East Kentwood Follows Perfect Plan
June 1, 2013
By Tom Kendra
Special to Second Half
KENTWOOD – Devin McKinney and his East Kentwood teammates had a plan going into Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final.
“We knew that if we won our two relays, that we would win the meet,” explained McKinney, a star junior sprinter and hurdler for East Kentwood.
The host Falcons executed that plan to perfection and won the MHSAA team championship for the fourth time in the past five years – previously winning in 2009, 2010 and 2011, before placing eighth last spring.
East Kentwood did not have any individual event champions, but coach Dave Emeott’s team did have place-winners all over the board and then dominated the sprint relays to take the title with 43 points.
Grand Blanc was second with 32 points. The Bobcats were led by sophomore Grant Fisher, who won the 3,200-meter run and took second in the 1,600 meters, missing out on a double win by six thousandths of a second.
Lake Orion, paced by senior 1,600-meter champion T.J. Carey, placed third with 29 points, followed by Walled Lake Central (27) and Davison (24).
McKinney ran the anchor leg of East Kentwood’s winning 400-meter relay team (42.41) and ran the second leg on the winning 800-meter relay team (1:27.72). He also was third in the 110-meter high hurdles.
“I just wanted to bring it for my team,” McKinney said. “We really wanted to get that state championship back.”
McKinney was joined by Justin Harris, Onrekus Carter and Kewon Getter on the winning 400-meter relay team and Getter, Houston Glass and Kevin Smith on the 800-meter relay team.
The threat of rain and possibly thunderstorms never materialized, but competitors had to deal with a steady wind throughout the day. The wind was blowing into the runners’ faces as they headed toward the finish line, resulting in higher-than-expected times in many events, particularly the sprints.
One athlete who said that going against the wind actually helped his performance was Walled Lake Central senior Cullen Prena.
Prena was the only boys athlete to win two individual events, even though he delivered an amazing end to his high school career away from the grandstands, in the throwing area.
Prena came in seeded second in the shot put, but overcame top-seeded Kevin Weiler of Swartz Creek with a winning throw of 60-11. But he was just getting warmed up. Prena hurled the discus more than 200 feet three times, including his final throw of 210 feet, 1 inch, which broke the old Division 1 Final record by more than 12 feet.
Afterward, Prena launched into an impromptu physics lesson to explain how throwing into the wind helped him.
“It was a perfect wind for the discus,” said Prena, who will compete in several major national events this summer, including the Chicago Throws Challenge and the New Balance Outdoor Nationals later this month before competing at the University of Oregon next year.
“A headwind is better because it gets under the disc and lifts it up. I felt great coming into today, and that wind just got me going even more.”
The discus win avenged his second-place finish in the event a year ago, when it was won by Matt Costello of Bay City Western, the Mr. Basketball winner who now plays for Tom Izzo at Michigan State.
While Prena was a shocking 34 feet further than the second-place thrower, most of the events were much closer.
Surprisingly, the closest race of the day was not in the 100-meter dash or a sprint relay. On a day when all eyes were on three of the top girls distance runners in the country in the 1,600-meter run, it was actually the boys’ 1,600-meter run which produced the day’s tightest finish.
Carey, a senior at Lake Orion, edged out Grand Blanc’s Fisher by the narrowest of margins, after the fans cheered both of them on as they ran neck-and-neck down the stretch. The final times showed Carey in first at 4:15.763 and Fisher second at 4:15.769 – a scant six thousandths of a second difference, which wasn’t official until a photo finish was used.
“I’m known for my kick and I needed every single bit of it today,” said Carey, a University of Missouri commit, with a grin. “It was the closest finish I’ve ever had, but I had a feeling that I got him right at the end.”
Fisher responded from that heartbreaking finish to capture the 3,200 meter title later in the meet.
Davison senior Gabe Hodge was a dual winner, capturing the 400-meter dash and then anchoring his team’s win in the meet’s final event, the 1,600-meter relay.
Saline captured the 3,200-meter relay title.
Other individual champions were Ato Condelee of Holland West Ottawa (long jump), Robert Atwater of Lincoln Park (high jump), Dylan Kole of Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills (pole vault), Freddie Crittenden of Utica (110-meter hurdles), Joshuwa Holloman of Auburn Hills Avondale (100 meters), Ross Williams of Birmingham Groves (300-meter hurdles), Andrew Middleton of Holt (800 meters) and Brandon Wilks of Southfield Lathrup (200 meters).
