Marquette Boys Rally with Richardson to Extend Finals Winning Streak
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2026
KINGSFORD — The Marquette boys maintained their stranglehold on the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Track & Field Finals title by scoring 117 points Saturday.
The Sentinels, who won for the sixth consecutive year, were followed by Sault Ste. Marie with 103 points and Houghton with 78.
Minnesota-Duluth football recruit Ford Richardson provided Marquette with firsts in the 300-meter hurdles in a season-best 40.99 seconds and the 400-meter dash at 50.84, and placed second in the 100 (11.2).
Richardson, who will play quarterback for the Bulldogs, also won the 300 hurdles in a school-record 40.15 a year ago.
“I’m pretty happy with that,” he said. “Going back-to-back feels real good. My starts went well today. I’ve been working out since basketball. I’m excited about playing college football this fall.”
The Sentinels continued to show their strength in the distances, led by junior Luke Ballard, who won the 800 (2:02.64) and 1,600 (4:24.26).
Senior teammate Rorik Holmquist was runner-up in the 800 in a personal-best 2:04.14 and the 1,600 (4:25.75) and 3,200 (9:41.97).
“My time was not as good in the 3,200 as I hoped, but I’m happy about my 800 and 1,600,” Ballard said. “The difference in the 1,600 was definitely my kick. Once I got around the last turn, I could open it up pretty easily. It’s always good to see the finish line.”
Sault senior Gabe Litzner, an Oakland University recruit, set a meet record in the 3,200 (9:33.81) which was slightly more than two seconds faster than his previous record from two years ago.
Litzner, however, ran his PR (personal record) earlier this spring at Shepherd where he was clocked at 9:06.22.
“I think I’m a little sick today, but I wanted to come here and win one anyway,” he said. “I’m definitely run down. I had been doing races for five months indoors. I’m just happy to bounce back and get a win. I’ve been getting ahead of myself and thinking more about college than high school. Marquette has a good program, and I’m glad they’re here to push me. The 4x800 (3,200 relay) and 1,600, I’m a little disappointed in that. I really had to grind it out in the 3,200. I’m taking a good 10-day break. I’m super excited to run for Oakland.”
Houghton junior Sam Roth claimed the 100 (11.1) and 200 in a school-record 22.53.
Classmate Michael Solena captured shot put (50-1¼) and discus (139-9).
“I’m just excited because the work I put in has paid off,” Roth said. “Brayden (Goudge) is really good. Having someone who’s competitive to run with in practice helps a lot. My start in the 100 was pretty bad, but I caught up. I’m just glad I could get it done. I just hope there’s good competition next year because that pushes you a lot. I’m just happy everything worked out.”
Gladstone junior Andrew Karl soared to victory at 14 feet in pole vault and Escanaba sophomore Andrew Hamlin won high jump (6-2).
Kingsford junior Gaige Sorenson took long jump (21-5) and Marquette senior Jacob Norman took the 110 hurdles (16.28). Sault Ste. Marie won the 400, 800 and 1,600 relays, and Marquette won the 3,200 relay.
PHOTOS (Top) Marquette's Ford Richardson catches his heel on the last hurdle, but he is still able to get the victory just ahead of Kingsford's Sid Olson. (Middle) In a very close 200, Houghton's Sam Roth, second from left, crosses the finish line ahead of Richardson (4) and Sault Ste. Marie's Kyan Hemenway (6). (Click for more from Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)
Peramaki Adds to Past Finals Fame by Leading Munising to Team Title
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2023
KINGSFORD – Munising’s Micaiah Peramaki couldn’t really top last year’s Upper Peninsula Division 3 Finals. He became the eighth male all-time to win four events at an MHSAA track & field championship meet.
“I proved myself last year, so it’s a little more of a fun meet this year,” Peramaki said. “But it’s still important for me just to do good.”
And he was excellent again.
He led the Mustangs to the team title with individual wins in the 100, 200 and 400. He was also a part of the winning 1,600 relay team.
“The 100, I was right next to my brother, Josiah; he ended up getting third. That was really fun actually. We both did really good in that,” Peramaki said. “The 400, I had Aa’Keem (Jackson) from Newberry to watch out for. He pushed it hard in the corner over here, I was prepared for it and I just ran hard from there.”
Josiah Peramaki repeated with a win in the pole vault. Other members of the 1,600 relay were Kane Nebel, Zack Lindquist and Josiah Peramaki.
Munising won the team title with 103.5 points. Newberry was second with 81, Bessemer third with 52 and Rapid River fourth with 44.
Bessemer won the 400 relay (Tommy Trudgeon, Landon Peterson, Daniel Lis and Vinnie Triggiano). Bessemer also finished fifth in the 800 relay – despite being seeded first – and Trudgeon said he had to make a comeback in the 400 relay, which also was seeded first.
He was behind after a shaky handoff, though. But the 100 meters is probably his best race anyway. He finished runner-up to Peramaki, one-tenth of a second behind him.
“I guess I just had to close like a train,” he said of his leg of the relay. “It feels great, glad to win.”
Newberry won the 800 relay (Marco Juarez, Jackson, Matthew Rahilly and Kennedy Depew) and Dollar Bay the 3,200 relay (Joshua Gaunt, Josh Luukkonen, Caleb Kentala and Amos Norland).
Crystal Falls Forest Park’s Samuel McKissack won the 110 hurdles, and Newberry’s Chris Hopson was champion in the 300 hurdles.
In the distance races, Dollar Bay’s Norland won the 800, Forest Park’s Gaven Rintala the 1,600 and Chassell’s Kalvin Kytta the 3,200.
The latter race with Norland was so close – Kytta won by seven hundredths of a second – that Kytta wasn’t sure if he was in fact champion or not.
“I got passed by the leader. I tried to stick on him through the rest of the race,” he said. “He got a little gap on me the last 100 meters. I just felt that juice. I think I passed him.”
It turns out he did.
Whitefish Township, which has just 22 students in the high school, went home with a champion for the first time in school history – Seth Mills in the discus. Newberry’s Rahilly won the long jump, North Central’s Dylan Plunger won the high jump and Rapid River’s Kody Goldi took the shot put.
PHOTOS (Top) Munising's Micaiah Peramaki, center, wins the 400 on Saturday. (Middle) Bessemer's Vinnie Triggiano (4) is able to hold off Lake Linden-Hubbell's Matthew Jokela and Newberry's Kennedy Depew to win the 400 relay. (Below) Chassell's Kalvin Kytta, left, and Dollar Bay's Amos Norland run together until the end of the 3,200. (Photos by Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)