Author: mixcspeedratings

STATE RECORDS

Boys Pole Vault – 16’ 9.5”

Girls 100m & 200m – 11.37 & 23.01

I wouldn’t say either of these records will be stressed on Saturday, but I’d watch out for a few years down the line. Ben Goran is currently the #5 freshman vaulter in the nation and holds the Michigan freshman record. Only a sophomore, Aubrey Wilson has multiple sub-12’s and low-24’s to her resume. If Courageous Invite had used a wind gauge, she may have set the sophomore class record.

STATE MEET RECORDS

Lightly Stressed

Girls 1600m – 4:49.55

I probably could’ve moved this to the feelin’ pressure category, as Emma Hoffman’s trajectory continues to be on the rise. A 4:52 at Distance Night puts her in range of this mark.

Girls Long Jump – 18’ 10.25”

It’s been two consecutive years in the 18’s for Lakeshore sophomore Leigha Whitman. A late-season surge has gotten her here this time around, recently clearing the 18’ barrier in a win at Team State.

Feeling Pressure

Girls 300h – 42.82

A record within reach as she’s already hit the mark (42.06 at Alma), but also right after Sydney Kuhn’s 400m.

Boys 1600m – 4:09.45

Boys 3200m – 8:55.57

The D2 boys are so clustered at the top and the temperatures look fairly ideal for distance running (with a steady wind, however). Jack Bidwell is probably the favorite in these events, but accomplished runners such as Henry Dixon, Colin Murray, Jonah Workman, and Edison Lopeman will make Bidwell work for it. All have been known to step up to the occasion and a few have devastating finishes, so maybe a daring competitor will try to push early and negate the finishing speed.

Under Duress

Girls 100m – 11.84

As mentioned, Aubrey Wilson has been under this mark already this year. Then one must also take into account Daelyn Jones, pressing to pull an upset and Keyanna O’Tey, the Sturgis Trojan who actually holds the dang record.

Girls 200m – 24.55

O’Tey nearly missed out on this mark two years ago. Aubrey Wilson has been well under. Sydney Kuhn will be warmed up from the endless amount of races on her schedule. And Daelyn Jones is in a similar spot to where O’Tey was as a sophomore.

Girls 400m – 54.58

The Barnyard Invite was not ideal this year. A slow-moving storm, chances of a canceled meet, delayed warmup, rain, cool. All that working against Sydney Kuhn, who after all that, dropped a 53.90. As this will be her first race of the day, I expect that fresh legs will give this a real challenge.

Girls 800m – 2:09.92

Set last year by Goodrich’s Layla Jordan. I’m pleased to report that Jordan is back to defend her crown. She hasn’t raced as fast as that mark, but she’s a second faster than she was at this time last year before the State Finals.

Girls 3200m – 10:37.28

Ava Schafer was close last year, the then freshman running a 10:39. She has strong internal confidence, supported by her XC title and career of coming through when peaking. Both Katie Berkshire and Emma Hoffman have been under the mark, Hoffman a good 20 seconds under with her 10:17 at Distance Night.

Girls 4×4 – 3:56.07

Saginaw Swan Valley and Dearborn Divine Child have both hit 3:56 over the course of the season. Both of those performances were clear of their competitors by over 8 seconds, so I’m sure that both squads have an extra level to reach. I’m not sure how the teams will set their lineups, but perhaps Kuhn vs. Wilson to end the day?

Girls Pole Vault – 12’ 7”

A speedier and injury-free Evie Mathis is having the season she’s dreamed of. She’s cleared her freshman best of 12’0, gaining 6” on that in a conference meet earlier this month. What’s another inch?

Boys 4×1 – 42.13

Over in Region 11, Petoskey won this in an absolute blowout, 1.5 seconds clear of the field. The Northmen, with their 41.83, are already under the State Finals record. Running a little slower, but at a greater margin over the field was River Rouge, the Panthers’ 42.10 capturing the Region 17 crown. I won’t be shocked when both teams are sub-42.

Boys 4×2 – 1:27.71

The odds are in our favor here, with five teams under 1:29 on the year and three (Flint Powers Catholic, Harper Woods, and River Rouge) under 1:28.5.

Boys Long Jump – 23’ 7.5”

Kaden Griffiths was one of the better freshmen in the state last year, making his mark here in the long jump, capturing the title as a tiny 9^th grader. He’s back and improved, clearing the 23’ mark again in the regular season.

Intriguing Events and Happenings

Here’s what I’m looking forward to the most:

Aubrey Wilson vs. a host of challengers, including the multi-talented Sydney Kuhn in the 200m and D1/D2 defending champion Keyanna O’Tey in the 100m.

The mix of strategies in the girls 3200m. Ava Schafer is always patient early, Hoffman and Berkshire are normally aggressive. At the end of what looks to be a double for all three.

The Girls 4×4, which might be for the trophy. Saginaw Swan Valley, Dearborn Divine Child, Stevensville Lakeshore, Gladwin, and Sturgis are all in the fiery last heat.

A girls high jump competition that sure is crowded at the top. Sarah Pippin, Ivy Roberts, Bella Friddle, and Alannah Love all clearing 5’6 at one point this year.

A loaded Boys 100m, where 17 boys have hit sub-11 this year. It might take 10.85 just to make the final.

Mentioned above, the Boys 4×1 and 4×2 finals. The anchor legs of the Boys 4×8. Doing a little statistical analysis of the four best 800m times from all the 4×8 teams, two stand above the rest: Allendale and Forest Hills Eastern. FHE will likely close with Henry Dixon, who was 2^nd at the MITS championship and owns the fastest time in D2. Holder of the 2^nd fastest D2 time is Ronnie Silveira, who I would imagine will close for Allendale. I had to impart a little subjectivity into that analysis, because Jack Bidwell had a time-warping anchor last year, 1:50.8 to win it for his Marshall team. Three of those four kids returning, they’ll be tough to dethrone.

Potential Girls Team Champions

Generally, I tend to think this is pretty simple. One needs elite athletes, the advantage being more of them. Those elite athletes need to score what they’re capable of, buoyed by those who would be stepping up when less expected.

Sturgis – I love how the Trojans have buy-in from Keyanna O’Tey, who’s not only a great individual sprinter on her own (state champion in both D1 and D2), but participates in her teams relays as well. What may push Sturgis over the top are the contributions from Eleena Kelley in the throws and the boost that Berkley Holtz gives to her 4×8 girls.

Dearborn Divine Child – in a similar situation to Sturgis thanks to the exploits of Aubrey Wilson. I could write the same lil’ paragraph, as Wilson was the 100m champ here as a freshman. She’ll be joining her Falcon teammates on the 4×2 and 4×4, the latter of which she’ll be batonmates with Katie Kurtinaitis, who could pick up points in the 400m.

Saginaw Swan Valley – largely on the shoulders of Sydney Kuhn. On one hand, that presents a low ceiling, as one person can only score so many points. On the other hand, she gives the Vikings a high floor as she was 2024’s 400m & 800m champ, along with a contribution on their 4^th place 4×4.

Stevensville Lakeshore – a bit more well-rounded than a few of the above teams, at least in terms of disciplines. Leigha Whitman is a potential long jump champion, Kate Ort will battle in the mid-distances, then the Lancers will attempt to gain points in the relays.

Gladwin – well-rounded like Lakeshore, but in different areas. Ava Gary is one of the better hurdlers in the division, Makenzie Price has a chance to medal in both throws.

Relays will likely be the determining factor. If either of the latter three teams punches above their weight, they’re going to have a chance if the top two don’t perform as expected.

Potential Boys Team Champions

Parma Western – may not have the absolute stud to gain titles in every event, but they contain many very good pieces that can all place in the top-4 of their events. Brennan Vainner, Edison Lopeman, Ryan Good, Titan Parker, Jackson Jones. Three of their relays contain two of these kids, so expect points in baton passings to supplement their wide-ranging individual talents.

River Rouge – big points in the short sprints. If the Panthers can put up numbers early in the day, that puts pressure on other squads to close the gap. Rouge came into last year’s meet with lofty relay expectations and maybe didn’t match them. I fully expect the Coolidge Highway kids to learn from that experience.

Battle Creek Harper Creek – Catapulting to the top of the boys hurdle lists has been DJ Wood and he’s increased the Beavers title odds. HC has prime opportunities for points elsewhere, Dominic Lowrie with the opportunity to pounce on a tired 3200m field, a confident Nolan Oaks in the long jump, and a Zach Kitchen coming off a personal best in his shot put win at Team State.

