Vicksburg's Wright, Corunna Right On in Claiming LPD2 Championships
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
June 3, 2023
ADA – If Michael Wright was a baseball player, he probably would've been called out on strikes a year ago.
Instead, the Vicksburg senior can celebrate after winning the 200 at Saturday's Lower Peninsula Division 2 Track & Field Finals at Forest Hills Eastern.
The road to the championship in the 200, via a time of 21.72, was anything but a straight line for Wright. An aspiring baseball player, he was cut from the Vicksburg squad as a freshman. His football career, by Wright's own admission, was "on and off." And then a year ago in his first track meet, Wright suffered a leg injury that virtually ended his season. He did return to finish fifth in the 200 at Finals while helping the 400 relay team to a 16th place.
So there is nothing to realistically explain how Wright found himself in the position Saturday at sweltering Forest Hills Eastern to win a championship. Except for returning this season to break the school record in the 200 four times in two months. Well, that and willpower and simple desire.
"I knew I could finish high, maybe in the top five. But this is better," said Wright, who credits drinking large quantities of milk for his resurgence. "I looked to football because I didn't think I could bounce back for track. But I overcame the bumps, the obstacles."
While Wright was jump-starting his track career, Corunna won the team title with 41 points. Mason and Forest Hills Eastern tied for second with 35. Whitehall was fourth with 33 points, and Frankenmuth fifth with 29 points.
Corunna coach Jeff Sawyer, who had never won a Finals title in 37 years coaching at Owosso and three more at Corunna, said the championship came after little fanfare during the season. Virtually right up until the time Corunna hauled off its first-place trophy, Sawyer said it was never really on his team's mind. The title came after the team managed only a runner-up finish at the Regional.
"We kind of low-keyed it," he said. "We knew scoring 40 points was possible. We lost to Frankenmuth by one point at the Regional. … We were a little disappointed we didn't win, but we had some good times today. We knew it was possible.
"Every day we just come and do what we do. We talk about getting better every day with PRs (personal records). And we're still getting better because we have some tough guys. Just competitive, tough kids. But we were the underdogs."
Corunna had only two firsts on Saturday, in the 400 relay (42.63) and Wyatt Bower in the long jump (22-8½).
Among the individual highlights was Frankenmuth senior Dalton DeBeau, who successfully defended his Finals title in the discus (171-6). He was fifth in that event as a sophomore and after winning a year ago, was considered a good bet to repeat.
"I kind of expected it," said DeBeau, who will compete at Michigan State next spring. "There wasn't a lot of pressure. I knew what had to be done. I threw 160 feet on my first throw to get in the finals, and that helped right away. I knew I could go all out."
Berrien Springs' Jake Machiniak won the 100 (10.54) while the team also captured the 800 relay (1:28.18). Machiniak said his season hasn't been without its share of difficulties. There was a time when he couldn't seem to come out of the starting blocks smoothly. But beginning with the conference meet where he ran school record 10:73, Machiniak felt himself back on course.
"There were ups and downs. I struggled in the middle of the season," he said. "But my teammates helped me through some difficulties. I came here to finish the job; I knew I could do something here."
Mason's Tyler Baker won the 100 hurdles (14.63) to complete a long journey that included finishing just ninth in last year's prelims. The success was as simple as putting in loads of offseason work.
"I practiced and did stuff about every day," he said. "I might not be the fastest, but I make up for that in form. It's a fine-tuning thing. Everyone wants to be faster."
Mason also got a championship from A.J. Mantel, who captured the 300 hurdles (38.90).
Among other highlights was Forest Hills Eastern senior Aiden Sullivan successfully defending a 2022 title on his own home turf. He won Saturday's 800 (1:53.92).
Adrian won the 3,200 relay (7:39.77), while Grand Rapids Christian took the 1,600 (3:24.49).
Alma had two individual winners in Michael Howey in the shot (55-08) and Jacob Dunlap in the high jump (6-7).
The other champs were Kyle Eberhard of Linden in the 1,600 (4:14.79), Whitehall's Trannon Ayler in the 400 (48.83), Freeland's T.J. Hansen in the 3,200 (9:11.56) and Sam Vesperman of Grosse Ile in the pole vault (15.01). Chelsea senior Jacob Nelson competed in the adaptive 100 (27.28), 200 (57.71) and shot put (6-6).
