Performance: Salem's Mason Phillips
May 13, 2017
Mason Phillips
Salem senior – Track & Field
Over the last week, Phillips has emerged from a key contributor to Salem’s No. 3-ranked boys track & field team to become one of the most incredible stories of this spring season. A four-year football player for the Rocks, Phillips had run track as a freshman but not the last two years before coming back to the team this spring – and at the May 6 New Balance Invitational at Farmington unloaded a wind-aided long jump of 24 feet, 1 inch, vaulting him into MHSAA title discussion and earning him the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week” for May 1-7.
Phillips took up long jumping a mere three weeks ago – to help his team score some points when one of its long jumpers was out – but if he can replicate that 24-1 jump without the wind at next month’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals, he would tie the all-Finals record set in 2009. Phillips actually set the school record previously with a 22-10¾ leap at the April 29 Brighton Invitational. At Farmington, he also set a school record in the 200 meters at 22.07 seconds (and since broke it again going 22.06 at Friday’s Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship meet). He also runs on undefeated 400 and 800 relay teams.
A wide receiver in football, Phillips caught track coach Dale Maskill's attention pulling in athletic one-handed catches during warm-ups in the fall – and is a different athlete than the one who ran his only other season of track as a 4-foot-11 freshman. Phillips has since grown a foot, and his newfound talents are opening up opportunities as well. He received Division III college interest for football but was set on attending Bowling Green State University and possibly studying sports medicine. But he’s now getting interest from college track & field coaches – and should keep turning more heads as this season finishes up.
Coach Dale Maskill said: “He’s a very explosive athlete, very athletic. I feel he could compete in pretty much every event on the track. He works hard every day; he comes to practice and he’s the first one there, he works on whatever needs to get done, does his workout and makes sure he gets all his technical work in afterward. He’s dedicated to performing well, and he did that before he knew how good he could be – and his good performances have motivated him even more.
Performance Point: “I was actually really loose, really stretched up, and it was great weather, and I just jumped. I honestly had no idea (it was 24); I thought I’d jumped 22 or something like that. When they called it out (at 24), I was really, really surprised. I felt like I didn’t go as far. … I only started three weeks ago, and I’m already doing this. It’s just crazy.”
Great choice: “I’m just really happy I came out (for the team). The coaches were talking to me about it, and I felt like I should. It’s my last year so I had to. Honestly, freshman year I wasn’t really fast, and I thought (track) wasn’t for me until this year."
Natural jumper: “I know most of it, but my technique still needs help. I only started three weeks ago. Actually in middle school I did high jump. … After that (24-1) jump, it’s an obligation now; I have to stay in it, help the team out. It kinda feels unreal. I was always doing this for fun, and actually it’s gotten really serious now. It’s really just excitement, not much pressure.”
Bigger, faster, stronger: “Probably (from being) in the weight room, and with football, and I just got taller … and I’m eating a lot more. In between sophomore and junior year I started growing like crazy. My strides are a lot longer, making me faster, and I jump farther with my legs extended too.”
Teammates again: “Our track runners are really working hard, and they’re really athletic too. They also played football with me. (So I’m) a lot more comfortable, running with people I have a bond with.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
May 4: Lillian Albaugh, Farwell track & field – Read
April 27: Amber Gall, Shepherd track & field – Read
April 20: Sloane Teske, East Grand Rapids tennis – Read
March 30: Romeo Weems, New Haven basketball – Read
March 23: Jaycie Burger and Maddie Clark, Pittsford basketball – Read
March 16: Camden Murphy, Novi swimming & diving – Read
March 9: Ben Freeman, Walled Lake Central wrestling – Read
March 2: Joey Mangner, Chelsea swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 23: Isabelle Nguyen, Grosse Pointe North gymnastics – Read
Feb. 16: Dakota Hurbis, Saline swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 2: Foster Loyer, Clarkston basketball – Read
Jan. 26: Nick Jenkins, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling – Read
Jan. 19: Eileene Naniseni, Mancelona basketball – Read
Jan. 12: Rory Anderson, Calumet hockey – Read
Dec. 15: Demetri Martin, Big Rapids basketball – Read
Dec. 1: Rodney Hall, Detroit Cass Tech football – Read
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTO: (Top) Salem's Mason Phillips jumps a school-record 24-1 during the New Balance Invitational at Farmington. (Photo courtesy of the Salem boys track & field program.)
