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.)
Southfield Christian '6' Claim 1st Track Title
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
June 3, 2017
GRAND RAPIDS – Southfield Christian may not have a track, but it has a trophy case.
And after Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals at Grand Rapids’ Houseman Field, the Eagles have a new piece of hardware to put in it.
With great efficiency, a squad of six athletes collected 62 points for the team title to beat out nearest competitors Fowler (52) and Springport (45). It’s the first track & field championship in school history (the Eagles were second in 2007), and junior Chika Amene left her fingerprints all over it.
Amene won three individual events and ran a leg on the first-place 1,600-meter relay team that set a school record with a time of 4 minutes, 7.37 seconds.
“It’s all so surreal,” she said. “I’m speechless, and it’s shocking.”
In the 100 prelims, Amene stumbled out of the blocks but still managed to win her heat. She ran a time of 12.71 seconds in the finals to edge Springport’s Katelynn Creger by four hundredths of a second.
In the 200, Amene clocked a 26.07 to hold off Custer Mason County Eastern’s Jordan Goodman, who ran a personal-record of 26.13.
Finally, Amene claimed her third sprint title when she crossed the finish in 58.83 in the 400. She helped solidify the team championship along with Rebekah Wilson, Kaelin Ray and Shelby Goodson with a convincing win in the 1,600 relay.
“This year I became more focused, and I became more serious,” Amene said. “I became more eager to win and have more of a fight than I did last year. I started training last summer and the indoor season really helped me improve. I want to do it again next year, defend my titles and improve my times.”
Ray turned in a school record 45.98 to win the 300-meter hurdles, and she placed third in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.61. The Eagles’ 800 relay of Goodson, Grace Sanders, Ray and Grace McFerrin was third overall in 1:49.10.
“We weren’t expecting anything close to this,” Amene said. “I know people back at home are very happy.”
Mendon’s Mary Leighton was expecting nothing short of a championship in the 100 hurdles after setting a meet record in her win as a junior in 2016. Not only did she repeat as a senior, her time of 14.89 was again the best performance in Division 4 history. Leighton also had a runner-up finish in the 300 hurdles with a time of 47.52.
“I like warm weather, so I felt good going over the hurdles,” Leighton said. “I’m happy that I got my (personal record) on my last race of my high school career. As for the 300s, I knew that it was going to be a really close race. I’m still proud of my performance. It’s nice to finish strong before I go into collegiate competition (for Indiana Tech). I will always cherish the memories made from track, and I’m proud to say I ran for Mendon.”
Erika Lechner of Harbor Springs ended her prep career on the highest of notes with a Division 4 meet record toss of 44 feet, 1½ inches. She bested Jade Madison’s mark of 43-8¼ set by the former New Buffalo standout in 2014.
The rest of the meet was a free-for-all as Fowler was one of two other teams to win multiple events. Its 400 relay team of McKenzie Feldpausch, Ciera Weber, McKenzie Koenigsknecht and Sidney Horak grabbed the top spot in 51.49 seconds, and teammate Allyssa Vandegriff cleared 5-4 to win the high jump by two inches.
Pittsford senior Maddie Clark crushed the field by over 15 feet with a distance of 137-6 in the discus, and the Wildcats nabbed another title when Katie Clement went 10-6 for a nine-inch victory in the pole vault.
PHOTOS: (Top) Southfield Christian's Kaelin Ray clears a hurdle during her winning 300 performance. (Middle) Mendon's Mary Leighton powers through her first-place finish in the 100 hurdles. (Photos by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)