Adrian Madison Follows Rosales to Top
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2017
COMSTOCK PARK – Doing one better was the theme for Adrian Madison’s girls track & field team Saturday at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals at Comstock Park.
A year after finishing runner-up, the Trojans nabbed a team championship with 56½ points. Lansing Catholic was second with 41, and Shepherd took third with 33.
It was a prolific final performance by senior Megan Rosales that sparked the victory, as she played a role in four wins for the Trojans. Rosales, who won the 400 meters in 2015, was runner-up in the 300 hurdles and part of the winning 800 relay last season, made her last meet count with a season-best time of 57.02 seconds to win the 400, and a first-place run of 45.05 in the 300 hurdles. She joined teammates Delaney Stersic, Sierra Hernandez and Chelsea Short as the fastest 800 relay squad (1:44.11) and she anchored the 1,600 relay to a repeat title in 3:57.80. Short, Stersic and Hernandez ran the first three legs.
“Today was definitely one to remember,” Rosales said. “We took the saying ‘going out with a bang’ to a whole new level. None of this would be possible without all of (these girls). I'm so proud of you all and everything that you girls have accomplished. This is what we've all worked for. It all paid off in the end. No better way to end my high school running career.”
The Trojans enjoyed all-state efforts by Kiarah Horn, who was third in the pole vault with a height of 11 feet, and Anne Wong, who tied for eighth in the same event at 10 feet. Chelsea Short registered a sixth-place time of 26.24 in the 200.
Shepherd may have had to settle for third place overall, but the program delivered a third MHSAA title in four seasons in the 3,200 relay. This time, however, the team clocked a Division 3 meet record time of 9:18.06. It was the quartet of Rachel Mathers, Katelyn Hutchinson, Kylie Hutchinson and Amber Gall that now boasts the best of all time, dethroning Benzie Central’s 2011 performance of 9:22.71. Gall also won the 800 in 2:14.81.
Parchment junior Shiyon Taylor took home a pair of championships after running a personal-record in the 100 (12.41) and a top time of 25.96 in the 200.
Lansing Catholic junior Olivia Theis was the best of the bunch in the 3,200, which featured two sets of sisters among the all-state top-eight performers. Freshman Jaden Theis was third for Lansing Catholic in 10:34.73, while Hart sophomore Adelyn Ackley was runner-up (10:34.47) and junior Alayna Ackley placed eighth in 11:07.30.
Olivia Theis completed the distance double with a championship in the 1,600, winning by more than five seconds with a personal-record of 4:50.10. Adelyn Ackley recorded a second-place time of 4:55.53, while Jaden Theis was third in 4:55.81, setting the stage for some exciting races to come.
PHOTOS: (Top) Adrian Madison's Megan Rosales pulls away from the field during the 400 in helping her team to the overall championship. (Middle) Shepherd, right, and Lansing Catholic also put up strong performances at Saturday's Division 3 Finals. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Lake Linden-Hubbell, Stephenson Share in UPD3; Jokela Joins Elite Club
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2023
KINGSFORD – Lake Linden-Hubbell got to the top with first-place power. Stephenson won only two events.
But there are multiple ways to win an MHSAA Finals championship in track & field. And the Lakes and Eagles tied for the Upper Peninsula Division 3 girls title Saturday.
Lake Linden-Hubbell got a little assist from two-time reigning champion Ontonagon in the final event, the 1,600 relay. The Lakes led in the standings by eight points, but they didn’t have a 1,600-meter relay team. Stephenson could have won the team title with a win in that event, but Ontonagon’s relay team proved solid again and forced the Eagles to settle for the runner-up spot in the race and the eight points that come with it.
The Lakes last won team Finals titles during a three-year run from 2017-19. For Stephenson, it had been since 1993 when the team competed in Class C. The Eagles were runners-up last year.
Lake Linden-Hubbell sophomore Emily Jokela entered with the fastest Regional times in all four of her events, and she won all four of them Saturday – the 100, 200, 400 and 300 hurdles. She became just the sixth female to win four individual events at an MHSAA Finals.
The only one she didn’t win a title in last year was the 100 dash; she has that now. The only school record she didn’t have going into Saturday was in the 200; she has that now as well. She broke it by one tenth of a second.
“It feels great,” Jokela said. “I was very worried about running today because it was so hot.”
Her 300 hurdles time of 45.63 seconds set a UPD3 Finals record. Ontonagon’s Lori Wardynski had the record before (47.27).
Teammate Abi Codere repeated in the 100 hurdles, and their 400 relay team (Codere, Rebecca Lyons, Isabella Tampas and Cleo Milkey) also won.
Stephenson’s wins came in the 3,200 relay (Faith Cappaert, Joelle Beaudo, Kayela Putnam and Jada Kuntze) and the long jump (Sarah Labs).
Ontonagon also won the 800 relay (Lilly McIntyre, Alli Bobula, Kylee Uotila and Makennah Uotila).
“I’m sad we didn’t get a title this year, but the past two back-to-back U.P. titles we had made my entire career,” senior Makennah Uotila said. “I’ve enjoyed it so much. The relays were a big part of our U.P. titles, so to still have strong relays is very important.”
Newberry’s Kaylen Clark won the 1,600 and 3,200 runs. She was the runner-up at the UPD3 cross country meet in the fall and in both events at the UPD2 track meet last season. Taylor Adams of Norway won the 800.
In the field, Mariska Laurila of Carney-Nadeau was the champion in the discus, Rudyard’s Alicia Cheney won the high jump, Dollar Bay’s Nora Keranen won the pole vault after winning long jump in 2022, and Brimley’s Grace Hill repeated in the shot put.
PHOTOS (Top) Lake Linden-Hubbell's Emily Jokela, second from right, wins the 400 on Saturday. (Middle) Norway's Taylor Adams wins the 800. (Below) Stephenson's Jada Kuntze crosses the finish line first in the 3,200 relay. (Photos by Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)