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).

Menominee track“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.

Kingsford track“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.

Click for full results.

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.)

Be the Referee: Track & Field Exchange Zones

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

May 16, 2023

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Track & Field Exchange Zones - Listen

Let’s work in an exchange zone today – and see how much we know about this area during relay races at track & field events.

First: Exchange zones are now 30 meters in length. Previously, they were 20 meters with a 10-meter acceleration zone. But now, it’s just one 30-meter area. Runners must start inside the zone.

Now, what happens if the baton is dropped during an exchange? There are a couple of outcomes:

► If the baton is passed or dropped outside of the exchange zone – that relay team is disqualified.

► If the baton is dropped inside the zone, the runner can pick it up and re-join the race.

► If it’s dropped inside the zone but rolls out of the zone, either runner can retrieve it, return to the exchange zone and then restart his or her race – provided they don’t interfere with an opponent.

Previous Editions:

May 9: Girls Lacrosse Self-Start - Listen
May 2: Baseball/Softball Overthrow - Listen
April 25: Fifth-Quarter/Third-Half Rule - Listen
April 18: Soccer Referee in Play? - Listen
April 11: Softball Strikeout - Listen
March 14: Basketball Instant Replay - Listen
March 7: Hockey Overtime - Listen
Feb. 28: Baker Bowling - Listen
Feb. 21: Ski Finish - Listen
Feb. 14: Swimming Touchpads - Listen
Feb. 7: In or Out-of-Bounds in Wrestling - Listen
Jan. 31: Over the Back - Listen
Jan. 24: Competitive Cheer Judges - Listen
Jan. 17: More Lines - Listen
Jan. 10: On the Line - Listen
Jan. 3: Basketball Measurements - Listen
Dec. 13: Pregame Dunks - Listen
Dec. 6: Gymnastics Judges - Listen
Nov. 22: Football Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 15: Back Row Illegal Blocker - Listen
Nov. 8: Swim Turn Judges - Listen
Nov. 1: Soccer Referee Jersey Colors - Listen
Oct. 25: Cross Country Tie-Breaker - Listen
Oct. 18: Soccer Shootouts - Listen
Oct. 11: Safety in End ZoneListen
Oct. 4: Football Overtime Penalty - Listen
Sept. 27: Kickoff Goal - Listen
Sept. 20: Soccer Timing - Listen
Sept. 13: Volleyball Replays - Listen
Sept. 6: Switching Sides - Listen
Aug. 30: Play Clock - Listen
Aug. 23: Intentional Grounding Change
- Listen

PHOTO: Negaunee's Nori Korsman gets the handoff from teammate Olivia Lunseth to run the third leg of the winning 1,600 relay at April's Superior Dome Invitational. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)