Superior Dome Gives Jumpstart to Spring
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
April 27, 2017
MARQUETTE — Most Upper Peninsula track coaches will tell anyone the weather always is perfect in the Dome.
After all, the temperature is constantly in the 70s and there’s no wind, rain or snow to contend with inside Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome. And most people agree it was better than competing outdoors last week
Engadine junior Ashtyn Buss was among a group of student-athletes to get a taste of competing in both environments during the Superior Central invitational on April 17.
Buss won girls shot put at 37 feet, 5½ inches inside the Dome, but failed to place in discus, which took place in the great outdoors against a stiff breeze with temperatures hovering near 30 degrees.
“It was pretty important to get a meet in,” she said. “It was very much a relief to be in here for shot. It’s nice and warm in here, but it was sure cold out there for disc. My shoulder tightened up, and I scratched.
“I had good distance on some of my throws, but I kept throwing out of bounds. I can learn from this.”
Cedarville sophomore Caroline Freel, who anchored the winning 1600-meter relay, also stressed the importance of her school’s team getting a meet under its belt.
“This gives us a gauge of where we’re at,” she said. “It was very much a relief to be indoors. Track season up here is known for its unpredictability.”
Although most distance runners are used to running in the cold, Chassell sophomore Lela Rautiola was also glad to be running indoors.
“It helps to get this meet in,” said Rautiola, who won the 1,600 run in 5 minutes, 59.54 seconds. “My lungs are burning from the air, but it’s better than being outdoors today.”
Bark River-Harris coach Katina Demers was mostly thankful the Broncos had a chance to compete.
“It’s so important to get something under our belts in April,” she said. “This was a good learning experience for the younger kids. We’re also very thankful this was indoors. It was very cold outside. I’m surprised they held discus today because of the elements.”
Outside temperatures warmed to the upper 40s the next day (April 18). Rain, however, developed during the course of that day.
Many spectators attending the Marquette Invitational that next day commented about the weather conditions and were glad to have the opportunity to watch track & field competition indoors.
Some distance runners, however, may have preferred to be outdoors on a day during which conditions were more favorable than 24 hours earlier.
Sault Ste. Marie senior Aaron Kinsella may have been among them after winning the 3,200 in 11:12.67.
“That was a pretty good effort by Aaron,” said Sault boys coach D.J. Baars. “He was running all alone and he ran tough. We thought his time might have been a little faster. Aaron said it was hot in here.”
The series of indoor track meets at the Dome concluded with the Ishpeming Invitational on April 19.
Although the sun made an appearance, temperatures had dropped about 10 degrees from the previous day.
Manistique senior Kelsey Dehanke enjoyed the comforts of competing indoors while winning the girls high jump at 4-foot-10.
"It’s a relief to be indoors,” said Dehanke, who plans to attend Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay after high school to major in dental hygiene. “It’s just easier on the leg muscles. I don’t like sitting around in the cold.”
This marked the second meet this season for the Newberry girls, who were runners-up in an outdoor quadrangular meet at St. Ignace the day before.
“It’s important to get meets in this early, but the wind was so cold at St. Ignace,” said Newberry sophomore Madison Grigg, who led off the winning 800 relay. “It’s much better being in here.”
The Ishpeming boys and Munising girls were crowned champions among the Division 2 schools competing in the finale at NMU.
Marquette swept both ends of its invitational, which featured Division 1 schools, and the Bessemer boys and Lake Linden-Hubbell girls earned top honors among the Division 3 schools in the Superior Central Invite.
“Getting meets in early is huge, especially where we’re located,” said Bessemer coach Mark Mazzone. “We often don’t get outside until late April or early May."
PHOTO: Upper Peninsula athletes compete during an April meet at Northern Michigan University's Superior Dome during the start of the 2016 season. (Photo by Paul Gerard.)
Self-Taught Overholt Firing Record Tosses
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
May 10, 2019
We’re all students at YouTube University now, with information — some useful — accessible from experts around the globe. Trending this week are videos ranging from Gordon Ramsay’s breakfast tacos tutorial to step-by-step guides for picking locks with hairpins.
Centreville senior Tyler Overholt made better use of his online browsing time, eventually stumbling upon Poland’s two-time Olympic silver medalist in the discus, Piotr Malachowski. Though he doesn’t know it, Malachowski became Overholt’s coach.
An immeasurable amount of determination, and countless hours of watching film of Malachowski, led Overholt to break a 42-year-old school record earlier this year — a mark he since has bettered twice. At the White Pigeon Invitational in April, Overholt registered a distance of 155 feet, 7 inches to surpass Trent Grossman on the Bulldogs’ record board. A week later, Overholt made a toss of 160-6 in a meet that wasn’t officially finished due to inclement weather. In the following meet, he recorded a throw of 158-1.
“Let me tell you, I don’t smile much, but I had a big smile on my face,” said the soft-spoken Overholt, who earned Division 4 all-state status with a seventh-place finish after posting a mark of 138-3 at last year’s MHSAA Finals. “I was jumping up and down.”
Centreville jumped up to Division 3 this year, but Overholt’s marks still make him one of the favorites a few weeks from now at this year’s Finals at Jenison High School. Yet, you probably wouldn’t assume that with just a passing glance.
As a lanky freshman, Overholt was encouraged to try something other than discus. Still lanky now at 6-foot-6, 192 pounds, Overholt doesn’t look like a prototypical thrower.
But his fascination with the event only grew. As a sophomore, he approached new head coach Mike Hunter about giving it a try. Hunter, like most coaches at smaller schools, does the most he can to instruct his athletes in a wide variety of events. But he’s honest about a lack of expertise in the discus.
“He worked hard at the discus basically by himself,” Hunter said of Overholt. “He did some research and found some people. The hard thing with track is it is hard to coach every event if you don’t understand it, so to speak. I never did field events. I’ve tried to do the best I could to help him, but he’s done a lot on his own.
“He has just worked hard and has great technique. It’s not just arming the thing out there. He’s been great to coach, and he’ll do what you ask him to do. He’s right (in the state championship mix) if he can relax and throw with confidence.”
Overholt, who also took on the shot put and hurdles for the first time this spring, knew mastering the technique could trump strength. So he studied Malachowski and other high-level throwers, had his mother, Debra, record his meets, and he broke down that film as well.
“For the first year, I just searched a lot of Olympic discus throwers and tried to copy them,” he said. “Then I started applying details into the spin. There was a lot of improvement, especially my junior year.”
Gaining 20 pounds over the last year has factored in as well after Overholt begrudgingly followed Hunter’s advice to spend more time in the weight room.
“I wasn’t really into it at first,” Overholt said. “It took me until my senior year to really start lifting. Now I’m a lot stronger.”
And more confident and experienced. He admitted that his performance at the
Finals last year was far from his best as he wrestled with the nerves that often come into play for first-timers. Overholt entered this season with the school record in his crosshairs, and now that he’s crossed that off his list, he’s chasing 170 feet. As a result of his success in the circle, his future plans have been altered in the last week.
Instead of going into the Navy after graduation, Overholt is headed to Olivet College, where he’ll throw for the Comets. He still intends to enlist in the Navy when he’s done.
“Some people are amazed by what I do and want to know the secret,” he said. “I’ve surprised myself.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Centreville’s Tyler Overholt watches one of his discus tosses soar. (Middle) Overholt unloads a toss during a meet this spring. (Photos courtesy of JoeInsider.com.)