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.
PHOTO: Marquette's Lindsey Rudden leads the field during one of her championship runs Saturday at Kingsford.. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Freshman Distance Ace Impressing Again as Sault Gets on Track
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
April 14, 2023
SAULT STE. MARIE — Gabe Litzner made quite a first impression here April 7, dominating the 3,200-meter run at the Second Annual Yooper Invitational track & field meet.
The Sault Ste. Marie freshman was clocked at 10 minutes, 7.84 seconds in the 16-lap race on the 200-meter track inside Lake Superior State University’s Norris Center, more than a minute ahead of the field in his high school varsity debut.
“I’m pretty happy with that,” said Litzner, who was crowned Upper Peninsula Division 1 cross country champion last fall. “I wanted to take it somewhat easy because of all the turns. I didn’t want to injure myself. I’m surprised by my time. I was shooting for 10:20.”
Charlevoix squeezed past Kalkaska by half a point for the boys team title, with the Blue Devils finishing fourth. The Indian River Inland Lakes girls won with 100 points, five ahead of Sault Ste. Marie.
“I was a little nervous at first,” said Litzner. “I had a little bit of butterflies, but they tend to go away after you get started. This is a big step up from junior high track. I’ve definitely been able to build off what I did in cross country.”
Senior teammate Cody Aldridge was runner-up to Kalkaska junior Gavin Guggemos in the 1,600. Guggemos was clocked in 4:42.3 with Aldridge at 4:43.92.
“It wasn’t a PR (personal record), but it’s a good start to the season,” said Aldridge, who led until well into the final lap. “I just tried to do my best and see where I’m at and got a chance to see where the competition is at. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to pull it off. I hit a hurdle (near the inside lane) coming into the final straightaway, although I think he had me anyway. He got a PR, which is good for him. It feels like I have room for improvement.”
Sault senior Cassandra Gallagher placed second in the girls 3,200 (13:19.52), 11 seconds behind Cheboygan sophomore Samantha Harke.
“For the beginning of the season, I’m happy with that,” said Gallagher. “I thought it was more difficult to pace myself because we were on a smaller track. I had IT band syndrome and spent a lot of time in physical therapy this winter. I didn’t get to train as much as I wanted, but this was better than I expected.”
Gallagher won the 3,200 (13:27.84) and was runner-up in the 1,600 (6:19.7) in a triangular meet at Alpena on Tuesday.
The Sault girls won at Alpena with 66 points, followed by Traverse City Central with 34 and Alpena at 32.
Litzner won the boys 800 (2:13.45) and 1,600 (4:43.35), and Aldridge took the 3,200 (10:14.56) as the Blue Devils boys (34) finished third to Alpena (62) and the Trojans (41).
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTO Sault Ste. Marie’s Gabe Litzner leads the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Cross Country Final in the fall. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)