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Performance: Lakeland's Grace Stark
June 2, 2017
Grace Stark
White Lake Lakeland sophomore – Track & Field
The Eagles’ speedy standout has made significant strides – literally – this season, cutting more than a second off her fastest 100-meter hurdles time from 2016. How much she’s improved in that race gained the most notice at Friday’s Oakland County Championships when Stark won in 13.54 seconds, earning the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.” If she can repeat that time at Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals, she’ll break the all-Finals record set by Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Candice Davis in 2003.
Stark’s fastest 100 hurdles time as a freshman was 14.64 seconds, and she also ran 11.82 in the 100 dash. She approached the dash personal record as well at the Oakland County meet, winning in 11.86. She’s undefeated in both the 100 dash and 100 hurdles this season, plus won a Regional title in the 200 in a personal-record 24.99 seconds. Stark owns Lakeland’s records in the 100, 100 hurdles and 200 and as part of the 400 and 800 relays, the last two helped of course by a number of talented teammates, including a strong senior class finishing up this weekend.
After developing bursitis in a hip over the summer, Stark took six weeks off from training. She upped her workouts to near-normal in December and competed indoor before showing her advancing speed on the outdoor track. Also a gymnast during elementary and middle school, Stark focuses solely on track now but said her time on the mat helped her improve physically and become more disciplined. She carries a 3.9 grade-point average, showing discipline and determination in the classroom as well.
Coach John Kababik said: "Grace is the fastest sprinter that I have coached in 40 years of coaching Lakeland girls track. What makes her so good is not only the talent she was born with, but the single-minded determination to be the best. She runs track both in season and out as a club runner. Grace was very good as a freshman, but she has improved by a full second over the last year in the hurdles. For sprinters to improve that much is not common. She came into high school fast, but she’s getting better due to the fact she’s so conscious of her technique. She’s just driven. She wants to be better, and she’s so knowledgeable that she’ll talk to me about former Olympic champions and the techniques they used. Grace will continue to break records and improve because that is who she is: that is part of her personality."
Performance Point: “I think I had a better start that day,” Stark said of the Oakland County hurdles race. “I got out to the first hurdle, and actually I’ve been working on my arms – working on not raising over hurdles, but keeping them low and right in front of me. … I thought I’d pulled off a good time, but I didn’t know it was good enough for a state record. I hit the last hurdle, and I didn’t know how much that slowed me down.”
Give it up for Gail: “Gail Devers (a U.S. Olympic gold medalist in 1992 and 1996), she did the 100 and she did the hurdles too, and she’s the big person I look up to. I’ve been told she has a similar body structure to me, so I thought, well, she’s my height, she did the hurdles and the dash, so she’s very similar to me. And she’s someone I’ve been told to watch by my coaches."
Mat time pays off: “(Gymnastics) made me stronger, my whole body. I did a lot of sprints toward the vault table, and I thought that helped. And the technique we had; it taught me a lot about discipline, helped me prevent injuries, all the workouts that we did.”
Fun to be fast: “I like the pressure of (racing). I like being out on the line, going off and being in the race. I like the thrill of it, really. Not knowing who is going to win, how the race is going to turn out. And giving all of yourself to something you care about is really fun.”
Difference in the details: “I take time with things, make sure they’re done right before I finish them. I think that reflects in both (athletics and academics) how I get stuff done. I’m very critical of myself. If it’s not done almost perfect, I find something to work on or something to fix.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 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 2016-17 honorees:
May 25: Brendon Gouin, Gaylord golf – Read
May 18: Hannah Ducolon, Bay City All Saints softball – Read
May 11: Mason Phillips, Salem track & field – Read
May 4: Lillian Albaugh, Farwell track & field – Read
April 27: Amber Gall, Shepherd track & field – Read
April 20: Sloane Teske, East Grand Rapids tennis – Read
March 30: Romeo Weems, New Haven basketball – Read
March 23: Jaycie Burger and Maddie Clark, Pittsford basketball – Read
March 16: Camden Murphy, Novi swimming & diving – Read
March 9: Ben Freeman, Walled Lake Central wrestling – Read
March 2: Joey Mangner, Chelsea swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 23: Isabelle Nguyen, Grosse Pointe North gymnastics – Read
Feb. 16: Dakota Hurbis, Saline swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 2: Foster Loyer, Clarkston basketball – Read
Jan. 26: Nick Jenkins, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling – Read
Jan. 19: Eileene Naniseni, Mancelona basketball – Read
Jan. 12: Rory Anderson, Calumet hockey – Read
Dec. 15: Demetri Martin, Big Rapids basketball – Read
Dec. 1: Rodney Hall, Detroit Cass Tech football – Read
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTO: (Top) White Lake Lakeland's Grace Stark clears a hurdle during a race this season. (Middle) Stark begins to break away from the pack. (Action photos courtesy of the White Lake Lakeland athletic department; head shot courtesy of the Oakland Press.)