GIRLS TEAM PREDICTIONS

BOYS TEAM PREDICTIONS

Girls Event Predictions

Place	Team	Event
1st	Sturgis	4×1
2nd	Berrien Springs	4×1
3rd	St. Clair Shores South Lake	4×1
4th	Petoskey	4×1
5th	Benton Harbor	4×1
6th	Gladwin	4×1
7th	Stevensville Lakeshore	4×1
8th	Hopkins	4×1
Place	Team	Event
1st	Sturgis	4×2
2nd	Berrien Springs	4×2
3rd	Dearborn Divine Child	4×2
4th	Petoskey	4×2
5th	Spring Lake	4×2
6th	Milan	4×2
7th	Tecumseh	4×2
8th	Shepherd	4×2
Place	Team	Event
1st	Dearborn Divine Child	4×4
2nd	Saginaw Swan Valley	4×4
3rd	Stevensville Lakeshore	4×4
4th	Gladwin	4×4
5th	Freeland	4×4
6th	Sturgis	4×4
7th	Spring Lake	4×4
8th	Hudsonville Unity Christian	4×4
Place	Team	Event
1st	Goodrich	4×8
2nd	East Grand Rapids	4×8
3rd	Pinckney	4×8
4th	Sturgis	4×8
5th	Freeland	4×8
6th	Stevensville Lakeshore	4×8
7th	Cadillac	4×8
8th	Holland Christian	4×8

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Izzie Miller	Battle Creek Harper Creek	Discus
2nd	Aubree Deshetsky	North Branch	Discus
3rd	Cora Williams	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	Discus
4th	Eleena Kelley	Sturgis	Discus
5th	Makenzie Price	Gladwin	Discus
6th	Kalia Monroe	Eastpointe	Discus
7th	Annabelle Bower	Portland	Discus
8th	Eby Nosike	Cranbrook Kingswood	Discus
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Cora Williams	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	Shot Put
2nd	Kalia Monroe	Eastpointe	Shot Put
3rd	Aubree Deshetsky	North Branch	Shot Put
4th	Payton Maxey	Freeland	Shot Put
5th	Marie Powers	Coldwater	Shot Put
6th	Makenzie Price	Gladwin	Shot Put
7th	Izzie Miller	Battle Creek Harper Creek	Shot Put
8th	Eby Nosike	Cranbrook Kingswood	Shot Put
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Evie Mathis	Wayland Union	Pole Vault
2nd	Marra Collins	Eaton Rapids	Pole Vault
3rd	Megan Morrell	St. Clair Shores Lake Shore	Pole Vault
4th	Mimi Wegener	Ionia	Pole Vault
5th	Sarah Bailey	Petoskey	Pole Vault
6th	Isla Lawton	Williamston	Pole Vault
7th	Annabelle Werner	Bay City John Glenn	Pole Vault
8th	Onalee Stehouwer	Forest Hills Eastern	Pole Vault
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Sarah Pippin	Edwardsburg	High Jump
2nd	Bella Friddle	Hastings	High Jump
3rd	Dania McClain	St. Clair Shores South Lake	High Jump
4th	Ivy Roberts	Gaylord	High Jump
5th	Alba Rodriguez-Lima	Holland Christian	High Jump
6th	Alannah Love	Lansing Waverly	High Jump
7th	Brooklynn Beardsley	Lake Fenton	High Jump
8th	Cassidy Pratley	Battle Creek Harper Creek	High Jump
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Leigha Whitman	Stevensville Lakeshore	Long Jump
2nd	Ella Grabowski	Coldwater	Long Jump
3rd	Jayda Beene	Benton Harbor	Long Jump
4th	Joy Evans	Alma	Long Jump
5th	Adelyn Halma	Holland Christian	Long Jump
6th	Danah Pearson	Ferndale	Long Jump
7th	Sadie Dykstra	Yale	Long Jump
8th	Bella Friddle	Hastings	Long Jump

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Aubrey Wilson	Dearborn Divine Child	100m
2nd	Keyana O’Tey	Sturgis	100m
3rd	Jayda Beene	Benton Harbor	100m
4th	Daelyn Jones	Grand Rapids Christian	100m
5th	Naia Dibkey	St. Joseph	100m
6th	Trenyse McGinnis	St. Joseph	100m
7th	Cayla Bouyer	Lansing Sexton	100m
8th	Zariyah Mance	Berrien Springs	100m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Aubrey Wilson	Dearborn Divine Child	200m
2nd	Sydney Kuhn	Saginaw Swan Valley	200m
3rd	Keyana O’Tey	Sturgis	200m
4th	Daelyn Jones	Grand Rapids Christian	200m
5th	Trenyse McGinnis	St. Joseph	200m
6th	Naia Dibkey	St. Joseph	200m
7th	Madison Cooke	Pinckney	200m
8th	Felicity Lall	Berrien Springs	200m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Sydney Kuhn	Saginaw Swan Valley	400m
2nd	Christina Dixon	Haslett	400m
3rd	Nalaya Fricke	Big Rapids	400m
4th	Kate Ort	Stevensville Lakeshore	400m
5th	Layla Jordan	Goodrich	400m
6th	Grace Lorenz	Coopersville	400m
7th	Katie Kurtinaitis	Dearborn Divine Child	400m
8th	Madison Cooke	Pinckney	400m

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Layla Jordan	Goodrich	800m
2nd	Kate Ort	Stevensville Lakeshore	800m
3rd	Adeline Armstrong	East Grand Rapids	800m
4th	Natalie Foltz	Frankenmuth	800m
5th	Eliana Hufton	Lake Fenton	800m
6th	Georgia Babcock	Edwardsburg	800m
7th	Kayla Shellenbarger	Goodrich	800m
8th	Elena Figueroa	St. Joseph	800m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Emma Hoffman	Otsego	1600m
2nd	Katie Berkshire	Gaylord	1600m
3rd	Ava Schafer	St. Johns	1600m
4th	Elena Figueroa	St. Joseph	1600m
5th	Sadey Seyferth	East Grand Rapids	1600m
6th	Sophy Skeels	Adrian	1600m
7th	Jaelyn Ray	Pinckney	1600m
8th	Courtney Bovair	Carleton Airport	1600m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Emma Hoffman	Otsego	3200m
2nd	Katie Berkshire	Gaylord	3200m
3rd	Ava Schafer	St. Johns	3200m
4th	Brooklynn Brown	Cadillac	3200m
5th	Mia May	Sparta	3200m
6th	Jaelyn Ray	Pinckney	3200m
7th	Sophy Skeels	Adrian	3200m
8th	Annabelle Lowman	Ludington	3200m

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Ava Gary	Gladwin	100h
2nd	Jayden VandenAkker	Allegan	100h
3rd	Lynzi Evans	Cranbrook Kingswood	100h
4th	Zion Ellis	Berrien Springs	100h
5th	Sadie Dykstra	Yale	100h
6th	Abby Lambers	Hudsonville Unity Christian	100h
7th	Amaya Brown	Wyoming Godwin Heights	100h
8th	Jaylah Wilkins	Dearborn Henry Ford Academy	100h
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Sydney Kuhn	Saginaw Swan Valley	300h
2nd	Gabrielle Hufnagel	Owosso	300h
3rd	Ava Gary	Gladwin	300h
4th	Jayden VandenAkker	Allegan	300h
5th	Macy Subka	Spring Lake	300h
6th	Sadie Dykstra	Yale	300h
7th	Kambria Moored	Hopkins	300h
8th	Sophia Smith	Trenton	300h

Boys Event Predictions

Place	Team	Event
1st	Petoskey	4×1
2nd	Berrien Springs	4×1
3rd	River Rouge	4×1
4th	Williamston	4×1
5th	Detroit Country Day	4×1
6th	Harper Woods	4×1
7th	Three Rivers	4×1
8th	Flint Powers Catholic	4×1
Place	Team	Event
1st	River Rouge	4×2
2nd	Flint Powers Catholic	4×2
3rd	Berrien Springs	4×2
4th	Harper Woods	4×2
5th	Saginaw Swan Valley	4×2
6th	Detroit Country Day	4×2
7th	Portland	4×2
8th	Summit Academy	4×2
Place	Team	Event
1st	Parma Western	4×4
2nd	Saginaw Swan Valley	4×4
3rd	Lake Odessa Lakewood	4×4
4th	Battle Creek Harper Creek	4×4
5th	Portland	4×4
6th	New Boston Huron	4×4
7th	Williamston	4×4
8th	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	4×4
Place	Team	Event
1st	Allendale	4×8
2nd	Forest Hills Eastern	4×8
3rd	Marshall	4×8
4th	Alma	4×8
5th	Grand Rapids Christian	4×8
6th	Parma Western	4×8
7th	Flint Powers Catholic	4×8
8th	Flat Rock	4×8

