St. Joseph Boys Make Every Point Count in Clinching 1st Finals Since 1997
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 3, 2023
ROCKFORD – Entering the final event of Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final, the 1,600 relay, St. Joseph was in first place – but by the slimmest of margins.
St. Joseph had 35.75 points, while Rockford had 35, Clinton Township Chippewa Valley had 32, and Ann Arbor Huron had 30.
Bears head coach Todd Rose knew his team was in the second heat before faster teams after, but his for sure needed to be faster than Rockford.
“I don’t teach them to worry about who they are running against,” Rose said. “Just run within themselves and run how we teach them.”
St. Joseph did that behind the team of Shay White, Will Fiesbeck, Eli Toney and Alex Moyer, finishing fourth in the event with a time of 3:21.50 to earn a meet-best 40.75 points – clinching the program’s first Finals team championship since 1997.
Chippewa Valley was runner-up with 38 points, while Rockford was third at 36 points.
St. Joseph senior Gerald Capaccio scored 18 precious points for his team, most notably winning the discus with a winning throw of 167-2. Capaccio said he was in second going into his last throw.
“I just had the mindset that everyone can have a big throw, and it just has to be me that gets the big throw,” Capaccio said. “It happened on my final throw.”
Capaccio also was second in the shot put with a throw of 56-11¼.
In addition to Capaccio earning big points in the shot put and discus, Rose gave credit to high jumper Joshua Scott for finishing in a tie for seventh in that event. That gave the Bears two points, and they proved to be especially important as the team won by less than one.
It’s rare when a runner does something that hasn’t been achieved since before automobiles were invented, but Ann Arbor Huron senior Braxton Brann had that distinction.
Brann won the 110 hurdles and the 200 dash, becoming the first athlete to win those two events at the same state meet since 1895 – three decades before the MHSAA was formed.
“It’s great to be in that kind of conversation,” said Brann, who will run in college at Ohio State.
First, Brann won the 110 hurdles in a time of 13.77. He said that was the event he was most concerned about.
“I haven’t really been consistent, so I just wanted to be that,” Brann said.
Feeling much more comfortable and at home in the 200 dash, Brann ran a winning time of 21.12.
“Everybody comes in looking at the stats of everybody else,” he said. “I saw I was in the best position to win. But I knew I had to run by butt off against this great field and come out with a win.”
Just about everyone in the stadium did a double-take when Northville’s 3,200 relay time was posted. The team of Brandon Latta, Brock Malaikal, David Whitaker and Brendan Herger set a new all-Finals record with a blistering time of 7:35.32, which was the best time in the nation this year.
Herger said when he got the baton on the anchor leg, he knew his teammates set him up incredibly well. But even he and Northville couldn’t have foreseen this.
“I had to run 1.54 to get it, and then I ended up running a bit faster than that,” Herger said. “I was so happy. I love my boys so much. It was great to share the moment together.
Herger also ended up finishing second in the 800 meters with a time of 1:52.19 behind Utica’s Trent McFarland.
Detroit U-D Jesuit senior Jaiden Reed won the 100 (10.74), and Clinton Township Chippewa Valley junior Shamar Heard won the 400 (47.78). Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills senior Benne Anderson won the 1,600 (4:05.44), and Grand Haven junior Seth Norder won the 3,200 (9:04.68). Kalamazoo Central senior Kayenn Mabin won the 300 hurdles (38.31). Rockford in the 400 (42.01), Chippewa Valley in the 800 (1:26.41) and Oak Park in the 1,600 (3:18.90) also won relay titles.
Battle Creek Lakeview senior Andrew Berryhill was champion in the shot put (58-¼), and Saline senior Dolan Gonzales won pole vault (16-0). Ann Arbor Huron junior Andrew Harding won the high jump (6-7), and Canton sophomore Quincy Isaac won the long jump (22-11). New Baltimore Anchor Bay sophomore Luke Bowman competed in the adaptive 100 (19.65), 200 (35.66) and 400 (1:14.39).
