Lake Linden-Hubbell Boys End Title Wait with 1st Finals Championship
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2026
KINGSFORD — They say there’s a first time for everything.
The Lake Linden-Hubbell boys proved that beyond any shadow of a doubt here Saturday, earning their first Upper Peninsula Division 3 track & field championship with 64 points.
Rapid River was runner-up with 55 and St. Ignace placed third at 46.
“We’ve been waiting for this for four months,” LL-H coach Brett Gervais said. “Back in March we started asking a lot of the boys. I couldn’t be happier for the kids. I’m super happy for the boys. Having coach (Gary Guisfredi) here really helps. He has coached the girls team for many years. I’ve watched the way they did things and learned a lot from that.”
The Lakes won just two individual events, but had enough depth to carry them through.
Junior Lukas Axford won the 400-meter dash in a personal-best 53.48 seconds and sophomore Tobin Baril took pole vault at 11 feet on this sunny and warm day at Flivver Field.
“I was almost in disbelief with all the work the boys had done,” Gervais said. “The weather sometimes made it tough to prepare. There’s roughly 30 teams in our division. They’re working just as hard as we are. There’s a high level of competition in our region, which helps us so much. Dollar Bay and Baraga pushed us all year. It’s such a great feeling to be part of this.”
Baraga senior Matt Rinkinen won the 100-meter dash in 11.66 seconds, just 0.2 of a second ahead of LL-H junior Josh Daavettila.
Superior Central junior Will Spranger took the 200 (23.31), followed by Rinkinen (23.71) and Dollar Bay junior Baron Colbert (23.96).
“I thought my start was a little weak, but I was able to accelerate,” Spranger said. “I need to work on my blocks in the offseason. Our 4x2 (800 relay) went well. Our handoffs were good.”
Cedarville/DeTour junior Ethan Snyder set the meet record in the 1,600 (4:25.8), shaving 0.11 of a second off the previous best by Dollar Bay’s Nik Thomas from four years ago, then added firsts in the 800 (2:02.18) and 3,200 (10:24.21).
St. Ignace senior Kollin Bird captured both throws with a personal-best heave of 45-6 in shot and a toss of 138-11 in disc. L’Anse junior Taven Lewis placed second in shot (41-9) and disc (137-9).
In the hurdles, it was Brimley junior Brady Leblanc winning the 110 event (16.43) and 300 (41.66), both with personal-best times. Connor Kemppainen, also a junior from L’Anse, was runner-up in both races at 16.54 and a person-best 42.68, respectively.
Also winning individual events were Rock Mid Peninsula sophomore Lewis Holmes with a personal-best leap of 6-3 in high jump and Bessemer junior Henry Jenkins taking long jump (19-2), also with a personal best.
PHOTOS (Top) Lake Linden-Hubbell's Lukas Axford, center, crosses the finish line first in the 400 meters Saturday. (Middle) Brimley's Brady Leblanc, second from left, and L'Anse's Connor Kemppainen, just to his right, jump over the last hurdle in the 100 hurdles. (Click for more from Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)
Pickford Wins Matchup of Reigning Champions to Run Title Streak to 3
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 2, 2024
KINGSFORD — The Pickford boys extended their championship reign here Saturday, retaining top honors at the Upper Peninsula Division 2 Track & Field Finals with 137 points.
They were followed by Munising with 106 and Ishpeming with 79. The team championship was the Panthers’ third straight, as they also won Division 3 in 2022.
Sophomore Gunner Bennin was a double-winner for Pickford, taking the 200-meter dash in 23.85 seconds and 400 at 53.36.
“It feels great to come here and win a couple events as a sophomore,” he said. “We knew Iron Mountain had some good sprinters, and Munising is tough. We needed the points. I started faster than I usually do, especially in the 400.
Senior Hayden Hagen provided the Panthers with a first in the 800 (2:05.03), and sophomore John Anderson won high jump at 5 feet, 8 inches.
Panthers junior Tom Storey was runner-up in pole vault (10-6) and high jump (5-7). Hagen was runner-up to Munising junior Dan Goss in the 1,600 (4:39.84) and 3,200 (10:30.81).
Goss ran a personal-best 4:33.98 in the 1,600 and was clocked at 10:23.9 in the 3,200, and anchored the winning 3,200 relay (8:50.22).
“I like the weather today,” he said. “It was a little humid during the 3,200. Otherwise, it was a good day for running. That was a 10-second PR (personal record) in the 1,600. I’m real happy with that. I’ve been training my tail off the last two weeks.
“The field events hurt us, but overall I’m happy with how our team did. I had a PR in every event including a split of 2 minutes flat in the 3,200 relay.”
Munising – the Division 3 champion in 2023 – also took the 800 relay (1:36.19), and Pickford was runner-up (1:38.18). The Panthers claimed the 1,600 relay (3:43.36) and placed second in the 3,200 (8:52.74).
Munising senior Joe Kelley added firsts in the 110 hurdles (16.46) and the 300s (42.12) and helped the Mustangs take second in the 400 relay (46.19) and 1,600 (3:48.86). Mustangs’ senior Trevor Nolan added a third in the 1,600 (4:43.41), followed by Bark River-Harris freshman Ben Knauf in a personal-best 4:48.04.
Ishpeming got a first on senior Brayden Martin’s throw of 123-9¼ in discus, and Hancock senior Myles Lewis took shot put (42-11½).
The Hematites got seconds from senior Tramon Gauthier in long jump (18-7¾), 110 hurdles (16.47) and 300s (43.62), and freshman Kemper Gearhart was third in the 3,200 (10:41.5).
Ironwood sophomore Talon Hughes placed second in the 100 (11.51) and 200 (23.98) and third in the 110 hurdles (16.55).
Iron Mountain senior Matt Colavecchi had a hand in three firsts, taking the 100 (11.44), long jump (19-8¼) and anchoring the winning 400 relay (45.92).
Rudyard got a first on junior Jaydon Niemi-Alcorn’s leap of 11-6 in pole vault. Taking runner-up for the Bulldogs were senior teammate Kaeden Sistrunk in shot put (40-8) and junior Ethan Hoolsema in discus (120-0).
PHOTOS (Top) Pickford's Jacob Mitchell hands off the baton to Eli MacDonald for the last leg of the 3,200 relay Saturday at Kingsford. (Middle) During a rainy 1,600, Munising's Dan Goss (1) leads the race with Pickford's Hayden Hagen (2) and Munising's Trevor Nolan (3) right behind him. (Click for more from Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)