Classic Sprint, Oak Park Run Highlight D1
May 31, 2014
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
ROCKFORD — It was arguably the greatest high school girls 200-meter race ever in Michigan.
Sophomores Sekayi Bracey of East Kentwood and Anna Jefferson of Oak Park posted two of the seven fastest times in Michigan history at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Track and Field Finals on Saturday at Rockford High School.
Bracey edged Jefferson at the finish, crossing the line in 23.98 seconds. Jefferson was second in 24.03. Bracey's time is the fifth-fastest ever run in any Finals meet in Michigan, while Jefferson's is seventh.
Both the winner and runner-up enjoyed the duel, having rarely faced competition during the high school season.
"I love races like that," Jefferson said. "When I have her with me in the 200, I know she's going to make me work. I know I'm going to have a good race."
This wasn't the first duel between the two and, with two years of eligibility remaining for both of them, certainly won't be the last.
"I'm actually friends with her," Bracey said. "We've been running together since we were young."
Bracey and Jefferson were the individual stars of the meet, each winning three events and taking second in another.
Bracey won the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 7.25 inches, the 100 in 11.88 seconds and the 200. She was on a second-place 400 relay team. Last year, Bracey was third in the long jump and won three events.
Jefferson greatest performance came in the 400, where her time of 53.50 seconds set an all-MHSAA Finals record, breaking the mark of 54.29 set by Southfield's Latipha Cross in 2011.
"When they said 53.50 officially, I screamed," said Jefferson, whose previous best was 54.30. "I was like, 'Oh, my gosh.' I went to pick up my teammate (fourth-place Johnyce Powell) and hug her but she was exhausted, so I had to give her a minute. I still couldn't believe I ran 53. I've been aiming for that for the past few years."
Jefferson was also on the winning 800 and 400 relay teams, helping Oak Park win the team championship in a rout, 92-50 over Northville. The 92 points are the most by a girls team in any division in seven years.
"I love my team," Jefferson said. "We've had a fantastic season compared to last year. We didn't have as many people, but we had high quality. Even though we're one of the smallest schools, we still have some of the top runners in the nation."
Oak Park will be a heavy favorite to win it all again next year, as there were no seniors among nine girls who scored points for the Knights. Scoring for Oak Park were freshmen Drew Coleman, Tamea McKelvy and Carlita Taylor; sophomores Jefferson, Lashae Bowens and Brianna Holloway; and juniors Jayla Fleming, Kailsi Latta-Thompson and Powell.
The Knights won three relays and were fourth in the 3,200 relay.
Birmingham Seaholm junior Audrey Belf, one of the nation's premier distance runners, ran an anchor leg of 2:08 in the 3,200 relay to help the Maples post the second-fastest time ever in an MHSAA Finals, 8:59.08. The other team members were Rachel Dadamio, Brooke Callaghan and Patty Girardot. Belf’s final leg was a personal best in the 800.
"When you get down to the end and your girls have done that much hard work, you don't want to mess it up," Belf said. "I know how much we wanted it. I wanted to finish it and make sure we got that victory."
Belf got a lengthy rest after that and dominated the 3,200, winning in 10:17.08. Northville senior Rachel Coleman, who won the 1,600 in 4:45.76, took second in 10:24.58. The top nine girls broke 10:46.
"I don't like running in the heat, but I made the best of it," Belf said. "I ran a little more conservatively."
Sterling Heights Stevenson senior Jailah Mason set an LP Division 1 record in the high jump, going 5-9.25.
Grosse Pointe South junior Ersula Farrow took aim at the Finals record in the 800 set last year by former teammate Hannah Meier. Farrow came up just short, finishing in 2:07.63 to win convincingly by 3.33 seconds.
"I wanted to go after the record," Farrow said. "I didn't get it this year, but I'm definitely going to try again next year. Hannah and (twin sister) Haley told me I was going to be the leader of the team. I did my best to be the leader of the team."
