Memorable Wins and Multi-Champs Highlight LPD1 Track's Return
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
June 5, 2021
KENTWOOD – The particulars didn't necessarily matter to Rockford coach Andrew Martin. The only thing which truly mattered was the stunning finish to Saturday's Lower Peninsula Division 1 boys track & field championships at East Kentwood.
Seemingly out of the running for the team title, the Rams' 1,600 relay – a foursome not even running in the event's fast heat – managed a third place in the final event to earn Rockford a tie with Fenton for first place in a wild meet.
Both teams finished with 34 points. Instead of finishing as low as third place in a meet where the top eight were separated by just 12 points, Rockford earned its first Finals crown in 12 years under Martin.
"It doesn't matter how we got there," Martin said of tying for the title. "We were seeded 10th, but these kids are all about doing your own thing."
The Rams relay was comprised of three seniors in Daniel Leja, Gage Martin and Jacob Peck and junior Jacob Bissell. While they finished with a time of 3:23.84, Fenton was slowed by not having a team qualify for the final relay. It was a turn of events which left Fenton coach Anthony McMillan pacing nervously as the final race played out.
"To still do what we did was great," he said. "These kids left a legacy, a path. To bring a state title home is a very special moment. To be one of the (two) teams means a lot to us."
Rockford and Fenton were far from the only teams with a breath of life until the final event. Zeeland West finished third with 30 points, Ann Arbor Skyline had 28, Pinckney and Novi 25 and Dexter and Macomb Dakota 24.
While the team title was captivating to the very end, Skyline's Hobbs Kessler virtually stole the individual part of the Finals. Kessler, who became the first Michigan high schooler to qualify for the Olympic trials in 80 years, won the 1,600 (4:16.68) and the 800 (1:54.13). While those finishes weren't necessarily surprises, Kessler's ability to live up to high expectations – including amazing kicks in both events – was even more impressive.
"It's the way I like to win," he said of running his last lap of the 1,600 in 55.1 seconds while also coming from behind to win the 800. "I want to give myself the best shot to win. The wind hit, and I snuck in.
"I know if I work out well and run my best, good things will happen. I know who I have to listen to, and the others aren't as important. I have a good support system, so I can just go out and win."
Kessler qualified for the Olympic trials last Saturday. He said he'll think more about the future now that the high school season is completed. But he wouldn't rule out competing in this summer's Japan Olympics.
"There's no reason to think I can't," he said.
Among the other double winners at East Kentwood were Tamaal Myers II of Detroit Cass Tech, who claimed the 110 hurdles (14.26) and 300 hurdles (37.87), and Udodi Onwuzurike of Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice, who won the 100 (10.55) and 200 (21.23).
Myers said an extremely strong headwind didn't do runners any favors. But he was able to overcome the obstacle because of physical toughness, he said.
"It was a strong wind, but I just pushed through it to finish where I did," he said. "Mentally, you just keep going forward. It's all about technique; it's the arms, legs, everything."
Among other runners winning events were Terrence Muex of Flint Carman-Ainsworth in the 400 (46.52) and Hartland's Riley Hough, who won the 3,200 (9:07.91).
Zeeland West won the 800 (1:28.12) and the 1,600 (3:21.82) relays. St. Joseph won the 400 (42.65) and Novi the 3,200 (7:48.53).
Dexter's Cole Sheldon won the pole vault (15-3) to complete an inspiring climb that included failing to qualify as a freshmen, to finishing 26th in 2019 to winning Saturday.
"It was just hard work," said Sheldon, who was seeded fourth. "It's nice being the underdog. I didn't have that great of a Regional, and I told my coach I was saving it for the Finals."
Sheldon also credited teammate Noah Schultz, who finished second with a vault of 14-9.
"That was probably the best thing that could have happened to me," Sheldon said. "He's the reason I did so well. If he goes high, I want to go higher."
Among other field event winners was Zachary Webb of Macomb Dakota, who won the high jump in 6-6. While some competitors are actually surprised by winning a state title, Webb doesn't count himself among them.
"I knew when I came in here I couldn't miss," he said. "I wanted to put the pressure on others, and I think I did that. I practice so much, I knew I could do this. I break down a lot of video. If I'm going bad, I look at the video and fix what I need to fix."
The other field event winners were Drake Willenborg of South Lyon in the discus (183-3), Levi Honderd of Holland in the long jump (22-6) and Ben Haas of Clarkston in the shot put (57-8).