Whittemore-Prescott Gets Win That Counts Most
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
June 3, 2017
GRAND RAPIDS – Winning it all doesn’t necessarily mean winning them all when it comes to track & field.
In fact, the Whittemore-Prescott boys team didn’t win a single event at Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 4 championship meet at Grand Rapids’ Houseman Field.
The Cardinals still managed to rack up 36 points for the team title to hold off Manton (31), Harbor Springs (28) and two other schools that finished within 10 of the lead.
Seniors Ian Driscoll and Azaiyah Bell, sophomore Ridge Schutte and junior Bradley Lomason had one of the best finishes of the day for the Cardinals, clocking in at 3 minutes, 27.98 seconds in the 1,600-meter relay for second place. Junior Michael Eagan was also runner-up after he sailed 20 feet, 10½ inches in the long jump.
The top eight finishers in each event secure all-state status from the coaches association, and Whittemore-Prescott boasted five more all-state performances. Bell took fifth in the 100 (11.50), Driscoll, Schutte, Lomason and Bell were third in the 800 relay (1:32.92) and Lomason crossed the line in sixth in the 400 (51.52).
Senior Hunter Kensa added a seventh-place effort in the 800 with a time of 2:02.04, and junior Zane Aldrich was fourth in the 3,200 (10:04.19).
No records were broken at Houseman Field on a day with perfect weather. There were, however, a handful of double champions.
Harbor Springs sophomore Jeremy Kloss swept the 1,600 and the 3,200 with times of 4:25.73 and 9:46.25, respectively. He was fueled by a runner-up finish this past fall at the Cross Country Finals, but his game plan for both races seemed to have been scrapped immediately. Kloss reacted well to the chaos that often can accompany the pressure-packed championship meet.
“In the mile, I went out a little harder than I would normally because I didn’t want to get pulled in and surrounded by a pack,” Kloss said. “So I led the race the whole time.
“In the two mile I went out a little slow (4:57) and I was maybe in 10th place at the mile mark. I made up a lot of ground and caught the Saginaw Nouvel kid around the 300-meter mark. It was a completely different race, but it totally worked out in the end. I wanted to redeem myself during track, and it feels really nice. I was really happy.”
Livingston Christian senior Paxton Titus felt his heart rate increase when he had to make his third attempt in the discus count following two scratches. His final toss in the preliminaries went 169-10 to ensure a spot in the finals. He wouldn’t need the extra throws, though, as that mark was good enough to win a title.
He ran his hand through his mohawk, pumped his fists and let out some deep sighs of relief as he left the circle.
Titus was also the favorite in the shot put, and he delivered with a winning distance of 55-9½. Titus was the Finals champion in the discus last season as well and seventh in the shot put last June.
Sand Creek sophomore Alec Muck also doubled Saturday, securing victories in the 100 and 200. He cruised to a time of 10.98 seconds in the 100 and turned in a 22.14 in the 200. The times were personal records, and Muck edged Reading’s Ethan LoPresto, who also has two more years of competition ahead, setting up what should be some exciting matchups to come.
"It felt great to win this year," Muck said. "It was a goal I had this past year, and it's what I strived to do. It felt surreal to accomplish it. The weather was really nice today, and that helped me a lot, I think.
“Coming off last year winning the 200, I was nervous and felt like I had a lot to live up to. It was nice to be able to represent my county and bring home the wins in both races."
Marcellus junior Derek Flory also put his stamp on Saturday’s Finals with a pair of victories. He sprinted to the line in a time of 39.89 in the 300 hurdles and logged a distance of 20-11 to win the long jump.
PHOTOS: (Top) Whittemore-Prescott runners pass the baton during a relay Saturday at Houseman Field. (Middle) Muskegon Catholic Central and Fulton-Middleton anchors cross the finish line during the 400 relay. (Photos by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)