Marquette 4-Peat Full of Milestones

By John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com

May 31, 2014

KINGSFORD — Marquette sophomore Lindsey Rudden on Saturday became the first female athlete to break the five-minute barrier in the Upper Peninsula Track and Field Finals, earning her second straight Division 1 title in 4 minutes, 55.28 seconds. 

“At the beginning of the season, this was my goal,” she said. “I had a cheering section here and wanted to do something extraordinary. I can’t thank my parents, teammates and coaches enough. I just feel blessed to have this opportunity and be able to do it.”

She was followed by freshman teammate Amber Huebner at 5:15.25 and Menominee senior Kameron Burmeister (5:17.66) on a sunny and hot day at Flivver Field. 

The Marquette girls were crowned champions for the fourth straight year with 145 points. They were followed by Escanaba with 86 and Negaunee with 71.

“The girls took care of business,” said Marquette coach John Peterson. “As coaches we were a little concerned because of the heat. But the girls were very disciplined and stayed under the bleachers until it was nearly time to do their events. Lindsey told me she wanted to break five minutes. We knew it was coming. We just didn’t know it would happen this soon. I told her to take it easy at first and if it felt right, go for it. It was a hot day, but a good day for our team.” 

Rudden scratched from the 400 to allow for more recovery time, then retained her 800 title (2:23.54) and helped the winning 1,600 relay.

Huebner captured the 400 (1:00.44) and 3,200 (11:48.8), using a strong final lap to overtake Burmeister (11:54.32), and placed second in the 800 (2:24.12).

“It’s always hard to lead because you can hear the person behind you breathing,” said Huebner. “Plus, Kameron was hurting a little (with a sore hip). I feel bad for her. I just wanted to do my best in the 400. Hopefully, next year I can break a minute. Being my first time here, I was a little nervous. But the upperclassmen helped me through it. The whole team did a real good job. We all did what we had to do. We couldn’t have done it without Coach P.” 

Marquette junior Hunter Viitala won the 300 hurdles in a school-record 46.27 seconds and helped the 1,600 relay. She also helped the Redettes place second in the 800 relay and took third in high jump at 4 feet, 10 inches.

“It was cool to see Hunter set the school record in the 300 hurdles,” said Peterson. “We certainly appreciate the efforts of our assistant coach Natalie Messano. She does a nice job with our sprinters and hurdlers. 

“I think the U.P. Track FInals are the greatest athletic event in the Upper Peninsula. Getting the opportunity to see so many athletes compete on the same day is phenomenal.”

Escanaba senior Lynsey Collins anchored the winning sprint relays and was runner-up in the 300 hurdles (47.74) and fifth in the 100 (13.59). 

Negaunee opened the day by winning the 3,200 relay, and junior Hailee Richards won discus (111-1).

Calumet junior Chelsea Jacques captured the 100 (12.73) and 200 (26.5) and anchored the second-place 400 relay, which finished just two steps behind Escanaba.

Click for full results. 

PHOTO: Marquette's Lindsey Rudden leads the field during one of her championship runs Saturday at Kingsford.. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)

Performance: East Kentwood's Corinne Jemison

May 25, 2018

Corinne Jemison
East Kentwood senior – Track & Field

Jemison, the reigning Lower Peninsula Division 1 champion in discus and runner-up in shot put, earned the opportunity to compete for those titles again with a pair of Regional championships May 18 at Lansing Waverly while also earning the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.” Jemison won discus by 16 feet with a throw of 151-9, and shot put by two inches with a personal record 46-10½.

In both events, Jemison also finished just ahead of Waverly’s Malin Smith, a top-three placer in LP Division 2 in 2017 and owner of the longest shot put in the state (48-1) this season. Jemison has the longest discus throw – 158-11 – and they will see each other again at the June 2 LPD1 Finals at her home track. Jemison has surpassed both of her best throws from last season, when she won the discus with a 151-0 and threw a season-best 40-9 in the shot put at the 2017 MHSAA championship meet as well. She’s finished first every time she’s thrown this spring but once, when she finished second in discus to a thrower from Ohio in early April. East Kentwood as a team won last week’s Regional by 100 points and should contend for the Finals championship again after coming in third a year ago.  

