Many Do Their Parts to Drive Lakes 3-Peat
June 1, 2019
By Adam Niemi
Special for Second Half
KINGSFORD – Lake Linden-Hubbell cruised to its third straight MHSAA Division 3 UP Finals championship Saturday.
The Lakes scored 112 points, well ahead of runner-up Felch North Dickinson's 62.
"It's just unbelievable. We knew where we were on paper; we had the most points from our seeding. We know that that never works out," Lake Linden-Hubbell head coach Gary Guisfredi said. "We talked to the girls about how important it was to work for our personal bests, which we got a lot of those today. We also talked about how important it is to, if we're seeded fifth, to get to fourth and bump up. We had that today. We had multiple girls who were not seeded one through six, came out of other heats and actually placed. It really was just an amazing day."
Rock Mid-Peninsula was third (56), followed by Brimley (45) and Stephenson (42) to round out the top five.
The Lakes' third straight title came on the strength of gritty determination and hard work, embodied by Sienna Anderson's comeback from an ACL injury a year ago. She took second in the 100 hurdles behind Brimley's Hayley Gamberdella.
The Lakes took five firsts including wins in the 400 meter and 1,600-meter relays. Mariah Willmer won the 800 run. Jamie Hendrickson won the high jump, and Camaryn Crouch won the pole vault.
Lake Linden-Hubbell's biggest calling card was getting multiple girls piling points in the same event. Three Lakes took the top three places and 24 points in the pole vault, led by Crouch. It was around then that the Lakes padded the lead.
"All of a sudden we went from close, to not so close anymore," Guisfredi said. "I'm just really, really blessed with this group. I'm so happy for them because they've just worked so hard. All the kids work hard, but this has been a fun group."
Masyn Alexa's big day helped North Dickinson's small team to a runner-up finish.
The Nordics sent just six girls to the UP Finals. Lake Linden-Hubbell had 16.
"We really competed well today. Hats off to Lake Linden. They had a great day," North Dickinson head coach Mike Roell said. "We got beat by a really good track team today, but we beat a lot of good track teams to come in second here today. We're really proud of our kids. All year we've been working hard, and it paid off today. I can't say enough. Masyn Alexa broke two school records in the 200 and 400 dashes. She kind of carried us through this thing. We had a lot of young girls that worked their tails off and scraped up enough points to get runner-up. We're really proud of that."
Alexa, a junior, won and set a school record in the 400 with a time of 1:00.86. She held the previous record from last year.
"I've been working to get that record for a long time,” she said. “I ran high 1:01 three different times last year and once again this year. In practice two days ago I was three hundredths of a second away from getting it. I was hoping today I could get it, and I ended up getting it. My coach was at the 200 mark, marking my time as I came across. Then I knew what I was at so I could finish strong.
"I wasn't sure if I had it or not. I knew I was close. I heard all the cheers as I went across. I didn't know whether I had it or not. When I looked, my mom was nodding so I knew I had it."
Alexa also set a new record in the 200, improved by 13 hundredths of a second.
Alexa barely edged Stephenson's Amanda Starzynski to win the 200, by nine hundredths of a second. She was also the fourth leg of the 400 relay that took second behind Lake Linden-Hubbell.
The Nordics also took second in the 800 and 1,600 relays. Hannah Clark placed fourth in the pole vault. Briana Smith was third in the long jump. Skye Ledzian was third in shot put and fifth in discus.
Starzynski leaned forward while crossing the finish line to edge Alexa in the 100 dash by a hundredth of a second. She also anchored the Eagles' 400 relay team that took fifth, and won the long jump.
Baraga's Jaylyn Lindemann won the shot put at 31 feet, 3.5 inches.
PHOTOS: (Top) Rock Mid-Peninsula's Camryn Croadsell, left, and Lake Linden-Hubbell's Joslyn Perala charge toward the finish in the 400 relay. (Middle) North Dickinson's Sophie Mattson runs the 3,200. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)
Oak Park Makes Up for Lost Time with Another Championship
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
June 5, 2021
KENTWOOD – Nonah Waldron has run in all kinds of challenging conditions, but nothing like this.
