Preview: Past Champions Filling Upper Peninsula Girls Track & Field Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 2, 2022
An extraordinary 16 individual champions from last season’s Upper Peninsula Girls Track & Field Finals will return to Kingsford this weekend seeking the same success and more. And only six of them are seniors.
The star-studded meet will feature the final high school races for standouts like three-time champion Landry Koski from Rock Mid Peninsula and Houghton distance star Ingrid Seagren. But the Division 2 meet easily could be dominated by sophomores, and the Division 3 Finals return nine of last year’s 13 individual winners including five sophomores and juniors.
Events begin at 10 a.m. (EDT) and tickets to attend can be purchased online only at GoFan. The meets also will be broadcast on MHSAA.tv and viewable with subscription.
Below is a glance at team contenders and individuals to watch in all three divisions.
Division 1
Team forecast: Marquette solidly won its ninth championship over the last 10 seasons (not counting canceled 2020) last spring, but at last month’s Regional edged Sault Ste. Marie by just five points. The Blue Devils were last season’s Finals runner-up as well, and Negaunee in 2018 is the only team other than Marquette to claim a UPD1 championship over the last decade. The Miners had winners in three relays at their Regional and swept hurdles and throws to hold off star-powered Houghton.
Claire Erickson, Sault Ste. Marie junior: The top-seeded contender in the 300 hurdles (50.52) ran the race eight tenths of a second faster than anyone else at a UPD1 Regional. She was third in the 300 at last season’s Finals and ran on two placing relays.
Alyssa Hill, Negaunee senior: She’s seeded first in the discus by nearly 19 feet with a Regional throw of 123-4, and second in shot put at 34 as one of only two (with teammate Eliana Juchemich) who tossed farther than 31-1 in UPD1 qualifying.
Julia Ott, Marquette junior: She’s seeded second in two events – the 100 and 200 behind teammate Baux Truckey – and tied for the top seed in high jump (5-0) after winning that event last year. She’ll also run on the top-seeded 800 relay and being part of the winning 400 relay in 2021.
Ingrid Seagren, Houghton senior: The reigning 1,600 champ is seeded first in that race (5:30.23) by 13 seconds, the 800 (2:30.43) by six seconds and the 3,200 (12:34.34) by six seconds as well. She won the UPD1 cross country championship in the fall.
Baux Truckey, Marquette junior: She entered the mix in a big way last season winning the 100 and 200, and she’s seeded first in both at 12.86 and 26.73 seconds, respectively. She’ll also run on top-seeded 400 and 800 relays after helping both to wins in 2021.
Division 2
Team forecast: West Iron edged Ishpeming by 3½ points at last season’s Final and can match star power with any of the contenders with three-event champion Danica Shamion returning. Ishpeming with another returning three-event champ in Lola Korpi should be in the mix again despite just a third-place Regional finish. Bark River-Harris especially in relays and field events and St. Ignace across the board have enough potential scorers to make this a close meet.
Mckenzie Hoffmeyer, Bark River-Harris sophomore: Her Finals debut last season included the long jump championship and second places in the 100 and 200. She’s seeded first in long jump (15-11½), second in the 200 (27.99) and third in the 100 (13.57) this weekend, and also could run on the top-seeded 800 relay.
Lola Korpi, Ishpeming sophomore: This fall’s UPD2 cross country champion also is the reigning track champion in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. She’s seeded first in those three in 2:31.91, 5:47.79 and 13:09.59, respectively, but in the 3,200 she’ll have to hold off UPD3 cross country champion Kaylen Clark from Newberry. Korpi also is slated to run on the top-seeded 3,200 relay.
Danielle Lund, Manistique sophomore: She placed sixth in shot put in UPD1 last season, and she enters this weekend seeded first in shot put (33-4) and discus (96-0) in UPD2. She’s also slated to run on the top-seeded 1,600 relay.
Chloe Maycroft, Iron Mountain junior: She’s set to compete in the high jump, long jump and run on two third-seeded relays after winning high jump last season. She’s seeded second in that event (4-8) this time.
