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.)
Sault Ste. Marie Girls End 23-Year Championship Wait with UPD1 Win
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 2, 2024
KINGSFORD — The Sault Ste. Marie girls made a statement here Saturday while earning their first Upper Peninsula Division 1 Track & Field Finals title since 2001.
Sault scored 117 points, followed by Negaunee with 94 and Gladstone at 65.
The Blue Devils placed 1-2 in discus, won by senior Katie Anderson at 115 feet, 3 inches, with junior Annabelle Fazzari uncorking a runner-up toss of 101. Freshman Ahnaka Oshelski added a first in the 300 hurdles in 48.29 seconds, followed by Negaunee freshman Sadie Rogers (48.30) and Marquette freshman Chloe Jackson (49.56).
Oshelski also helped the Blue Devils take the 800 relay (1:49.55).
“Our handoffs were a little rough, but I just ran as fast as I could (in the 800),” freshman Grace Mayer said. “It feels great to come away as U.P. champions.”
Mayer was also part of the winning 1,600 relay, clocked at 4:17.4.
Fazzari provided the Blue Devils with a second place in the 100 hurdles (17.07) and a third in shot put (34-0).
Rogers won the 100 hurdles in 16.65 seconds, and Negaunee classmate Keira Waterman placed first in the 400 (59.23) and 800 (2:28.2).
“I didn’t really know what to expect here today,” Rogers said. “I had a good start and just pushed myself real hard. I could hear the crowd. It was very important for me to win this one. I also thought my chances in the 300 were pretty good. I knew I had to push it.”
Gladstone set a UPD1 Finals record in the 400 relay at 50.78, shaving basically ⅓ of a second off the previous record (51.11) run by Marquette three years ago.
The Braves were led by junior Jacie Tuljus, who anchored that relay, won the 100 (12.75) and 200 (26.85) and was runner-up to Waterman in the 400 at 1:02.54.
“My starts were slow, but what we did in the 400 relay was good for today” Tuljus said. “Everybody was pretty hyped. We’re happy with it. Overall, I’m happy with the way everything went.”
Marquette sophomore Ella Fure took the 1,600 (5:31.33), followed by Houghton sophomore Tessa Rautiola (12:13.39) and Marquette junior Monet Argeropoulos (5:37.27).
Rautiola then captured the 3,200 (12:13.39), followed by Fure (12:13.46) and Argeropoulos (12:23.91)
“I just wanted to have fun and asked God to pull me through,” Fure said. “I knew if I just trusted God, He would get me through. My mom is pretty sick and couldn’t be here. I just wanted to do this for her.”
Rautiola also helped the Gremlins win the 3,200 relay in a season-best 10:10.38.
“Our school record is 10:08,” she said. “We didn’t get the record this year, although we’re absolutely happy we won. There was miscommunication in the exchange zone which created some confusion. We weren’t in the proper place for one of our handoffs. Otherwise, I think we would have had it.”
Ishpeming Westwood junior Faith Spiroff became a double winner, taking high jump (5-0) and long jump (16-4½).
Other winners were Manistique senior Danielle Lund in shot put (38-7¾) and Calumet senior Caitlyn Strom in pole vault (10-0), where she edged Westwood junior Lexi Olson on a tie-breaker. Houghton freshman Amy Sziber won the adaptive shot put, 100 and 200 events.
PHOTOS (Top) Sault Ste. Marie's Ahnaka Oshelski, left, edges Negaunee's Sadie Rogers by one hundredth of a second to capture the 300 hurdles title Saturday. (Middle) Houghton's Tessa Rautiola (2) leads the 1,600 with Marquette's Ella Fure (1) and Monet Argeropoulos (4) following close behind. Fure won the race, with Rautiola taking second. (Click for more from Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)