#TBT: Pioneer Bests Impressive Field
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 22, 2014
Ann Arbor Pioneer owns an MHSAA-best 16 team championships in girls track and field, including a string of seven straight won in Class A from 1985-91.
The Pioneers answered arguably their toughest challenge of that run in 1989, against a Detroit Cass Tech team featuring a record-setting long jumper and a sprint field that remains one of the most star-studded in MHSAA Finals history.
Pioneer won the June 3, 1989, meet at Eastern Michigan University with 70.5 points to Cass Tech’s 58 and Flint Central’s 33.5. The main event for the second straight season was the 100-meter championship race matching the standout athletes from all three top-placing teams.
Repeating their finish in the race from 1988, Pioneer’s Crystal Braddock (11.84) outlasted Central’s Patrice Verdun (11.99) and Cass Tech’s Trinette Johnson (12.10) to cross the line first.
Braddock also won the 200 and ran on the victorious 1,600 relay at the 1989 Final, and finished her high school career with four individual and three relays championships. Verdun also finished runner-up to Braddock in the 200 in 1989, but did win the 100 as both a freshman and sophomore in 1986 and 1987, respectively.
Johnson ran on the winning 400 relay, but left her lasting mark by claiming the long jump title in 19 feet, 8 inches – an MHSAA all-Finals record that continues to stand and was nearly 20 inches longer than the runner-up that day. Johnson also won the long jump the previous spring as a junior. Cass Tech finished runner-up six times during Pioneer's seven-season title string.
High school was just the start of the trio’s track and field successes. Braddock went on to run at the University of Texas, earning All-America honors four times and helping set a relay record at the World University Games. Verdun and Johnson ran together at Florida State, teaming up on relays that earned them All-America honors. Verdun earned All-America five times for the Seminoles, and Johnson was a six-time All-American, including four times for long jump.
Click to see results from the 1989 LP Class A Final.
PHOTO: (Left to right) Detroit Cass Tech’s Trinette Johnson, Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Crystal Braddock and Flint Central’s Patrice Verdun head toward the finish line during the 100-meter championship race at the 1989 MHSAA Class A Lower Peninsula Final.
Ross Emerges from Running Family to Earn Historic Finals Accomplishment
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
June 5, 2024
Emmry Ross had some assistance Saturday when she won four individual events at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals.
Her late grandfather, Phil Six, was with her every step of the way.
“Every time I run I think of his presence,” said the Onsted junior. “He helps me get through the harder times of my races.”
Ross won the 400, 800, 1,600, and 3,200, scoring 40 points by herself, good enough to put Onsted in second place as a team.
She was just the third Lower Peninsula girls track & field athlete and seventh in state history to win four events at an MHSAA Finals.
The stunning performance wasn’t all that stunning to Ross.
“It feels amazing, it was such a perfect day, and it turned out exactly as I was hoping, and better,” she said. “It was a very great feeling after I processed what happened, and it was so exciting to share that with all my family and coaches behind me supporting me.”
Ross has been an outstanding runner for the Wildcats since middle school. Her training, she said, set her up for the historic performance.
The daughter of Daryl and Alicia Ross said once she glided past the finish line to win the 1,600, she gained even more confidence. She maintained that level of confidence throughout the day.
“After I ran so good in my 1,600, and felt so good in that race, I definitely thought I could do it,” Emmry Ross said. “I think that was part of the reason I did it. I was ready to do it in my head, and had a positive attitude the whole day.”
Ross always has drawn inspiration from her family, which has a significant sports background.
Her grandfather was an Onsted record holder in the 400 for decades. Her parents were high school athletes. Her older sister Rayne and younger sisters Hadley and Stylar participated in multiple sports, including track. Hadley and Stylar also are on the track team at Onsted.
They are close and push each other. Rayne and Emmry earned all-state honors two years ago together on a relay.
“I set such high goals for myself because I believe the sky is the limit, and there is no limit if you set your mind to it,” Emmry said.
Ross hesitated to pick which race was most difficult Saturday because they all went relatively smoothly.
“They all came with some things that I wasn’t expecting,” she said. “I might have to say the 800, mainly for the fact that the first 200 meters I was nervous because I got boxed in for a split second, but I got out of it, and finished really strong.”
Ross has earned seven individual first-place finishes and ran on a winning relay over her three MHSAA Finals. She isn’t worried about an encore yet.
“I have thought a little bit into next year, and I think it would be awesome to do it again,” she said. “But with MITCA (Champion of Champions Festival) and nationals coming up, I’ve been pretty focused on that and doing the best I can there before I look into next year.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTO Emmry Ross (far left) leads a pack during one of her championship races Saturday at Kent City. (Click for more from Mary Wilson/RunMichigan.com.)