Kingsford Champion Again on Home Track
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 1, 2014
KINGSFORD — The Upper Peninsula Track Finals were still being held in Marquette the last time the Kingsford boys were crowned champions.
It was 1990. Bill Clinton was president, gasoline was selling for approximately $1 a gallon and the Flivvers were U.P. Class A-B champs.
They finally got the opportunity to be crowned Division 1 champions at their own facility Saturday, scoring 127 points. Marquette squeezed past Negaunee 82-81 for the runner-up trophy.
“The kids came together as a team, and I think today showed our depth,” said Kingsford assistant coach Bryan Johnson. “Even after winning big in our (Great Northern) conference meet last week, the guys never lost focus and Doug (coach Roberts) instilled that in them.”
The Flivvers added an exclamation mark to their victory by winning the day’s final event, the 1600-meter relay in a school-record 3 minutes, 31.18 seconds.
“We all ran great,” said junior Tyler Roberts, who anchored that relay. “There was great competition here today. Everybody competed hard, and we got it done. All year we trained hard and a ton of hard practices prepared us for today.”
Roberts also won the 400-meter dash in 51.08 seconds. Senior Jonah Carlson took discus at 140 feet, 11 inches and Ryan Camp earned the title in pole vault (13-0).
The Flivvers also won the 800 relay (1:31.94) and placed second in the 3200 event.
Senior Cole Tengesdahl, who helped the 800 relay, was runner-up in the 100 (11.57) and 300 (22.9).
Senior Ed Sexton added a second in the 110 hurdles (16.81). Junior Dan Fleming was runner-up in the 300 (42.49), with sophomore Brandon Kowalkowski second in high jump (5-11).
Sault Ste. Marie sophomore Parker Scott set a U.P. record in the 1,600 (4:18.09) and won the 800 (1:58.59), retaining his title in both races. He also placed third in the 3,200 (10:26.53) and helped the Blue Devils finish fourth in the 3,200 relay.
“I tried to run an even pace for the first two laps in the 1600,” said Scott, who will be moving to Texas with his family this summer. “I eased back a little in the third lap because I wanted to save it for the finish. I really like running up here, and I wanted to end it with a bang. This is really a special meet, and it’s great to have built all the camaraderie.”
Marquette opened with a victory in the 3,200 relay, and sophomore Lance Rambo was runner-up in the 1,600 (4:34.09) and 3,200 (10:16.79). Junior Andrew Banitt, who helped the winning relay, added a second in the 800 (2:01.71).
Negaunee had double winners in senior Kevin O’Keefe and Jason Bell. O’Keefe was clocked at 11.38 and 22.6 seconds in the 100 and 200, respectively, and Bell captured the 110 hurdles (15.95) and 300s (41.72).
Houghton junior Jacob Colling, running with stress fracture in his leg, did only the 3,200 and won that race in 10:07.67.
Defending champ Gladstone dropped to sixth this time with 39 points. Senior Cody Malanowski wont shot put (49-1½) and took second in discus (137-8).
PHOTO: Kingsford's Lucas Jennings works to move up in the pack during the 1,600 at Saturday's U.P. Division 1 Final. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Loy Norrix Mourning Death of Longtime Coach, Teacher Duckett: 'He's All Knight'
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
January 19, 2026
KALAMAZOO — Theophlis Duckett, known to generations of students and alumni as the more familiar “Ted” Duckett, dedicated 57 years of his life as a teacher and coach at Loy Norrix High School.
After his unexpected death Jan. 8, people will have a chance to show their respect and share memories at a community celebration of life, Saturday, Feb. 14, from 11 a.m.-noon (with doors opening at 10:30 a.m.) at the Loy Norrix auditorium.
At age 79, Duckett continued to teach three classes of physical education as well as coach the Knights girls and boys track & field teams.
“There aren’t many educators who have worked as long as he has, especially all those years in the same building,” said Andrew Laboe, Loy Norrix’s athletic director. "He connected with kids very well. He had a generational following: kids, parents, their grandparents, their great-grandparents.”
Some memories of Duckett bring a laugh from Laboe, who said he and Duckett had a running joke about his years as a Knight.
“I’m 55 years old and I told him I was negative-2 (years old) when he started working here,” Laboe laughed. “I believe he was a parapro or a locker room aide when he started here.
“In the teachers union seniority list, he is listed as 1969-70 for his first year teaching.”
Laboe said in losing Duckett, the school and community have lost a great resource for his knowledge of the history of the school and the people connected to it.
“He knows everybody,” Laboe said. “He was a consistent person in the lives of the kids he taught every day. Kalamazoo is not small like a lot of small towns around us, but it’s not very big, either.
"Ted knows everybody. You could get help from Ted on everything about children, who are they related to, who they are connected to, who can we contact to help them in any situation. That’s very helpful.”
During his tenure at Loy Norrix, Duckett coached football, basketball and track.
“He’s definitely a good sprinter coach for track,” Laboe said. “He was a fixture at Loy Norrix forever. He’s all Knight.”
Duckett’s coaching tenure included developing several all-state football players. Among those were sons Tico and Todd, who continued their football careers at Michigan State and then the NFL.
Tico Duckett played for Washington while Todd was a first-round selection by Atlanta in 2002, and he also played for Washington, Detroit and Seattle.
Laboe laughs when he looks back on his first meeting with the coach.
“My first year (at Loy Norrix) was 2004,” Laboe said. “Ted came into my office the first day. I said, ‘Hi Mr. Duckett, how are you? I’m Andrew Laboe.’”
He told Laboe he already knew.
“He said, ‘I just want you to know you have one year to get all the information out of this head that you need to run this athletic department because I’m retiring in one year.’”
No matter how much Laboe got out of Duckett’s head that first year, it didn’t matter.
“I’ve been here for 22 years and he was still here. It’s crazy,” Laboe recalled.
“He’s one of a kind. I don’t think it will ever be replicated in my career. There’s not people like that anymore that are that dedicated to one school like Ted Duckett was to Loy Norrix.”
(Photos courtesy of the Duckett family and Loy Norrix High School/Knight Life.)