Ishpeming Adds to Near-Decade Reign Atop Upper Peninsula Division 2
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 5, 2022
KINGSFORD — The Ishpeming boys have allowed very little to stand between them and the Upper Peninsula Division 2 track & field championship in recent years.
They added another trophy to their collection Saturday by scoring 116 points.
The Hematites, who won three of the last four titles outright and shared the fourth, were followed by Iron Mountain with 102 points and St. Ignace at 63.
Senior Jonny Matson scored 36 points for the Hematites, who also have either won or tied for the title six of the last seven seasons.
That string was interrupted only in 2017 when they were runners-up to Newberry and three years later by COVID-19.
Last year, the Hematites shared the title with Norway.
Matson won the 400-meter dash in 53.58 seconds and long jump at 18 feet, 11¾ inches and was runner-up in the 100 (11.73) and 200 (23.77).
“Jon has been a great leader for us, and Parker Gauthier and Hunter Smith picked it up,” said Troy Smith, who shares Ishpeming’s coaching duties with his wife Trisha. “We greatly appreciate the effort of our coaching staff (Morgan Kangas, Khora Swanson and Hailey Smith). They’re a big part of our success.
“Our numbers have been a little low, but we have a great group of kids.”
The Hematites won the 3,200-meter relay in 9 minutes, 4.42 seconds, and Tramon Gauthier added a first in the 110 hurdles (16.67) and second in the 300s (43.0).
Smith was runner-up in high jump (5-11), and Parker Gauthier placed third in the 3,200 (11:44.6).
Iron Mountain’s Matt Colavechhi won the 100 (11.56) and 200 (23.71), and senior Luke Ruble added victories in the 1,600 (4:54.69) and 3,200 (10:52.05).
The Mountaineers also won the 400 relay (45.31) and 800 (1:34.42).
Bark River-Harris was runner-up in the 400 in a school-record 45.34
“Nick (Anderson) started real good and got us in a good spot,” said BR-H junior Vincent Martin, who ran the second leg. “We were seeded fourth. We knew the other three teams were good in the first and anchor legs. We mixed up our lineup a little and were in first going into the third leg.”
St. Ignace got a first from junior Reese McLean in the 800 (2:09.06), and Owen Lester took pole vault (10-0).
“That was a PR by three seconds,” said McLean. ‘With this being the last meet, I decided I might as well put everything into it. I think I started out all right. I wanted to get to the front right away.”
West Iron County’s Landon Sundelius won the 300 hurdles (40.56) and placed second in the 110s (16.74), and Nathan Hochstein of L’Anse was high jump champion at 5-11.
Manistique earned a victory in the 1,600 relay (3:43.99).
PHOTOS (Top) Ishpeming's Tramon Gauthier leads West Iron County's Landon Sundelius and they take first and second in the 110 hurdles. (Middle) Iron Mountain's Matthew Colavecchi edges Bark River-Harris's Vincent Martin by three hundredths of a second to seal the win in the 400 relay. Other members of Iron Mountain's winning relay were Max Jayne, Joey Colavecchi, and Kurt Adiano Ryan. (Click for more from Cara Kamps/Run Michigan.)
Hailey Helps Carry Berrien Springs Once More, This Time to 1st Track Title
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2022
ADA – Don't ask Jamal Hailey to explain winning two MHSAA Finals titles without relying on his best effort.
Don't get Hailey wrong. The Berrien Springs senior is thrilled with not only winning Saturday's 100 and 200-meter dashes, but also helping his somewhat undermanned team to the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals championship at Forest Hills Eastern.
Hailey won the 100 with a time of 10.77, a fraction better than runner-up Ian Thompson (10.78) of Wayland. Hailey also took the 200 (22.11) over second-place Julian Bailey of Dearborn (22.25). Neither winning time was a personal best for Hailey, but he'll gladly take both his individual efforts, which resulted in 20 points. And with his inclusion on the winning 400 relay, the Western Michigan-bound Hailey was part of 30 of the team's 41 points – and nearly equaled the 33 points totaled by runner-up Forest Hills Eastern.
