Preview: 4 Team Championships, Many More Contenders at LP Boys Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 3, 2022
There are a number of knowns entering Saturday’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Boys Track & Field Finals, as a number of stars are returning and looking to add to their past achievements.
What’s more difficult to forecast than usual is how the team competitions will finish. All four divisions appear to have multiple serious contenders, and many more possible outcomes.
Events begin at 10 a.m. (EDT) and tickets to attend can be purchased online only at GoFan. The meets also will be broadcast on MHSAA.tv and viewable with subscription.
Below is a glance at team contenders and individuals to watch in all four divisions.
Division 1 at Rockford
Team forecast: Last season saw the top 10 teams packed in within 14 points of each other and co-champs Fenton and Rockford – and Saturday could produce something similar. Detroit U-D Jesuit is seeking its first team title since 1993 and has qualifiers in a variety of events but major strengths in sprints and relays. East Kentwood saw its three-season title streak end with a 13th-place finish last spring, but again has intriguing relay, sprint and hurdle possibilities. Rockford may again be in the hunt as well.
Braxton Brann, Ann Arbor Huron junior: He qualified in the 200 and 300 hurdles last season, and could leave a lasting impact this weekend entering as the top seed in the 100 (10.44) and 200 (21.26) and running on the 400 relay.
Riley Hough, Hartland senior: The latest Michigan distance runner to earn national acclaim, Hough will attempt to follow up his 3,200 title from last year and back-to-back LPD1 cross country championships while seeded first in both the 1,600 (4:13.17) and 3,200 (9:08.71).
Armon Howard, Rochester Adams senior: He's seeded sixth in the 100 hurdles and seventh in the 300, but he has the top 300 time in the state this spring (37.30) and third-best in the 110 (14.37). He also will run on two relays.
Brayden Kennedy, Milford sophomore: He’s joined the state’s elite hurdlers in his second season, entering this weekend seeded first in the 300 (37.43) and second in the 110 (14.62).
Tamaal Myers II, Detroit Cass Tech senior: Last season’s champion in both hurdles races is seeded third in the 300 (37.87) and will run on the top-seeded 1,600 relay.
Jaiden Reed, Detroit U-D Jesuit junior: He also should move up substantially after finishing ninth in the 100 in 2021. Reed is the second seed in both the 100 (10.45) and 200 (21.44) and will run on the second-seeded 400 and top-seeded 800 relays.
Kellen Reed, Holt senior: After qualifying in the 100 last season, he’ll have a much busier Saturday competing in four events. He’s seeded fourth in long jump (22-9) but with the state’s best leap this season of 23-4¾. He’s also seeded sixth in the 100, seventh in the 200 and could run on the top-seeded 400 relay.
Cole Sheldon, Dexter senior: The reigning pole vault champion has the top seed by eight inches at 16 feet and the state’s highest vault of the season at 16-1. He’ll also run on the 800 relay.
Division 2 at Ada Forest Hills Eastern
Team forecast: Reigning champion Frankenmuth could be lined up well with all four relays qualifying including the top-seeded 800 group, plus strengths in the sprints, hurdles and throws. Detroit Martin Luther King will be in the mix too with strong sprints and relays, and a contender in long jump. Flint Powers Catholic should make a push after finishing runner-up by only 3¾ points last season.
Patrick Adams, Allendale senior: The reigning champion in the 110 hurdles is seeded first in both hurdles races – at 15.09 in the 110 and 39.97 in the 300 – and he’ll also run on the 800 relay.
Camryn Battjes, Allendale senior: He won pole vault last season and is back in the mix with a top vault this spring of 14-6½ – although the field might be chasing Charlotte senior Landon Cosby after he went 15-7 at his Regional.
Troy Cranford, Romulus senior: The reigning 200 champion will run the 100, 200 and is seeded fourth in the 400 (50.36).
Austin Hamlin, Flint Powers Catholic senior: The reigning 100 champ is back in that race, seeded third in the 200 (22.49) and running on two top-three seeded relays.
Alex Mansfield, Monroe Jefferson senior: After finishing first in shot put and second in discus last season, he’ll again take a run at both titles seeded first in shot (59-9) and seventh in discus.
Luke Stowasser, Edwardsburg senior: The reigning champion in both jumps is tied for the top high jump in Michigan this season at 6-9 and had the best Regional long jump in LPD2 at 22-1.
