Preview: Past Champs Return to UP Boys Track & Field Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 4, 2021
Nearly two calendar years have passed the last Upper Peninsula Boys Track & Field Finals.
But three past individual champions will return Saturday with opportunities to add to career achievements first built up before COVID-19 led to the cancelation of last season.
Gladstone’s Blake Servant and Calvin Thibault and Gwinn’s David Duvall all have won at least one Finals title and will be among those to watch as all three divisions again will be competed at Kingsford High School.
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 three divisions.
Division 1
Top Regional scores: Marquette 71, Houghton 70, Gladstone 60.
Team forecast: Gladstone is the reigning champion after a 2019 run where it broke Marquette’s previous four-year hold on the Division 1 title. But Marquette may be the team to chase again with top seeds in two relays, four individual races and shot put. Houghton was runner-up in 2018 and 2016 and is seeking its first championship since 1992. The Gremlins got three individual championships and a leg of a relay winner from junior Eric Weiss at their Regional, and he could be important stacking up in the distance races. Gladstone’s star hurdlers also should factor into the team title mix.
Derek Douglas, Escanaba: The now-senior was fourth in the 800 and ran on three relays at the 2019 Final, and at this year’s Regional he won the 800 (2:01.73) by more than a second and was second in the 400.
Brady Schultz, Menominee: The Maroons junior high-jumped 6-foot-6 at his Regional to win by two inches, and a repeat of that jump would set the UPD1 Finals record by an inch.
Blake Servant, Gladstone: The discus champion as a sophomore in 2019, he may be in line for much more after outpacing two-time reigning Finals champ and teammate Calvin Thibault (see below) in the 110 (15.98) and 300 hurdles (41.9) at the Regional in addition to winning discus (136-9) and long jump (20-8).
Calvin Thibault, Gladstone: Now a senior, Thibault won the 110 and 300 hurdles Finals championships as both a freshman and sophomore, and in addition to Regional runner-up finishes in those races two weeks ago also took third in the 200 and fourth in the 100.
Carson & Colin Vanderschaaf, Marquette: After finishing third and fifth, respectively, in UPD1 cross country in the fall, Marquette’s sophomore distance standouts could be climbing the podium. Carson has the fastest seed times in the 3,200 (10:14.24) and as part of the 3,200 relay (8:45.36). Colin also runs on that 3,200 relay and is seeded first in the 1,600 (4:38.98).
Division 2
Top Regional scores: Iron Mountain 63, Norway 53½, Ishpeming 39.
Team forecast: Ishpeming won back-to-back team championships in 2018 and 2019 and has earned five over the last six seasons, but that streak could be coming to an end as Iron Mountain seeks its first title since 2000 and Norway its first since 2005. Norway could be in line for some big points with the top seeds in two field events, two relays and two individual races. Iron Mountain, however, has an advantage on depth with all four relays and 17 individual entries competing. Ishpeming is right behind with all four relays and 14 individual entries.
Silas Broberg, Ishpeming: The Division 2 cross country champion in the fall will attempt to cap his high school career with another title or more, entering as the top seed in the 3,200 (11:23.9) by 18 seconds while also running the 800, 1,600 and on the 3,200 relay.
Adam Cavagnetto, Norway: The junior distance standout enters the weekend as the top-seeded contender in both the 800 (2:10.85) and 1,600 (4:46.47).
David Duvall, Gwinn: He was one of the most impressive performers as a sophomore in 2019, winning the 110 hurdles and finishing runner-up in the 300 and long jump. He’ll be a contender in those three events and as part of the 400 relay, with his 18.16 seed time in the 110 pacing the field.
Christian Koiveniemi, St. Ignace: After running two Finals relays as a freshman in 2019, he’s back as a junior with the top seeds in the 100 (12.08) and 200 (24.77) and also the high jump (5-6).
Landon Sudelius, West Iron County: He took sixth in both hurdles races two years ago as a freshman, but enters this weekend seeded first in the 300 (45.36) and second in the 110.
