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.)
Ewen-Trout Creek Racers Fueled to Go Distance Again
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 25, 2021
BARAGA — Elise Besonen wasn’t always a huge fan of distance running.
Then came 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, and the current Ewen-Trout Creek senior had a change of heart.
The University of Wisconsin-Superior basketball recruit now says she enjoys running.
Maybe there’s some truth to the saying “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
“I was pretty bummed when we didn’t get to run last year,” she said shortly after placing second in the 3,200-meter run at 13 minutes, 33.68 seconds in the Upper Peninsula Division 3 Regional meet last Wednesday at Baraga. “Then, I started running on some side roads with my dad, and it completely changed my mindset. It has been fun running for my dad. In my freshman year during driver’s ed, it was just us two. I guess it was sort of a blessing in disguise.”
Besonen was also runner-up in the 800 (2:40.21) and 1,600 (5:43.59) at the Regional, qualifying her for all three races at the Upper Peninsula Finals on June 5 at Kingsford.
“It was a pretty short meet,” said Besonen, who was also runner-up in the 800 at the previous Monday’s Copper Country Invitational in Houghton in a school-record 2:32.81. “The 800 and 3,200 were pretty close together, which made it pretty difficult because they were right on top of each other. At least my legs were warmed up.”
Junior Jonah Nordine hadn’t run in nearly a week following a mishap during homecoming activities at the school two weeks ago.
“I fell off a bike and scraped up my knee and arm,” he said. “We usually have homecoming for basketball, but that got postponed due to COVID and (we) held it during baseball and track this year.”
Nordine, the reigning U.P. Division 3 cross country champion, won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 in the Marcy Bracket Invitational at Bessemer on May 13, then was runner-up in the 800 (2:16.48) and 1,600 (4:40.27) and third in the 3,200 (11:28.33) at Baraga.
“I had a side ache in the 3,200,” he said. “I probably didn’t eat enough (that day). I was pretty happy with my times. I just wanted to qualify. We had perfect conditions at Bessemer. I didn’t run in Houghton, but it was quite warm. It was in the 80s. I’m just glad to be running this year after losing my freshman season to COVID.”
“Jonah’s success generates a lot of excitement for this team," added Ewen-Trout Creek track and cross country coach Brad Besonen, who also is Elise’s father. “Jonah’s personality changed after his success in cross country last fall. He has become more outgoing.”
Elise is best-known as a high-scoring guard who made the Division 4 all-state basketball team again this winter and was named Upper Peninsula Division 4 Player of the Year in the sport.
She figures to continue playing point guard for Wisconsin-Superior, another chase she’ll take on when her track season is done.
“There will be a lot of adjustments to make,” she said. “Everybody wants to be there, and I’m looking forward to that.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS: (Top) Ewen-Trout Creek’s Elise Besonen completes her anchor leg of the 3,200 relay during the UP Division 3 Finals in 2019. (Middle) Jonah Nordine crosses the finish line first at last fall’s UPD3 Boys Cross Country Final. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)