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Dustin Warner	Sparta	Discus
2nd	Eli Bickel	North Branch	Discus
3rd	Will Decker	Coopersville	Discus
4th	Alex O’Dell	Berrien Springs	Discus
5th	Zach Cowper	Gaylord	Discus
6th	Adam Huff	Wayland Union	Discus
7th	Alex Lutgring	Battle Creek Pennfield	Discus
8th	Rusty Klaer	St. Joseph	Discus
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Zach Cowper	Gaylord	Shot Put
2nd	Brennan Vainner	Parma Western	Shot Put
3rd	Dustin Warner	Sparta	Shot Put
4th	Eli Bickel	North Branch	Shot Put
5th	Jackson Reilly	Coldwater	Shot Put
6th	Zach Kitchen	Battle Creek Harper Creek	Shot Put
7th	Alex O’Dell	Berrien Springs	Shot Put
8th	Rusty Klaer	St. Joseph	Shot Put
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Ben Goran	Spring Lake	Pole Vault
2nd	Sam Vesperman	Grosse Ile	Pole Vault
3rd	Drake Ross	Gladwin	Pole Vault
4th	Ethan Reeves	Clare	Pole Vault
5th	Mason Jahnke	Stevensville Lakeshore	Pole Vault
6th	Nickolas Savoie	Gaylord	Pole Vault
7th	Kieran Whitlam	Macomb Lutheran North	Pole Vault
8th	Xander Anthor	Howard City Tri-County	Pole Vault
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Declin Doroh	Stevensville Lakeshore	High Jump
2nd	Zachary Overmyer	Edwardsburg	High Jump
3rd	Ayden Mendoza	Whitehall	High Jump
4th	Tre’Quon Cotton	Battle Creek Harper Creek	High Jump
5th	Camden Thompson	Whitehall	High Jump
6th	Jalen Daniels	Clarenceville	High Jump
7th	Zander Wheatley	Freeland	High Jump
8th	Gavin Valley	Goodrich	High Jump
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Kaden Griffiths	Stevensville Lakeshore	Long Jump
2nd	Joseph DeCasas	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	Long Jump
3rd	Conan Weeks	Clare	Long Jump
4th	Tommy Pratt	Williamston	Long Jump
5th	Braylon Holmes	Charlotte	Long Jump
6th	Jalen Daniels	Clarenceville	Long Jump
7th	Nolan Oaks	Battle Creek Harper Creek	Long Jump
8th	Blake Stewart	Three Rivers	Long Jump

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Jaiden Melton	River Rouge	100m
2nd	Darryl Carter	Detroit Country Day	100m
3rd	Donpaul Keith	River Rouge	100m
4th	Carter Buckingham	Eaton Rapids	100m
5th	DeAndre Bidden	Harper Woods	100m
6th	Porter Westdorp	Cadillac	100m
7th	Nolan Cullens	St. Johns	100m
8th	Elijah Davis-Moore	Ferndale	100m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Donpaul Keith	River Rouge	200m
2nd	Grant Roberts	Flint Powers Catholic	200m
3rd	Jackson Jones	Parma Western	200m
4th	Carter Buckingham	Eaton Rapids	200m
5th	Sam Mitas	Petoskey	200m
6th	Boston Streng-Beougher	Saginaw Swan Valley	200m
7th	Delshawn Laird	Romulus	200m
8th	Brayden Petre	Freeland	200m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Hunter Mihal	New Boston Huron	400m
2nd	Ayden McCarey	Niles	400m
3rd	Donald Wells	Lake Odessa Lakewood	400m
4th	Grayson Tidd	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	400m
5th	Ethan Miller	Hudsonville Unity Christian	400m
6th	Boston Streng-Beougher	Saginaw Swan Valley	400m
7th	Adam Johnson	Milan	400m
8th	Thomas Kann	North Branch	400m

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Henry Dixon	Forest Hills Eastern	800m
2nd	Jack Bruder	Ogemaw Heights	800m
3rd	Callum Bell	Carleton Airport	800m
4th	Ryan Good	Parma Western	800m
5th	Nolan Longuski	Shepherd	800m
6th	Duncan Palmer	Williamston	800m
7th	Tyler Endres	Forest Hills Eastern	800m
8th	Sullivan Zietlow	Three Rivers	800m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Jack Bidwell	Marshall	1600m
2nd	Henry Dixon	Forest Hills Eastern	1600m
3rd	Jonah Workman	East Grand Rapids	1600m
4th	Colin Murray	Dearborn Divine Child	1600m
5th	Thomas Larson	Alma	1600m
6th	Bryce Gross	Flint Powers Catholic	1600m
7th	Will Engbers	Holland Christian	1600m
8th	Ezekiel Baltierra	Alma	1600m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Jack Bidwell	Marshall	3200m
2nd	Edison Lopeman	Parma Western	3200m
3rd	Colin Murray	Dearborn Divine Child	3200m
4th	Jonah Workman	East Grand Rapids	3200m
5th	Moises Salazar Jr.	Adrian	3200m
6th	Thomas Larson	Alma	3200m
7th	Dominic Lowrie	Battle Creek Harper Creek	3200m
8th	Abraham McHugh	Marshall	3200m

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	DJ Wood	Battle Creek Harper Creek	110h
2nd	Dylan Hudkins	New Boston Huron	110h
3rd	Braden Hartsuff	Corunna	110h
4th	Ayden McCarey	Niles	110h
5th	Logan Herrick	Corunna	110h
6th	Camden Thompson	Whitehall	110h
7th	Christopher Churchill	Alma	110h
8th	Carter Rice	Three Rivers	110h
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	DJ Wood	Battle Creek Harper Creek	300h
2nd	Titan Parker	Parma Western	300h
3rd	Aiden Saduba	Trenton	300h
4th	Zander Wheatley	Freeland	300h
5th	Remington Haworth	Shepherd	300h
6th	Conan Weeks	Clare	300h
7th	Tyler Travis	Shepherd	300h
8th	Bryce Pratl	St. Johns	300h

STATE RECORDS

Girls 800m – 2:00.53

Well, this record was a bit slower prior to this past weekend. But I would say this – any record is in reach with Emmry Ross on the track. My estimation is that in shooting for the back-to-back quad victories (a feat only accomplished once in Lower Peninsula history!), Ross might leave a little in the tank for the 3200m. By that thought, state records might be out of the equation, but watch out for the national meets to come.

Girls Shot Put – 52’ 10.75”

On the other hand, there’s nothing to hold back in the throws. And Addyson Stiverson is so calloused from years of training, throwing, and lifting that a few honest attempts at a record won’t be a hindrance. After all, it’s her own record, established earlier this year.

STATE MEET RECORDS

Lightly Stressed

Girls 100m – 11.94

Giuliana Nastale is your candidate here. She’s been a consistent figure in the low-12’s thus far in 2025 and she showed last season that she’s capable of running her best on this Kent City track.

Boys 4×1 – 42.94

Gotta say, I didn’t see this level of performance from Standish Sterling. Their 44.13 to win The Hurd Invite was solid, then they blasted a 43.41 for a Jack Pine championship. When their A squad is together, they’re undefeated in the past month, and while pressed, who knows what’s possible?

Boys Shot Put – 63’ 9.5”

Inching closer and closer has been Mason Mayne. Two years ago, the Lawton Blue Devil threw 55’ in a runner-up finish. Last spring, it was a 60’ toss with the same placing. He comes in as the favorite this time around, just recently reaching a 61’ 3” personal best.

Feeling Pressure

Girls 4×1 – 49.57

It’s not as if any one team has the main shot, it’s that many teams are within range. Traverse City St. Francis, Kingsley, Olivet, Coloma, Hart, Grass Lake, and Erie Mason have all run under 51.00 this season.

Girls Discus – 160’ 0”

For her “lesser” event, Addyson Stiverson owns the #2 disc in Michigan and #7 mark for sophomores nationwide. She’s also gained 20’ in the past year, what’s another 6.5?

Boys 400m – 48.17

One of my favorite subjects – year to year improvement. Dennis Jackson must have noticed the exploits of Darnell Hall and Geoffrey McBurrows and thought that he belonged at their level. Because 53.5 has become 48.43 in a years’ time.

