Moment: Look Back at Boys Track's Yesteryear
April 24, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Today's look back at MHSAA Finals past provides a pair of opportunities to take a trip back in time to a recognizable place as it hosted some of the legendary champions in state boys track & field history.
This collection of clips from the 1965 and 1968 Lower Peninsula Class A Finals at Michigan State University were donated to the MHSAA archives by Roseville High School and includes a variety of races and pole vault from those meets.
The 1965 championship was won by Kalamazoo Central, while Battle Creek Central repeated in claiming the 1968 title. Also notable: That 1968 meet saw Flint Central finish team runner-up for the sixth-straight season.
Flint Central's Len Hatchett was among stars of the 1965 meet as he won both the 120 and 180-yard hurdles. Battle Creek Central's Arnie Williams was a repeat winner in the 100.
The 1968 Finals saw a pair of two-time winners – Flint Central's Herb Washington in the 100 and 220 and Pontiac Central's Robert Johnson in the two hurdles races. Washington had won both sprints in 1967 as well. He went on to earn All-America honors four times at Michigan State while tying or breaking world records multiple times. He also played briefly for MLB's Oakland A'S and was drafted by the NFL's Baltimore Colts.
Performance of the Week: Ann Arbor Huron's Braxton Brann
May 5, 2023
Braxton Brann ♦ Ann Arbor Huron
Senior ♦ Track & Field
Brann led Huron to the team win at the prestigious 9th Courageous Invitational on Saturday at Wayne State with first places in the 100 and 200-meter dashes and the 110-meter hurdles, and as part of the runner-up 1,600 relay. His time in the 110 hurdles (14.07) is the fastest in Michigan in that event this season, and he also has the state’s fastest times this spring in the 100 dash (10.47) and 300 hurdles (38.74) and is tied for the fastest in the 200 (21.63).
After finishing second in the 200 and fourth in the 100 at last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals, Brann is undefeated in his four individual events this spring. Saturday was the first time he’d run on the 1,600 relay this season, and he was joined in part by his sophomore brother Ashton – who also runs sprints and hurdles. Braxton is signed to continue his academic and track careers at Ohio State, where he will major in business.
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2022-23 Honorees
April 27: Owen Patton, Vestaburg track & field - Report
April 20: Lilly Damm, Millington softball - Report
April 13: Larissa Huffman, Mackinaw City track & field - Report
April 6: Darius Acuff, Detroit Cass Tech basketball - Report
March 23: Regan Finkbeiner, Hemlock basketball - Report
March 16: Alaina Yaney, Grand Ledge gymnastics - Report
March 9: Braeden Davis, Dundee wrestling - Report
March 2: Gabriel Sanchez-Burks, Ann Arbor Pioneer swimming - Report
Feb. 23: Grace Sobczak, Marquette swimming - Report
Feb. 16: Kaitlynn Demers, Gibraltar Carlson competitive cheer - Report
Feb. 9: Indya Davis, West Bloomfield basketball - Report
Feb. 2: Braydon Sorenson, Onekama skiing - Report
Jan. 26: Shayna Hruska, Iron Mountain wrestling - Report
Jan. 19: Kayla Tafanelli, Warren Woods-Tower bowling - Report
Dec. 20: Brenden Paden, Riverview Gabriel Richard hockey - Report
Dec. 16: Tuff Scott, Holton bowling - Report
Dec. 9: Macey Fegan, Standish-Sterling basketball - Report
Dec. 2: Treyton Siegert, Gladwin football - Report
Nov. 24: Lily Witte, Dexter diving - Report
Nov. 17: Navea Gauthier, Shelby volleyball - Report
Nov. 10: Derek Huisman, Holland Christian soccer - Report
Nov. 3: Thomas Westphal, New Baltimore Anchor Bay cross country - Report
Oct. 27: Justin Wickey, Colon football - Report
Oct. 20: Owen DeMuth, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood tennis - Report
Oct. 13: Mia Melendez, Ann Arbor Greenhills golf - Report
Oct. 6: Shawn Foster, Grand Ledge football - Report
Sept. 30: Hannah Smith, Temperance Bedford swimming - Report
Sept. 22: Helen Sachs, Holland West Ottawa cross country - Report
Sept. 15: Nina Horning, Lake Orion volleyball - Report
Sept 8: Arturo Romero, Muskegon Oakridge soccer - Report
Sept. 1: Austin King, Midland Dow tennis - Report
Aug. 25: Olivia Hemmila, Troy Athens golf - Report
PHOTO Ann Arbor Huron's Braxton Brann runs the 110 hurdles at Ypsilanti Lincoln. (Photo by Draugalis Photography.)