The Oak Park sophomore pushed aside tough headwinds which all runners struggled with to win a pair of events at Saturday's Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls Track & Field Finals at East Kentwood.
Waldron said she's run in heat, freezing cold and soaking rain, but never has she met up with the strong winds that buffeted Falcons Stadium. The conditions didn't seem to detract from the results, however, as she swept to victories the 100 hurdles (13.72) and 300 hurdles (43.17). The 100 hurdles time was seventh-best in state history.
"I fought them the whole races," Waldron said of the wind. "It was more mental than physical. My mind was where it was supposed to be – focused and believing in myself. But it was harder, a challenge."
Waldron said the wind wasn't going to keep her from success.
"It was definitely my goal," she said of winning twice. "I ran a 13.4 at nationals in Oregon, so I knew I had a chance."
Waldron helped Oak Park to the team championship with 86 points. Detroit Renaissance was runner-up with 62 points, and Ann Arbor Huron third with 45.
Oak Park coach Brandon Jiles said his team has been eyeing Saturday’s championship for months. Last season was canceled due to COVID-19, but Saturday’s win ran Oak Park’s title streak to three and six over the last seven seasons.
"Excellence is part of our tradition, and the kids work hard. We put a lot of work into this," he said. "We battled through adversity and made up for missing last year. We've been tough and resilient, and I think that improved our chances this year."
While the conditions were rugged for all runners, Birmingham Seaholm senior Audrey DaDamio had a fantastic meet in winning the 800 (2:11.95), 1,600 (4:44.38) and 3,200 (10:22.11). She now owns school records in the 1,600 and 3,200 and is second in the 800.
DaDamio, headed to Stanford this fall, said a clean sweep of all three events has been a goal since a successful indoor season.
"It's been something I've been looking to do all season. I thought, 'Why not?'" she said. "My season has had some ups and downs since I came off the indoor season (and indoor state record) which blew my mind. But I didn't feel like I have been able to showcase my talent in some races (this spring). That's been tough."
DaDamio said she felt strong after the 1,600 and despite temperatures in the high 80s, winning two more events seemed possible.
"I thought the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward," she said. "If I lead in a race, fine. If not, I just relax. I had confidence."
Kaila Jackson of Detroit Renaissance was also a double winner, capturing the 100 (11.70) and 200 (24.01). Jackson said she doesn't necessarily have an opinion as to which race is stronger for her.
"They are pretty much the same," she said. "The wind held me back, but you've still got to be out there pumping your arms. Considering the wind, times weren't as fast, but it was still tough. I train hard in both events and I'm pretty strong. It's a challenge.
"I thought I had a chance because I've trained so hard. I looked at the times and thought I could do well."
Among the other winners were Lincoln Park's Karrington Gordon, who won the high jump in 5-7. Gordon, who will play basketball next season at Central Michigan, was only a ninth seed in the high jump – which she said prompted extra effort.
"I wanted to prove them wrong," she said. "I did 5-7 and a quarter three weeks ago, so I knew I wasn't far off. I knew there was good competition, and I knew I had to be ready."
Among the other individual champions were Traverse City's Leah Doezema in the discus (145-4), Sophia Mettes of Dexter in the pole vault (12-6), Opal Jackson of Macomb L'Anse Creuse North in the shot put (47-3), Alaina Diaz of Hudsonville in the long jump (19-9) and Jada Roundtree of Oak Park in the 400 (55.13).
Among the relays, Renaissance won the 800 (1:36.99) and the 400 (45.56) while Ann Arbor Pioneer won the 3,200 (9:09.43) and Oak Park the 1,600 (3:46.63).
PHOTOS: (Top) Oak Park, led by double winner Nonah Waldron (far right) dominated both hurdles races Saturday at East Kentwood. (Middle) Birmingham Seaholm’s Audrey DaDamio celebrates one of her three championships. (Below) Oak Park climbs the champion’s podium for the third straight season. (Action photos by Ike Lea; team photos by John Brabbs/RunMichigan.com.)