Saints Shine Across Board in UPD2 Repeat
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 3, 2018
KINGSFORD — The St. Ignace girls placed in all 17 events Saturday, repeating as Upper Peninsula Division 2 track champions with 160 points.
Runner-up Iron Mountain scored 90 and Ishpeming placed third at 75.
St. Ignace junior Libby Becker won the 800-meter run in 2 minutes, 24.5 seconds, 1,600 (5:23.52) and 3,200 (11:56.41) and helped the winning 1,600 relay (4:24.82).
“I just wanted to do my best,” she said. “I wanted to PR. But if I didn’t, that’s okay too. I love these conditions. The breeze helped out a lot. It’s hard to run in dead heat.”
Junior Emily Coveyou, also a part of the 1,600 relay, added a first in the 400 (1:04.11) and was runner-up in the 100 (13.56) and 200 (27.73) on this sunny and mild day.
“That wasn’t my best time in the 400,” said Coveyou, who was battling a chest cold. “My starts were better today than usual, but it was harder for me to breathe.”
The Saints started the day by squeezing past Manistique for the 3,200 relay title. They were clocked at 11:04.29, edging the Emeralds by two hundredths of a second.
“Four different girls tried out for the 3,200 relay and it took a while to find the right combination,” said senior Caitlin Dean. “We just tried to keep pace with Manistique. It was exciting when Allison (Smith) went ahead for a while.”
A first trip to the Finals provided plenty of motivation for Saints’ freshman Hallie Marshall, who also helped the 3,200 relay.
“This is the last day of track,” said Marshall, who was also runner-up in the 3,200 (12:54.14) and third in the 1,600 (5:50.28). “I just practiced real hard for this. I’m really excited to be here.
“Our (3,200 relay) team really improved at the Regional (May 18 at Manistique). After finishing so close to Manistique in the Regional, we knew we had a chance.”
Freshman Emmalee Hart placed second in the 800 (2:30.74), shared second with teammate Jessie Frazier in pole vault (7-6) and helped the 1,600 relay.
“It felt great to end the day with a W,” said Hart. “It was a great effort by everybody. It’s nice to have a competitive team. Our seniors show us what we need to do to reach that point.”
St. Ignace senior Linnee Gustafson captured high jump for the fourth straight year at 4-11.
“That was definitely not my best jump, but I’ve been jumping around that height all year,” said Gustafson, who will play basketball at Northwood University next winter. “I just wanted to win it four years in a row. I wasn’t concerned about the height as much as the place.”
The Saints also got a first from Heather Lamb in long jump (14-8½).
Saints coach Trudy Olsen was understandably happy with the team’s effort.
“All the girls did good,” she said. “Linnee winning high jump four years in a row was real special. She works hard the year around. Emily did a great job considering she wasn’t feeling the best. Libby works real hard. That was an amazing performance by her.”
Iron Mountain’s Taylor Talerico won the 100 (13.45), with Olivia Berutti taking the 200 (27.72) and both helping the winning 400 relay (52.76).
Ishpeming’s Katie Loman won the 100 hurdles (16.55), and Berutti was runner-up (16.64). Loman (48.88) won the 300 hurdles just ahead of Talerico (49.34).
Iron River West Iron County had a double-winner in senior Rachael Tefft, who took shot put (36-6½) and discus (112-7).
PHOTOS: (Top) St. Ignace’s Libby Becker sets the pace in a relay Saturday. (Middle) Ishpeming’s Katie Loman, left, and Iron Mountain’s Taylor Talerico clear the final hurdles in the 300. (Photos by Cara Kamps. Click for more at RunMichigan.com.)
Future Rivals Shine at Kent City, Hart Beats All for 2nd Finals Win
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
June 5, 2022
KENT CITY – Kylee Poulton and Lani Bloom are small-school standouts headed for the big time of Division I track & field in the Big Ten Conference.
They showed why at Saturday’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals at Kent City High School. They’re about to be arch-rivals in college, too.
