St Ignace Returns to D2 Title Height
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2017
KINGSFORD — The St. Ignace girls returned to familiar territory Saturday, earning their first Upper Peninsula Division 2 track title in three years with 110 points.
Munising took runner-up honors at 102, and two-time defending champion Ishpeming took third this time with 91.
“We have a great group of girls who work well together,” said St. Ignace coach Trudy Olsen. “They came here hungry. They wanted to regain the title. They did amazing. It’s all about them.”
Prior to 2015, the Saints were crowned champions five years in a row, including a Division 3 title in 2013.
St. Ignace junior Linnee Gustafson matched the meet record in high jump at 5 feet, 4 inches, which she shares with Nicole Vanderlin of Norway from 2011 and 2012.
Gustafson’s winning leap also set a school record, an inch higher than her previous best (5-3) from this year’s Regional meet on May 19.
“I’m excited,” she said. "Today my steps felt perfect. It was a relief to set the school record in the Regional. Now I’m mostly competing with myself.”
Sophomore teammate Emily Coveyou anchored the winning 1,600 relay, clocked at a season-best 4:23.12, and placed second in the 200 (27.86) and 400 (1:01.70)
“It feels good to get the title back.” said Coveyou. “We felt we had a pretty good chance coming in. I think this gives us motivation for next year.”
Classmate Libby Becker held off Iron River West Iron County senior Emmy Kinner for the 800 title. Becker was clocked at 2:27.19, followed by Kinner in a school-record 2:28.02.
“This is very, very, very exciting,” said Becker. “I heard her coming behind me. I was feeling a little pressure, but I turned that pressure into energy. The 800 is a very tough race. The last 200 meters is the most challenging. You get tired, but have to find a way to overcome that.”
Munising senior Michaela Peramaki, who will continue her track & field career at Central Michigan University, won pole vault (8-6), long jump (15-8¾) and the 100 (12.79), the last ahead of Kinner – who had won the 100, 200 and 400 the last two years.
“I had never beaten her (Kinner) before,” said Peramaki. “I did not expect that. I knew if I was going to beat Emmy, I needed a good start and I executed that. In long jump, I didn’t jump as far as I usually do, but it still went well. I want to thank my parents (Matt and Ann) for giving me the God-given talent and all the encouragement they gave me. They have helped me so much.”
St. Ignace senior Alysse Bentley, who was runner-up in pole vault at 8-0, described what it was like to jump with Peramaki.
“It’s good competition,” she said. “I knew I was seeded second and just wanted to finish as high as I was seeded. I was impressed with how hard she runs and her swing up. You can tell she puts a lot of time into it.”
Freshman Madeleine Peramaki (Michaela’s sister) won the 1,600 (5:38.69) and 3,200 (12:58.11) and placed third in the 800 (2:32.13). Junior teammate Alyssa Webber was runner-up in the 3,200 (13:17.80) and third in the 1,600 (5:50.41).
Ishpeming’s Marissa Maino swept the weight events, taking shot put (36-6¼) and discus (108-9½).
Kinner set a meet record in the 400 (59.18), topping the previous (1:00.30) by Kara Dale of Ishpeming in 2010. She also won the 200 (27.25) and was runner-up in the 100 (12.87).
“This is the first time breaking a minute in the 400, and having all the competition helped me get the school record in the 800,” she said. “I was in lane 2 in the 100, which makes it tough because you’re not next to the fastest runners. Breaking a minute in the 400 is something I really wanted to do, and I had a good day for it.”
Kinner then described how her track career began.
“When I was in eighth grade, I ran track to get out of school,” she said. “Mrs. B (coach Kristi Berutti) saw me running and wanted me to run against some of the high school runners. She believed in me and convinced me to come out. At first I didn’t like it, but it grew on me.”
Newberry senior Taylor Bryant captured the 100 hurdles (16.56) and 300 (49.18), helped the Indians take second in the 800 relay (1:54.40) and placed third in the 100 dash (13.52).
“My starts were okay,” said Bryant. “It felt good coming out in the hurdles. My start could have been a little better in the 100 dash, but it still went all right.”
