Performance: Shepherd's Amber Gall
April 27, 2017
Amber Gall
Shepherd sophomore – Track & Field
Midway through her high school career, Gall already is nearly the fastest cross country runner in Shepherd history, and she’s also on the cusp of rewriting the Bluejays’ track & field record book as well. She achieved her first all-time best on April 19, running the 800 meters is 2:14.83 on her home track to break the former school record, set in 1980, by more than a second – earning the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Shepherd’s girls won both duals that day, against Alma and Standish-Sterling, and Gall also won the 1,600 (5:36.64), 3,200 (13:20.37) and was part of the winning 1,600 relay (4:15.16) with seniors Rachel Mathers, Kylie Hutchinson and Katelyn Hutchinson. Two days later, on Friday, Gall again won the 800 1,600 and as part of the 1,600 and 3,200 relays at Ithaca’s Blue and Gold Invitational, posting a 5:15.28 in the individual 1,600. She’s won every race she’s competed in this season but two, taking second in a 400 and also as part of the 1,600 relay on Wednesday in a league quad meet.
Gall finished third and then fifth, respectively, at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals for cross country her first two seasons, and her personal-best time of 17:50 in the fall is only two seconds shy of Nora Green’s school record run from 1978. Gall finished LP Division 3 Track & Field Finals runner-up in the 3,200 last spring, running 10:52 to approach another school record run by Green (10:48). Gall also is the third-fastest 1,600 runner in school history with a best of 5:05, seven seconds off the record set in 2013 by Kaylie Rhynard – and both track milestones could be hers by the end of this spring. Last week's success gave Gall some ideas about how the 800 might fit into her plans – the time she ran to break the record would’ve put her second in that race at the Division 3 Finals last season. Gall also carries a 4.0 grade-point average, serves on her school’s student council and is active in a number of other school and church activities.
Coach Carey Hammel said: “She is a super kid who works extremely hard and is also a great student. She is very determined to be the best she can be and is a huge running fan. Getting to coach an athlete like that for two seasons (Hammel also coaches girls cross country) is very special because you always know what you are going to get out of her. She is also an incredible teammate in both sports and encourages both the boys and girls on our team to be their best. This year she is on the 3,200 relay with three seniors, and they are very close and she is very proud of what they are able to accomplish in that relay.”
Performance Point: “Beforehand, I was like OK, I want to go after this. I’ll run as hard as possible,” Gall said. “I started out the first lap a little slower than I normally do in 800s, and I was pretty nervous going into the second lap. But with 300 to go, I heard a voice, like God almost, that said, ‘Hey, you can do this. Just push.’ From there, I gave everything I had. I planned on starting faster; I don’t know if my legs were tight that first lap. I was nervous. I knew at a lap that I was slow, and when I finished I was a little shocked.”
Plenty of motivation: “I think that in the offseason, and even last year coming so close in the top five in cross country, being so close in track, it motivates me to work as hard as possible to get (to first). I’m gunning for one, a title, and I’ll work as hard as possible. My teammates motivate me so much. They’re always there right beside me, helping me with everything and the ups and downs of running.”
Following faith: “I believe I don’t do any of this by myself. I believe God is right there helping me though this. I wouldn’t be running, I wouldn’t be doing all of the things I’m doing if not for the gifts given me when I was born.”
Finding inspiration: “I'm one who loves motivational quotes, motivational videos, all of that. I decided one day to try to write a motivational essay for myself; I wanted to see if I could do it. I started writing those, and I actually really like it, just to read, by myself. The 2015 cross season, (I thought) maybe I’ll share this for the team. On overnights I’d always print one off, share it with the team, give them extra motivation to get through races. It was pretty nerve-wracking the first time – I thought maybe they wouldn’t be OK with a freshman doing that. I just took the chance, and I think my teammates like them.”
Mentoring and mentored: “I know a lot of the middle schoolers. They are speedy, and they’re just great people, and I just want them to become the best they can be. Because as a middle schooler, I had as my coach B.J. Tomanek. As a sixth grader, I didn’t know what to run, and he took me in. He expects me to do my best all the time, and he continues to motivate me today. We still run together, we talk, and he’s super motivational along with (coaches Rick) Cahoon and Hammel. They are strong people in my life I took up to, and (coach Wyatt) LeClear gets me through in tough times.”