Danica Shamion, West Iron County sophomore: She burst onto the scene with championships in the 100, 200 and 400 last season, and she’s seeded first in all three this weekend in 13.2, 27.01 and 1:01.23, respectively. The 200 and 400 meet records could be hers with major performances. She’ll also compete in high jump.
Division 3
Team forecast: Ontonagon broke Lake Linden-Hubbell’s three-season Finals winning streak last spring, and won a closely-contested Regional two weeks ago that saw the top five teams all finish less than 11 points from each other. Relay strength and qualifiers throughout the meet should have the Gladiators in the mix, with Pickford’s potential for a number of meet champions make it another favorite.
Lucy Bennin, Pickford senior: Last season’s 200 champion will run that race again and also is seeded second in long jump (14-3¼) and expected to run on the top-seeded 800 relay and second-seeded 400 relay.
Abi Codere, Lake Linden-Hubbell sophomore: The reigning champion in the 100 hurdles is seeded first in that event (17.45) and also will compete in pole vault.
Ellie Delene, Baraga sophomore: The reigning high jump champion is among 10 qualifiers who went between 4-6 and 4-8 at Regionals. She’ll also run both hurdles races.
Daisy Grinsteiner, Stephenson junior: The returning pole vault champion is seeded first (8-6) by a foot, and she’ll also run on two relays.
Emily Jokela, Lake Linden-Hubbell freshman: She’s set up for a major debut seeded first in the 200 (28.48) and 400 (1:03.00), fourth in the 100 (14.01) and second in the 300 hurdles (52.52).
Landry Koski, Rock Mid Peninsula senior: One of the finest distance runners in the peninsula during her career, she’ll look to add to two 1,600 championships and a 3,200 title she’s won over her first two Finals. She’s seeded first in the 800 (2:39.04), 1,600 (5:44.73) and 3,200 (12:56.05), and third in the 400 (1:04.79).
Lilly McIntyre, Ontonagon junior: She won the 100 last season and will run that race again as well as three relays, including as part of the top-seeded 400 and 1,600 groups.
Tristin Smith, Rudyard senior: Last season’s 400 champion will run that race again, is seeded second in the 1,600 (5:48.64) and will run on two relays including the second-seeded 3,200.
Lizzie Storey, Pickford senior: The reigning 300 hurdles champ is seeded first in that race (50.07) and second in the 100 hurdles (18.18) and also will run on the top-seeded 800 and second-seeded 400 relays.
Makennah Uotila, Ontonagon junior: Last year’s long jump champ is seeded first (14-10½) in that event and fourth in the 400 (1:05.19) and will also run the 800 and potentially as part of the top-seeded 1,600 relay.
PHOTOS Ishpeming's Lola Korpi (1) takes the early lead in the 1,600 at the May 13 Negaunee Lions Invitational, with Negaunee's Marlee Plaxco (3) following close behind. (Middle) Marquette's Julia Ott wins the 200 that afternoon. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)
Track Gaining Speed Toward Future with Electronic Starting Devices
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
May 23, 2023
Aubrey Greenfield thinks it might be the perfect time to reevaluate 130 years of tradition.
For a number of reasons, from technical to personal, the Oxford senior sprinter believes it makes sense for the crack of a starting pistol to be eliminated from high school track meets.
Because track meets would benefit in various ways from lowering costs to easier setup at meets to the human factor of competitors not having to flinch at the crack of a pistol shot, Greenfield believes the sport has a chance to embrace new technology – electronic starting devices (ESD).
In essence, an ESD replaces the starting pistol with a light flash, tone sound or both to begin a race.
"High school sports should put the athlete first," Greenfield said. "We should promote sports, and eliminating starting pistols promotes health in terms of PTSD or trauma for athletes and spectators and that would be good. I would like to think people would say that's a good idea."
In fact, Greenfield would go as far as to say if there was not an implementation of electronic starting devices, many of her teammates would have considered giving up the sport.
"If it's something that helps us compete safely, we're all for it," she said.
