Grass Lake Follows Bargesser's Lead to 1st Title since 1970
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
June 6, 2021
JENISON — Despite having a big lead late in Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 track & field championship meet, Grass Lake coach Anthony Cole wasn’t interested in conceding anything.
“We haven’t won it yet,” he said, smiling.
He didn’t have to worry.
The Warriors won with 68 points, exactly double the number of second-place Benzie Central, to take their first Finals title since winning Class C in 1970. Their most recent top-two finish came when they placed second in Class D in 1997.
They won it this time with plenty of help from senior Brennan Bargesser, whose blonde hair, long on top, was braided twice across the top of his skull to a small bun at the back.
“Aerodynamic,” he said.
Whatever the reason, Bargesser won the 100, 200, and 400 while also running the anchor leg of Grass Lake’s champion 400 relay.
“It’s been really fun having a couple of Bargessers on the team,” Cole said of both Brennan and his sister Lexie, who keyed the Grass Lake girls team’s run to a Division 3 co-championship. “But it’s not just him. It’s been the whole squad all season long. We’ve been peaking all season long. We’ve got senior kids who have bought into everything we’ve sold them. It’s been real fun to watch.”
One of those seniors, Josh Sherwood, picked up points with fifth-place finishes in the 100 and 200 and ran the third leg on the winning 400 relay. Jack Easterday was fifth in the 100 hurdles and sixth in the 300 hurdles. Connor Vieghelan took second in the pole vault, and Trenton Holden was fourth in the discus.
“We’ve had a lot of really good seniors,” Cole said. “It’s really been their show. Every one of our kids all bought in, and it’s been fun to see.”
For Bargesser, Saturday’s meet was the culmination of a season that saw him miss time due to COVID-19 and some injuries.
“This was a dream come true,” he said. “My sister and I have dreamed about this for years, and it was really cool for us as siblings to do this on the same day.”
Bargesser, who will attend Bethel University in the fall, said his teammates were invaluable.
“I love track guys,” he said. “They’re all so nice every time. Doesn’t matter if you win or lose. Everyone is congratulating each other all of the time. It’s really nice to be around.”
As for winning the team championship, “we’ve been talking about it the whole day,” Bargesser said. “Our big goal was to get The Mitten, and we needed everyone to do that.”
The man with the aerodynamic ’do thanked God for his talent and his teammates, but also for the 10-plus mph breezes on the hottest day of the year so far. “The wind was awesome,” he said.
Pewamo-Westphalia, which tied Grass Lake for the girls title, finished third in the boys meet with 30 points.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grass Lake celebrates its Division 3 team track & field championship Saturday. (Middle) Pewamo-Westphalia's Jack Easterday clears a hurdle. (Photos by Tim Robinson.)
Preview: Past Multi-Race Champs Highlight Impressive Field Returning to Kingsford
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 30, 2025
Plenty of candidates appear prepared to step into the spotlight at this weekend’s Upper Peninsula Boys Track & Field Finals.
Several returning champions return across the three divisions to be hosted Saturday at Kingsford High School, including distance standouts Luke Hill of Houghton, Dan Goss of Munising and Kalvin Kytta of Chassell after all three won multiple Finals titles a year ago. Pickford’s Gunner Bennin also is back after winning multiple races in 2024, and Menominee’s Darrent Butler joins Kytta as past champs looking to win for the third-straight year.
Preliminaries will begin the day at 9 a.m. local (Central) time. Tickets cost $11 and are available digitally only via GoFan.
MHSAA.tv will live-stream the meets beginning at 9 a.m. (CDT)/10 a.m. (EDT), viewable with subscription. Check out the Boys Track & Field page for meet information and lists of all qualifiers. Those described as "seeded" below have received those seeds based on Regional performances or early qualification during the regular season.
Following is a glance at team contenders and individuals to watch in all three divisions:
Division 1
Team forecast: Marquette has won the last four Division 1 championships and all but one since 2015. Kingsford has finished runner-up the last three seasons, but Houghton and Negaunee might have the most opportunities to make a push this weekend although the Sentinels’ immense talent and depth again will make them difficult to catch.
Lucas Ballard, Marquette sophomore: He’s expected to take a much larger scoring role after finishing fourth in the 400 and running on a winning relay as a freshman. He’s seeded first in the 800 (1:59.87) and 1,600 (4:36.82) and slated to run on the top-seeded 1,600 relay (3:30.41).