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Meridian Speedsters Find Home on Track
May 20, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
SANFORD — Nobody had to talk Christian Petre into playing baseball or persuade Hailey Stockford that playing softball might be fun.
Both fell in love with those respective sports early on.
But track and field? THAT took some lobbying from others to get the two sprint stars at Sanford Meridian on the oval.
Both added more titles to championship careers Friday, as each won the 100 and 200-meter sprints at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Regional at Clare to qualify for the MHSAA Finals on June 4 at Comstock Park. Petre also ran on two winning relays, while Stockford ran on a relay that finished runner-up.
Petre was a freshman when his older brother, Mic, tried to talk him into running track.
"He saw me run during my football games and said he really wanted me to run track," Petre said. "He put some pressure on me. At first, I wasn't really sure, because the only thing I knew was baseball back then. I wasn't really sure about track. I didn't think it was a good idea. I told him 'no,' at first. Eventually, I changed my mind. I said, 'I might as well try it. I don't know where this could lead.'"
In Petre's case, it led to an MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 100-meter championship among four all-state finishes last spring while he also played on a Sanford Meridian baseball team that was ranked No. 2 in the state before getting upset in the District Semifinals.
For Stockford, there was a similar reward for adding track and field to her plate in the spring. In her first year on the track, the former softball center fielder won the Division 3 championship in the 100 and 200.
Her speed became apparent when she was faster than many of the boys on the football team in a 40-yard dash in gym class. The instructor for that class was Mike Bilina, who is Meridian's varsity football and boys track and field coach.
"My time was really good," Stockford recalls. "He kept telling me I should join the track team. I'm like, 'No, I'm playing softball; I don't think that's for me.' I ended up changing my mind. I guess at the time I was thinking I wanted to dedicate everything to softball. I thought it would be best to focus on one sport."
Stockford finally came out for track one week into the season last year as a junior. She quickly caught on, winning the 100 in 12.07 seconds and the 200 in 25.11 seconds at the Division 3 Finals, just 45 days after competing in the first meet of her life.
Both became champions while juggling two sports — their first loves and their new loves. Neither has been beaten in the sprints this season as they attempt to close out their high school careers with more championships.
"The coaches are pretty understandable and communicate well with each other on what day I'd be doing what," Petre said. "It's not that difficult for me, really. I put a lot of work in over the offseason. I try to get ahead of the game before the season actually starts, so when the season comes around I can just go about it normally and not have to stress about going back and forth with each sport."
Being able to do two sports in the same season not only benefits student-athletes who are capable of handling the workload, but it benefits the teams at Sanford Meridian, which has an enrollment of 408.
"Because we're so small, if we didn't have dual sports, we'd lose a lot of athletes from one sport to the next," girls track and field coach Jenny Nosakowski said. "We're pretty open. We try to work with the coaches. We've had a lot of kids come over from baseball this year. We try to work it so both of our teams, baseball and track, will benefit."
Running in his first MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals, Petre cracked the top four in all four of his events to help Meridian place fourth as a team. He won the 100-meter dash in come-from-behind fashion with a time of 11.13 seconds. He anchored the fourth-place 800 relay team and third-place 400 relay team before finishing third in the 200 in 22.72 seconds.
Petre is convinced that the competition he's experienced in other sports helped him cope with the pressure of track and field Finals.
"Especially since I was on varsity as a freshman in football and baseball," he said. "Just playing on a bigger stage at only 14 years old really helped me. I was really nervous at state last year. I had a lot of adrenaline pumping. I didn't know what to expect. I feel like the past experience really did help. I wasn't as nervous as I could have been."
Running at a high level all day may have caught up with Petre in the 200, his final event. He had the fastest time in the preliminaries (22.44) before taking third.
"I don't want to make any excuses," he said. "I had a long day with prelims and relays. I guess I didn't train my body as well as I could have last year, so I got a little fatigued and came up a little bit short. I didn't run the race I expected in the 200."
