Waverly Paces 1st-Time Winners in D2
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
June 4, 2016
ZEELAND – Quite possibly the most diminutive athlete at the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Track & Field Finals on Saturday, sophomore Kayla Windemuller of Holland Christian twice fell to the track at Zeeland Stadium and twice got back on her feet, kept her composure and finished the 3,200-meter run before anyone else.
About an hour earlier, Windemuller won her first individual MHSAA championship, in the 1,600 run.
Nikole Sargent of Flint Powers Catholic also was a double winner taking first in the shot put and the discus. Sargent won the shot put last season as a junior, but said going into this meet that the discus event was a priority. Sargent failed to place in the discus a year ago, fueling her motivation.
Although Tra’chele Roberts of Lansing Waverly took home only one individual first-place medal, her performances helped her team earn the school’s first MHSAA Finals team championship, as it edged second-place Powers, 42 points to 40. Romulus was third with 31 points, followed by Grand Rapids South Christian with 26 and Zeeland East with 24.
Roberts won the 100 dash (12.55) and ran anchor on the winning 400 and 800 relay teams. The 400 relay set a school record with a time of 48.7.
Warriors coach Rex Wilkes, a Waverly graduate, is in his second season running the program and said he kept Roberts, one of three sophomores on the relay teams, out of the 200 dash in an attempt to save her for the relays.
“We didn’t expect this,” Wilkes said. “I was hoping to come out with some fast times. We got some unexpected points in the shot put. Tra’chele can score points on her own. The others can score in the Regionals and run in the relays.”
The other three athletes on the relay teams were sophomores Jazlynn Wilcox and Maya Garrett, and junior Teaghan Thomas.
“It’s very exciting,” Thomas said. “I’ve been at states three times. We’ve been together since the seventh grade. The same girls ran on the relays, and in the same order.”
Thomas led off, followed by Wilcox, Garrett and Roberts.
Last season Waverly also took first in the 400 relay, but no individual placed among the top eight in the 100 dash.
To Wilkes’ point, another factor in the Warriors; breakthrough took place in the field events. Sophomore Malin Smith was sixth after the preliminaries, then moved up to second with a final put of 42 feet. Smith also took fifth in the discus, an event in which she was seeded seventh.
Windemuller was seeded first and third, respectively, in the 1,600 and 3,200 runs, so it’s not surprising she ran well Saturday. She did place seventh in the 3,200 and eighth in the 1,600 last season, so there was some valuable experience gained there.
No one could predict the events that took place and the circumstances that led to her taking first in both this time.
Windemuller, who said she’s 5-foot-1, won the 1,600 (4:58.9) in rather mundane fashion, at least in comparison to her 3,200 trip. She held off a late charge by junior Christina Sawyer of Tecumseh (5:00.2) in a tight race indeed – and Windemuller had to work for it.
“”It made me super nervous knowing she was close by,” Windemuller said. “I was very tired. I gave it everything I had.”
That was small potatoes compared to her extraordinary effort in the 3,200. With approximately two laps remaining Windemuller, Sawyer and junior Erika Freyhof of Hamilton were bunched together at the front. Suddenly, all three fell.
“I got up as quickly as I could,” Windemuller said. “I was still tired from running the (1,600). … I felt so bad. It was like dominos.”
The second spill took place with just over a lap remaining.
“I was in front,” Windemuller said. “When you go down you have to get yourself back up. It was a great learning experience.
“I’m small, but I’m feisty.”
Her time was 10:59.52.
Courageous athletes dotted the green artificial surface, home to both football teams at Zeeland East and Zeeland West. One competitor, in particular, is a multi-sport athlete who played four years of varsity basketball and was a two-sport athlete during the spring season.