PHOTOS (Top) Vicksburg's Michael Wright celebrates after winning the 200 on Saturday. (Middle) Corunna's Tarick Bower enjoys a moment after anchoring the winning 400 relay. (Below) Mason's Tyler Baker, center, works to stay ahead in the 110 hurdles. (Photos by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)
Smith Sets Tone as Multi-Talented Pewamo-Westphalia Ascends Again
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
June 1, 2024
KENT CITY – Trevor Smith set the tone early for the Pewamo-Westphalia boys track & field team Saturday at Kent City.
The junior sprinter earned a narrow win in the 100 to collect early points that would prove beneficial in the Pirates’ pursuit of their latest Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship.
“It was a big win right away in the beginning, and it helped put us in a good position,” Smith said. “It was a big emotional shift, and it was unreal.
“I didn’t really expect it, but it was a big help toward our team with points. I just missed winning last year, so to come back and win it meant a lot.”
Pewamo-Westphalia kept its early advantage throughout and hung on in the end to capture the title. The Pirates, last year’s runners-up, recorded 49 points to clip second-place Clare by four points. Detroit Edison was third with 32 points.
P-W senior Gavin Nurenberg repeated in the shot put (60-02), while senior Collin Farmer added a pair of top-4 finishes in the distance events.
“Our boys had a really nice season, but this was always the focus from Day 1,” Pirates coach Scott Werner said. “We felt we had the pieces in place when we got out of Regionals, and we were just excited to attack the day.
“We are the type of program where we are good in quite a few events. We don't rely on one person. We set the tone early with unexpected points in the 3,200 relay, and it built from there.”
Farmer finished runner-up in the 3,200 and fourth in the 1,600.
“There are not a lot of teams that have good guys in the field, sprints and distance, so I think that brings a lot of peace to the team,” Farmer said. “We knew that we could trust each other, and not one person had to take control.”
Senior Dalton Brown also provided a lift with a personal record en route to a third-place finish in the shot put.
“I challenged each of the separate groups to go out and score a minimum of 15 points,” Werner said. “We had a plan and an approach for every single event, and they trusted the process and executed at the highest level. I’m proud of them.”
Clare made a late push with a strong showing in the relays, while also receiving a boost from senior Brad White. He cruised to a win in the 800 with a new personal-best time and also was part of the winning 1,600 relay.
“Honestly, I didn't expect this,” White said. “I came into today pressure-free. I’ve already accomplished everything I could ever want in a season, and I'm just as happy as I can be to come out here and do something special, especially in my last high school race. I’m proud of my team and my PR.”
North Muskegon senior Jerry Wiegers repeated in the 400 by edging Geoffrey McBurrow of Detroit Edison. Wiegers also won the 200.
“There was a lot of pressure (to repeat), and I was worried on the whole ride here that I was going to screw up and I was going to have to hand the title to someone else,” Wiegers said. “But when I finally passed the finish line and I won, I was like, ‘I did this again, in my final year in high school.’ It was a good way to cap off my career.”
Coloma senior Boden Genovese (1,600) and Grayling senior Drew Moore (3,200) won the distance races, and Napoleon senior Holden Van Poppel (110) and Elk Rapids junior Max Ward (300) were hurdles champions. Standish-Sterling (400), Edison (800) and Traverse City St. Francis (3,200) also won relays. Lawton junior Mason Mayne (discus), Ovid-Elsie junior Tryce Tokar (pole vault) and Clare sophomore Conan Weeks (long jump) were other field event winners. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett senior Jake Juip (100 and 200), Montague junior Wyatt Fairchild (400) and Perry senior Alec Chapman (shot put) won the adaptive event championships.
PHOTOS (Top) Pewamo-Westphalia's Trevor Smith, center, edges Dearborn Advanced Technology's Cobey Cureton and University Liggett's Santino Cicarella, among others, in the 100 on Saturday. (Middle) Ovid-Elsie's Tryce Tokar attempts a vault amid the rainy conditions. (Click for more from Jamie McNinch/RunMichigan.com.)