Ishpeming’s Katie Loman took second in the 100 hurdles (17.07) and 300 (49.33) and anchored the winning 800 relay (1:53.77).
PHOTO: (Top) St. Ignace's Linnee Gustafson pushes the pace during the 800 relay. (Middle) Newberry’s Taylor Bryant breaks away on the way to winning the 100 hurdles. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)
Marysville Thrower Hudson Dancing Into Record Books, Finals Contention
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
April 12, 2023
If you see Janae Hudson doing the “Cotton Eye Joe” dance near a shot put or discus pit this spring, don’t be surprised.
But do pay attention, because a Marysville school record may be about to fall.
“I used to get really stressed out before meets, and it would definitely impact my throws,” the Marysville junior said. “I thought that maybe I need a specific routine to not freak me out or anything, and I kind of have it with volleyball, as well. I like to just go off in my own space. When I’m in the hole, I like to kind of just dance around and get all the jitters out before I throw. It’s kind of like a line dance, something I can do in a single space and not bump into other people. I did it last year, and it started to work.”
Hudson, who placed third at the 2022 Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals in the discus, has already danced and thrown her way into the Marysville record books. She holds the school record in the discus with a throw of 135 feet, 7 inches. Her sights are now set on the shot put record of 40-10, which is about a foot and a half better than her personal best of 39-2¼.
“She’s such a competitor,” Marysville coach Brian Gwisdala said. “She’s already set high expectations for herself. Track is one of those sports where she’s got distances she wants to hit this year. And I think it’s the sign of a mature kid, even though she wants to finish first at states, her big thing right now is she wants that shot put record at the school. She threw 29-2¼ at Saginaw this year. She’s getting there.”
While Hudson showed potential as a freshman, qualifying for the Division 2 Finals and finishing 10th in the shot put, breaking school records certainly wasn’t the expectation at that point.
In fact, when she entered high school, she figured volleyball would be her main focus. While she still plays and is a major contributor for the Vikings volleyball program, throwing has emerged as the sport she wants to pursue collegiately.
“I was really nervous and timid to actually go to my first track practice,” she said. “But that’s when I fell in love with it. I wasn’t expecting to get this serious with it at the beginning of my freshman year.”
During her freshman year, Hudson began working with throwing coach Michael Hale of Kaizen Throws, and saw immediate results.
She continued to work with Hale through the offseason, and that combined with adding some strength – and a dance routine – helped her take off as a sophomore. In her second season, she added more than two feet to her shot put personal record, and nearly 30 in the discus.
“I think a huge part of it was that she kind of grew into her body,” Gwisdala said. “She’s always been a tall kid, and that coordination and everything caught up to her. I saw it with her in volleyball, too, how much she improved athletically. She really worked hard and put in the time. She throws during the indoor season in the winter. She’s got her private throwing coach that she goes to. All of those factors, and she had the determination and drive to go and do it.”
All of that has put Hudson in a strong position heading into her junior season, not only to further one school record and chase down another, but to improve upon her places at the Division 2 Finals.
Her personal-best discus throw would have tied for first at the 2022 Finals, while her personal best in the shot put would have placed fourth.
“I would love to go to states in both events, and to place first in both would be an ideal situation,” she said. “But if I could finish top three in both, I would walk out happy.”
Helping Hudson chase that ideal situation of winning a Finals title is having watched a teammate do it just two years ago, as Reese Powers won the 400 meters as a junior at the 2021 Division 2 Finals.
“That’s huge,” Gwisdala said. “Just the fact that it was somebody from our school. And it wasn’t someone that necessarily just did one thing, either. Reese and (all-state runner Hannah Fisher) both were multi-sport athletes. The other huge part, and I would say this about Janae right now, too, with Reese was just her work ethic. You would see it every day in practice.”
All of that resonated with Hudson.
“It was a wild moment,” she said. “She’s a junior in high school and can do that; I can do that, too. It would probably mean the world to me.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Marysville’s Janae Hudson unwinds while putting the shot during a meet. (Middle) Hudson prepares to let the discus fly. (Photos by Rodney Thomas/Thomas Sports Photography.)