Haley Hoogenraad of Zeeland West is one of the state’s top softball players. She will play for coach Carol Hutchins next year at University of Michigan. Hoogenraad competed in the 3,200 relay Saturday morning, then changed uniforms in a car as she was driven to Holland Christian to play in a Division 2 District Semifinal. West lost that noon game to Hudsonville Unity Christian, 12-4, allowing Hoogenraad to get back in a car to be driven back to Zeeland for the 800 run.
Hoogenraad was not just a qualifier in the event. She was seeded first, and as the race unfolded she moved up from fifth place to second with 200 meters left. Hoogenraad grew tired and placed fourth.
“I slid a few times and dove for a few balls,” Hoogenraad said of her time on the softball diamond. “I was dirty. I’m sad of the outcomes, but I tried. I tried to make my move (in the 800) and I said, oh, I can’t. I’m glad I had the opportunity to support my team.”
That would be teams.
PHOTOS: (Top) Lansing Waverly's Tra’chele Roberts runs a relay anchor leg for the Warriors, who went on to win the LP Division 2 championship. (Middle) Holland Christian's Kayla Windemuller. (Photos by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)
Sophomore Stars Lead Hart Girls' Latest Championship Charge
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2023
KENT CITY – If the expression “Tradition never graduates” holds any validity, then girls track & field teams competing in MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 were put on notice again by Hart’s squad Saturday at Kent City High School.
Hart captured its second-straight LPD3 Finals championship and third in six years. And the Pirates did it with a pair of sophomores leading the way in Jessica Jazwinski and Addi Hovey.
Hart totaled 64 points to hold off runner-up Olivet (56.5). Lansing Catholic was third (46), Hillsdale fourth (46) and Jackson Lumen Christi fifth (31).
“This one was more nerve-racking (than last year) because the expectations were a little more there. Last year was more maybe a bit of a surprise,” said Hart coach Calvin Ackley, whose 2022 team scored 63 points and cleared the rest of the field by 24.
“They did great. They knew how to be champions because they were last year. I remember telling them last year halfway through the season that if they look around the room, this is probably the best team in the state and none of them told me they didn’t believe it at that time. This year I didn’t say anything because I think they just knew they were right up there.”
Hovey and Jazwinski are two of those athletes with said quiet confidence.
In Ackley’s words, Hovey was “great” as an all-around athlete and point-scorer, while Jazwinski was “honestly the linchpin” with her distance races.
The 5-foot-10 Hovey took first in high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 4 inches, and she placed third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.53 seconds.
The Associated Press Division 3 first-team all-state basketball player, who helped Hart reach the hoops Semifinals in March, also ran on the Pirates’ third-place 400 relay (50.78) and seventh-place 800 relay (1:49.32) Saturday.
“It was fun,” Hovey said. “A lot of our older teammates put all the effort into (this season), and in the end I think it really paid off for how hard we worked this season. I’m really proud of us.
“I mean, I wish I did a little better in the high jump, but it’s really hot out so that has its side effects, but overall I’m pretty happy with how I did perform,” added Hovey, who established a personal best of 5-11 in the high jump this season, which ranked her fifth nationally in the event.
Jazwinski, a New Balance All-American runner who was the MHSAA LP Division 3 individual cross country champion last fall, earned all-state honors in four events Saturday.
She finished first in the 3,200 run (10:57.99), second in the 1,600 (4:58.86) and third in the 800 (2:16.22). Jazwinski also helped Hart score valuable points on the fourth-place 3,200 relay team along with Lexie Beth Nienhuis, Abigail Pretty and Alyson Enns.
“I’m super excited just because, like, I know all the girls so well and we’re all such good friends. To see everybody, like, working so hard at practices and improving … . This year, we actually have so many girls qualified for state that have never qualified before and just to see everybody improving, it’s so amazing.
“Just to contribute to that, I’m super excited about that.”
Other big winners Saturday included Almont senior Devin Johnston and Onsted sophomore Emmry Ross.