Poulton, a Holland Black River senior signed with Indiana University, sprinted to individual titles in the 100-meter dash (12.28 seconds) and 200 (24.83). Bloom, an Ithaca senior signed with Purdue University, ran away with championships in the 800 (2:11.86) and 1,600 (4:49.60). Both runners also anchored relays for their respective teams.
Cross country power Hart was a landslide winner of the team Finals title, the Pirates’ second overall and first since 2018, as they totaled 63 points – 24 more than runner-up Pewamo-Westphalia. Onsted was third (33), Montague fourth (29) and Quincy fifth (28).
“You know, it’s been fun. I know when I started coaching back in ’98 for Hart, they needed somebody and it kind of just grew into a passion. I love coaching – I like teaching school, but I love coaching, too,” said Hart girls track coach Calvin Ackley, who is an assistant for the Pirates’ girls cross country program that’s a five-time reigning champ in LP Division 3.
“It’s fun. It’s fun just to put Hart on the map a little bit in one small aspect of life. … If you’re going to do something, do it all-out, you know.”
All-out is exactly the way Poulton and Bloom performed Saturday.
For Poulton, those were her first two Finals championships. She had the best time of all qualifiers in the 400 but decided not to run that event because she wanted to conserve energy for the 200. Last year, she was LPD3 runner-up in the 100, third in the 200 and fourth in the 400.
Poulton ran the anchor leg on Black River’s 1,600 relay team to close the day Saturday. That quartet did not place, but she still enjoyed herself.
“This year was really fun. I really love my team this year,” said Poulton, who ran into a bit of a headwind Saturday but still felt strong. “Having a 4x4 relay has been, like, a highlight because it’s just so fun.
“In the past years, I wasn’t able to participate in relays, but we were able to put together a pretty good team this year and run in the state finals. I’d say my highlight would be the Regional meet. We were last (in the 1,600 relay) and then we ended up becoming first (at the Regional).”
Bloom is no stranger to MHSAA Finals championships. She also won 800 and 1,600 titles at last year’s Finals, plus she captured an LP Division 3 cross country championship in the fall.
Bloom anchored Ithaca’s 3,200 relay team that placed fourth.
“I was really nervous going into (Saturday’s meet) because I haven’t really had a lot of races where I had to have that get-up-and-go mindset where I had to, like, actually race my hardest, dive over the line every time,” she said. “It was a challenge for me today, but I feel like I really rose to the occasion and I’m really proud of what I did today.”
Other individual champions from Saturday’s LP Division 3 Finals included Onsted’s Emmry Ross in the 400 (57.93), Grand Rapids Covenant Christian’s Meghan Beute in the 3,200 (personal record 10:37.57), Pewamo-Westphalia’s Saige Martin in the 100 hurdles (15.23 PR) and 300 hurdles (46.24 PR), Sand Creek’s Grace Elliott in shot put (40-4.25 PR), Grayling’s Rylan Finstrom in discus (145-2 PR), Lawton’s Heidi Newhouse in high jump (5-5), Grand Rapids West Catholic’s Ally Olszewski in pole vault (11-0 PR) and Benzie Central’s Gloria Stepanovich in long jump (17-4.25).
Two of Montague’s relay teams claimed championships, in the 400 (50.24) and 800 (1:47.10). Ross helped Onsted also win the 1,600 relay (4:06.02), while Hart cruised to victory in the 3,200 (9:30.18).
“I mean, it’s crazy. We just came here with nine girls, and we knew we were seeded decently high. But just to go out here and finally do it has been something that I didn’t expect at the beginning of the season,” Hart senior Kendall Williamson said. “I had no idea we were going to be here.”
PHOTOS (Top) Holland Black River’s Kylee Poulton, middle, sets the pace during one of her sprint championships Saturday at Kent City. (Middle) Ithaca’s Lani Bloom builds a significant lead during one of her victories. (Click for more from Carter Sherline/Run Michigan.)