Division 3
Top Regional scores: Pickford 73, Stephenson 65, Rapid River 64.
Team forecast: Rapid River has had the most recent success of the teams listed above, with two titles and two runner-up finishes between 2015-18 and a fourth place in 2019. Dominant field events would be the Rockets’ ticket this time, while Pickford has some likely high scorers throughout the lineup. Stephenson could be in line for its first team title since 2007 with 23 individual entries and all four relays running including two that are top-seeded. Powers North Central finished only three points behind Stephenson at their Regional and also has some interesting high-scoring possibilities.
Cameron Hoornstra, Brimley: After running the 800 and 1,600 two years ago as a sophomore, Hoornstra has found his stride in the sprints and enters this weekend with the top seed in the 100 (12.0) and fourth in the 200, and he’ll also run the 400 and is fourth-seeded in the long jump.
Kolson Kytta, Chassell: The Division 3 cross country runner-up in the fall could end his Chassell career as a champion entering this weekend with the top seeds in the 1,600 (4:39.17) and 3,200 (10:36.52).
Conner LeClaire, Dollar Bay: He got on the board with a fifth-place finish in the 300 hurdles in 2019 and returns as a senior with the top seed time in that race (43.85) and third-fastest in the 110.
Ben & Max Lenaker, Rapid River: The senior twins both are top seeds in field events, with Ben’s 20-9 pacing long jump and Max’s 6-0 tops in high jump. Ben also is top-seeded in the 400 (52.80) by more than a second.
PHOTOS: (Top) Gladstone's Blake Servant earns one of his four championships during the Mid-Peninsula Conference meet May 24 in Negaunee. (Middle) Houghton's Eric Weiss wins the 3,200 at the Mid-Peninsula finals with Ishpeming's Silas Broberg taking second. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)
Coldwater Boys Trade Up for 1st Track Title
June 2, 2018
By Dan D’Addona & Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
ZEELAND — Led by a trio of dominant throwers, the Coldwater boys track & field team had high hopes of winning the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals on Saturday.
The team finished runner-up to Zeeland East last year and returned most of its point scorers.
Coldwater turned the tables and surged to the championship this time with 60 points at Zeeland Stadium.
“It means a lot. We got second last year, and we were really happy with that,” Coldwater’s Dylan Targgart said. “But we have never done this in school history. It feels really good.”
Zeeland East was second with 53 points, followed by Harper Woods Chandler Park (37), Tecumseh (33), Chelsea (26), Saginaw (25), Flint Powers Catholic (21), Wyoming Lee (20), Essexville Garber (18) and Romulus (18).
Coldwater powered through the shot put, taking the top three places behind Dylan Targgart (61-2), Zach Gipple (54-0¼) and Cole Targgart (52-6¾).
“The energy is always there when we are in the ring, and that helps us a lot,” Dylan Targgart said. “It’s fun. After each person hits their throw, we build off of each other and off of the energy that the crowd is giving us.”
Zeeland East’s Boone Bonnema was fifth (52-1) in the shot put.
Dylan Targgart won the discus with a throw of 170 feet, 10 inches, holding off East’s Brenden Knoll (170-1).
Coldwater’s Shuaib Aljabaly added a win in the 1,600 in 4:16.56.
“Nobody remembers who finishes second,” Aljabaly said of 2017. “Finishing second last year was a big part of what we did today.”
Aljabaly placed second in the 3,200-meter run last season and said he needed to do more this season to help his team score points. He ran the 1,600 just a few times as a junior and made a concerted effort in this event to compete with the best.
“This year the mile was my best event,” he said. “I felt, in the shorter the race, the more guts you have to have. I wanted more of a challenge this year.”
Aljabaly placed third in the 3,200 and then, oddly, ran in the next and final race, the 1,600 relay and helped Coldwater finish seventh for two more points.
“It was great seeing everyone perform,” Targgart said.
Zeeland East’s Gabe Taylor, Alex Stockdale, Bryce Metzger and Corbin DeJonge won the 800-meter relay (1:29.67). The quartet also won the 400 (43.06).
