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2026 Division 1 State Finals Preview

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TEAM TITLES

The star power and the head-to-head matchups illuminate the Detroit Catholic Central and East Kentwood matchup. Coming out of Novi, you’ve got Zacchaeus Brocks, Samson Gash, Paxton Heitsch, William Patterson, Caleb Washington, and a crew of others. Fresh off their team state victory, De-Mani Roberts, Shukuru Makechi, Reece Emeott, Jhavon Alexander, and a bigger crew of others.

There will be plenty of spots where the red & blue will line up against one another:

Zacchaeus Brocks and Shukuru Makechi in the 110h and 300h.
Samson Gash and De-Mani Roberts in the 100m and 200m.
Caleb Washington and De-Mani Roberts in the 400m.
Gideon Gash and Jhavon Alexander in the Long Jump.
The 4×1 containing a great number of the above names.

There could be hidden pickups, such as Rondell Ruff Jr. in the 400m or the consistent Justin Johnson taking advantage of the warm weather to chase kids down in the 3200m.

To cap it off, the 4×4 could be in play as well. On paper, Catholic Central has a team that can run <3:20, but it hasn’t come to fruition, and thus, they’ll be in a slower heat. East Kentwood will be in the fast section, knowing the place they need, and being pulled along in the process.

Since 2014, the only barriers in the way of the Oak Park girls have been Ann Arbor Pioneer, Detroit Renaissance, and a global pandemic. The Knights have been that reliable, winning 9 of the past 11 D1 girls titles. The formula for Oak Park has typically been a combination of strength in the hurdles, sprints, mid-distance, and relays. The components may change, the depth in certain spots too, but that mix is present yet again.

Payton Gee has turned herself into one of the preeminent hurdlers in the state, turning in state bests in the 100h and 300h this spring.

Nevaeh Burns has won here twice, bringing home crowns in the 400m. Her 54.21 opener from April was the fastest she’s ever run in the spring season, showing progress is still coming.

Those two headline, but their real story is their depth:

100m – 8 girls sub-13
200m – 8 girls sub-27
400m – 10 girls sub-60
800m – 3 girls sub-2:20

You put together those types of numbers and you can pick & choose who to put in the relays. The “weakest” Oak Park relay is their 4×8, ranked #6 in Division 1, greatly indicative of this depth.

The strongest candidate for the runner-up slot is Detroit Cass Tech. Three girls feature prominently in their lineups – Malise Brown, Caylin Ivy, and Laila Hawkins. Hawkins placed 2nd in 2025’s 100h finals and this spring, has been beaten only once. Her 300’s have solidified, consistently staying in the 44-45 second range. Brown and Ivy are pure sprinters, with range all over the place, 100m to 400m. Brown qualified in five events and will need to scratch one, but all three will likely have impact all across the scoring spectrum.

INTRIGUING BATTLES

Boys 1600m – 2025’s 1600m final featured three boys who will likely play a major role in the 2026 final. Last year, Jackson Lam led early, setting an honest pace through the first 1k, before Luka Hammond grabbed the lead. Caden Livermore covered Hammond’s move and moved into the lead with a lap to go, holding for nearly the rest of the race before a late surge from Hammond clinched it. One has to wonder what lessons were learned from then and the year that’s passed, and which tactical tricks the field will have to knock off Hammond, currently ranked #1 in the state and racing with a wisdom beyond his years.

Boys 4×8 – 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 – four in a row, Northville looking to make it five. Each year, there seems to be a contender to knock the Mustangs off their throne, each year, through mid-race adversity overcome by wise racing, Northville seems to persevere. Usually it’s a singular team that can knock them off, this year there appears to multiple candidates. Oak Park, Ann Arbor Skyline, Ann Arbor Pioneer. In this version, Northville holds the top seed, but extending only 5 seconds back are 8 other teams. This may be the toughest test yet for the Northville streak.

Boys Long Jump – I’m sure Jeff Hollobaugh has this obscure stat loaded up and ready to go, but what if Greg Myers wins both the 800m and Long Jump? Surely that winning event combination has never occurred prior, right? Myers has had mid-distance ability for years, placing 10th here as a sophomore and 2nd as a junior. But the long jumpability is a recent revelation, as he hovered around 20’ for much of the spring before busting out a 22’ 10.75” to win the SEC White. He’s ranked slightly behind two OK Red rivals, Jhavon Alexander and Collin Munford. Both are no stranger to these boards (important) and are familiar with the State Finals setting, both qualifying in 2024 and 2025.

Girls 400m – mentioned above,three athletes from top-level teams will have prime lanes in the fast section of the 400m. There’s also one girl that will join them, Cayla “Boss” Hawkins. We’ve seen her name on the AAU/Club circuit for years, winning and placing high at indoor nationals, outdoor nationals, and proving that there’d be no doubt she’d be ready for the high school stage. During this 9th grade year, nothing has changed, as Hawkins won the indoor state 400m, ran the fastest time of any girl in the state this year (53.34), and won the freshman race at NIN. All that said, it’ll be a race between two winners, as Nevaeh Burns has captured the past two D1 titles. Seeded 1 and 2, lanes right next to one another, expect a barnburner.

Girls 800m – both in terms of the race for first and the sheer depth. This is wild, seeds 3-27 are separated by a mere 4 seconds, 2:13.5 to 2:17.7. There will likely be much jostling in each section, but also one must figure that it’ll take 2:14 or under to get on the medal stand. At the top of the medal stand, three names stand out. Lane Isom, who’s held the D1 lead for much of the spring and hit All-State out of the slow heat last year. Collette Wierks, the defending D1 champion who won with a late burst, rounding into her best form of her career. And Becca Van Lent, who just threw down a 2:10.9 in just her second individual 800m of the year, besting Natasza Dudek (even if not her prime event, a momentous feat).