Garrett Winter, Parchment senior: He finished fourth in the 3,200 and 10th in the 1,600 in Division 3 a year ago, but has major last-meet opportunities seeded first Saturday in both the 1,600 (4:20.83) and 3,200 (9:32.94).
Division 3 at Kent City
Team forecast: Division 3 has seen 11 champions over the last 12 Finals. The only team that won twice during that time, Sanford Meridian, should contend Saturday. Pewamo-Westphalia is a possibility with strong relays, hurdles and field events. Saugatuck and Benzie Central could follow multi-event individual stars into the mix as well.
Carson Brunk, Potterville senior: He finished fifth in the 800 last season and should cap his high school career in a big way, seeded second in both the 800 (1:57.20) and 1,600 (4:23.20).
Benny Diaz, Saugatuck senior: After sweeping the hurdles races in Division 4 last season, Diaz is seeded first this weekend by nearly a second in the 110 (14.31) and almost a half-second in the 300 (39.75). He’s also seeded sixth in the 100 and fifth in the 200.
Hunter Jones, Benzie Central junior: The reigning 1,600 champ and three-time LPD3 cross country winner is seeded first in the 800 (1:54.42), 1,600 (4:19.51) and 3,200 (9:25.26).
Dane Plichta, Sanford Meridian senior: He finished third in the 200 last season and enters Saturday as the top seed in the 200 (22.36), tied for the top seed in the 100 (11.09) and running on two relays including the second-seeded 800.
Corey Schafer, Pewamo-Westphalia senior: The Pirates could receive their most points from Schafer, who was seventh in the 300 hurdles in 2021. He’s seeded second to Diaz in the 110 (15.26) and 300 (40.15) hurdles this time and will run on two relays.
Division 4 at Hudsonville Baldwin Middle School
Team forecast: Carson City-Crystal ended Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep’s two-season championship run last spring, and 2021 runner-up Saugatuck moving to Division 3 opens up even more possibilities. Hackett should return to contention and Carson City-Crystal will be back among the best as well. Reading, Flint Beecher, Concord and Hillsdale Academy all look to have enough points opportunities to push up the standings.
Tyler Bays, Reading junior: He finished 12th in the 1,600 last season, perhaps previewing this spring as he enters as the top seed in the 800 (1:59.64) and 1,600 (4:31.91) and could run on two of three relays including two second seeds.
Zane Forist, Carson City-Crystal senior: He set LPD4 Finals records in both the shot put and discus last season and has the state’s top throws by significant amounts this spring. He best shot put of 67-4 would threaten the all-Finals record.
Liam Mann, Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep junior: He qualified in the 100 and as part of a relay last season, but could lead Hackett back into the team title mix this time seeded first in the 200 (23.01), second in the 100 (11.06) and running with the top-seeded 800 relay and fourth-seeded 400 group.
Jok Nhial, Wyoming Potter’s House Christian senior: He won the long jump last season and is tied for the fourth seed this time at 20-10. His 21-9½ at last season’s Final would be the top seed.
Jaylin Townsend, Flint Beecher junior: He also had a headlining 2021 Finals with championships in the 100 and 200 and as part of the 800 relay. He enters Saturday top-seeded in the 100 (10.83) and running on the top-seeded 400 relay and fourth-seeded 800 relay.
PHOTOS (Top) Carson City-Crystal's Zane Forist unloads a shot put toss during a league competition May 11. (Middle) Pewamo-Westphalia's Corey Schafer leaps a hurdle during the Alma Invitational on May 13. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Track Gaining Speed Toward Future with Electronic Starting Devices
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
May 23, 2023
Aubrey Greenfield thinks it might be the perfect time to reevaluate 130 years of tradition.
For a number of reasons, from technical to personal, the Oxford senior sprinter believes it makes sense for the crack of a starting pistol to be eliminated from high school track meets.
Because track meets would benefit in various ways from lowering costs to easier setup at meets to the human factor of competitors not having to flinch at the crack of a pistol shot, Greenfield believes the sport has a chance to embrace new technology – electronic starting devices (ESD).
In essence, an ESD replaces the starting pistol with a light flash, tone sound or both to begin a race.
"High school sports should put the athlete first," Greenfield said. "We should promote sports, and eliminating starting pistols promotes health in terms of PTSD or trauma for athletes and spectators and that would be good. I would like to think people would say that's a good idea."
