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.)
Keweenaw Classic Provides Indoor Competition as UP Spring Begins
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
April 28, 2022
HOUGHTON — The weather may still be in no particular hurry to warm up, but many Upper Peninsula track & field teams found a way to beat the elements earlier this month.
Michigan Technological University, as it had for many years, was ready to lend a helping hand and hosted its annual Keweenaw Classic indoor meet April 12.
Northern Michigan University also has hosted high school meets inside the Superior Dome for more than 25 years. Those meets, however, have been interrupted by COVID-19.
This year’s event at Tech included a pre-meet clinic for the first time.
“The Tech athletes were very helpful,” said Houghton boys coach Erik Johnson. “With no meets in the Dome, this kind of fills a void. It was absolutely critical to get this in. With 44 guys on the team, any open meet you can get is good. This gives us a chance to compete with schools we often don’t see.”
Baraga coach Tammy Crittenden was also thankful for the opportunity.
“The clinic was very helpful,” she said. “Hopefully, our kids got something out of it. We also brought our middle school kids to the clinic. They do a nice job putting on this meet and helping all the student-athletes.”
L’Anse coach John Jacobson had similar thoughts.
“The clinic was very valuable, and I think we learned a few things,” he said. “We’re very thankful to have this opportunity. A lot of work goes into this.”
Team scores weren’t kept, and shot put was the lone field event.
“We appreciate the opportunity to do shot put,” said Negaunee girls coach Vickie Paupore. “That’s one area I think we’re going to be real strong. It was nice for our younger kids to have this experience. I’m very grateful for our kids to have a chance to compete this early in the season. We still have snow on our track.”
Bark River-Harris sophomore Mackenzie Hoffmeyer, who won the 60 and 200-meter dashes, was grateful to have a chance to compete.
“I was real nervous at first,” she said. “After the 60 I felt little more relaxed. I was in the fifth lane in the 200. I knew I had to go out fast.”
Ontonagon junior Makennah Uotila was also anxious to get the season underway.
“Getting a meet in right now was huge,” she said. “Pretty soon we’ll be doing two meets a week. This was good for conditioning.”
Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie hosted two indoor meets this year with the more recent one taking place April 21.
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTO Ontonagon’s Makennah Uotila, here starting the 400 at last season’s Upper Peninsula Division 3 Finals, was among athletes who competed at the Keweenaw Classic. (Photo by Kara Camps.)