Darrent Butler, Menominee junior: The two-time reigning high jump champion won by four inches last season and is seeded first at that same height (6-2) while also seeded sixth in long jump and set to run on the third-seeded 1,600 relay.
Mathew Frantti, Calumet senior: He’s looking at a potential big finish to his high school career as the top seed in both the shot put (46-3½) and discus (143-9) after finishing third in the shot last season.
Luke Hill, Houghton senior: He won the 800, 1,600, finished third in the 3,200 and ran on the champion 3,200 relay last season. He returns seeded second in the 1,600 (4:38.08) and fifth in the 800 and 3,200, and running on the top-seeded 3,200 relay (8:46.55).
Gabe Litzner, Sault Ste. Marie junior: One of the most highly-regarded distance runners statewide, Litzner won the 3,200 and finished second in the 1,600 last season. He’s seeded second in the 3,200 (9:34.88) and third in the 1,600 (4:40.44) this weekend.
Jacob MacPhee, Marquette junior: He’s back after winning the 400, finishing second in the 200 and running on two championship relays in 2024. He’s seeded first in the 200 (22.53), 400 (51.17) and will run on the top-seeded 800 (1:33.23) and 1,600 relays.
Kyler Sager, Marquette senior: He’s the reigning long jump champ and ran on a winning relay as well last spring. He’s seeded first in long jump (19-11¾), third in the 100 dash (11.32) and will run on the second-seeded 400 relay (45.14).
Division 2
Team forecast: Pickford has won the last two Division 2 titles, with Munising last season’s runner-up and those two also finishing first and second, respectively, at their Regional earlier this month. West Iron County won the other Division 2 Regional and could make a nice jump from ninth at last year’s Final.
John Anderson, Pickford junior: Last season’s high jump champion is seeded first (6-0) with a jump four inches higher than his winner a year ago. Anderson also finished fourth in the 110 hurdles, seventh in the 300 and ran on a runner-up relay in 2024, and he returns top-seeded in the 110 (16.86) and third-seeded in the 300 (46.63).
Gunner Bennin, Pickford junior: He’s looking to add to his 200 and 400 titles and fourth place in long jump from last season, seeded second in the 100 (12.01) and first in the 200 (24.37) and 400 (54.71) and running on the top-seeded 800 relay (1:37.91).
Dan Goss, Munising senior: The reigning champion in the 1,600 and 3,200 is seeded second in the 3,200 (10:57.73), fourth in the 1,600 and 800, and also third in the 400 (55.61).
Jayden Niemi-Alcorn, Rudyard senior: He won the pole vault last season by 1½ feet and has the top seed in that event by six inches this weekend.
Division 3
Team forecast: Newberry rose from runner-up in 2023 to champion last year, but won its Regional this month by only two points ahead of Brimley. Engadine also was a Regional champ by two points, while Lake Linden-Hubbell and Crystal Falls Forest Park won theirs by larger margins. Engadine and Lake Linden-Hubbell are seeking first Finals team titles, and Forest Park is seeking its first since 2010.
Vic Giuliani, Crystal Falls Forest Park sophomore: He debuted last season with a high jump championship and also finished fifth in both the long jump and 100 dash. He’s seeded fourth in the high jump this time and also will run the 200 and 400.
Kalvin Kytta, Chassell senior: He’s won the 3,200 the last two seasons and added 800 and 1,600 championships last year. He enters Saturday seeded second in the 800 (2:09.37) and 1,600 (4:47.27) and third in the 3,200 (11:16.88).
Matthew Rahilly, Newberry senior: After finishing second in the long jump, third in the high jump and running on two top-three relays a year ago, Rahilly is seeded first in the 200 (24.06) and long jump (20-1) and tied for second in the high jump (5-10). He won the long jump and ran on a winning relay as a sophomore.
Michael Rexford, Escanaba Holy Name junior: The reigning long jump champion is seeded second in that event (19-8), tied for the fourth seed in the high jump and expected to run on the second-seeded 3,200 relay (9:11.29).
Ethan Snyder, Cedarville sophomore: He finished second in the 1,600 as a freshman and returns top-seeded in that race (4:44.45), the 800 (2:08.14) and second-seeded in the 3,200 (11:01.70).
PHOTO Marquette's Ford Richardson hands off the baton to Evan Balko in the 1,600 relay on May 9 at the Negaunee Lions Invitational. The Sentinels broke the meet record in the race they had set the previous season. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)