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.)
Preview: Past Champions Filling Upper Peninsula Girls Track & Field Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 2, 2022
An extraordinary 16 individual champions from last season’s Upper Peninsula Girls Track & Field Finals will return to Kingsford this weekend seeking the same success and more. And only six of them are seniors.
The star-studded meet will feature the final high school races for standouts like three-time champion Landry Koski from Rock Mid Peninsula and Houghton distance star Ingrid Seagren. But the Division 2 meet easily could be dominated by sophomores, and the Division 3 Finals return nine of last year’s 13 individual winners including five sophomores and juniors.
Events begin at 10 a.m. (EDT) and tickets to attend can be purchased online only at GoFan. The meets also will be broadcast on MHSAA.tv and viewable with subscription.
Below is a glance at team contenders and individuals to watch in all three divisions.
Division 1
Team forecast: Marquette solidly won its ninth championship over the last 10 seasons (not counting canceled 2020) last spring, but at last month’s Regional edged Sault Ste. Marie by just five points. The Blue Devils were last season’s Finals runner-up as well, and Negaunee in 2018 is the only team other than Marquette to claim a UPD1 championship over the last decade. The Miners had winners in three relays at their Regional and swept hurdles and throws to hold off star-powered Houghton.
Claire Erickson, Sault Ste. Marie junior: The top-seeded contender in the 300 hurdles (50.52) ran the race eight tenths of a second faster than anyone else at a UPD1 Regional. She was third in the 300 at last season’s Finals and ran on two placing relays.
Alyssa Hill, Negaunee senior: She’s seeded first in the discus by nearly 19 feet with a Regional throw of 123-4, and second in shot put at 34 as one of only two (with teammate Eliana Juchemich) who tossed farther than 31-1 in UPD1 qualifying.
Julia Ott, Marquette junior: She’s seeded second in two events – the 100 and 200 behind teammate Baux Truckey – and tied for the top seed in high jump (5-0) after winning that event last year. She’ll also run on the top-seeded 800 relay and being part of the winning 400 relay in 2021.
Ingrid Seagren, Houghton senior: The reigning 1,600 champ is seeded first in that race (5:30.23) by 13 seconds, the 800 (2:30.43) by six seconds and the 3,200 (12:34.34) by six seconds as well. She won the UPD1 cross country championship in the fall.
Baux Truckey, Marquette junior: She entered the mix in a big way last season winning the 100 and 200, and she’s seeded first in both at 12.86 and 26.73 seconds, respectively. She’ll also run on top-seeded 400 and 800 relays after helping both to wins in 2021.
Division 2
Team forecast: West Iron edged Ishpeming by 3½ points at last season’s Final and can match star power with any of the contenders with three-event champion Danica Shamion returning. Ishpeming with another returning three-event champ in Lola Korpi should be in the mix again despite just a third-place Regional finish. Bark River-Harris especially in relays and field events and St. Ignace across the board have enough potential scorers to make this a close meet.
Mckenzie Hoffmeyer, Bark River-Harris sophomore: Her Finals debut last season included the long jump championship and second places in the 100 and 200. She’s seeded first in long jump (15-11½), second in the 200 (27.99) and third in the 100 (13.57) this weekend, and also could run on the top-seeded 800 relay.
Lola Korpi, Ishpeming sophomore: This fall’s UPD2 cross country champion also is the reigning track champion in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. She’s seeded first in those three in 2:31.91, 5:47.79 and 13:09.59, respectively, but in the 3,200 she’ll have to hold off UPD3 cross country champion Kaylen Clark from Newberry. Korpi also is slated to run on the top-seeded 3,200 relay.
Danielle Lund, Manistique sophomore: She placed sixth in shot put in UPD1 last season, and she enters this weekend seeded first in shot put (33-4) and discus (96-0) in UPD2. She’s also slated to run on the top-seeded 1,600 relay.
Chloe Maycroft, Iron Mountain junior: She’s set to compete in the high jump, long jump and run on two third-seeded relays after winning high jump last season. She’s seeded second in that event (4-8) this time.
Danica Shamion, West Iron County sophomore: She burst onto the scene with championships in the 100, 200 and 400 last season, and she’s seeded first in all three this weekend in 13.2, 27.01 and 1:01.23, respectively. The 200 and 400 meet records could be hers with major performances. She’ll also compete in high jump.
Division 3
Team forecast: Ontonagon broke Lake Linden-Hubbell’s three-season Finals winning streak last spring, and won a closely-contested Regional two weeks ago that saw the top five teams all finish less than 11 points from each other. Relay strength and qualifiers throughout the meet should have the Gladiators in the mix, with Pickford’s potential for a number of meet champions make it another favorite.
Lucy Bennin, Pickford senior: Last season’s 200 champion will run that race again and also is seeded second in long jump (14-3¼) and expected to run on the top-seeded 800 relay and second-seeded 400 relay.
Abi Codere, Lake Linden-Hubbell sophomore: The reigning champion in the 100 hurdles is seeded first in that event (17.45) and also will compete in pole vault.
Ellie Delene, Baraga sophomore: The reigning high jump champion is among 10 qualifiers who went between 4-6 and 4-8 at Regionals. She’ll also run both hurdles races.
Daisy Grinsteiner, Stephenson junior: The returning pole vault champion is seeded first (8-6) by a foot, and she’ll also run on two relays.
Emily Jokela, Lake Linden-Hubbell freshman: She’s set up for a major debut seeded first in the 200 (28.48) and 400 (1:03.00), fourth in the 100 (14.01) and second in the 300 hurdles (52.52).
Landry Koski, Rock Mid Peninsula senior: One of the finest distance runners in the peninsula during her career, she’ll look to add to two 1,600 championships and a 3,200 title she’s won over her first two Finals. She’s seeded first in the 800 (2:39.04), 1,600 (5:44.73) and 3,200 (12:56.05), and third in the 400 (1:04.79).
Lilly McIntyre, Ontonagon junior: She won the 100 last season and will run that race again as well as three relays, including as part of the top-seeded 400 and 1,600 groups.
Tristin Smith, Rudyard senior: Last season’s 400 champion will run that race again, is seeded second in the 1,600 (5:48.64) and will run on two relays including the second-seeded 3,200.
Lizzie Storey, Pickford senior: The reigning 300 hurdles champ is seeded first in that race (50.07) and second in the 100 hurdles (18.18) and also will run on the top-seeded 800 and second-seeded 400 relays.
Makennah Uotila, Ontonagon junior: Last year’s long jump champ is seeded first (14-10½) in that event and fourth in the 400 (1:05.19) and will also run the 800 and potentially as part of the top-seeded 1,600 relay.
PHOTOS Ishpeming's Lola Korpi (1) takes the early lead in the 1,600 at the May 13 Negaunee Lions Invitational, with Negaunee's Marlee Plaxco (3) following close behind. (Middle) Marquette's Julia Ott wins the 200 that afternoon. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)