Marquette Caps Another Dominating Run as UPD1's Best
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 6, 2021
KINGSFORD — The Marquette boys have been the track & field frontrunners in the Upper Peninsula all season.
They also finished the season that way by scoring 140 points in the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Finals on Saturday at Kingsford. Gladstone – which had won the last Finals in 2019 – followed with 93 points, and third-place Kingsford had 65.
“Hats off to Kingsford for putting on such a fine meet,” said Marquette coach Kyle Detmers. “We had some good performances and our seniors were good leaders. Kam Karp had a great day, and the Vanderschaaf brothers going 1-2 in the 1,600 was huge. Cullen Papin nearly won the 800, and Owen Beauchamp, Truman Langlois and Tyranon Dahlin had nice performances.”
Temperatures hovered in the low 90s with a heat index of 99, which is believed to be the hottest U.P. Finals on record.
Sophomore Colin Vanderschaaf took the 1,600-meter run in four minutes, 31.82 seconds, edging his twin brother Carson by nine hundredths of a second.
Carson Vanderschaaf then won the 3,200 (10:24.93), and Papin was clocked at 2:01.41 in the 800, just behind Escanaba senior Derek Douglas (2:00.68).
“It was great,” said Carson Vanderschaaf said. “I was really happy with my 1,600. I took a more conservative approach because of the heat. The breeze helped a little on the home stretch, but it was still hot.
“I’m really excited for cross country this summer. With a summer full of training, I think I can improve.”
Karp won the 200 (23.24) and was runner-up to Calumet’s Dryden Nelson on a lean in the 100 (11.32) with Beauchamp third (11.44).
Nelson also took long jump at 20 feet, 6 inches with Dahlin runner-up (21-1½).
Lincoln Sager added a first for Marquette in the 400 (51.81), edging Houghton’s Donovan Dueweke by nine hundredths of a second.
Douglas’s effort on this hot and humid day was eight hundredths of a second better than his winning 800 time in Tuesday’s Northern Michigan Meet of Champions at Gaylord.
“It was a challenge trying to stay cool,” said Douglas, who will be running for St. Scholastica College in Duluth, Minn. next season. “I was sitting in front of a fan with icepacks on me, trying to stay cool.
“It feels great to get a U.P. Finals win. All the hard work I put in paid off.”
Menominee junior Brady Schultz set the UP Division 1 Finals record and tied the school record in high jump at 6-8, edging Gladstone senior Ethan Milan who matched his own school record at 6-6. Dahlin placed third (5-10).
“It’s good to have that competition,” said Schultz. “We really help each other out. I was happy to get the U.P. record and tie the school record. It really helps to clear 6-8. I was tired when we got to 6-9.”
The previous UPD1 record (6-5) was set by Kingsford’s Jake Richmond in 2004.
Milam previously cleared 6-6 in a triangular meet at Gladstone on May 11.
“My friend Lucas Hughes told me to keep saying to myself ‘you’re going to make it,’” said Milam. “I’m definitely pleased with my season. I set multiple records. Taking a year off (due to COVID-19) made a big difference. I had a chance to take a break. It was definitely refreshing to get track back this year.”
Gladstone senior Blake Servant was a double champion, winning the discus (151-1) and 110 hurdles (15.53), while teammate Calvin Thibault edged Servant in the 300 hurdles (40.80).
PHOTOS: (Top) Marquette's Colin Vanderschaaf (right) out-strides twin brother Carson in the 1,600 Saturday at Kingsford. (Middle) Menominee's Brady Schultz wins the high jump with a UPD1 record 6-8. (Below) Gladstone's Calvin Thibault, left, edges teammate Blake Servant in the 300 hurdles. (Photos by Cara Kamps. Click to see more at RunMichigan.com.)
Chesaning Boys Vault to Top of Podium, Ovid-Elsie's Tokar Completes Pole Vault Sweep
By
Tom Lang
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2025
KENT CITY – Chesaning came into Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 Boys Track & Field Finals with some confidence.
