Best Jump Crews: Boys Week Three

WEEK ONE JUMP CREW

Just taking a glance at the meet schedules throughout the state over the next few days, there’s a good chance we’ll get some great efforts in the vault and hurdles. Hopeful to get those events analyzed and ranked this week.

To review, these “best crews” were started last year to try to recognize the best teams in each event area, whether that’s the jumps here, or sprints or throws elsewhere. Last year’s version was more complex and relied on having three participants in each event. I’ve changed things a bit this year, mostly to ease the process on my end and have the ability to include more teams.

Here’s the process:

Over the winter, I created my own version of World Athletics Tables, but for Michigan athletes. These are based on times/marks from the 2022 Outdoor Season throughout the US. Their purpose is to compare across events. Here are the tables:

BOYS TABLES

GIRLS TABLES

There are two guidelines for being included. Your mark has to be from this outdoor season and it has to be better than the Regional Additional Qualifying Mark. Marks from this season are taken from the athletic.net performance lists. There will likely be some instances where someone has run a time, but it’s not included on that list. I can’t help that! Please contact the necessary folks to get your name on there.

For each event, with a maximum of four athletes, those scores are added together. Then within a category, those events are added together. Relays are scaled to match their importance within a meet. Often, at the state level, teams score more points from a relay than they would with four individuals running that event, so they’re given a bit more importance here.

Here’s an example of one of the better early season crews, the East Kentwood Boys high jumpers. The Falcons are always one of the more well-rounded teams in the State, 2023 looks to be no different.

Grade	Name	Team	Division	Height	Points
12	Nakia Willis	East Kentwood	1	6′ 0″	377
11	Elisee Kanda	East Kentwood	1	5′ 10″	349
12	Marshaun Flakes	East Kentwood	1	5′ 10″	349

These are from this season only, containing meets up until MONDAY and included on the athleticnet lists.

One of the better all-around athletes on one of the better teams is back for another round of it, hoping to help lead his Falcons to a State Title. At 2022’s MITCA Team State, Nakia Willis placed in the top-10 in the 110h, High Jump, and Long Jump, a major factor in their third place finish as a team. Already this year, he’s found new lengths in the Long Jump, hitting over 21’ on both of his early season meets. Over the previous two years, he’d been 21’+ only twice. A new dimension for someone capable of contributing to a team goal come early June.

Grade	Name	Team	Height/Dist.	Points
12	Nakia Willis	East Kentwood	21′ 9.75″	415
12	Nakia Willis	East Kentwood	6′ 0″	377
11	Elisee Kanda	East Kentwood	5′ 10″	349
12	Marshaun Flakes	East Kentwood	5′ 10″	349

D1 Rank	Team	High	Long	Score
1	East Kentwood	1075	415	1490
2	Canton	881	452	1333
3	Warren Cousino	405	400	805
4	Ypsilanti Lincoln	349	412	761
5	Northville	405	349	754
6	Fraser	377	361	738
7	Lansing Waverly	377	357	734
8	Portage Central	726	0	726
9	Caledonia	349	368	717
10	North Farmington	377	339	716
11	Holland West Ottawa	363	341	704
12	Dexter	349	352	701
13	St. Joseph	419	0	419
14	Battle Creek Lakeview	0	407	407
15	Oxford	405	0	405
16	Ann Arbor Skyline	0	401	401
17	Rockford	0	394	394
18	Zeeland East	391	0	391
19	Sterling Heights	0	391	391
20	Detroit Catholic Central	0	384	384
21	Grand Blanc	0	381	381
22	Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills	0	380	380
22	Grand Haven	0	380	380
24	Grosse Pointe South	377	0	377
24	Muskegon Reeths-Puffer	377	0	377
24	South Lyon	377	0	377

Funny how when you evaluate the jumpers, you get those multi-event kids who can handle pretty much anything. Ben Merkel is another one. In addition to his 6’2 High Jump (tied for the State Lead in D2), he contributed to Jefferson’s 4×2, 4×4, and long jumped to top it off. Look back to last year, he hurdled, he ran an 800. Back to that 6’2 though, it ties his personal best and is his second effort ever over 6’. I’m not sure what the future holds at the state level, but I know he’s the early favorite for the Huron League title.