Boys Discus – 187’ 1”

Perhaps a little more accessible for Mason Mayne. The senior has already blasted into the 180’s, now only a few feet from the State Meet record. He’s picked up a title here last year and now has the opportunity to etch his name further into history.

Under Duress

Girls 400m – 55.15

Girls 800m – 2:09.61

Girls 1600m – 4:48.89

I stated earlier that Emmry Ross may conserve energy throughout the day. I’m happy to report that even while conserving energy, these are all within sight.

Girls Shot Put – 50’ 9.5”

A lil’ consolatory prize if Addyson Stiverson doesn’t pass the state record. It’s hard to believe in her early history of throwing shot that this record does NOT already belong to her.

Boys 100m – 10.71

Boys 200m – 21.76

The magnificent, Dartmouth-bound senior Santino Cicarella has shown an ability to rise to the level of competition. He’s ran with the D1 kids at both Farmington and the Oak Park Spring Classic, running sub-22 and 10.6 in these respective events. Both events are indicators that he won’t shy away from competition capable of running these times, such as Trevor Smith and Dennis Jackson.

With Hall of Fame capable athletes gracing our events, I’ll go on a limb and say 4 State Meet Records and one State Record falls on Saturday.

Intriguing Events and Happenings

Many Candidates in the Boys Hurdles

Athletic.net has created these helpful charts (used in many of the predictions here) to compare the top athletes in each discipline. And you can see here that Max Ward, Caleb Walker, Leland VanAlstine, Aden Nystrom, and Zander Goodwin are all prominent names that can win in the hurdles. Take the 300’s for instance. Ward has the fastest time of the year, a 38.74 at Ken Bell. A week later, Walker nearly matched that with a 38.93. Walker ran up a significant margin on VanAlstine at Region 30, but VanAlstine nearly shut down that time gap with a 39.14 at Greater Lansing. Goodwin stamped his name as a candidate on Tuesday, notching a 39.16 at Hillsdale County. You could write a similar script for the 110’s.

How Long Will the Pole Vault last?

You’ve got 42 boys and 31 girls that are entered in the vault, a total that HAS to be the highest of any event, any division. I believe that the method used for the EQ was an average of the 6th place finish at the State Finals for the past few years. For the Additional Qualifier, it’s an average of the 2nd place regional finishes from the past few years. These aren’t subjective standards, which then means that the D3 vault strength is at an all-time high.

An Unblemished Finals Career?

Two paragraphs about the vault? You betcha, especially when Tryce Tokar is vying for his fourth individual title. His season is going the way many have, full of victories and putting together his best material at season’s end. In the past few weeks, he’s twice matched his personal best of 15′, winning Region 30 and at Team State. Beyond the vault, he’s entered in all of the sprint relays, a logistical and physical challenge that only an experienced senior can pull off.

Potential Girls Team Champions

Generally, I tend to think this is pretty simple. One needs elite athletes, the advantage being more of them. Those elite athletes need to score what they’re capable of, buoyed by those who would be stepping up when less expected.

Erie Mason – the prime case of elite athletes and supplementary pieces. The Eagles benefit from having Giuliana Nastale and Beth Sweeney in separate events, then using those two as prime pieces in relays. Of course, those relays are also enhanced by the presence of Paige Konrad and Bailey Meiring.

Lansing Catholic – have a ton of upside from the sheer amount of pieces. Stella Gates, Josie Bishop, Grace Wonch, Isabelle Currie, Frances Melinn are all athletes that can pick up a few more points in their respective events. Added together and combined with their relay strength, that may be enough to challenge for the win.

Traverse City St. Francis – has two elite athletes in Helen Biggar and Sophia Tucker. Both have the ability to hit the podium in short sprints, then add enough spice to the relays to challenge for the wins. Unfortunately for the Glads state title hopes, they run the same events, thus limiting the potential points.

Olivet – like Lansing Catholic, a team with potential upside. Emily Peters is no stranger to state success, but she faces an improved field in the hurdles. Sophia Pell has been leaping at a high level all year, then is in the mix in the high hurdles. Add in a Celina Sinclair and the relay combinations that follow and one could conjure up scenarios where the Green n’ Black hoist a trophy.

Onsted – Last spring, all of Emmry Ross’s 40 points were what it took to attain 2^nd place. Sadly for the above teams, she’s a stronger and faster runner. I don’t think 40 points will be enough to win, but it puts a number and pressure for the above teams.

Potential Boys Team Champions

Chesaning – using the old Pioneer and current Oak Park route. Concentrate around a dominant hurdler (Caleb Walker), find other points in the sprints (Zach Harlan), combine those two in the relays. Add in an Eric Barancik, a high jumper that hasn’t been beaten in over a month and you’ve stirred up a state-contending concoction.

Pewamo-Westphalia – is it me, or are they always in contention. The thing is, with the Pirates, it can be anyone. They had some incredible throwers the past few years that have moved on. Nowadays, it’s Trevor Smith, someone I’ve personally witnessed lay waste to fields at Bluejay. He’ll combine with others on sprint relays, where the Pirates will need to place ahead of Chesaning and push them down to have a chance.

Lansing Catholic – Coach Simpson loves his relays (they were a major reason that LC took home the 2022 title) and the Cougars have a real shot at podium finishes in all four. I’ve loved the career of Leland VanAlstine, who seemingly improves in every race in each hurdle discipline. Maybe an upset victory is in the cards?

GIRLS TEAM PREDICTIONS

BOYS TEAM PREDICTIONS

Girls Event Predictions

Place	Team	Event
1st	Traverse City St. Francis	4×1
2nd	Kingsley	4×1
3rd	Hart	4×1
4th	Coloma	4×1
5th	Olivet	4×1
6th	Grass Lake	4×1
7th	Erie Mason	4×1
8th	Midland Bullock Creek	4×1
Place	Team	Event
1st	Olivet	4×2
2nd	Traverse City St. Francis	4×2
3rd	Grass Lake	4×2
4th	Lansing Catholic	4×2
5th	Kingsley	4×2
6th	Coloma	4×2
7th	Hart	4×2
8th	Remus Chippewa Hills	4×2
Place	Team	Event
1st	Lansing Catholic	4×4
2nd	Erie Mason	4×4
3rd	Olivet	4×4
4th	Remus Chippewa Hills	4×4
5th	Constantine	4×4
6th	Elk Rapids	4×4
7th	Onsted	4×4
8th	Saginaw Valley Lutheran	4×4
Place	Team	Event
1st	Pewamo-Westphalia	4×8
2nd	Lansing Catholic	4×8
3rd	Stanton Central Montcalm	4×8
4th	Newaygo	4×8
5th	Jackson Lumen Christi	4×8
6th	Remus Chippewa Hills	4×8
7th	Ithaca	4×8
8th	McBain	4×8

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Addyson Stiverson	Montrose	Discus
2nd	Brenna McDonald	Schoolcraft	Discus
3rd	Jenna Spitzley	Pewamo-Westphalia	Discus
4th	Kaylee Kopulos	Springport	Discus
5th	Isabel Rozeveld	McBain	Discus
6th	Niki McNeil	Saugatuck	Discus
7th	Shayler McIntyre	Caro	Discus
8th	Tess Farkas	St. Louis	Discus
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Addyson Stiverson	Montrose	Shot Put
2nd	Brenna McDonald	Schoolcraft	Shot Put
3rd	Isabel Rozeveld	McBain	Shot Put
4th	Mattie LaFreniere	Manton	Shot Put
5th	Mariah Kerley	East Jackson	Shot Put
6th	Tess Farkas	St. Louis	Shot Put
7th	Jenna Spitzley	Pewamo-Westphalia	Shot Put
8th	Kaylee Kopulos	Springport	Shot Put
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Emma Wildt	Homer	Pole Vault
2nd	Natalie Gibson	Remus Chippewa Hills	Pole Vault
3rd	Clara Vollmar	Remus Chippewa Hills	Pole Vault
4th	Mattie LaFreniere	Manton	Pole Vault
5th	Julia Sergeant	Houghton Lake	Pole Vault
6th	Carly Sicilia	The Potter’s House	Pole Vault
7th	Ava Iverson	Benzie Central	Pole Vault
8th	Megan Robertson	Lawton	Pole Vault
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Elli VanDusen	Kalamazoo Christian	High Jump
2nd	Beth Sweeney	Erie Mason	High Jump
3rd	Sophia Pell	Olivet	High Jump
4th	Ereni Polhamus	Comstock	High Jump
5th	Ava Thomas	Kalamazoo Christian	High Jump
6th	Joselyn Flores	Hart	High Jump
7th	Jaidyn Klimp	Galesburg-Augusta	High Jump
8th	Ayva Reynolds	Napoleon	High Jump
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Sohanny Gonzalez-Castillo	The Potter’s House	Long Jump
2nd	Morgan Andres	Newaygo	Long Jump
3rd	Samantha Hopkins	Harrison	Long Jump
4th	Destiny McDaniels	Bath	Long Jump
5th	Sophia Tucker	Traverse City St. Francis	Long Jump
6th	Taylor Carlson	Durand	Long Jump
7th	Sadie Larson	Lake City	Long Jump
8th	Madilynn Thorn	Ottawa Lake-Whiteford	Long Jump