Johnston, a dual-sport athlete who also plays softball, raced to first-place finishes in the 100 (personal-record 12.14 seconds) and 200 (24.98 PR). She also anchored her team’s fourth-place 400 relay (50.92).
An Eastern Illinois signee for track, it was tough for Johnston not to be there for her softball team in Saturday’s District tournament. But track is her primary sport, and the decision certainly paid off for her.
“I’m glad that I finished out strong,” Johnston said. “Being a senior, it’s a lot of emotions but I’m glad I finished with the best I could do. I mean, I’m sad that it’s over, but I’m glad with how it went and how I performed.
“(Almont’s softball team) lost in Districts today, but I came here. My sophomore year, my primary was softball and I had to choose so I went to softball Districts that year instead of (track) states. Junior year, I picked (track) states and then this year I picked (track) states. I mean, it’s hard but going into two sports I kind of know it’s going to happen unless (the softball opponent) agrees to move (the game) and they didn’t this year.”
Ross, meanwhile, has a couple more years to perform at the track Finals. On Saturday, she won individual championships in the 400 (56.48) and 800 (2:11.25 PR).
Ross was all-state in a third event, running a leg on Onsted’s fifth-place 3,200 relay (9:48.46), and she just missed all-state distinction as her team’s 800 relay quartet finished ninth.
Like Hart’s Jazwinski alluded, Ross said that a key to performing well on the steamy afternoon was managing the heat.
“I was trying to keep in a very good headspace – it was the same for everybody, so I didn’t want to let it get me down. It was the same for everybody – not one person was running in any cooler temperature,” Ross said. “I just went out there and did the best I could, and I think I did very well.”
Other champions Saturday included: Lumen Christi’s Madison Osterberg in the 1,600 (4:55.02), Hillsdale’s Mia Hinz in the 100 hurdles (15.89), Olivet’s Emma Peters in the 300 hurdles (46.09 PR), Olivet’s Payton Otto in shot put (39-4½), Quincy’s Sophia Snellenberger in discus (141-5), Grand Rapids West Catholic’s Ally Olszewski in pole vault (11-3), Napoleon’s Alyssa Budd in long jump (17-11.5 PR), Olivet’s 400 relay (McKenzie Speer, Megan Neitzel, Alyssa Kennedy, Celina Sinclair; 50.30), West Catholic’s 800 relay (Ally Olszewski, Alexis Patterson, Aislynn Sweedyk, Claire Arends; 1:46.36), Olivet’s 1,600 relay (Emily Peters, Sophia Pell, Olivea Gessner, Cassie Coleman; 4:06.68) and Lansing Catholic's 3,200 relay (Tessa Roe, Frances Melinn, CC Jones, Hannah Pricco; 9:23.82).
Running tradition has been strong at Hart for a number of years. The Pirates’ girls cross country program won five straight MHSAA LP Division 3 titles (2017-2021) and placed fourth in the fall of 2022.
Expectations are high across Hart’s cross country and track programs. Even though athletes graduate each season, the next group comes in prepared to carry on that tradition.
“I mean, after last year, you kind of look at, ‘We’re missing Kendall Williamson, we’re going to miss Lauren VanderLaan,’ and think, ‘How are we going to fill those gaps?’” Ackley said.
“But I remember watching Addi Hain (now a Hart freshman) – I go to the middle-school meet, I watched her run and I’m like, ‘That girl’s going to help us next year,’ and sure enough, she did. So that’s a good feeling. … We’re going to miss (seniors) Savanna (Owens) and Aspen Boutell and I know I am missing some other girls that are scorers for us, but there will be girls that will step up and take those spots hopefully. We’ll see.”
PHOTOS (Top) Hart’s Addi Hovey, center, sprints alongside Comstock’s Ti’Anna Murphy-Ryan, left, and Almont’s Devin Johnston. (Middle) Jessica Jazwinski leads a race by a large margin for the Pirates. (Photos by Carter Sherline/RunMichigan.com.)