PHOTO: East Kentwood's Sekayi Bracey (left) and Oak Park's Anna Jefferson race toward the finish of the 200 on Saturday in Rockford. They posted two of the fastest times in the race in MHSAA Finals history. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Jokela Stars Again, Lake Linden-Hubbell Reigns This Time as Outright Champ
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 2, 2024
KINGSFORD — Lake Linden-Hubbell junior Emily Jokela had quite a workout here Saturday and has three individual victories to show for it.
The Lakes also benefitted from her effort as they earned the Upper Peninsula Division 3 track & field team championship.
LL-H, which shared the title with Stephenson a year ago, scored 72 points this time. Newberry edged Stephenson 64-62 for the runner-up trophy.
“Our Regional has been tough since 2016,” Lakes’ coach Gary Guisfredi said. “Since that time, teams from our Regional have won the U.P. Finals eight times. Emily scored 38 points alone today. Our shot putter (sophomore Maddy Dudenas) taking third and our girl (sophomore Cleo Milkey) taking fourth in long jump were big points. We knew Newberry and Stephenson were going to be tough.”
Jokela opened with a victory in the 100-meter dash in 13.04 seconds. Later, she set UPD3 Finals records in back-to-back races, taking the 400 (58.61) and 300 hurdles (44.8) prior to placing second in the 200 (27.03).
“My starts were better than usual,” she said. “Those (open 400 and 300 hurdles) are tough races, but you just got to push through that. You always try to prepare for that in practice. I just try to beat everybody to the next hurdle.”
Her effort in the 400 topped the old mark (58.7) by Superior Central’s Lauren Spranger in 2011, and in the hurdles she bested her own record (45.63) from a year ago.
The Lakes, who finished undefeated this year, also won the 800 relay at 1:52.52.
“I think our handoffs were good,” senior Rebecca Lyons said. “It feels great to be U.P. champions. We were really excited about this meet. We knew Newberry and Stephenson were pretty good.”
Dollar Bay got a first on sophomore Kiera Isaacson’s leap of 5-3 in high jump.
Newberry, coming off a solid cross country season from last fall, showed its strength in the distances. Sophomore Samantha Taylor set the meet record in the 1,600 (5:14.9), topping the previous best (5:17.2) by Amy Kerst of Munising in 2011. She was followed by freshman Abby Taylor (5:22.7), Stephenson sophomore Faith Cappaert (5:36.7) and Newberry senior Kaylen Clark (5:37.49), who will run at Davenport University this fall.
Clark added a first in the 3,200 (12:33.7), withstanding a challenge from North Dickinson’s Mya Grunlund (12:43.65).
“I knew I had my kick and had to use it today,” Clark said. “I just wanted to defend my title one more time. I think my conditioning from cross country helped me. I missed three meets because of bronchitis. Once I got over that, I did a lot of slow miles. It was a struggle.
“I’ll get to run against Lola (Korpi) again in college. I’m real excited about that. It will also be exciting to do something new.”
Newberry also overcame a slow start to win the 3,200 relay (10:24.16).
“We weren’t too worried,” Abby Taylor said after anchoring that relay. “We knew Kaylen and Sam would close it. I felt pretty relaxed and confident in the final leg.”
Cappaert won the 800 (2:25.91), followed by Abby Taylor (2:33.34) and Clark (2:35.52), and senior Kayela Putnam added a first for the Eagles in pole vault (10-0).
Fourth-place Carney-Nadeau got the bulk of its points in the field events where senior Samantha Kedsch set a meet and school record in long jump at 16-11. Her effort also topped the previous best jump of 16-7½ by Ontonagon’s Olivia Suomis in 2012.
Junior teammate Mariska Laurila won discus with a school-record throw of 114-1 and added a first in shot put (33-1¼), with senior Kelsie Smith taking second (32-5).
Big Bay de Noc got a first from Destiny Bleau, who was clocked at 26.73 in the 200.
PHOTOS (Top) Lake Linden-Hubbell's Emily Jokela sets a meet record in the 400 with a winning time of 58.61 on Saturday. (Middle) Stephenson's Faith Cappaert (11) takes the lead and doesn't relinquish it while winning the 800. (Click for more from Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)