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Giuliana Nastale	Erie Mason	100m
2nd	Helen Biggar	Traverse City St. Francis	100m
3rd	Chloe Basner	Millington	100m
4th	Audrey Huizinga	Manistee	100m
5th	Sophia Tucker	Traverse City St. Francis	100m
6th	Taylor Carlson	Durand	100m
7th	Aneah Wilson	Clintondale	100m
8th	Adela Iles	Monroe St. Mary CC	100m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Giuliana Nastale	Erie Mason	200m
2nd	Naika Rath	Hudson	200m
3rd	Sophia Tucker	Traverse City St. Francis	200m
4th	Audrey Huizinga	Manistee	200m
5th	Helen Biggar	Traverse City St. Francis	200m
6th	Celina Sinclair	Olivet	200m
7th	Adela Iles	Monroe St. Mary CC	200m
8th	Nyah Bell	Evart	200m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Emmry Ross	Onsted	400m
2nd	Audrey Huizinga	Manistee	400m
3rd	Stella Gates	Lansing Catholic	400m
4th	Naika Rath	Hudson	400m
5th	Katelyn Wendling	New Lothrop	400m
6th	Alina Martinson	Saugatuck	400m
7th	Peyton Nellis	Remus Chippewa Hills	400m
8th	Grace VanderKooi	Muskegon WMC	400m

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Emmry Ross	Onsted	800m
2nd	Grace VanderKooi	Muskegon WMC	800m
3rd	Hope Miller	Blissfield	800m
4th	Whitney Werner	Pewamo-Westphalia	800m
5th	Frances Melinn	Lansing Catholic	800m
6th	Megan Gottschall	Lake City	800m
7th	Josie Bishop	Lansing Catholic	800m
8th	Alaina McClain	Ottawa Lake-Whiteford	800m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Emmry Ross	Onsted	1600m
2nd	Eliza Bush	Ypsilanti Arbor Prep	1600m
3rd	Josie Bishop	Lansing Catholic	1600m
4th	Kyah Hoffman	Stanton Central Montcalm	1600m
5th	Ashley Choponis	Stanton Central Montcalm	1600m
6th	Hope Miller	Blissfield	1600m
7th	Whitney Werner	Pewamo-Westphalia	1600m
8th	Grace Wonch	Lansing Catholic	1600m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Emmry Ross	Onsted	3200m
2nd	Eliza Bush	Ypsilanti Arbor Prep	3200m
3rd	Kyah Hoffman	Stanton Central Montcalm	3200m
4th	Alyssa Kramer	Pewamo-Westphalia	3200m
5th	Eliana Max	Kent City	3200m
6th	Samantha Schroeder	Jackson Lumen Christi	3200m
7th	Ashley Choponis	Stanton Central Montcalm	3200m
8th	Grace Wonch	Lansing Catholic	3200m

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Julia Hughes	Ida	100h
2nd	Beth Sweeney	Erie Mason	100h
3rd	Norah Galton	Kingsley	100h
4th	Brookelyn Parker	Quincy	100h
5th	Sophia Pell	Olivet	100h
6th	Sadie Larson	Lake City	100h
7th	Elli VanDusen	Kalamazoo Christian	100h
8th	Mazie Robison	Saugatuck	100h
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Emily Peters	Olivet	300h
2nd	Beth Sweeney	Erie Mason	300h
3rd	Norah Galton	Kingsley	300h
4th	Hannah Abbott	Remus Chippewa Hills	300h
5th	Brookelyn Parker	Quincy	300h
6th	Isabelle Currie	Lansing Catholic	300h
7th	Faith Stump	Pewamo-Westphalia	300h
8th	Julia Hughes	Ida	300h

Boys Event Predictions

Place	Team	Event
1st	Standish Sterling	4×1
2nd	Warren Michigan Collegiate	4×1
3rd	Lansing Catholic	4×1
4th	Pewamo-Westphalia	4×1
5th	University Liggett	4×1
6th	Hart	4×1
7th	Comstock	4×1
8th	Lawton	4×1
Place	Team	Event
1st	Chesaning	4×2
2nd	Pewamo-Westphalia	4×2
3rd	Ovid-Elsie	4×2
4th	Hart	4×2
5th	Lansing Catholic	4×2
6th	Michigan Center	4×2
7th	Olivet	4×2
8th	Burton Atherton	4×2
Place	Team	Event
1st	Chesaning	4×4
2nd	Traverse City St. Francis	4×4
3rd	Hart	4×4
4th	Lansing Catholic	4×4
5th	Parchment	4×4
6th	Hanover-Horton	4×4
7th	Brooklyn Columbia Central	4×4
8th	Ovid-Elsie	4×4
Place	Team	Event
1st	Pewamo-Westphalia	4×8
2nd	Traverse City St. Francis	4×8
3rd	Muskegon WMC	4×8
4th	Lansing Catholic	4×8
5th	The Potter’s House	4×8
6th	Ann Arbor Greenhills	4×8
7th	Jonesville	4×8
8th	Hanover-Horton	4×8

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Mason Mayne	Lawton	Discus
2nd	Chase Bott	Kingsley	Discus
3rd	Brock Spitzley	Ovid-Elsie	Discus
4th	Lucas Sidlauskas	Cheboygan	Discus
5th	Mason Brodie	Clinton	Discus
6th	Chris Tetloff	Midland Bullock Creek	Discus
7th	Kyler Cook	Standish Sterling	Discus
8th	Gradyn Wilson	Mason County Central	Discus
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Mason Mayne	Lawton	Shot Put
2nd	Chris Tetloff	Midland Bullock Creek	Shot Put
3rd	Mason Brodie	Clinton	Shot Put
4th	Lucas Sidlauskas	Cheboygan	Shot Put
5th	Gradyn Wilson	Mason County Central	Shot Put
6th	Carter Helsel	Manton	Shot Put
7th	Seth Schlicht	Chesaning	Shot Put
8th	Braden Burtch	Chesaning	Shot Put
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Tryce Tokar	Ovid-Elsie	Pole Vault
2nd	Corey Turner	Quincy	Pole Vault
3rd	Chandler Webb	Perry	Pole Vault
4th	JaLonn Borders	Adrian Madison	Pole Vault
5th	Jaxon Bolster	Ida	Pole Vault
6th	Tucker Wiginton	Springport	Pole Vault
7th	Chase Battani	Almont	Pole Vault
8th	Luke Skidmore	Bath	Pole Vault
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Benjamin Rodenbaugh	McBain	High Jump
2nd	Tayden Redding	Warren Michigan Collegiate	High Jump
3rd	Eric Barancik	Chesaning	High Jump
4th	Noah Rufenacht	Quincy	High Jump
5th	Mason Gugle	LeRoy Pine River	High Jump
6th	Mason Chesser	Onsted	High Jump
7th	Ashton Thornsbury	Hillsdale	High Jump
8th	Quentin Lange	Mason County Central	High Jump
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Jaden Villalpando	North Muskegon	Long Jump
2nd	Aiden Coggins	Standish Sterling	Long Jump
3rd	Dominic Oldham	University Prep Science & Math	Long Jump
4th	Jack Deitsch	Reed City	Long Jump
5th	Xavier Luea	Lansing Catholic	Long Jump
6th	Cass Stanberry	Saugatuck	Long Jump
7th	Noah Rufenacht	Quincy	Long Jump
8th	Brent Wofford	Mt. Morris	Long Jump

