Truckey Paces Marquette's Run in UP Division 1
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 6, 2021
KINGSFORD — Sophomore Baux Truckey had a hand in four firsts Saturday at Kingsford, helping the Marquette girls retain their Upper Peninsula Division 1 track title with 120 points.
They were followed by Sault Ste. Marie with 94 points and Menominee with 71 on a hot and humid day at Flivver Field.
Truckey anchored the 400-meter relay which set the UPD1 Finals record at 50.11 seconds, topping the previous best (51.22) by Gladstone in 2007.
She also anchored the 800 relay (1:47.14), won the 100 (12.79) and edged teammate Julia Ott on a lean in the 200 (26.58).
“Our handoffs went real well,” said Truckey. “Going 1-2 in the 200 was fun, but the heat was a factor. It was a relief to get done today. We have a lot of competition in practice, which I think is very helpful.”
Ott won high jump at five feet and was clocked in 13.1 and 26.6 in the 100 and 200, respectively.
Kali McDonough captured pole vault (10-1), and Olivia Moffitt added a first in the 3,200 (12:00.03).
Sault senior Emily McLean set the UPD1 shot put record again, at 42-8½, topping her own mark (39-2) from two years ago.
The Central Michigan University recruit was crowned Straits Area Conference champion May 24 with a school-record toss of 46-8, then won at Tuesday’s Northern Michigan Meet of Champions at Gaylord (43-4).
“The heat was a factor,” she said. “It was kind of crazy. We were in the sun quite a while, although today’s weather forecast helped us mentally prepare for the heat. We knew what was coming.
“I had kind of an off day in discus, but Joanne (Arbic, of Sault Ste. Marie) had a nice throw. I’m definitely excited for her and about going to Central.”
Houghton’s Lillian Williston won discus (116-10). Arbic placed second (114-7) and McLean was fourth (106-3).
Menominee senior Makenzie Wellner became a four-event winner, taking the 100 hurdles (15.7), 300s (46.7), long jump (16-8) and anchoring the winning 1,600 relay (4:11.6), which previously had set the school record at 4:09.01 in Marinette, Wis., on May 25.
“Our coach (Scott Melchoir) helped me with my approach and helped me jump a little further,” said Wellner, who plans to run track at Wayne State next season. “I was feeling good today. It was hard to find space under the bleachers today (due to the heat).”
Hayden Buck added a first in the 400 in a school-record 59.77 seconds.
In the 1,600, Houghton sophomore Ingrid Seagren ran second nearly the whole race before sneaking past Marquette’s Guinn Wuorinen for the victory. Seagren was clocked in 5:34.49 with Wuorinen at 5:34.59.
In another tight race, Kingsford’s Melanie Wenzel won the 800 (2:29.55), edging Sault senior Haleigh Knowles on a lean.
PHOTOS: (Top) Marquette's Baux Truckey anchors the 400 relay and crosses the finish line first Saturday at Kingsford. (Middle) Menominee's Hayden Buck crosses the finish line first in the 400. (Below) Kingsford's Melanie Wenzel, left, beats Sault Ste. Marie's Haleigh Knowles to the finish line. (Photos by Cara Kamps. Click to see more at RunMichigan.com.)
Seaholm Stars, Oak Park Grab Spotlight
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
May 30, 2015
ROCKFORD – Rachel DaDamio has had to race in the shadow of Birmingham Seaholm teammate Audrey Belf throughout her high school career.
That’s OK. They’re friends. And don’t worry about DaDamio. She found her time to shine through the raindrops at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Track and Field Final at Rockford High School on Saturday.
DaDamio took her turn in the spotlight as she won the 1,600 run, running first most of the way, with a time of 4:46.05
“It feels so good,” DaDamio said. “I’m used to running in this weather. I run cross country. I really didn’t have a race plan today. No one really wanted to take the lead, so I did. I felt really strong. If they were going catch me, I was going to run my best. I hardly ever take the (early) lead. I run better form behind.
Belf successfully defended her title in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 10:26.58, won the last two LP Division 1 cross country titles and will be attending Georgetown University in the fall. She also was named high school female Athlete of the Year by the Detroit Athletic Club, so the spotlight has shown brightly on her the last few seasons.
As she noted, DaDamio also was part of the Seaholm cross country team, one of the best in the Midwest recently, and she understands the attention Belf has received.
“Audrey and I are such good friends. Just being a part of this team … we’ve had such strong distance teams at Seaholm. It’s so cool. My teammates are my best friends.”
DaDamio will make new friends in the fall as she’ll attend and run for University of Notre Dame.
Some who gathered around DaDamio after her victory joked she could have gone to Notre Dame even without her success in track. She graduated with a 4.0 grade-point average and never received a B for a grade, or an A-minus.
Belf said running for a program like Seaholm was “so surreal to run with my teammates.
“Rachel ran a great race. I was watching and pulling for her all the way.”
Oak Park finished with 93 points, one more than last year, to win its second consecutive team title. East Kentwood was second with 54.5 points, Northville was next with 43, Rockford placed fourth with 42 points and Ann Arbor Pioneer was fifth with 37.
Oak Park senior Ersula Farrow won the 800 run last year when she attended Grosse Pointe South, and again this year with a time of 2:08.43. The Clemson University recruit also ran on the winning 1,600 and 3,200 relay teams.
Farrow finished among the top five in the 800 all four years of high school.
“I was going for the record,” Farrow said of the 800 run. “I knew it would be hard. I’m satisfied.”
Brianna Holloway won the 300 hurdles with a time of 43.5 to also help Oak Park’s title effort.
One of the surprise winners was Sammy Cuneo of Rockford in the 400 dash. Cuneo, who will attend Center Michigan University in the fall, just began competing in the event this season. And it wasn’t her idea.
“This was like my fifth time (in the 400),” Cuneo said. “I was running the 100 and the 200 but my coach said I was tough and that I could do this. I said, yeah. I’ll prove I’m a 100 runner.”
Good thing Cuneo listened to her coach.
Cuneo entered the finals with the top time (55.44) in all LP Division 1 Regionals, but had to pass defending MHSAA champion Anna Jefferson of Oak Park in the straightaway.
Cuneo also placed second in the 200.
Junior Sekayi Bracey of East Kentwood placed first in three events, the 100 (11.83), 200 (24.62) and the long jump (17 feet, 5¾ inches). They were Bracey’s third consecutive titles in the 100 and the 200.
“I was very tired,” Bracey said after the 200, her third of three individual events. “I was tight. I just got done with the long jump. So that’s a lot.”
Bracey is undefeated in this state in the 100 and 200. Her only losses have come in national events during the high school offseason.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself,” she said. “I’ve got to learn to relax and just run. I do better that way.”
Events like the 200, 3,200 and the 1,600 relay were especially difficult for the athletes. Even though the rain let up, the wind picked up and the temperatures dropped.
“I didn’t think about it at all,” Farrow said. “I had a feeling it would be hard. I just had to do my best. I’m not sure about my times, but it was tough. The wind is the worst.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Seaholm's Rachel DaDamio leads the pack during her title-winning 1,600 run Saturday. (Middle) Oak Park won a pair of relays en route to repeating as LP Division 1 champion. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com. Photos by John Brabbs.)