VanderKooi & Friends Deliver Western Michigan Christian's 1st Track Title
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2022
HUDSONVILLE – Abby VanderKooi just needed a little help from her friends.
The Muskegon Western Michigan Christian senior distance runner convinced her friends, volleyball standouts Kyla and Maddie Wiersema, to join the track team in their senior year to give WMC an added boost at the end of the season.
At Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals, Kyla scored in three events, while Maddie scored in two. That, combined with VanderKooi scoring in four of her own, gave the Warriors the lift they needed to win their first track & field Finals title, posting 52 points to finish just ahead of 2021 champ Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, which scored 48.
“They’ve been friends since they were little kids, so they decided to come out this year,” WMC coach Greg Gould said of the Wiersema twins and VanderKooi. “We knew they were super talented and just added a lot to this team. To see them perform so well (Saturday) and help this small team of athletes win a state title is pretty incredible.”
VanderKooi herself had a big day, setting an LPD4 Finals record in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 10:49.25. It was her third time winning a Finals title in the event to go with four cross country state titles as well.
She also finished second in the 1,600, fourth in the 800, and was part of the 3,200 relay team that finished second.
“Today wasn’t about me, it was about what I could do for my team,” VanderKooi said. “I’m really happy with my performances, but I’m most excited about what we’ve been able to do as a team.”
The Irish had a big performance from senior Nicole Olivieri, who won the 200 in a time of 26.37, then set an LPD4 Finals record in the 400 with a time of 56.01. She was also the anchor leg of the winning 800 relay team (1:49.21) and the runner-up 1,600 relay squad.
“I was pretty tired after that 400, but I knew my team was depending on me for points in the 200, so that gave me a little more push,” Olivieri said. “(The 400 record) has been my goal since missing it by 0.18 seconds last year. That .01 was tough, but I can’t be mad. It’s an amazing accomplishment for me.”
Olivieri’s teammate, Anna Plum, came away with the championship in the 300 hurdles with a personal-record time of 47.03.
Frankfort finished third on the day with 39 points, thanks largely to senior Tara Townsend.
Townsend collected her third pole vault state title with a leap of 11-6. She attempted to set an LPD4 Finals record of 12-1, but just couldn’t quite get over the bar.
“It was a little disappointing because I went 12 last year and I wanted to go higher, but I can’t really be too disappointed,” Townsend said of her vault performance. “I just took a deep breath on the last one and gave all I had.”
Townsend followed up her pole vault title by winning the 100 dash championship in a time of 12.79. She also was the anchor leg of the winning 400-meter relay team (51.87), while placing third in the 200 dash. Not bad while dealing with a hamstring injury in the process.
Buckley sophomore Aiden Harrand had an impressive day, as she took home titles in the 800 and 1,600 runs. In the 800, Harrand had a PR of 2:19.25, while she finished the 1,600 in a PR of 4:56.38.
Fowler won the 1,600-meter relay with a time of 4:10.11 to close out the meet. The Eagles came in fourth as a team with 35 points. Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest won the 3,200 relay with a time of 9:59.16.
Brynn Mericle won the 100 hurdles with a PR time of 15.93 to spark East Jackson to a fifth-place finish as a team.
In the field events, Morrice senior Emma Valentine repeated as the LPD4 high jump champion with a leap of 5-6.
“It was very nerve-wracking, because I wanted to repeat but I wasn’t sure how the day would pan out,” Valentine said. “I was very excited to be able to clear (5-6) again. It was great to be able to show up and perform well.”
Hillsdale Academy’s Anna Roberts took home the long jump title with a jump of 16-5.5. Gobles’ Elli Stender won the discus with a PR toss of 122-9. Kalamazoo Christian’s Tess VanDyk repeated as champion of the shot put with a throw of 41-7.
PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon Western Michigan Christian's Abby VanderKooi runs her leg of the 3,200 relay Saturday at Baldwin Middle School. (Middle) Frankfort's Tara Townsend, middle, wins the 100. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/Run Michigan.)
Lake Linden-Hubbell, Stephenson Share in UPD3; Jokela Joins Elite Club
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2023
KINGSFORD – Lake Linden-Hubbell got to the top with first-place power. Stephenson won only two events.
But there are multiple ways to win an MHSAA Finals championship in track & field. And the Lakes and Eagles tied for the Upper Peninsula Division 3 girls title Saturday.
Lake Linden-Hubbell got a little assist from two-time reigning champion Ontonagon in the final event, the 1,600 relay. The Lakes led in the standings by eight points, but they didn’t have a 1,600-meter relay team. Stephenson could have won the team title with a win in that event, but Ontonagon’s relay team proved solid again and forced the Eagles to settle for the runner-up spot in the race and the eight points that come with it.
The Lakes last won team Finals titles during a three-year run from 2017-19. For Stephenson, it had been since 1993 when the team competed in Class C. The Eagles were runners-up last year.
Lake Linden-Hubbell sophomore Emily Jokela entered with the fastest Regional times in all four of her events, and she won all four of them Saturday – the 100, 200, 400 and 300 hurdles. She became just the sixth female to win four individual events at an MHSAA Finals.
The only one she didn’t win a title in last year was the 100 dash; she has that now. The only school record she didn’t have going into Saturday was in the 200; she has that now as well. She broke it by one tenth of a second.
“It feels great,” Jokela said. “I was very worried about running today because it was so hot.”
Her 300 hurdles time of 45.63 seconds set a UPD3 Finals record. Ontonagon’s Lori Wardynski had the record before (47.27).
Teammate Abi Codere repeated in the 100 hurdles, and their 400 relay team (Codere, Rebecca Lyons, Isabella Tampas and Cleo Milkey) also won.
Stephenson’s wins came in the 3,200 relay (Faith Cappaert, Joelle Beaudo, Kayela Putnam and Jada Kuntze) and the long jump (Sarah Labs).
Ontonagon also won the 800 relay (Lilly McIntyre, Alli Bobula, Kylee Uotila and Makennah Uotila).
“I’m sad we didn’t get a title this year, but the past two back-to-back U.P. titles we had made my entire career,” senior Makennah Uotila said. “I’ve enjoyed it so much. The relays were a big part of our U.P. titles, so to still have strong relays is very important.”
Newberry’s Kaylen Clark won the 1,600 and 3,200 runs. She was the runner-up at the UPD3 cross country meet in the fall and in both events at the UPD2 track meet last season. Taylor Adams of Norway won the 800.
In the field, Mariska Laurila of Carney-Nadeau was the champion in the discus, Rudyard’s Alicia Cheney won the high jump, Dollar Bay’s Nora Keranen won the pole vault after winning long jump in 2022, and Brimley’s Grace Hill repeated in the shot put.
PHOTOS (Top) Lake Linden-Hubbell's Emily Jokela, second from right, wins the 400 on Saturday. (Middle) Norway's Taylor Adams wins the 800. (Below) Stephenson's Jada Kuntze crosses the finish line first in the 3,200 relay. (Photos by Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)