But truly, some might not have seen coming what the team went on to accomplish.
After all, Chesaning’s boys did not crack the top 20 last year – but they zoomed to the top in 2025, winning the team title with 57 points ahead of 2024 champion Pewamo-Westphalia with 34 points, Reed City with 33 and Lawton with 32.
Chesaning became the seventh team to win the boys title over the last seven seasons.
“It’s a great group of boys,” said Chesaning coach Dylan Harrington. “They are supportive of each other. They are in it for the team above all else. They work hard together and motivate each other. They pick each other up if they’re down a little bit. And they put their best foot forward today. It was great to see.”
Harrington said there were not really any surprises. He said Caleb Walker has been as solid as anyone can be in the hurdles, and Walker indeed won the 110 race Saturday and finished second in the 300.
“I don’t think he’s been beaten all year in the 110 – and overall, every event we stepped up where they needed to. Our throws got us points. It was just a great team effort.”
The team of Cole Maier, Blake Hoerner, Zach Harlan and Walker won the 1,600 relay at 3:25.20, just ahead of Traverse City St. Francis by 0.59 seconds. That was Chesaning’s only other outright win on the day, proving that team balance works.
Both the 100 and 200 dashes were photo finishes.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett senior Cicarella Santino won the 100 at 10.86 seconds, less than a whisker ahead of Pewamo-Westphalia senior Trevor Smith, the 2024 champion, at 10.88. Smith redeemed himself by winning the 200 in 22.40, just ahead of Chesaning’s Harlan at 22.44 and Cicarella in third.
“I knew Trevor is a great competitor,” Santino said about the 100 race. “I knew it was going to be a close race and come down to the wire. And I was prepared for that, but thankfully I came out at the end.
“There are ups and downs throughout the season, but I think I stayed consistent all the way through. I started out indoors, and I worked at it and slowly kept bringing my time down and getting better every single week. Last year, I came in fourth in the 100 (to Smith). Trevor was obviously the guy I was going for all year as the returning champ.”
Smith would have loved to take both titles, but he was content with the 200 win.
“Being able to get another photo finish opportunity, and win this one, was really great,” Smith said about the second race. “I prefer running the 100, but today, I love the 200 win. They were both really great races, really close, and I enjoy that the most out of anything.”
Smith ran in two relay races as well.
“Usually, my favorite race anytime is the 4 x 100,” Smith said. “It’s because I’m running my favorite open race, the 100, but I’m at full speed by the time I get the baton, and I’m able to run, so it just makes you feel a lot faster and a lot better about yourself.”
Smith said he is going to Ferris State on Tuesday to talk to the coaches about a possible future there.
Another college bound senior is heading to Alma College, but to play football.
Pole vaulter Tryce Tokar of Ovid-Elsie won his fourth title in that field event, completing a Finals career sweep. He finished at 15 feet.
“It’s relieving now to win four straight,” he said. “That pressure is off. But it was fun today. I like vaulting.
“I had a couple of injuries early on, which I normally do honestly,” Tokar explained about the start to the spring season. “That’s pretty consistent when you transfer from football to track; you have some injuries to overcome. Everyone does, I’m not singled out. But I overcame it.
“I’m not really the fastest guy,” he added about excelling in pole vault. “I don’t really run sprints or anything. But I’m pretty athletic and just good enough to be a good vaulter. It takes a lot of technique. I owe a lot of it to coaches, and I like the athletic aspect of it.”
PHOTOS (Top) From left, Chesaning's Zach Harlan, Pewamo-Westphalia's Trevor Smith and Detroit Edison's Dennis Jackson push to the finish of the 200 championship race at Kent City. (Middle) Ovid-Elsie's Tryce Tokar crosses over the pole vault bar on the way to winning that championship for the fourth-straight season. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)