In fact, Greenfield would go as far as to say if there was not an implementation of electronic starting devices, many of her teammates would have considered giving up the sport.
"If it's something that helps us compete safely, we're all for it," she said.
Greenfield's opinion apparently is spreading. Michigan High School Athletic Association senior assistant director Cody Inglis said the use of ESD makes it both affordable for meet starters and sensible for athletes and fans to rethink the use of starting pistols. While the MHSAA is not mandating electronic starting devices, it does promote the use of what Inglis calls "emerging technology." He notes that ESD are becoming the norm for organizations such as USA Track & Field, the NCAA and an increasing number of high schools.
"I think we have to embrace new technology, and we think this will be something that takes hold," Inglis said.
A key part of embracing ESD is the human element. The tragic Oxford High School shooting Nov. 30, 2021, that took the lives of four students while injuring seven others should not be relived even for a fleeting instance at a high school sporting event. Oxford athletic director Tony DeMare said the school began using ESD at every meet, including the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals last June. He said that decision was embraced by virtually all schools Oxford encountered.
"We were very convinced that the alternative (of ESD) would promote a healthy attitude," DeMare said. "We were overwhelmed with the positive response. If a school was on the fence about it or might not be for it, I think we've started to see the tide turn in favor of people willing to listen and learn about electronic starting devices."
Inglis said the MHSAA is acutely aware of what the crack of a starting pistol can mean to athletes and fans.
"It's unimaginable what Oxford went through, and this is a small way we can help," he said. "We look at a (starting pistol) and think, ‘Could we do something else?’ It's a way of helping to solve a problem."
Over the last several years, the MHSAA has embraced finding an alternative to starting pistols. Inglis noted the discussion started with the cost and diminishing availability of 32-caliber ammunition that meet starters use. A box of ammunition, if it can be found, is around $75 a box.
In addition to cost, there is potential damage from excessive exposure to 150-plus decibels of sound generated by the traditional 32-caliber blanks. Medical studies show damage to ears caused by decibel levels above 120 dB.
The tragedy at Oxford accelerated the conversation.
Inglis said the cost of ESD can be likened to a school sinking money into artificial surfaces at football fields. Yes, there is a great cost at first, but over time money is ultimately saved. An ESD system itself ranges between $200 and $500. Speakers also may need to be purchased, but with ESD starting events like the 800 and 1,600-meter relays positioned near the outside lanes 8, 7, 6 and 5 would result in improved hearing by athletes at the start of a race.
There is one challenge with ESD that track administrators are working to overcome – lighting conditions that lessen the ability to see the ESD’s LED light or strobe when the button is pressed by a starter to begin a race. But that vision difficulty resulting from clear blue skies and backgrounds of setting suns can be substantially improved by incorporating a black background with an ESD – something as simple as a starter holding up black cardboard behind the lighting mechanism at the start of an event.
Inglis said when all factors are considered, the use of ESD makes sense.
"With the climate we live in nowadays, no lookalike guns is good," he said. "We're not mandating this. But people are saying this is affordable."
While switching to ESD would break 130 years of tradition, the timing could be a step forward, said Jeff Hollobaugh, co-author of the book "The Fleet Feet of Spring: Michigan's High School State Championships in Track & Field." He said while no definitive answer is possible, it's likely starting pistols were used at the inaugural state meet at the Jackson Fairgounds in 1895. The meet, which included events like tossing a 16-pound shot put, bike races and a 100-meter sprint, was sponsored by the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Association (a predecessor to the MHSAA) and comprised mostly of the state's larger schools.
Hollobaugh's sentiments echo what many involved in today's high school track & field believe in terms of making a transition from starting pistols to electronic starting devices.
"It's a change, not necessarily good or bad, just different," he said. "It's not a drastic change, but it will take some getting used to. But it is the future. In the end, we'll all be fine."
DeMare believes the future of high school track will definitely include ESD.
"Our desire is that the practicality and sensibility of this will overcome the alternative," he said. "I think we'll see the automation and electronics taking hold of certain elements in track, and people will embrace it."
PHOTOS (Top) Runners watch official Bertha Smiley as they prepare to begin a race during last season's Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals at Rockford. (Middle) An electronic starting device provided by VS Athletics was used to start those races. (Below) Smiley sets to begin an event. (Photos provided by David Kuderka/VS Athletics.)