STATE RECORD BREAKERS?

Rapidly rising and putting himself in the conversation has been Belleville’s Peyton Trammer. At this point last year, he was unable to make it out of the prelims and was sprinting to 100m times north of 11 seconds. In only half a year, he set the indoor 60m record, running a 6.68 at the LAB. Sidelined for a bit to start the outdoor season, Trammer has only been able to reach top speed for a month. In that month, he’s moved from a 10.51 (into a 0.9 m/s headwind) to a 10.31 (barely an illegal tailwind). With two additional weeks of training, 10.23 is 100% within reach.

I’m loving the hurdling renaissance in this state over the past few seasons. We saw the seeds of it two years ago when Will Jaiden Smith, Schmar Gamble, and Zacchaeus Brocks were sophomores, all hitting in the very low 14’s or under. Smith left his mark at last year’s State Finals, Gamble right on his tail, while Brocks stewed on the sidelines. And now only Zacchaeus Brocks remains, the focus only on himself, for real good reason. He’s already run 13.26 (with a 3.1 m/s tailwind) and 13.43 (into a 0.9 m/s headwind), both indicators that something <13.35 can be in order. The 300’s are also on the table, with Brocks hitting a 36.23 (only Kenny Ferguson has run faster) on a regional day with a similar workload compared to what he’ll face tomorrow.

She’s scratched from the 1600m, so perhaps there will be extra energy needed for the 3200m. Our MIS record holder and State/2x National Champ, Natasza Dudek is entered as an individual in only one event, the 3200m. She’s already thrown down a 10:01 in the 3200m at Shepherd, and now has an additional month of training under her belt. The 3200m record is 9:49.9, a bit in the distance, but when has Natasza not challenged a barrier in a championship setting?

Lorelai Zielinski has spent the spring writing and re-writing, breaking and re-breaking our Discus record. The previous record, set by Allen Park’s Abby Russell in her win at ‘24’s NBON, was 166’ 11”. At Grand Ledge’s Comet Classic, Zielinski tossed a 167’ 0”, an inch over that mark. Just five days later, she added another 3” to her lifetime best. Just ten days after that, she shot right into the 168’s with a 168’ 5”. Incremental progress throughout the year, but nearly 4’ further than her state-winning sophomore self. Those tiny gains typically mean something bigger is on the horizon, perhaps tomorrow?

Grand Ledge may have kicked off Zielinski’s record-breaking behavior and the culture of the Comets has undeniably helped Katie Blue in her history-setting quest. Blue excels in a number of events – the hurdles, long jump, and especially, the pole vault. Her pole vault prowess began in earnest as a sophomore, breaking 12’ and placing 4th here at D1 State. As a junior, she added a good 9” to her best and as a senior, has sped up the progression. Her push took her to 14’ 0.5” for a win at NBIN, setting the all-time state record and setting precedent of one that can step up in big moments, perhaps breaking her outdoor record of 13’ 10”.

DISTANCE PREDICTIONS

Come on, you knew I had to impart some of my own guesses for my distance kids. I’ve been making those early qualifier posts, calculating rankings, announcing meets, but I haven’t had the chance to predict and project. These are purely vibes-based, no complex formulae like in XC. And with the caveat that I really appreciate you all – none of this is personal. I’ll be hopping around from Kent City to Rockford to Hudsonville to Hamilton, but if you do prove these wrong and respectively want to let me have it, you know where to find me.

Boys 4×8

  1. Ann Arbor Pioneer
  2. Northville
  3. Ann Arbor Skyline
  4. Oak Park
  5. Midland
  6. Kalamazoo Central
  7. Traverse City West
  8. Saline

Boys 1600m

  1. Luka Hammond
  2. Jackson Lam
  3. Caden Livermore
  4. Ryan Stojov
  5. Jacob Szalay
  6. Archer Verhage
  7. Samuel Baker
  8. Jack MacGregor

Boys 800m

  1. Greg Myers
  2. Wendell Childs Jr.
  3. Ryan Stojov
  4. Maddi Duke
  5. Caden Livermore
  6. Kyle Krasan
  7. Finn Gammerath
  8. Blake Kulesza

Boys 3200m

  1. Kamari Ronfeldt
  2. Brandon Cloud
  3. Luka Hammond
  4. Beckett Crooks
  5. Gavin Katic
  6. Kyle O’Rourke
  7. Noah Johnston
  8. Coen Hill

Girls 4×8

  1. Ann Arbor Pioneer
  2. Ann Arbor Skyline
  3. Traverse City West
  4. Brighton
  5. Oak Park
  6. Hartland
  7. Saline
  8. Holland West Ottawa

Girls 1600m

  1. El McMahan
  2. Elliana Neuer
  3. Alexandra Scappaticci
  4. Katelynn Egli
  5. Ella Goodsell
  6. Charley McKay
  7. Adalyn Raab
  8. Natalia Guaresimo

Girls 800m

  1. Collette Wierks
  2. Lane Isom
  3. Becca Van Lent
  4. Elliana Neuer
  5. Juliet Lewis
  6. Irie Scrase
  7. Katelynn Egli
  8. Ella Wierks

Girls 3200m

  1. Natasza Dudek
  2. Annie Hrabovsky
  3. Savannah Staton
  4. Ella Goodsell
  5. Alexandra Scappaticci
  6. Emilia Garces
  7. Keira Von Blon
  8. Lilah Yoder

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