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Santino Cicarella	University Liggett	100m
2nd	Trevor Smith	Pewamo-Westphalia	100m
3rd	Zach Harlan	Chesaning	100m
4th	Aiden Coggins	Standish Sterling	100m
5th	Greyson Burrous	Lawton	100m
6th	Cobey Cureton	Dearborn Advanced Technology	100m
7th	Marvin Hatfield	University Liggett	100m
8th	Aaren Buck-Hooper	Cassopolis Ross Beatty	100m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Santino Cicarella	University Liggett	200m
2nd	Trevor Smith	Pewamo-Westphalia	200m
3rd	Dennis Jackson	Detroit Edison PSA	200m
4th	Zach Harlan	Chesaning	200m
5th	Cobey Cureton	Dearborn Advanced Technology	200m
6th	Travis Collins	Michigan Center	200m
7th	Brayden Connell	Perry	200m
8th	Chase Lorenz	Hart	200m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Dennis Jackson	Detroit Edison PSA	400m
2nd	Johnny Walters	Jackson Lumen Christi	400m
3rd	Ethan Miller	Centreville	400m
4th	Travis Collins	Michigan Center	400m
5th	Chase Lorenz	Hart	400m
6th	Carter Ramseyer	Hart	400m
7th	Shawn Butler	Parchment	400m
8th	Jess Saylor	Ottawa Lake-Whiteford	400m

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Gus Rohde	Reed City	800m
2nd	Matthias Morse	Muskegon WMC	800m
3rd	Caleb Blonde	Jonesville	800m
4th	Barrett Nance	North Muskegon	800m
5th	Hunter Eaton	Charlevoix	800m
6th	Clay Powell	Ovid-Elsie	800m
7th	Paul Saladin	Reed City	800m
8th	Blaise Demko	Lansing Catholic	800m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Gus Rohde	Reed City	1600m
2nd	Mitchell Hiatt	Onsted	1600m
3rd	Landon Pestrue	St. Louis	1600m
4th	Gage Hoffman	Stanton Central Montcalm	1600m
5th	Barrett Nance	North Muskegon	1600m
6th	Daniel Mandujano	Watervliet	1600m
7th	Hunter Eaton	Charlevoix	1600m
8th	Luke Herron	Caro	1600m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Mitchell Hiatt	Onsted	3200m
2nd	Josh Slocum	Traverse City St. Francis	3200m
3rd	Landon Pestrue	St. Louis	3200m
4th	Nole Lorenzen	Rochester Hills Lutheran NW	3200m
5th	Daniel Mandujano	Watervliet	3200m
6th	Gage Hoffman	Stanton Central Montcalm	3200m
7th	Landen Styka	Ithaca	3200m
8th	Hunter Eaton	Charlevoix	3200m

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Caleb Walker	Chesaning	110h
2nd	Leland VanAlstine	Lansing Catholic	110h
3rd	Max Ward	Elk Rapids	110h
4th	Aden Nystrom	Olivet	110h
5th	Drew Garcia	Olivet	110h
6th	Caleb Moore	Warren Michigan Collegiate	110h
7th	Zander Goodwin	Jonesville	110h
8th	Tayden Redding	Warren Michigan Collegiate	110h
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Max Ward	Elk Rapids	300h
2nd	Caleb Walker	Chesaning	300h
3rd	Zander Goodwin	Jonesville	300h
4th	Leland VanAlstine	Lansing Catholic	300h
5th	Evan Pipe	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	300h
6th	Clayton Benson	Quincy	300h
7th	Tayden Redding	Warren Michigan Collegiate	300h
8th	Nolan Schaap	Kalamazoo Christian	300h

STATE MEET RECORDS

Lightly Stressed

Girls 200m – 25.15

When I started looking at these, four girls had been sub-26. As of writing, now it’s six. Many of these girls are hitting multiple events, so they’ll either be tired or well warmed up, your call.

Boys 100m – 10.70

Morrice’s Logan Smith has already found a 10.84. He’s followed by a pair of Southfield Christian boys, Dylan Taylor-Wilkerson and Jadon Staten. Tenths of a second are a margin in sprints, but with the right wind and increased competition, why not?

Boys 800m – 1:53.53

After a tough early season, Abenezer Cerone has found his way back to indoor form. That indoor form produced a 1:54.86 and a 3^rd place finish against the entire state. The record is a bit faster and he’ll be feeling the 400m from earlier in the day, two points against getting there. But I’m confident if it’s not this year, next year will certainly be the one.

Feeling Pressure

Girls 800m – 2:13.51

Eliza Keith has already found her way under this mark. She’s got speed and burgeoning endurance. Allie Nowak has been pointing to this day for ages and if her championship experience is any indicator, she’s one that can blast through her 2:14 personal best.

Boys 110h – 14.33

When facing competition or the pressure of the moment, Brady Feldpausch has figured out a path to come through. Prime evidence being 2024’s State Finals, where he nabbed a significant personal best (14.57) after hovering around 15-flat all spring. Or this year’s Jon Nugent Invite, chasing the excellent Caleb Walker.

Boys 4×1 – 42.86 & Boys 4×2 – 1:29.69

We first saw in the rankings, then they’ve continued to prove it over the course of the season. Southfield Christian has impeccable depth and speed for a school of its stature. Four boys under 11.3 & 23.5. In peak relay form, we’ve seen the Eagles come close.

Under Duress

Girls 100m – 12.30

It’s the championship season effect. Molly Brown, having already hit the EQ in a whopping 6 events, took to Region 35 with a powerful intent. Her 12.10 in the 100m was nearly a half second personal best and one that could be record-breaking on Saturday. Of course, there lies a little defending champion that’s also vying for the record – Unionville Sebewaing’s Layla Bolzman. Bolzman also hit a personal best on regional day, a 12.42.

Girls 3200m – 10:49.25

Originally, this was in the lightly stressed category, until Kaylie Livingston had to go and rip a 10:40 at Distance Night. Record-breaker or not, Livingston will surely look to add to her collection of state titles.

Girls 100h – 14.89

Probably the prime Molly Brown event. Brown has twice won here, and now this year’s version is astonishingly, much quicker. She’s kicked it up a notch in May, first notching personal bests at the Dome Classic and Cascades Conference, before smashing a 14.05 in a Region 35 victory.

Boys 3200m – 9:22.07

In any normal scenario, I’d cast doubt on the attempt at a 3200m record late in the meet. But ultra marathoner Marek Butkiewicz faces a D4 field as strong as ever and he may need to match his 9:16 personal best. I know Alex Tyndall, Brody Karg, Landon Rogers and whomever else will make him work for the title.

Boys 4×4 – 3:24.19

Fowler’s combination of hurdlers, short sprinters, and 400m marksmen come together for what may be, pound for pound (considering enrollment), the best relay squad of all seven divisions. With a student population of 175, they’ve earned the #23 relay time in the entire state.

So many possibilities. I’ll go with 4 of these records being shattered in what may be one of the better D4 years ever.

Intriguing Events and Happenings

Molly Brown and the Quad

Intentional and aggressive, that’s how I’d describe her season. Early qualifiers in six events (plus working on longer distances and high jump during indoor), you see a plan for the State Finals and for Austin Peay. Maybe multi’s in the future and to be good at those, you’ve gotta come through in many events in a single day. Last year saw Brown capture both hurdles along with an All-State 100m finish. She’s still entered in those three events, but has added the long jump, where she’s the top seed. It’s a setup of events that shouldn’t have her running all over the complex, but should have her standing on multiple medal stands.

Familiar Relays Facing Off

Check out the girls sprint relay results from the past few years. You’ll likely see a combination of Fowler, Gobles, Frankfort, Portland St. Patrick, and Hillsdale Academy. I’m happy to report that the usual suspects from those squads are back again: Daisy Estrada, Alice Luther, Gwyneth Dunaway, Sofia Alaimo-Schindler, Kenzie Fedewa, Madison Sallows, Caroline Roberts, amongst many others. Fowler has the most titles in that two year stretch, Frankfort has a few, so too does Portland St. Patrick.

A Void in the 300’s

With Landon Bennett’s graduation, an opportunity exists for a new 300h champion. Dawson Scharer and Brady Feldpausch have had their eyes on it all year. Scharer has consistently held the top rank in the division, hitting a 40.82 in early April for an EQ, extending down into the 38’s as we hit late May. Feldpausch’s competitive exploits don’t just come through in the high hurdles, as last June, he slashed nearly half a second from his lifetime best to place 2^nd. Then you throw D3 transplant Grant Johnson into the fray. Johnson has two consecutive sub-40’s on his resume, winning Region 36 and placing 2^nd to Scharer at Team State.

Potential Girls Team Champions

Generally, I tend to think this is pretty simple. One needs elite athletes, the advantage being more of them. Those elite athletes need to score what they’re capable of, buoyed by those who would be stepping up when less expected.

Fowler – depth in the sprints being the main driver. That depth might not show up individually, although Katie Spicer and Ella Hufnagel are very good. Relays appear to be where the Eagles will make their hay, seeded with top-2 times in each of the sprints. As an extra insurance policy, Kelcie Pung and Nadia Schafer are quite capable of scoring in their mid-distance and vault concentrations.

