Today In The MHSAA: 11/12/21

November 12, 2021

1. VOLLEYBALL No. 2 Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central needed to come back from a 2-1 deficit to get past honorable mention Brooklyn Columbia Central in a Division 3 Regional Final – Monroe News

2. VOLLEYBALL No. 3 Battle Creek St. Philip came back from a 2-1 deficit to get past No. 2 Athens in five and win a Division 4 Regional title – Battle Creek Enquirer

3. VOLLEYBALL No. 4 Rockford advanced to next week’s Division 1 Quarterfinals with a sweep of No. 6 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central – FOX 17

4. VOLLEYBALL After defeating No. 4 Bronson in the Regional Semifinal, Watervliet finished a Regional title run with a win over honorable mention Kalamazoo Christian – WWMT

5. VOLLEYBALL No. 9 Reese came back after losing the first set to defeat No. 8 Cass City 3-2 in Division 3 – Saginaw News

6. VOLLEYBALL Indian River Inland Lakes claimed its first Regional title since 1995 with a 3-1 win over Rudyard in Division 4 – Cheboygan Daily Tribune

7. VOLLEYBALL Davison won its first Regional title since 1995, sweeping Traverse City West in a matchup of Division 1 honorable mentions – Flint Journal

8. VOLLEYBALL Allen Park Inter-City Baptist avenged its pair of regular-season losses to No. 8 Plymouth Christian Academy with a four-set Division 4 Regional Final win – Southgate News-Herald

9. VOLLEYBALL No. 7 Northville advanced in Division 1 with a sweep of honorable mention Saline – Ann Arbor News

10. VOLLEYBALL Honorable mention McBain avenged last season’s Division 3 Regional Final loss to Beaverton with a sweep – Cadillac News

Smith Sets Tone as Multi-Talented Pewamo-Westphalia Ascends Again

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com

June 1, 2024

KENT CITY – Trevor Smith set the tone early for the Pewamo-Westphalia boys track & field team Saturday at Kent City.

The junior sprinter earned a narrow win in the 100 to collect early points that would prove beneficial in the Pirates’ pursuit of their latest Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship.

“It was a big win right away in the beginning, and it helped put us in a good position,” Smith said. “It was a big emotional shift, and it was unreal.

“I didn’t really expect it, but it was a big help toward our team with points. I just missed winning last year, so to come back and win it meant a lot.”

Pewamo-Westphalia kept its early advantage throughout and hung on in the end to capture the title. The Pirates, last year’s runners-up, recorded 49 points to clip second-place Clare by four points. Detroit Edison was third with 32 points.

P-W senior Gavin Nurenberg repeated in the shot put (60-02), while senior Collin Farmer added a pair of top-4 finishes in the distance events.

“Our boys had a really nice season, but this was always the focus from Day 1,” Pirates coach Scott Werner said. “We felt we had the pieces in place when we got out of Regionals, and we were just excited to attack the day.

“We are the type of program where we are good in quite a few events. We don't rely on one person. We set the tone early with unexpected points in the 3,200 relay, and it built from there.”

Ovid-Elsie's Tryce Tokar attempts a vault amid the rainy conditions.Farmer finished runner-up in the 3,200 and fourth in the 1,600.

“There are not a lot of teams that have good guys in the field, sprints and distance, so I think that brings a lot of peace to the team,” Farmer said. “We knew that we could trust each other, and not one person had to take control.”

Senior Dalton Brown also provided a lift with a personal record en route to a third-place finish in the shot put.

“I challenged each of the separate groups to go out and score a minimum of 15 points,” Werner said. “We had a plan and an approach for every single event, and they trusted the process and executed at the highest level. I’m proud of them.”

Clare made a late push with a strong showing in the relays, while also receiving a boost from senior Brad White. He cruised to a win in the 800 with a new personal-best time and also was part of the winning 1,600 relay.

“Honestly, I didn't expect this,” White said. “I came into today pressure-free. I’ve already accomplished everything I could ever want in a season, and I'm just as happy as I can be to come out here and do something special, especially in my last high school race. I’m proud of my team and my PR.”

North Muskegon senior Jerry Wiegers repeated in the 400 by edging Geoffrey McBurrow of Detroit Edison. Wiegers also won the 200.

“There was a lot of pressure (to repeat), and I was worried on the whole ride here that I was going to screw up and I was going to have to hand the title to someone else,” Wiegers said. “But when I finally passed the finish line and I won, I was like, ‘I did this again, in my final year in high school.’ It was a good way to cap off my career.”

Coloma senior Boden Genovese (1,600) and Grayling senior Drew Moore (3,200) won the distance races, and Napoleon senior Holden Van Poppel (110) and Elk Rapids junior Max Ward (300) were hurdles champions. Standish-Sterling (400), Edison (800) and Traverse City St. Francis (3,200) also won relays. Lawton junior Mason Mayne (discus), Ovid-Elsie junior Tryce Tokar (pole vault) and Clare sophomore Conan Weeks (long jump) were other field event winners. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett senior Jake Juip (100 and 200), Montague junior Wyatt Fairchild (400) and Perry senior Alec Chapman (shot put) won the adaptive event championships.

Click for full results.

PHOTOS (Top) Pewamo-Westphalia's Trevor Smith, center, edges Dearborn Advanced Technology's Cobey Cureton and University Liggett's Santino Cicarella, among others, in the 100 on Saturday. (Middle) Ovid-Elsie's Tryce Tokar attempts a vault amid the rainy conditions. (Click for more from Jamie McNinch/RunMichigan.com.)