Hackett Few, But Hardly Short-Handed
June 1, 2019
By Steve Vedder
Special for Second Half
HUDSONVILLE – The Kalamazoo Hackett boys track & field team overcame small numbers Saturday to repeat as champion at the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals at Baldwin Middle School.
Despite having just nine athletes competing, Hackett finished with 64 points to 46 for runner-up Southfield Christian. A year ago, Hackett had six athletes on its Finals roster and finished with 51 points, 15 more than second-place Sand Lake.
Irish junior Gus Magnell said the team's goal is to simply outwork opponents.
"When nine guys put in all the time we do, you get close," he said. "Our core is very close. We just have it in our minds that we're going to work. It's played out well for us."
Leading the Irish was senior Heath Baldwin, who won the 110 hurdles (14.84), 300 hurdles (40.13) and high jump (6-6) while taking third in the long jump. Baldwin, who said he would never give up competing in four events, finished with 36 points.
"I just want to put the team in the best position," he said. "It keeps me going. It's something I've always done. I like to prove I'm the best athlete out there."
Breckenridge's Brennan Waslusky won the discus (161.08) and shot (54-2.75).
Waslusky said his motivation came from being one of seven Breckenridge football players on the track team. Breckenridge lost in the Division 8 Final in that sport last fall.
"It was in the back of my mind," he said of a track title taking the place of the fall’s runner-up finish. "It was like we just wanted to do (one) better for the school. We came up short in football, and we wanted to show people we were the real deal."
Hillsdale Academy had a pair of champs Saturday in Jacob Krutsch in the pole vault and Ian Calvert in the 800.
Other winners were Carson Voss of Dansville in the long jump, Jakobe Derrick of Flint Beecher in the 100, Zach Wright of Potterville in the 1,600, Dubem Amene of Southfield Christian in the 400, Concord's Vincent Giuliano in the 200 and Coleman Clark of Carson City-Crystal in the 3,200.
PHOTO: Kalamazoo Hackett’s Heath Baldwin, left, and Gus Magnell, far right, finish first and second, respectively, in the 110 hurdles at the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals on Saturday. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Record-Setting Harper Woods Earns 1st Title, Western's Good Doubles Up on Greatness
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
May 30, 2026
HAMILTON — Parma Western junior Ryan Good was traditionally a competitor in the 400 and 800 dashes going into this spring, but he said he had a revelation earlier in the year while running the 1,600 at the Branch County Invite.
“I ran a 4:18,” he said. “I was just kind of like, ‘That’s pretty high up in the state. I might as well try and go for the 1,600 as well.”
Good did, and at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals, he was more than just good. He was the champion in two events.
First, he prevailed in the 1,600, claiming that title in a time of 4:13.20. Later, he won the 800 in a time of 1:53.81, pulling away over the last 100 meters with a big finishing kick.
“I’m definitely more 800 and 400 oriented,” he said. “But I think my body’s changed a lot. I used to be scrawny, a little bit weak. Over the past couple of years, I’ve gotten a lot more strength and mental strength as well.”
In the team portion Saturday, Harper Woods won going away, already having the title clinched before the final races of the day.
On the strength of dominant sprint relays, the Pioneers finished with 47 points, eight ahead of runner-up Otsego.
It was the school’s first Finals title in boys track & field.
“They had a lot of strong times going into indoor season,” said Harper Woods head coach Mike Carson, who was the coach of River Rouge’s runner-up team last year. “As we went from indoor into outdoor, we knew we wanted to do something special together as a team.”
Harper Woods set LPD2 Finals records in two relays. The 400 relay of Jayden Crump, DeAndre Bidden, Dakota Guerrant and Shawn Mosley won in a time of 41.50, which broke the record of 42.13 set in 2024 by Berrien Springs.
In the 800 relay, Harper Woods won in a record time of 1:27.26 with the team of Mosley, Crump, Dewayne Johnson and Bidden. The old record was 1:27.71 set by Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in 2016.
Crump, Bidden, Guerrant and Johnson are all standout football players as well, and Carson said there was little issue having them all come out for track.
“All the football players run track,” Cross said. “All the skill players run, and all the linemen do shot put. “They’ve been the ones to take the track program to the next level.”
Battle Creek Harper Creek senior DJ Wood repeated in the 110 hurdles in a time of 14.20, but fell short in his bid to repeat as champion in the 300 hurdles, finishing ninth. Corunna senior Logan Herrick claimed the 300 with a time of 38.02.
After finishing second in the high jump last year and reaching 7 feet at his Regional, Stevensville Lakeshore junior Declin Doroh won this time at 6-10.
Other champions Saturday included Coopersville’s Austin Langeland in the 100, Otsego’s Jack Cook in the 200, Portland’s Brady Rowe in the 400, Whitehall’s Robert Jazwinski III in the 3,200, Frankenmuth’s 1,600 relay and Grand Rapids Christian’s 3,200 relay, Vicksburg’s Kameron Kessler in the shot put, Otsego’s Alex Robbins in the discus, Spring Lake’s Ben Goran in the pole vault and Saginaw Swan Valley’s Jamison Pelt in the long jump.
Adrian’s Dillon Lauffer (100, 400) and Ethan Boprie (200) and Grand Rapids Christian’s Ezra Ippel (shot put) finished first in adaptive events.
PHOTOS (Top) Harper Woods' DeAndre Bidden sprints to the finish ahead of the field in the 800 relay Saturday. (Middle) Parma Western's Ryan Good leads one of his two winning races. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)