Gobles – from the fall, we’ve known the Tigers to be one of the better distance squads in the D4 scene. Combine that with the exploits of Daisy Estrada and Sasha Doll, now you’ve cooked up a combo that can rack up points. Estrada earned early qualifiers in the short sprints and long hurdles, a sign of podium potential. Doll has state experience, placing 3^rd in 2023’s high jump. She’s back at the level she found herself that sophomore year, clearing 5’2 and winning in Region 34.

Potential Boys Team Champions

Now, now we’re getting to the intrigue.

Kalamazoo Hackett – largely because of their distance kids, Marek Butkiewicz and Sean Siems. Those two can cover ground in all individual events and add enough juice to relays. But it can’t all be distance, as Alexander Dumont can take up a seat in the hurdles.

Southfield Christian – anything under a lap, the Eagles have the jump on the entire field. The aforementioned Jadon Staten and Dylan Taylor-Wilkerson are special. I haven’t even mentioned Brock Morris, one of the better 400m from all divisions. How does SC align their entries to maximize their points?

Riverview Gabriel Richard – may not be *as* strong as SC in the sprints (though I’m sure they’ll point to their 4×1 from regional day), but have the ability to score points elsewhere. Wisdom Nwadioha comes in with the top seed in the long jump, a #3 rank over the course of the season. Early on in the sand and from the 4×8, we’ll know in the meet’s beginnings if the Pioneers have a trophy in them.

Hillsdale Academy – the hurdle exploits of Dawson Scharer and distance runnin’ of Grayson Rorick will likely dominate their scoring forays. Additional points could come from the shot put, where Joel Miller can’t stop improving. He’s gone from a low-40 thrower to a 47’+ kid with personal bests in 5 of his past 6 competitions.

Fowler – are in the same vein as Hillsdale Academy, but substitute long endurance for short endurance, as Nate Spicer is ranked in the D4 top-7 in the 200m & 400m.

GIRLS TEAM PREDICTIONS

BOYS TEAM PREDICTIONS

Girls Event Predictions

Place	Team	Event
1st	Fowler	4×1
2nd	Frankfort	4×1
3rd	Gobles	4×1
4th	Adrian Lenawee Christian	4×1
5th	Breckenridge	4×1
6th	White Cloud	4×1
7th	New Buffalo	4×1
8th	Concord	4×1
Place	Team	Event
1st	Frankfort	4×2
2nd	Fowler	4×2
3rd	Adrian Lenawee Christian	4×2
4th	Gobles	4×2
5th	Concord	4×2
6th	Harbor Springs	4×2
7th	Bridgman	4×2
8th	Hillsdale Academy	4×2
Place	Team	Event
1st	Hillsdale Academy	4×4
2nd	Fowler	4×4
3rd	Portland St. Patrick	4×4
4th	Bridgman	4×4
5th	Frankfort	4×4
6th	Petersburg-Summerfield	4×4
7th	New Buffalo	4×4
8th	Kalamazoo Hackett	4×4
Place	Team	Event
1st	Whitmore Lake	4×8
2nd	Hillsdale Academy	4×8
3rd	Kalamazoo Hackett	4×8
4th	Gobles	4×8
5th	Bridgman	4×8
6th	Breckenridge	4×8
7th	Onekama	4×8
8th	Petersburg-Summerfield	4×8

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Ryleigh Ewald	Unionville-Sebewaing	Discus
2nd	Lyndsey Sheahan	Fulton	Discus
3rd	Addison Bolen	Carson City-Crystal	Discus
4th	Cailynn Jones	Fulton	Discus
5th	Payten Bird	White Cloud	Discus
6th	Zoey Martinez	Morenci	Discus
7th	Jaylyn Sisco	Beal City	Discus
8th	Kadence Delore	Brethren	Discus
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Kyra Marciniak	Potterville	Shot Put
2nd	Jojo Kirkpatrick	East Jordan	Shot Put
3rd	Diamond Cook	Southfield Christian	Shot Put
4th	Tatyanna Hill	Bridgman	Shot Put
5th	Grace First	Frankfort	Shot Put
6th	Addison Bolen	Carson City-Crystal	Shot Put
7th	Brianna Heitkamp	Mendon	Shot Put
8th	Bryn Gilde	Beal City	Shot Put
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Payton Haynes	Mason County Eastern	Pole Vault
2nd	Rebecca Moeller	Deckerville	Pole Vault
3rd	Nadia Schafer	Fowler	Pole Vault
4th	Alexandra Findlay	Marlette	Pole Vault
5th	Willa Roth	Frankfort	Pole Vault
6th	Chloe Fowler	Pittsford	Pole Vault
7th	Kate May	Frankfort	Pole Vault
8th	Aubree Moeller	Deckerville	Pole Vault
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Annie Saenz	Concord	High Jump
2nd	Sasha Doll	Gobles	High Jump
3rd	Addi Beatty	Lincoln-Alcona	High Jump
4th	Riley Harrah	Adrian Lenawee Christian	High Jump
5th	Macie Hafner	St. Charles	High Jump
6th	Alecsis Gould	Kingston	High Jump
7th	Alexandra Findlay	Marlette	High Jump
8th	Kasey Gaudette	Mason County Eastern	High Jump
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Molly Brown	Addison	Long Jump
2nd	Ella Hufnagel	Fowler	Long Jump
3rd	Ava Mustapha	Lansing Christian	Long Jump
4th	Casey Prevo	East Jordan	Long Jump
5th	Eva Bauer	New Buffalo	Long Jump
6th	BayLeigh Clapp	Breckenridge	Long Jump
7th	Makayla Culver	Webberville	Long Jump
8th	Haley Proctor	Webberville	Long Jump

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Molly Brown	Addison	100m
2nd	Daisy Estrada	Gobles	100m
3rd	Layla Bolzman	Unionville-Sebewaing	100m
4th	Ella Hufnagel	Fowler	100m
5th	Katie Spicer	Fowler	100m
6th	Addi Beatty	Lincoln-Alcona	100m
7th	Clara Slattery	Kalamazoo Hackett	100m
8th	Sofia Alaimo Schindler	Frankfort	100m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Daisy Estrada	Gobles	200m
2nd	Clara Slattery	Kalamazoo Hackett	200m
3rd	Ella Hufnagel	Fowler	200m
4th	Addi Beatty	Lincoln-Alcona	200m
5th	Layla Bolzman	Unionville-Sebewaing	200m
6th	Claire Long	Saginaw Nouvel	200m
7th	Ava Pike	Onekama	200m
8th	Sofia Alaimo Schindler	Frankfort	200m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Claire Long	Saginaw Nouvel	400m
2nd	Ella Hufnagel	Fowler	400m
3rd	Emily Howell	Bridgman	400m
4th	Kenzie Fedewa	Portland St. Patrick	400m
5th	Layla Bolzman	Unionville-Sebewaing	400m
6th	Mickiah Allbee	Vestaburg	400m
7th	Anne Gradowski	New Buffalo	400m
8th	Madison Cooley	Gobles	400m

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Allie Nowak	Johannesburg-Lewiston	800m
2nd	Eliza Keith	Auburn Hills Oakland Christian	800m
3rd	Caroline Roberts	Hillsdale Academy	800m
4th	Kelcie Pung	Fowler	800m
5th	Ava Mallar	Pittsford	800m
6th	Anna Howell	Bridgman	800m
7th	Lilah Kiley	Kingston	800m
8th	Izzy Brooks	Adrian Lenawee Christian	800m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Eliza Keith	Auburn Hills Oakland Christian	1600m
2nd	Kaylie Livingston	Whitmore Lake	1600m
3rd	Jane Manthei	Petoskey St. Michael	1600m
4th	Caroline Roberts	Hillsdale Academy	1600m
5th	Emma Riker	Kalamazoo Hackett	1600m
6th	Abigail Davis	Vestaburg	1600m
7th	Callie Sinke	Onekama	1600m
8th	Libby Smith	Gobles	1600m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Kaylie Livingston	Whitmore Lake	3200m
2nd	Jane Manthei	Petoskey St. Michael	3200m
3rd	Raley Keith	Auburn Hills Oakland Christian	3200m
4th	Libby Smith	Gobles	3200m
5th	Abigail Davis	Vestaburg	3200m
6th	Veyda Conley	Martin	3200m
7th	Emma Riker	Kalamazoo Hackett	3200m
8th	Clara Fast	Bridgman	3200m

