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.)
Negaunee Out-Throws, Out-Races Expectations to Reign in UPD1
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 5, 2022
KINGSFORD — The Negaunee girls were ranked third coming into the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Track & Field Finals here Saturday.
Apparently, the Miners didn’t pay much attention to that as they captured their first title in four years with 119½ points. They were followed by two-time reigning champion Marquette with 98 and Sault Ste. Marie at 86.
“They outperformed their ranking,” said Negaunee coach Vickie Paupore. “Every single girl stepped up. I’m so proud of their grit and determination. Endla (Harris) was ranked eighth and placed second in the 1,600 (5:43.82) and Madison Pekrul winning the 100 hurdles (17.35) and taking second in the 300s (50.32) is an example of a freshman stepping up. We have good senior leaders, and they got the job done today. I appreciate the effort of all the assistant coaches. They make my job so much easier.”
In the weight events, Negaunee grabbed the top three places in shot put and senior Alyssa Hill, who plans to continue her track & field career at Bemidji (Minn.) State University, won discus at 120 feet.
“I had hoped to throw a little farther in disc,” said Hill, who set the school record at 123-4 in the Regional at Negaunee on May 19. “There was a little bit of wind, and I probably started thinking about it a little too much. I thought I had pretty good technique.
“A lot of girls on our team had PRs (personal records) today. Our 3,200 relay had its best time by about 30 seconds, and Natalie Bell had a PR in shot. We were ranked 1-2-7-8 in shot and got 1-2-3-5. We moved up a little.”
Junior Eliana Juchemich took shot put with a personal-best throw of 36-3¼. Hill was runner-up (32-5½) and Bell took third (31-6½).
“This is awesome,” she said. “I think my speed was pretty good in the circle, but I had to fix my angle before my release. You want to go with a 45-degree angle. You want to get good enough elevation and yet not too much. If you throw too high, you might not get the distance you want. That was an awesome thing today because everybody wants to win. Our team is real good. We push each other in practice, and it showed today.”
Aubrey Johnson provided Negaunee with an additional first in the 800-meter run (2:30.44).
Marquette showed its speed with Beax Truckey and Julia Ott placing 1-2 in the 100 and 200.
Truckey took the 100 (12.98) and 200 (26.51) and Ott was clocked at 13.01 and 26.59, respectively. The Redettes also captured the 400 (51.99) and 800 relays (1:48.37).
Sault Ste. Marie’s Claire Erickson won the 300 hurdles (49.55) and Cassandra Gallagher took the 3,200 (12:36.83).
Houghton senior and Michigan Tech recruit Ingrid Seagren, who led the entire 3,200 until the final home stretch, was runner-up (12:37).
“This is a real heartbreaker,” said Seagren, who helped the Gremlins win the 3,200 relay (10:19.08). “I’m disappointed in my finish.
“(But) we ran a decent time in our relay. I’m proud of our team.”
Escanaba senior Ciara Ostrenga won the 400 in a personal-best 1:00.22 and helped the winning 1,600 relay (4:16.27).
“After we got fourth in the 3,200 relay, I just wanted to work hard and try to leave here with an individual medal,” she said. “I think our relay did pretty good. All the girls worked and tried hard.”
Houghton's Maria Velat competed in the first-time adaptive events in the 100 (26.56), 200 (51.15), 400 (1:35.96) and shot put (10-0).
PHOTOS (Top) Negaunee’s Aubrey Johnson charges toward the finish on the way to winning the 800 on Saturday. (Middle) Marquette’s Julia Ott (5) and Baux Truckey (4) have a close finish in the 200, with Truckey edging her teammate by eight hundredths of a second. (Click for more from Cara Kamps/Run Michigan.)