach Charissa Dean said this year’s boys team will have a different look.
“We lost Liam (Mann), who was a really strong sprinter, and he left some big shoes to fill,” she said. “We have a nice nest egg of freshmen and sophomores.
“We had a junior (Gabe Oeurn) last year who is coming into his own, if you look at his track record from freshman to sophomore to junior. Last year, we had Sam Finley who was a freshman, and a sophomore (Jude Coffman) who was first time out.”
Lofty goals
Butkiewicz’s goal is to break his own school 3,200-meter record plus the 1,600-meter record, currently held by Jose Garza (4:27.4 set in 1976).
He’s pursuing a 9.25 in the 3,200 and 4.20 in the 1,600, while his long-term goal is breaking four minutes, hopefully running at a Division I university.
“His dedication, his commitment,” Germinder said. “You can’t teach that. That’s something he does on his own that comes from within. Snow, rain, whatever it is, he’s out there running, no matter what.”
The sophomore said he had no clue about records when he was a freshman, but after turning in a 10:37 in his first 3,200, then 10:05 followed by a 10 flat, he realized a record was in reach.
Butkiewicz credits his dedication for his success.
“I put in hundreds of miles a month, thousands a year, just into grinding and working toward goals,” he said. “I’ll shoot for 40-45 (miles) in-season. Offseason, when I’m building my aerobic base, I want 50 and upwards.”
As a freshman, he found a running buddy in then-junior Gavin Sehy.
“He was the fastest for the past two years and I was a little ahead of him, so we just stuck with each other and trained together,” Butkiewicz said. “Over the winter we started doing a couple miles together.”
Sehy, who is headed to Southwestern Michigan College in the fall, is shooting to break the school’s 800 record plus the 3,200 running with Nick Doerr, Alex Dumont and Butkiewicz.
Sehy was also a running buddy in cross country, finishing second on the team at 16:21.
“(Sehy) always had the potential, but it wasn’t until Marek came along that he started doing that training in the summer,” Dean said. “It has made a massive difference.”
Sehy and Butkiewicz competed in two ultramarathons (more than 26.2 miles) over the summer.
“I had never ran a marathon before, but somehow Marek convinced me to run 38 miles at Kettle Moraine State Forest (Wisconsin),” Sehy said. “And I did. Later in the summer, I ran 50 in Holly, Michigan.”
In the Wisconsin ultra, Butkiewicz was trying to finish the 100-mile run with Sehy pacing him for about 40 miles.
“I ended dropping at mile 75 because of some hip issues but he kept going and finished it,” Butkiewicz said. “The second one in Holly, I was doing 100 miles and he was doing 50, so we pretty much ran together for the first 50.”
Sehy said the two share the same mentality, which makes it easy to have a training buddy.
“We both really want it so bad, and we’re not afraid to do crazy things to get it,” he said. “Last year, during track, we needed to get some more miles in but just ran out of time during the week, so Sunday night we were out running 18 miles until after the sun went down out in the forest.”
Germinder said Sehy has noted he needs to have another runner to really push him.
“That’s one of the really beautiful things about the relationship they have,” she said. “It’s a healthy competition between them, but they want what’s best for each other, too.”
Butkiewicz lives near a land preserve where the two do much of their training, no matter what the weather, and they make it fun, jumping icy puddles and eating berries along the way.
“The coldest day of the year we ran with no shirts just because we could,” Sehy laughed.
When Sehy isn’t available to train, “I’ve been training a lot with Sean Siems; he’s a sophomore, a huge rising talent,” Butkiewicz said.
New year, new leaders
This year’s team will have a different look.
“We lost Liam and Bryce Brown and Nathan Buchmann (discus and only individual Finals champ),” Sehy said. “It’s tough to lose your best guys, but I think we have so much depth on this team, I think we’ll be all right.”
Just two weeks into the young season, Hackett will be on spring break, so many of the athletes pushed the coaches to schedule a meet before then.
They found one in the Onsted Early Bird Meet on March 20.
“They want to see where they are going into spring break to know, is there extra work we need to do during spring break,” Germinder said. “Having a competition will tell them where they’re at.
“If you do nothing (over spring break), then you’re starting all over again. I think a lot of our athletes recognize that and know they have to work a little more.”
Besides Butkiewicz and Sehy, leaders on the team include pole vaulters/sprinters Jack Prom and Lauren Wild.
“Keegan Gallagher is our biggest cheerleader and keeps the team in good spirits,” Germinder added. “He brings something that isn’t just on the track.”
With such large numbers, “If they’re not competing, we like to take them with us on the bus anyway,” Dean said. “They can help support their teammates, they can run a stopwatch, they can take video of the relay handoffs so we can go back and look at it later.”
In spite of the success on the track or in the field, Germinder said she is most proud of the athletes as people.
“With that leadership comes responsibility of good sportsmanship, how they’re interacting with other teams on the line,” she said. “I love watching our boys praying together with other teams before they’re getting ready to run. Or shaking hands before or after, especially sprinting events. It says a lot about who we are.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep’s Marek Butkiewicz rounds a curve during a race last season. (2) Butkiewicz shows the school record board, including his 3,200 entry earned last season. (3) Hackett track coaches Charissa Dean, left, and Shelly Germinder hold up last season’s MHSAA Finals championship trophy. (4) The Hackett 3,200 relay, from left: Gavin Sehy, Alex Dumont, Nick Doerr and Butkiewicz. (Action, coaches and relay photos courtesy of the Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep boys track & field program; record board photo by Pam Shebest.)
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.)