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.)
Sophomore Stars Lead Hart Girls' Latest Championship Charge
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2023
KENT CITY – If the expression “Tradition never graduates” holds any validity, then girls track & field teams competing in MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 were put on notice again by Hart’s squad Saturday at Kent City High School.
Hart captured its second-straight LPD3 Finals championship and third in six years. And the Pirates did it with a pair of sophomores leading the way in Jessica Jazwinski and Addi Hovey.
Hart totaled 64 points to hold off runner-up Olivet (56.5). Lansing Catholic was third (46), Hillsdale fourth (46) and Jackson Lumen Christi fifth (31).
“This one was more nerve-racking (than last year) because the expectations were a little more there. Last year was more maybe a bit of a surprise,” said Hart coach Calvin Ackley, whose 2022 team scored 63 points and cleared the rest of the field by 24.
“They did great. They knew how to be champions because they were last year. I remember telling them last year halfway through the season that if they look around the room, this is probably the best team in the state and none of them told me they didn’t believe it at that time. This year I didn’t say anything because I think they just knew they were right up there.”
Hovey and Jazwinski are two of those athletes with said quiet confidence.
In Ackley’s words, Hovey was “great” as an all-around athlete and point-scorer, while Jazwinski was “honestly the linchpin” with her distance races.
The 5-foot-10 Hovey took first in high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 4 inches, and she placed third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.53 seconds.
The Associated Press Division 3 first-team all-state basketball player, who helped Hart reach the hoops Semifinals in March, also ran on the Pirates’ third-place 400 relay (50.78) and seventh-place 800 relay (1:49.32) Saturday.
“It was fun,” Hovey said. “A lot of our older teammates put all the effort into (this season), and in the end I think it really paid off for how hard we worked this season. I’m really proud of us.
“I mean, I wish I did a little better in the high jump, but it’s really hot out so that has its side effects, but overall I’m pretty happy with how I did perform,” added Hovey, who established a personal best of 5-11 in the high jump this season, which ranked her fifth nationally in the event.
Jazwinski, a New Balance All-American runner who was the MHSAA LP Division 3 individual cross country champion last fall, earned all-state honors in four events Saturday.
She finished first in the 3,200 run (10:57.99), second in the 1,600 (4:58.86) and third in the 800 (2:16.22). Jazwinski also helped Hart score valuable points on the fourth-place 3,200 relay team along with Lexie Beth Nienhuis, Abigail Pretty and Alyson Enns.
“I’m super excited just because, like, I know all the girls so well and we’re all such good friends. To see everybody, like, working so hard at practices and improving … . This year, we actually have so many girls qualified for state that have never qualified before and just to see everybody improving, it’s so amazing.
“Just to contribute to that, I’m super excited about that.”
Other big winners Saturday included Almont senior Devin Johnston and Onsted sophomore Emmry Ross.
Johnston, a dual-sport athlete who also plays softball, raced to first-place finishes in the 100 (personal-record 12.14 seconds) and 200 (24.98 PR). She also anchored her team’s fourth-place 400 relay (50.92).
An Eastern Illinois signee for track, it was tough for Johnston not to be there for her softball team in Saturday’s District tournament. But track is her primary sport, and the decision certainly paid off for her.
“I’m glad that I finished out strong,” Johnston said. “Being a senior, it’s a lot of emotions but I’m glad I finished with the best I could do. I mean, I’m sad that it’s over, but I’m glad with how it went and how I performed.
“(Almont’s softball team) lost in Districts today, but I came here. My sophomore year, my primary was softball and I had to choose so I went to softball Districts that year instead of (track) states. Junior year, I picked (track) states and then this year I picked (track) states. I mean, it’s hard but going into two sports I kind of know it’s going to happen unless (the softball opponent) agrees to move (the game) and they didn’t this year.”
Ross, meanwhile, has a couple more years to perform at the track Finals. On Saturday, she won individual championships in the 400 (56.48) and 800 (2:11.25 PR).
Ross was all-state in a third event, running a leg on Onsted’s fifth-place 3,200 relay (9:48.46), and she just missed all-state distinction as her team’s 800 relay quartet finished ninth.
Like Hart’s Jazwinski alluded, Ross said that a key to performing well on the steamy afternoon was managing the heat.
“I was trying to keep in a very good headspace – it was the same for everybody, so I didn’t want to let it get me down. It was the same for everybody – not one person was running in any cooler temperature,” Ross said. “I just went out there and did the best I could, and I think I did very well.”
Other champions Saturday included: Lumen Christi’s Madison Osterberg in the 1,600 (4:55.02), Hillsdale’s Mia Hinz in the 100 hurdles (15.89), Olivet’s Emma Peters in the 300 hurdles (46.09 PR), Olivet’s Payton Otto in shot put (39-4½), Quincy’s Sophia Snellenberger in discus (141-5), Grand Rapids West Catholic’s Ally Olszewski in pole vault (11-3), Napoleon’s Alyssa Budd in long jump (17-11.5 PR), Olivet’s 400 relay (McKenzie Speer, Megan Neitzel, Alyssa Kennedy, Celina Sinclair; 50.30), West Catholic’s 800 relay (Ally Olszewski, Alexis Patterson, Aislynn Sweedyk, Claire Arends; 1:46.36), Olivet’s 1,600 relay (Emily Peters, Sophia Pell, Olivea Gessner, Cassie Coleman; 4:06.68) and Lansing Catholic's 3,200 relay (Tessa Roe, Frances Melinn, CC Jones, Hannah Pricco; 9:23.82).
Running tradition has been strong at Hart for a number of years. The Pirates’ girls cross country program won five straight MHSAA LP Division 3 titles (2017-2021) and placed fourth in the fall of 2022.
Expectations are high across Hart’s cross country and track programs. Even though athletes graduate each season, the next group comes in prepared to carry on that tradition.
“I mean, after last year, you kind of look at, ‘We’re missing Kendall Williamson, we’re going to miss Lauren VanderLaan,’ and think, ‘How are we going to fill those gaps?’” Ackley said.
“But I remember watching Addi Hain (now a Hart freshman) – I go to the middle-school meet, I watched her run and I’m like, ‘That girl’s going to help us next year,’ and sure enough, she did. So that’s a good feeling. … We’re going to miss (seniors) Savanna (Owens) and Aspen Boutell and I know I am missing some other girls that are scorers for us, but there will be girls that will step up and take those spots hopefully. We’ll see.”
PHOTOS (Top) Hart’s Addi Hovey, center, sprints alongside Comstock’s Ti’Anna Murphy-Ryan, left, and Almont’s Devin Johnston. (Middle) Jessica Jazwinski leads a race by a large margin for the Pirates. (Photos by Carter Sherline/RunMichigan.com.)