DeJonge won the 300-meter hurdles in 38.14 for the Chix.
“My Regional time wasn’t very good, and I knew I had to do something different to try to win this, so I tried to bring it out way faster than I normally do, then try to have the crowd drag me through at the end,” DeJonge said. “It is tough because (the state title) as a team is what we were working toward.”
One of the more impressive athletes on this day was Thomas Robinson of Wyoming Lee. This was Lee’s first season competing at the Division 2 meet. Robinson won the 100 and 200 both of the last two seasons in Division 3, improving his times in both each time.
Robinson made it a double three-peat Saturday as he set personal bests in the 100 (10.85) and in the semifinals of the 200 (21.6). His winning time in the 200 was 21.62.
Robinson didn’t compete in track until his sophomore year, the same year he tried out for football. A 6-foot-1, 180-pound receiver, Robinson said he’s more of a fan in that sport than he is in track. Be that as it may, Robinson signed to run track at Michigan State.
“My football coach at the time told me I should go out for track,” he said. “He said it would make me better in football. I don’t like track as much as football. I’m just better at track.
“I felt good running the 200. I am getting better. Just look at my times.”
Like Robinson, Anthony Hudson of Harper Woods Chandler Park competed in football and track. And, like Robinson, Hudson began his high school career rather late. Hudson competed in track in middle school but decided not to compete as a freshman. He ran a couple of races as a sophomore before making a commitment his junior year. Last season he placed sixth in the long jump and was second in the 200. This season he won the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.68. He also placed fourth in the 200.
He held off Zeeland East’s DeJonge (14.69) by a hundredth of a second in the 110 in one of the closest races of the day.
“I didn’t think I’d be that good my freshman year,” he said. “That’s why I didn’t come out.”
Hudson signed to play football at Davenport University and said he might try both sports if he can handle the load. He plans on majoring in sports management in college.
Chances are not many in the crowd expected Jacob Denison of Tecumseh to do well in the 400 run. That’s all right. Denison followed his own expectations.
The junior won the 400 with a time of 49.27, a personal best. Last season he competed in one event, the 1,600 relay. Denison also ran on the 400 and 800 relays this season.
“I’ve been working hard all season for this,” he said. “It’s not much of a surprise to me. It was just a lot of hard work. I knew I had to take it out fast today. I had a good coach who got me out of the block faster, and I had a lot of support from my family. I’m blessed.”
Injuries held Alex Comerford back last season as the junior from Otsego placed 11th in the 3,200. Healed by the time fall rolled around, Comerford placed second at the Cross Country Finals and won the 3,200 on Saturday with a time of 9:07.25.
“It’s something I’ve been working on,” he said. “I haven’t been finishing well, and it was really my cross country season that started things. I got stronger. I grew up.”
In the 3,200-meter relay, Chelsea’s Connor Gilbreath, Jensen Holm, Carson Rabbitt and Tom Oates won in 7:56.48, holding off Zeeland West’s Carson Holwerda, Bryce Arredondo, Lunke Munsey and Matthew Converse (7:59.93).
Parma Western’s Alex Inosencio won the pole vault in 15-8, besting the field by an entire foot. Lake Fenton’s Jaden Zaitshik won the high jump in 6-7, and Saginaw’s Tony Martin won the long jump in 22-7.
Essexville Garber’s Josiah Morse won the 800 (1:55.63), and Lansing Catholic’s Ryan Schroeder, James Fedewa, Jack Fedewa and Ryan Ruiter won the 1,600 relay (3:23.27).
VIDEO: Coldwater's Shuab Aljabaly wins the 1,600.
VIDEO: Oak Park's Donnie James sets a meet record in the 200.
PHOTOS: (Top) Coldwater's Zach Gipple begins to unwind on a discus toss Saturday. (Middle) Chandler Park's Anthony Hudson, middle, stays just ahead of Zeeland East's Corbin DeJonge, left, in the 110 hurdles, which proved to be the closest race of the meet. (Photos by Janina Pollatz. Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)