The 6-foot-3 Jemison is capping an outstanding three-sport career at East Kentwood, where she played four years of varsity volleyball and basketball as well. She earned Division 1 all-state honorable mention in volleyball in the fall and made the Class A all-state second team in basketball this winter. She has graduated with a 3.2 grade-point average and will continue her volleyball career at Miami University of Ohio, where she’ll study kinesiology and physical therapy – and hopes to pick up a second sport when she’s a fifth-year senior. In taking her athletic career to the next level, she’ll also be continuing to follow in the footsteps of her parents, Erica Westbrooks-Jemison and Darin Jemison, who both played basketball collegiately at Louisiana Tech.

Coach Stephanie Stephenson said: “Corinne is an exceptionally gifted athlete. She has chosen volleyball as her college sport, but she could have been a force in college basketball or could have gone on to compete at the highest levels of track & field in college and beyond. Her physical gifts are truly unparalleled. She has really been dialed in this season at practice. Her hard work has obviously paid off in her incredible performances. She is also a very fun person to have on the team. She brings joy and laughter wherever she goes. We will miss her next year, but know that she will have many successes in her future.”

Performance Point: “It was kind’ve scary, especially going against (Smith),” Jemison said of the Regional. “Seeing what her PR (personal record) was and being seeded second in shot, I was kinda nervous. (But) I was excited, especially when I heard that obviously she’s the real deal. I’m always up for a challenge. … I learned that I could shock myself. I didn’t think I was going to PR by that much (in the shot put).”

A natural, but with work: “It took a lot of practice. I spent a lot of time with my coach, Coach Mak (John Makinen), and I spent a lot time with Coach (Tyler) Pettit, and they just really (emphasized) the basics with me. For a while, my first year, I didn’t even touch an implement. It was all footwork. Sophomore year, I was picking up things more.”

Three-sport standout: “Obviously volleyball is my favorite sport, but track and basketball are neck and neck. As a junior, I wasn’t going to play (basketball); I was going to try to focus on travel volleyball in the winter. But I was like, ‘Mmmm … I miss it too much.’ So then I went back. … I don’t know how I balanced (three sports). I don’t know how I made it this far, doing homework in the car, staying up late night to study. But I enjoyed it though.”

Falcon pride: “I enjoy being a part of the track team at EK. It’s a really big deal at our school. I think it’s one of our best sports. It’s really incredible walking through the halls, hearing people like, ‘Oh yeah, she’s in track.’ Especially with our track jackets on, everybody just stops and stares.”

Listen to Mom and Dad: “(Their experiences) helped me a lot when I was younger. … Both my parents played in college, so when they (could) help you with sports, I was like ‘I should listen, because they know what they're talking about.’ They've really helped me on my athletic journey thus far.”

- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor

Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.

The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster. 

Previous 2017-18 honorees:
May 17: Reagan Wisser, Richland Gull Lake soccer - Read
May 10: Clayton Sayen, Houghton track & field - Read
May 3: Autumn Roberts, Traverse City Central tennis - Read
April 26: Thomas Robinson, Wyoming Lee track & field - Read
March 29: Carlos Johnson, Benton Harbor basketball - Read
March 22: Shine Strickland-Gills, Saginaw Heritage basketball - Read
March 15: Skyler Cook-Weeks, Holland Christian swimming - Read
March 8: Dakota Greer, Howard City Tri-County wrestling - Read
March 1: Camree' Clegg, Wayne Memorial basketball - Read
February 23: Aliah Robertson, Sault Ste. Marie swimming - Read
February 16: Austin O'Hearon, Eaton Rapids wrestling - Read
February 9: Sophia Wiard, Muskegon Oakridge basketball - Read
February 2: Brenden Tulpa, Hartland hockey - Read
January 25: Brandon Whitman, Dundee wrestling - Read
January 18: Derek Maas, Holland West Ottawa swimming - Read
January 11: Lexi Niepoth, Bellaire basketball - Read
November 30: La'Darius Jefferson, Muskegon football - Read
November 23: Ashley Turak, Farmington Hills Harrison swimming - Read
November 16: Bryce Veasley, West Bloomfield football - Read 
November 9: Jose Penaloza, Holland soccer - Read
November 2: Karenna Duffey, Macomb L'Anse Creuse North cross country - Read
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City West golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read

PHOTOS: (Top) East Kentwood's Corinne Jemison begins her windup for a discus throw. (Middle) Jemison stands atop the awards podium at last year's Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals. (Top photo courtesy of the East Kentwood athletic department; bottom photo by RunMichigan.com.)