"I can't explain it," Hailey said. "It's preparation, being fortunate and knowing what I came here to do. I came here to win."
What is explainable is Hailey's value to a team which brought just 10 participants to the meet. Most track coaches are more comfortable with 15-20 potential point scorers, Berrien Springs coach Jon Rodriguez said. Hailey is also a standout football player who rushed for more than 2,000 yards and 33 touchdowns last fall.
The team championship was Berrien Springs' first in the sport, to go with runner-up finishes in 1953 and 2018.
"We had an idea we could win because Jamal is so special. He scores a lot of points for us," said Rodriguez, who finished up his 10th year as coach. "If we were healthy, we thought we had a chance to win. It all comes down to who can be best on that day. We were the best today."
Berrien Springs senior James York contributed a key first place in the long jump (22-10).
Three other Finals titles were grabbed by longtime friends Patrick Adams of Allendale and Sparta's Lance Riddle. The two seniors have competed back and forth against each other for at least the last six years and culminated in Riddle winning the 300 hurdles (39.28) and Adams capturing the 110 hurdles (14.73). Riddle was third to Adams in the 110 and Adams was only three tenths of a second behind in finishing second to Riddle in the 300.
Adams was the 2021 champ in the 110.
"I ran faster this year," said Adams, who will attend Cornerstone University next season. "But it was definitely more competitive. It's definitely tougher trying to win back-to-back. Me and Lance have been going at it since middle school, so I know him.
"I started kinda slow, but I just trusted my training and ran. The pressure got to me a little, so I just tried harder. Honestly, you just want to get to the finals; nothing is guaranteed in the hurdles. Getting to the final is what counts."
Spring Lake's Ian Hill won the 1,600 (4:16.99) after finishing third a year ago as a junior. Hill said there was one simple explanation for jumping two spots.
"Confidence," he said. "Last year I didn't really give myself a chance. I had a lot of confidence this year even though there are a lot of good runners here. But I was confident in my ability. I have all the respect for the other runners, but I have confidence.”
Even having to bounce back from the flu bug at midseason failed to dent Hill's' confidence. He also helped the 1,600 relay to a first place (3:23.78).
"I knew this would be close, but I thought I had as much a shot as anyone else," said Hill, who will attend Michigan next season. "I'm really happy to win this."
Other champs in the running events were senior Caleb Jarema of Pinckney, who won the 3,200 (9:17.36), and Stuart Gould of Howard City Tri County in the 400 (49.18). Aiden Sullivan of Forest Hills Eastern won the 800 (1:56.40). Whitehall won the 800 relay (1:29.73), while Holland Christian took first in the 3,200 (7:54.35)
Heading the field event winners was Alex Mansfield of Monroe Jefferson, who won the shot put (57-6). The Oakland University-bound Mansfield, who was also runner-up in the discus, said the title came despite some technique difficulties.
"I couldn't get the ball to throw; it kept slipping out of my fingers," he said. "But I got the job done; you still have to perform."
Edwardsburg senior Luke Stowasser successfully repeated in the high jump (6-8). He also won the long jump a year ago, but finished runner-up this time to Berrien Springs’ York.
"It was definitely a lot tougher, but I was more confident this year, which only pushed me to be better," Stowasser said.
Landon Cosby of Charlotte won the pole vault (15-9), while Dalton DeBeau of Frankenmuth took first in the discus (175-7).
Chelsea junior Jacob Nelson competed in one of the first-time adaptive events, in the 100 (33.19).
PHOTOS (Top) Berrien Springs’ Jamal Hailey (in green) crosses the finish first in the 400 relay Saturday, just ahead of Detroit Martin Luther King’s Terrence Brown to his right. (Middle) From left, Sparta’s Lance Riddle, Allendale’s Patrick Adams and King’s Teon Parks stride toward the finish of the 110 hurdles. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/Run Michigan.)