PHOTOS (Top) St. Joseph celebrates its LPD1 championship Saturday. (Middle) Ann Arbor Huron's Braxton Brann finishes one of his two race wins. (Below) Northville makes the final exchange of its record-setting 3,200 relay. (Photos by Jamie McNinch [top two photos] and Carter Sherline/RunMichigan.com.)
Houghton Teams Sweep at Invitational to Honor Longtime Coach, Teacher
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2024
HOUGHTON — Dan Juntilla more than likely would have enjoyed a day like this past Tuesday at Houghton High School.
Although the former Houghton boys track & field coach couldn’t be there in person, he was probably enjoying the sunny and seasonably cool afternoon in spirit during the third annual memorial invitational held in his honor.
“He was a special guy,” current Houghton boys head coach Erik Johnson said. “I had the privilege to coach with Dan, and this is something which would have been special to him. He was always there for everybody.”
The Gremlins dominated this year’s version of the Dan Juntila Memorial Invite with 250 points. They were followed by Negaunee with 86 and Dollar Bay with 74.
“Dan was such a nice guy,” Dollar Bay coach Ben Tampas said. “He wanted to see everybody do well. Even if his team won, Dan was quick to point out how well everybody did. During the coaches’ meetings, he always had a quick joke to lighten everything up. He wanted to keep everything from getting too serious. He was always willing to answer your questions. He never turned his back on anyone. He was always willing to help. He would have loved this, too.”
The Houghton girls also won with 118½ points. Calumet was runner-up at 104 and Negaunee, which brought a partial team, placed third with 86.
Juntilla, who died unexpectedly on Jan. 9, 2022, graduated in 1970 from Wakefield High School where he was class president and lettered in football, basketball, tennis and track.
He lettered in football at Michigan Tech and earned a master’s degree in social work, counseling and secondary education at Northern Michigan University.
Juntilla coached track and football for decades at Houghton, where he taught English and local history.
“Dan was my coach when I was a freshman,” Gremlins’ senior Brody Mattila said. “He had a lot of influence on our program. This is a real special day.”
Mattila, who will be attending the University of Michigan on an academic scholarship this fall, won the 110-meter hurdles in a school-record 15.26 seconds, long jump at 19 feet, 8½ inches, and anchored the winning 400 relay (45.74) in his final home meet.
“I was excited when I found out I got the record,” he said. “I’ve been shooting for this all year. We had perfect conditions, and my warm-ups went great. I’m looking forward to the U.P. (Division 1) Finals (Saturday at Kingsford).”
Mattila’s hurdles record was one of at least five set Tuesday.
“This was another good day for us,” Johnson said. “Our 3,200 relay has been strong all year, and Brody setting the record in the 110s helped set the tone. We’ve struggled in shot put and discus for many years, but this year we’ve been doing quite well. The field events have been coming through for us. Everybody was stepping up.”
Chassell junior Kalvin Kytta took the boys 3,200 in a school-record 10:08.69, and West Iron County senior Danica Shamion collected four victories, setting school records in three of her races.
“It has always been my goal to go under 10 minutes in the 3,200,” Kytta said. “This takes some of the pressure off for Saturday. Now I can just go after a sub-10.”
Shamion set records in the 200 (25.79), 400 (56.74) and high jump (5-5) and captured the 100 (12.75).
“Running in the 56s in the 400 was my goal since last year’s U.P. Finals,” she said. “This feels amazing. I had a Hancock girl (senior Brielle Kero) right beside me, and it was close all the way. She really pushed me. Getting the 200 record is also something I wanted to do for some time, and I’ve been working on high jump a lot. This takes a lot of the pressure off, but I still have one more high school meet left and I’m going to give it my all. I’m not done. I’m not stopping now.”
Kero was runner-up in the 200 (26.73) and 400 (58.92).
Juntilla also served as a Little League coach, hockey manager and a mentor to many and was recognized by the MHSAA for 40 years as a registered game official as he refereed basketball at the high school, middle school and elementary school levels.
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTO Houghton's Brody Mattila crosses the finish line during a downpour in the 400 relay at the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference championship meet May 22 in Ishpeming. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)