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Molly Brown	Addison	100h
2nd	Clara Slattery	Kalamazoo Hackett	100h
3rd	Ava Mustapha	Lansing Christian	100h
4th	Lucy Cote	Hillsdale Academy	100h
5th	Payton Haynes	Mason County Eastern	100h
6th	Siera Jedele	Manchester	100h
7th	Rebecca Moeller	Deckerville	100h
8th	Leah Thelen	Fowler	100h
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Molly Brown	Addison	300h
2nd	Clara Slattery	Kalamazoo Hackett	300h
3rd	Ava Mustapha	Lansing Christian	300h
4th	Daisy Estrada	Gobles	300h
5th	Ruby Pletcher	Central Lake/Ellsworth	300h
6th	Lucy Cote	Hillsdale Academy	300h
7th	Maria Wieber	Fowler	300h
8th	Tamerah Peterson	Sterling Heights Parkway	300h

Boys Event Predictions

Place	Team	Event
1st	Riverview Gabriel Richard	4×1
2nd	White Pigeon	4×1
3rd	Mesick	4×1
4th	East Jordan	4×1
5th	Southfield Christian	4×1
6th	Potterville	4×1
7th	Royal Oak Shrine	4×1
8th	Gobles	4×1
Place	Team	Event
1st	Southfield Christian	4×2
2nd	Riverview Gabriel Richard	4×2
3rd	Fowler	4×2
4th	Climax-Scotts	4×2
5th	Kalamazoo Hackett	4×2
6th	Mt. Clemens	4×2
7th	Pittsford	4×2
8th	Eau Claire	4×2
Place	Team	Event
1st	Fowler	4×4
2nd	Southfield Christian	4×4
3rd	Kalamazoo Hackett	4×4
4th	Riverview Gabriel Richard	4×4
5th	Detroit Frederick Douglass	4×4
6th	Hillsdale Academy	4×4
7th	Concord	4×4
8th	Manchester	4×4
Place	Team	Event
1st	Kalamazoo Hackett	4×8
2nd	Hillsdale Academy	4×8
3rd	Birmingham Roeper	4×8
4th	Petoskey St. Michael	4×8
5th	Harbor Beach	4×8
6th	Holland Calvary Christian	4×8
7th	Fairview	4×8
8th	Riverview Gabriel Richard	4×8

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Julius Johnson	Marlette	Discus
2nd	Zander Mapes	Breckenridge	Discus
3rd	Gabe Walliczeck	Climax-Scotts	Discus
4th	Nathan Fletcher	Manchester	Discus
5th	Zachary McFarren	Muskegon Catholic Central	Discus
6th	Joey Cain	Michigan Lutheran Seminary	Discus
7th	Oliver Long	Morrice	Discus
8th	Cole Meyer	Marion	Discus
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Oliver Long	Morrice	Shot Put
2nd	Zander Mapes	Breckenridge	Shot Put
3rd	Joey Cain	Michigan Lutheran Seminary	Shot Put
4th	Andrew Clark	Breckenridge	Shot Put
5th	Joel Miller	Hillsdale Academy	Shot Put
6th	Nathan Fletcher	Manchester	Shot Put
7th	Marvin Jones Jr.	Marcellus	Shot Put
8th	Logan Broekhuizen	Michigan Lutheran Seminary	Shot Put
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Aaron Locke	Beal City	Pole Vault
2nd	Teagan Williams	Pittsford	Pole Vault
3rd	Austin Taylor	Petersburg-Summerfield	Pole Vault
4th	Lucas Smith	Brown City	Pole Vault
5th	Carter Fedewa	Fowler	Pole Vault
6th	Caleb Valentine	Whitmore Lake	Pole Vault
7th	Lucas Morse	Addison	Pole Vault
8th	Dallas Swaenepoel	Vandercook Lake	Pole Vault
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Bradley Richards	Muskegon Catholic Central	High Jump
2nd	Mnason Smothers	New Buffalo	High Jump
3rd	Jayden Robinson	White Cloud	High Jump
4th	Lucas Husovsky	Kalamazoo Hackett	High Jump
5th	Austin DeRoseau	Kingston	High Jump
6th	Bryce White	Riverview Gabriel Richard	High Jump
7th	Jordan Pisco	White Pigeon	High Jump
8th	Logan Shooks	East Jordan	High Jump
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Landon Galea	Fairview	Long Jump
2nd	Wisdom Nwadioha	Riverview Gabriel Richard	Long Jump
3rd	Zach Vonk	Holland Calvary Christian	Long Jump
4th	James Rodriguez	Montabella	Long Jump
5th	Karsen Gonyea	Lincoln-Alcona	Long Jump
6th	Riley Beaumont	Bellevue	Long Jump
7th	Matthew Howery	Webberville	Long Jump
8th	Wyatt Putney	Mesick	Long Jump

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Logan Smith	Morrice	100m
2nd	Chris Walker	Mt. Clemens	100m
3rd	Joey Calhoun	Riverview Gabriel Richard	100m
4th	Dylan Taylor-Wilkerson	Southfield Christian	100m
5th	Derek Lesko	Riverview Gabriel Richard	100m
6th	Jadon Staten	Southfield Christian	100m
7th	Markeil White	Potterville	100m
8th	Kylan Lester	Morenci	100m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Brock Morris	Southfield Christian	200m
2nd	Tristan Wallace	Madison	200m
3rd	Derek Lesko	Riverview Gabriel Richard	200m
4th	Logan Smith	Morrice	200m
5th	Jadon Staten	Southfield Christian	200m
6th	Nate Spicer	Fowler	200m
7th	Ezariah Taylor	Potterville	200m
8th	Dylan Taylor-Wilkerson	Southfield Christian	200m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Brock Morris	Southfield Christian	400m
2nd	Abenezer Cerone	Royal Oak Shrine	400m
3rd	Hunter Garza	Deckerville	400m
4th	Kai Fisher	Memphis	400m
5th	Colebrook Sutherland	Maple City Glen Lake	400m
6th	Nate Spicer	Fowler	400m
7th	Isaac Bignall	Unionville-Sebewaing	400m
8th	Carroll Robotham	Frankfort	400m

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Abenezer Cerone	Royal Oak Shrine	800m
2nd	Sean Siems	Kalamazoo Hackett	800m
3rd	Christian Getz	Holland Calvary Christian	800m
4th	Colebrook Sutherland	Maple City Glen Lake	800m
5th	Emmanuel Mehari	Plymouth Christian Academy	800m
6th	Lucas Molenkamp	Hillsdale Academy	800m
7th	Aaron Locke	Beal City	800m
8th	Elias Baldwin	Decatur	800m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Marek Butkiewicz	Kalamazoo Hackett	1600m
2nd	Grayson Rorick	Hillsdale Academy	1600m
3rd	Landon Rogers	Three Oaks River Valley	1600m
4th	Alex Tyndall	Mason County Eastern	1600m
5th	Sean Siems	Kalamazoo Hackett	1600m
6th	Theodore Davis	Dansville	1600m
7th	Brody Karg	Harbor Beach	1600m
8th	Tyler Laansma	Tri-Unity Christian	1600m
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Marek Butkiewicz	Kalamazoo Hackett	3200m
2nd	Landon Rogers	Three Oaks River Valley	3200m
3rd	Grayson Rorick	Hillsdale Academy	3200m
4th	Alex Tyndall	Mason County Eastern	3200m
5th	Theodore Davis	Dansville	3200m
6th	Lincoln Laansma	Tri-Unity Christian	3200m
7th	Brody Karg	Harbor Beach	3200m
8th	Grant Corlew	Harbor Springs	3200m

Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Brady Feldpausch	Fowler	110h
2nd	Grant Johnson	Manchester	110h
3rd	Dawson Scharer	Hillsdale Academy	110h
4th	Luke Lawrence	Climax-Scotts	110h
5th	Jordan Pisco	White Pigeon	110h
6th	Jailen Guise	International Academy of Flint	110h
7th	Austin Louzon	Riverview Gabriel Richard	110h
8th	Eli Oliver	Lutheran Westland	110h
Place	Name	Team	Event
1st	Dawson Scharer	Hillsdale Academy	300h
2nd	Brady Feldpausch	Fowler	300h
3rd	Grant Johnson	Manchester	300h
4th	Logan Smith	Morrice	300h
5th	Alexander Dumont	Kalamazoo Hackett	300h
6th	Luke Lawrence	Climax-Scotts	300h
7th	Cole Upper	Lincoln-Alcona	300h
8th	Benjamin Jollay	St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake	300h