PHOTOS: (Top) Ann Arbor Skyline’s Hobbs Kessler celebrates his victory in the 800 on Saturday. (Middle) Detroit Cass Tech’s Tamaal Myers II sets the pace during his hurdles sweep. (Below) Fenton, top, and Rockford celebrate their team championships.(Action photos by Ike Lea; team photos by John Brabbs/RunMichigan.com.)
Frankenmuth Takes Championship Surge Through Final Race
June 5, 2021
ZEELAND – The Frankenmuth boys track & field team knew it had a chance Saturday to win its first MHSAA Finals championship since 2011 – but only if everything went right.
Not everything did – but plenty went better than planned as the Eagles won for the first time in Lower Peninsula Division 2, outpacing runner-up Flint Powers Catholic by 3¾ points to add a third championship to those won in Division 3 in 2005 and 2011.
Frankenmuth’s power in relays paid off in the final event, as the Eagles finished second in the 1,600 relay to Yale, scoring eight points while Powers came in eighth to add only one point to its team total.
That runner-up finish matched another in the 800 relay, and Frankenmuth also won the 400 relay with senior Daniel Barger joining junior Ian Stephens and sophomores Sam Barger and Andrew Braman. Those four ran the 800 together as well, with senior Ryan Brenner and junior Seth Malmo joining Sam Barger and Stephens on the 1,600.
“We knew it came down to the mile relay, and I was pretty easy going the entire time – and then the mile relay hits and we knew Powers had to do something and we knew we had to do something, and I had to be alone for a little while,” Frankenmuth coach Luke Sheppard said. “I just had to sit and soak it all in, but it was a lot of fun – it’s a lot of fun to watch these kids run. They always compete. They always do what they’re supposed to.”
The Eagles’ lone win came in the 400 relay, but they picked up other points throughout the day in the 100 and 200 dashes, 300 hurdles, high jump and discus.
Powers, meanwhile, got a first in the 100 and third in the 200 from junior Austin Hamlin and placed in all four relays among a variety of scoring performances.
Powers had entered seeded first in the 400 relay and Frankenmuth third based on Regional times, but the Eagles crossed the finish line 41 hundredths of a second faster than the runner-up Chargers.
“We always know coming into meets we’ve got to up-seed – be better than what we’re seeded, be better than what we’ve been doing,” said Brenner, who in addition to his 1,600 relay leg contributed a sixth place in the 300 hurdles and seventh in high jump. “That was our mindset through this whole meet, knowing we had to perform at the best of our capabilities to do what we just did.”
Motivation was not in short supply anywhere this weekend, or throughout the season, after COVID-19 led to 2020 spring sports being canceled.
Fremont senior Nathan Walker capped his senior year Saturday by adding wins in the 1,600 (4:16.12) and 3,200 (9:34.30) to the cross country championship he earned in the fall. Edwardsburg junior Luke Stowasser also was a double champion in Division 2, claiming the long jump in 21-10 and high jump in 6-6 after also winning the former two years ago as a freshman.
Hudsonville junior Ryan Shinabery edged Monroe Jefferson junior Alex Mansfield by 15 inches to win the discus with a toss of 163-7, but Mansfield won the shot put by more than eight feet ahead of the field with a toss of 59-2½. Allendale junior Cam Battjes rounded out the field event champions with a pole vault of 14-4.
Romulus junior Troy Cranford won the 200 in 22.84, pacing a race where the top three finishers were separated by a tenth of a second – after he was third and Berrien Springs junior Jamal Hailey second to Hamlin in a 100 decided by less than two hundredths of a second between those three. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s senior Edward Watkins won the 400 in 49.1 seconds, and Marysville senior Evan Woodard won the 800 in 1:55.25. Allendale junior Patrick Adams won the 110 hurdles in 15.19 seconds, then finished second in the 300 as Vicksburg senior Levi Thomas edged him in 40.10.
Fruitport won the 800 relay in 1:29.64, while Yale won the 1,600 in 3:25.85 and Holland Christian won the 3,200 relay by less than a second, in 8:01.26.
PHOTOS: (Top) Frankenmuth’s Daniel Barger, middle, crosses first in a close 400 relay finish Saturday. (Middle) Fremont’s Nathan Walker finishes one of his two championship runs. (Below) Flint Powers Catholic’s Austin Hamlin, middle, edges Jamal Hailey of Berrien Springs (far left) and Romulus’ Troy Cranford in the 100. (Photos by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)