Grade	Name	Team	Height/Dist.	Points
12	Gage Vanalstine	Charlotte	6′ 0″	377
12	Joe Davis	Charlotte	5′ 10″	349
12	Gage Vanalstine	Charlotte	19′ 8.5″	325
12	Kaeden Maynard	Charlotte	19′ 5.25″	314
11	Cutler Brandt	Charlotte	19′ 5″	313

D2 Rank	Team	High	Long	Score
1	Charlotte	726	951	1678
2	Whitehall	726	373	1099
3	Wayland Union	0	766	766
4	Pinckney	405	339	745
5	Ferndale University	0	744	744
6	Mason	349	391	740
7	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s	0	733	733
8	Parma Western	405	327	732
9	Ortonville Brandon	335	352	687
10	Freeland	0	680	680
11	Corunna	0	434	434
12	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	405	0	405
12	Monroe Jefferson	405	0	405
12	Sturgis	405	0	405
15	Lake Fenton	377	0	377
15	Tecumseh	377	0	377
17	Hopkins	0	363	363
17	Milan	0	363	363
19	Three Rivers	363	0	363
20	Forest Hills Eastern	349	0	349
20	Ludington	349	0	349
20	Marshall	349	0	349
20	Richland Gull Lake	349	0	349
20	Shepherd	349	0	349
20	Stevensville Lakeshore	349	0	349
20	Wyoming Godwin Heights	349	0	349
20	Lake Odessa Lakewood	0	341	341

Even the best fail. Andrew Phillips failed at the 2022 Regionals, where he missed a state qualifier by an inch. Those failures are necessary on the road to success. His 21’9 season opener was the exact opposite of a failure. A school record by 6”, 1.5 feet longer than his regional leap, and the best mark in D3 thus far. Many early mornings, hour long winter drives, and intense dedication led to this. In over a month, lord willing and the creek don’t rise, he’ll get a chance to redeem those past failures.

Grade	Name	Team	Height/Dist.	Points
12	Shea Ruddy	Ottawa Lake-Whiteford	6′ 2″	405
11	Kolby Masserant	Ottawa Lake-Whiteford	20′ 2.5″	346
9	Mason DeBarr	Ottawa Lake-Whiteford	5′ 8″	321

D3 Rank	Team	High	Long	Score
1	Ottawa Lake-Whiteford	726	346	1073
2	Manton	349	412	761
3	Hillsdale	377	357	734
4	Durand	405	313	718
5	Montague	698	0	698
6	Quincy	321	362	683
7	Chesaning	335	316	651
8	Napoleon	0	640	640
9	Springport	321	318	639
10	Hart	321	290	610
11	Vassar	405	0	405
12	Grand Traverse Academy	377	0	377
12	Lakeview	377	0	377
14	Clare	0	359	359
15	Hudson	0	350	350
16	Clinton	349	0	349
16	Grandville Calvin Christian	349	0	349
16	Homer	349	0	349
16	Reed City	349	0	349
20	Saginaw Valley Lutheran	0	348	348
21	Delton-Kellogg	0	336	336
22	Harrison	0	334	334
23	Clintondale	0	327	327
24	Holland Black River	0	323	323
25	Bronson	321	0	321
25	Cass City	321	0	321
25	Ida	321	0	321
25	Schoolcraft	321	0	321

Top-8 marks, a Regional title in the Long Jump, all was set for Mekhi Wingfield to cause a scene at the 2022 D4 State Finals. Unfortunately, he was unable to compete and better his 3^rd place Long Jump finish from his freshman year. Now in 2023, his early season marks have put D4 on notice. He’s high jumped 2” higher than his previous best, he’s hit 22’ for the first time ever. That long jump is quickly turning into a must-see event. Anthany Buford has already been over 22’ and you know Alex Affer ain’t giving up the crown that easily. June can’t come soon enough.

Grade	Name	Team	Height/Dist.	Points
11	Mekhi Wingfield	Concord	22′ 4″	437
11	Mekhi Wingfield	Concord	6′ 4″	434
12	Anthony Evans	Concord	19′ 10.5″	332

D4 Rank	Team	High	Long	Score
1	Concord	434	769	1203
2	Marion	377	666	1043
3	Detroit Frederick Douglass	0	698	698
4	Britton Deerfield	585	0	585
4	Marcellus	585	0	585
6	Petersburg-Summerfield	293	277	570
7	Pentwater	0	566	566
8	Unionville-Sebewaing	293	262	555
9	Beal City	0	348	348
10	The Potter’s House	335	0	335
11	Lawrence	0	309	309
12	East Jackson	0	297	297
13	Marlette	293	0	293
14	Holland Calvary Christian	0	291	291
15	Ubly	0	284	284
16	Mesick	0	281	281
17	Mt Clemens	0	263	263