- 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:
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
PHOTOS: (Top) Shepherd's Amber Gall surges during one of her races last week against Alma and Standish-Sterling. (Middle) Gall rounds a curve during a race at Friday's Ithaca Invitational. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Reigning Champions Rule UPD2 Again with Repeat and 3-Peat Performances
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2023
KINGSFORD – Ishpeming’s Lola Korpi hadn’t lost in the 800, 1,600 or 3,200 at the last two Upper Peninsula Division 2 Finals. The same was true for West Iron County’s Danica Shamion in the 100, 200 and 400.
With that kind of track record, the expectations were through the roof Saturday.
“There’s so much pressure,” the Ishpeming junior said. “People do expect a champion out of me; it gets really hard mentally, there's a lot of pressure on me all the time. But I love to do this. I just love running so much. So I just go out there and do what I can, just do the best I can do.”
Her best continues to be really good.
Korpi won all three of the distance events again, plus she was a member of the first-place 3,200 relay team, which gave her 11 career championships. Shamion, meanwhile, won all of the dashes again as well.
“It’s been a good day, just really hot out,” Shamion said.
Korpi defeated some talented young runners. Pickford freshman Talya Schreiber took second in the 1,600 and 3,200, and Manistique sophomore Leah Goudreau was runner-up in the 800.
“I was challenged on all of them,” Korpi said. “It’s my 200 kick at the end that gets it. Now that I’m a junior I have a lot of experience against all the fast freshmen this year. So I just let them take the lead for a little bit while I coast behind them and then kick it in at the end. Or depending on how I feel, maybe I’ll just go out there right away.”
Her 3,200 relay team, also including Tiana Bosworth, Brittanie Piotrowski and Kadie Kaukola, was down by 200 meters with Hancock in front of them.
“I got the baton and I was just feeling great. I went out and beat her,” Korpi said. “That started the whole team out with a good chunk of points.”
Shamion now has nine individual titles.
She said the 400 dash was her best event of the day. She broke her own Upper Peninsula Division 2 Finals record with a time of 57.18 seconds; she had set the record at 58.77 last year.
“I PR’d by a second, which I really wanted to, so I’m glad,” Shamion said.
Her goal was to finish that race in 56 seconds.
“I was so close,” she said. “But I’m happy I took my own record that I had.”
Shamion also set a UPD2 Finals record in the 200 with a time of 26.34 seconds. Norway’s Dani Gagne had the previous record (26.42).
Shamion almost won four events. Teammate Calli Pellizzer won the high jump in a tiebreaker as both cleared 4 feet, 10 inches.
“Someone from my team won, good for my team,” Shamion said.
The Wykons finished in fourth place with 73 points.
Bark River-Harris repeated as team champ after winning for the first time in school history last year. The Broncos had 100 points, 13 better than runner-up Ishpeming and 24 ahead of third-place Manistique.
Gwinn’s Lena Pleaugh placed first in both of the hurdles events; she was the 100 champion for the second year in a row.
Pickford’s Kadence Potoczak won discus in Division 2 after earning the UPD3 title last year, Manistique’s Danielle Lund won the shot put, Ishpeming’s Mya Hemmer the long jump and St. Ignace’s Avery Visnaw the pole vault.
The Emeralds won the 400 relay (Emma Jones, Lund, Kelsey Muth and Leah Goudreau), and BR-H won the 800 relay (Mckenzie Hoffmeyer, Lauren Zawada, Julia Olson and Marissa Ives) and 1,600 (Juliian Koch, Julia Nault, Zawada and Olson).
PHOTOS (Top) Bark River-Harris's Lauren Zawada hands off to the fourth leg of their 1,600 relay, Julia Olson, on Saturday. (Middle) West Iron County's Danica Shamion starts her winning 400. (Below) Manistique's Leah Goudreau, left, and Ishpeming's Lola Korpi run the first lap of the 800. (Photos by Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)