Coming up short in the 200 wasn't the biggest disappointment on that day for Petre. In the middle of the meet, he learned that his baseball teammates were upset, 13-8, by Beaverton in the District Semifinals. The Mustangs had a 29-6 record going into that game.
"I was really hoping to come back after states and play with my team," Petre said. "It did kind of put a little downer on the day, but it was what it was."
Petre made a different decision the previous year, opting to play in the baseball Districts rather than run in the track and field Finals. He helped the Mustangs win the District championship before they lost in the Regional Semifinals, 3-2 to Cass City. The track and field team, meanwhile, won the MHSAA Division 3 title.
"It was tough, because at that point I was still new to track," Petre said. "I didn't really know what was going on. Back then, I always said baseball would be first; that's what I decided on that day."
There is a chance that Petre could compete for two MHSAA championship teams this spring. The baseball team has a 25-1 record and is ranked No. 3 in Division 3. The track and field team has been in the top four at the MHSAA Finals the last two years.
"We've talked about it ever since the beginning of both seasons," Petre said. "It's crazy to think that could happen. As of right now, we have to keep working on the little things and keep moving forward, so when it comes time to do this, we're ready to compete."
Petre's speed was also put to good use as Meridian's starting quarterback the last four years. Petre led Meridian to a school-record 10 victories last fall. The Mustangs won their first 10 games before losing to eventual Division 6 champion Ithaca in the second round. He had a 30-10 record as Meridian's quarterback, having been promoted from the junior varsity early in his freshman year.
"I was the head JV coach," Bilina said. "He was taken from me in Week 2. We knew he was a special athlete early on. He was just faster than everyone as a freshman. He was forced into a position where he had to go up a little bit quicker. He handled it very well. He's the winningest quarterback in Meridian history. He's received a lot of individual and team honors. He's in the history books here at Meridian, that's for sure."
Petre, a center fielder and pitcher, isn't sure which sport he'll play in college.
"I have a preferred walk-on to Northwood for football," he said. "Davenport has offered me for track. Saginaw Valley is still talking to me for track. I'm going to see how the summer plays out for baseball."
Petre legged out four triples in a doubleheader sweep of Gladwin on Tuesday, including two in the first inning of the opening game. For the season, Petre is hitting .541 with six triples, a homer, 22 RBI and 40 runs.
As one could imagine, stealing bases was a big part of Stockford's game on the softball diamond.
"A lot of teams we play pretty much expect it," said Stockford, who was a center fielder.
Stockford also played volleyball at Sanford Meridian, but softball had always been her favorite sport.
"I played since I was little in T-ball," she said. "My dad was a really good baseball player, so it was just in the family. My brother and sister also played."
Another family member, cousin Sarah Stockford, helped close the deal in getting Hailey to run track last season.
"A week into the season, I just got the urge to run it," Hailey said. "My cousin was on the team, and I'm really close with her. I figured it'd be a good year to try it if I was going to. I had been told I was fast. I knew I was fast based on stealing in softball."
Less than seven weeks after getting started in the sport, Stockford found herself on the track at Comstock Park as a championship contender in both sprint events.
"You never know what to expect, especially it being my first year running, but that's obviously the outcome I was hoping for," Stockford said. "I just wanted to go in there and see what I could do.
"It's a great atmosphere. It could be overwhelming. There are a lot of schools there. You know how important the meet was. It was a different experience, but it was fun. In every other sport I played, you relied on your teammates. Being there in an individual sport in such an important meet was different for me."
Stockford has never been beaten in the 100 in her high school career, losing in the finals of the 200 only three times. Her talent caught the eye of Saginaw Valley State University, which offered her a track and field scholarship. So, the girl who thought of herself primarily as a softball player will be competing in a different sport on the college level.
"I had coaches talk to me about playing softball in college, but I see potential in myself in track," Stockford said. "I've done good so far. I'm hoping to get better and see how I can do. I thought it would be something I might regret if I didn't try it."
Bill Khan served as a sportswriter at The Flint Journal from 1981-2011 and currently contributes to the State Champs! Sports Network. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Sanford Meridian's Christian Petre leads the pack during a sprint at Beaverton on April 27. (Middle) Meridian's Hailey Stockford takes off from the blocks, also during the Beaverton meet. (Photos courtesy of the Sanford Meridian athletic department.)