PHOTO: (Top) The East Kentwood boys track and field team poses on the medal stand after claiming the LP Division 1 championship. (Middle) Grant Fisher won the 3,200 in leading Grand Blanc to the team runner-up finish. (Photos by John Brabbs. Click to see more photo coverage from RunMichigan.com.)
McCarey Caps Niles Career Among School's All-Time Track Greats
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
June 3, 2025
NILES – For such a decorated athlete, Niles track & field star Ayden McCarey is as humble as they come.
That one trait is what makes him such a joy to coach, says Tony Todd, the Vikings' longtime leader of the boys program.
Todd, a Flint Kearsley graduate and former participant himself in the oval sport, has seen many great performers during his 27 years directing Niles' program. But he contends that McCarey is one of the best he's ever coached.
McCarey, who has signed to run track at the Division II level at Grand Valley State University, capped off a glorious high school career during Saturday's Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals in Hamilton.
McCarey returned home with all-state honors in two events, finishing second in the 110-meter high hurdles (14.43) and third-place in the 400-meter dash (49.27). His time in the 110s broke the school record. He has the second-fastest time at the school in the 400 dash, less than a second behind 2018 Niles grad Jordan Brown, currently the Vikings' sprint coach, who owns the record at 48.50.
McCarey also qualified in the 300 intermediate hurdles and ran anchor leg for the Vikings' 1,600 relay on Saturday.
"Ayden relishes the competition. The bigger the meet, the more he seems to rise to the occasion and perform well. When someone has a faster time, he can't wait to race against them. He gets excited over the chance to compete against someone faster," Todd said.
Also a standout defender for the Niles boys soccer team, McCarey finished runners-up in both the 110 highs and 400 his junior year. As a sophomore he placed sixth in the 110 and 10th in the 300. He began competing in the 400 midway through his sophomore season.
"It's just nice to know that all your hard work you put in got you to state. There's a lot of competition there. I am just happy to represent my school for a third time," McCarey said.
He credits an increase in distance workouts and his increased focus on the 400 as big reasons for his improvement in that event this season.
"I try and focus on all my events, but it just so happened I spent the most time focusing on the 400 this season,” McCarey said. “You need a lot of stamina to run that event, and it also helps me in the longer hurdle race as well. I've been successful in the 110 highs because I concentrate on attacking it whereas most people sometimes hop over them and that slows them down and hurts their time. I get a good start, and I'm able to maintain my speed throughout the race."
McCarey owned the fastest time in the 400 among Lower Peninsula Division 2 competitors after the Regional meet. He was ranked second in the 110 highs and fourth in the 300 entering the Finals.
"Ayden goes non-stop and never complains. He's one of those kids that will run through a wall for you,” Todd said. “Sometimes I take advantage of that to get that extra effort out of him. He is very humble, and if you try and compliment him he just smiles and puts his head down and keeps going. I worry more than he does if he doesn't get the accolades that he should. He is a quiet kid who leads by example. His form in the hurdles has improved all four years."
McCarey went through his entire high school track career without an injury.
"That's a big thing. Coaches have to learn when to pull back. He's never had a serious injury that left him having to sit out a practice. You can attribute that to his extraordinary work ethic because if you slack off, that's one of the easiest ways to get hurt,” Todd said. “He stays in shape year round with his participation in soccer and track. He is very versatile and can compete at the state level in any event from the 100 up to the 400, along with the hurdles and relays.
"His conditioning and running that he does during his soccer practice builds his endurance for track. In turn, the speed he's developed in track helps him out on the soccer field."
McCarey is looking forward to competing in college.
"I decided to go to Grand Valley because they have a solid track program, and it’s not that far from home. I liked their business program there too," McCarey said.
Todd is looking forward to seeing what McCarey can do at the next level.
"The biggest thing that will make Ayden a valuable competitor in college is that he is a natural athlete. There is only so much you can coach,” Todd said. “It takes a good coach and a good athlete to make a champion. But 90 percent of that is the athlete. If they listen and do the workouts, they will succeed.
"I couldn't be more proud of his four-year high school career. He had the most outstanding track career ever at Niles High School, and he's a great human being and student. This young man is going to do great things at Grand Valley and in life. I'm proud to have been his coach for his entire high school career."
Scott Hassinger is a contributing sportswriter for Leader Publications and previously served as the sports editor for the Three Rivers Commercial-News from 1994-2022. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Niles senior Ayden McCarey leaves the starting block during the 1600-meter relay at his team’s Regional. (Middle) Niles coach Tony Todd, left, takes a photo with McCarey before the start of a practice last week. (Photos by Scott Hassinger.)