Greenfield's opinion apparently is spreading. Michigan High School Athletic Association senior assistant director Cody Inglis said the use of ESD makes it both affordable for meet starters and sensible for athletes and fans to rethink the use of starting pistols. While the MHSAA is not mandating electronic starting devices, it does promote the use of what Inglis calls "emerging technology." He notes that ESD are becoming the norm for organizations such as USA Track & Field, the NCAA and an increasing number of high schools.
"I think we have to embrace new technology, and we think this will be something that takes hold," Inglis said.
A key part of embracing ESD is the human element. The tragic Oxford High School shooting Nov. 30, 2021, that took the lives of four students while injuring seven others should not be relived even for a fleeting instance at a high school sporting event. Oxford athletic director Tony DeMare said the school began using ESD at every meet, including the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals last June. He said that decision was embraced by virtually all schools Oxford encountered.
"We were very convinced that the alternative (of ESD) would promote a healthy attitude," DeMare said. "We were overwhelmed with the positive response. If a school was on the fence about it or might not be for it, I think we've started to see the tide turn in favor of people willing to listen and learn about electronic starting devices."
Inglis said the MHSAA is acutely aware of what the crack of a starting pistol can mean to athletes and fans.
"It's unimaginable what Oxford went through, and this is a small way we can help," he said. "We look at a (starting pistol) and think, ‘Could we do something else?’ It's a way of helping to solve a problem."
Over the last several years, the MHSAA has embraced finding an alternative to starting pistols. Inglis noted the discussion started with the cost and diminishing availability of 32-caliber ammunition that meet starters use. A box of ammunition, if it can be found, is around $75 a box.
In addition to cost, there is potential damage from excessive exposure to 150-plus decibels of sound generated by the traditional 32-caliber blanks. Medical studies show damage to ears caused by decibel levels above 120 dB.
The tragedy at Oxford accelerated the conversation.
Inglis said the cost of ESD can be likened to a school sinking money into artificial surfaces at football fields. Yes, there is a great cost at first, but over time money is ultimately saved. An ESD system itself ranges between $200 and $500. Speakers also may need to be purchased, but with ESD starting events like the 800 and 1,600-meter relays positioned near the outside lanes 8, 7, 6 and 5 would result in improved hearing by athletes at the start of a race.
There is one challenge with ESD that track administrators are working to overcome – lighting conditions that lessen the ability to see the ESD’s LED light or strobe when the button is pressed by a starter to begin a race. But that vision difficulty resulting from clear blue skies and backgrounds of setting suns can be substantially improved by incorporating a black background with an ESD – something as simple as a starter holding up black cardboard behind the lighting mechanism at the start of an event.
Inglis said when all factors are considered, the use of ESD makes sense.
"With the climate we live in nowadays, no lookalike guns is good," he said. "We're not mandating this. But people are saying this is affordable."
While switching to ESD would break 130 years of tradition, the timing could be a step forward, said Jeff Hollobaugh, co-author of the book "The Fleet Feet of Spring: Michigan's High School State Championships in Track & Field." He said while no definitive answer is possible, it's likely starting pistols were used at the inaugural state meet at the Jackson Fairgounds in 1895. The meet, which included events like tossing a 16-pound shot put, bike races and a 100-meter sprint, was sponsored by the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Association (a predecessor to the MHSAA) and comprised mostly of the state's larger schools.
Hollobaugh's sentiments echo what many involved in today's high school track & field believe in terms of making a transition from starting pistols to electronic starting devices.
"It's a change, not necessarily good or bad, just different," he said. "It's not a drastic change, but it will take some getting used to. But it is the future. In the end, we'll all be fine."
DeMare believes the future of high school track will definitely include ESD.
"Our desire is that the practicality and sensibility of this will overcome the alternative," he said. "I think we'll see the automation and electronics taking hold of certain elements in track, and people will embrace it."
PHOTOS (Top) Runners watch official Bertha Smiley as they prepare to begin a race during last season's Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals at Rockford. (Middle) An electronic starting device provided by VS Athletics was used to start those races. (Below) Smiley sets to begin an event. (Photos provided by David Kuderka/VS Athletics.)