McNeill Regaining Finals Form, Aiming to Best Last Season's Close Seconds
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
May 21, 2026
The number 0.01 might be as miniscule as there is in sports, but it certainly was way more gigantic for Novi High School track sprinter Chance McNeill at last year’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals.
First, McNeill nearly won the 100-meter dash but finished 0.01 -- one hundredth of a second -- back of Detroit Catholic Central’s Samson Gash (10.41).
As hard as it was to shake off, McNeill quickly did so and was right in the thick of the 200-meter dash. Ultimately, he finished second in that race as well to Jeremy Dixon of Kalamazoo Central (21.11), once again by 0.01.
Losing out on one Finals title by such a thin margin is tough enough. But falling short by that time twice in a matter of a couple hours? It probably felt like getting kicked in the gut by someone wearing track shoes with all the spikes on the bottom.
“Definitely the first few months after (the Finals), it was crazy,” McNeill said. “I’ve kind of gotten over it by now. But it’s been my motivation for sure.”
Indeed, McNeill is using that experience as fuel for the remaining days of his senior year and as he prepares to compete once again in those events at next week’s Division 1 Finals at Rockford.
Headed to run track next at Alabama, McNeill is actually just ramping back into peak form this spring.
He has been battling a lower leg injury suffered after running a 6.75 in the 60-meter dash during indoor season, saying he sprinted again about three weeks ago for the first time this outdoor season.
McNeill certainly looked to be getting back into form during a competitive Regional last week hosted by Novi.
He won the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.73 and then claimed the 200 meters in a time 21.84. Yes, he and the Novi coaches know he’ll have to be faster to win at the Finals, but it was a great sign of progress given where he has come from – and there is definitely another gear in him.
“To say that he’s back to form probably wouldn’t be accurate,” Novi boys track & field head coach Danny Taylor said. “What I mean by that is given all the personal training that he’s done, given the way in which he’s worked back, I think he’s poised to do great things at the state meet.”
Taylor said that he didn’t know anything about McNeill and his track prowess until he arrived at the high school for his freshman year but discovered quickly that McNeill was more than just an athlete running track to get in better shape for another sport. McNeill legitimately prioritized track & field.
“It seemed that when Chance came to us, he already had that love and that passion,” Taylor said. “We just wanted to stoke it further.”
McNeill said he initially ran track “for fun” when he started high school but got more serious about it when he got more involved with a local club and started running more meets outside of high school season.
Going into this spring, he said he was actually more intent on running the 400-meter dash, but his injury changed those plans.
“I’ve always wanted to do the 400,” he said. “Now, I just have to forget about that, just try it in college.”
McNeill will head to Rockford next week a year older and stronger, but then again so are other competitors. In particular, Gash, a Michigan State football signee, is also back in both events as he hopes to repeat in the 100 meters and improve on a third-place finish in the 200 from last year.
McNeill and Gash are the only top-five finishers in those races from last year who didn’t graduate.
McNeill hopes that he can be at least 0.01 seconds faster this time and end his high school career on top of the podium.
“I think whatever it takes, I’ve got it in me already,” McNeill said.
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Novi’s Chance McNeill crosses the finish line during last season’s 100-meter championship race at the LPD1 Finals. (Middle) McNeill, second from right, races eventual champion Jeremy Dixon from Kalamazoo Central in last year’s 200, with DCC’s Samson Gash, far left, also among those in the field. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com/Carter Sherline.)
Norway, Mid Peninsula Welcome Back 1st Home Track Meets in Nearly Decade
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 15, 2026
NORWAY — It had been quite a while since Norway and Rock Mid Peninsula had been able to host a track & field meet.
That changed last week as Mid Pen hosted a triangular meet Thursday, and Norway held its invitational Friday. Those marked Norway’s first varsity home meet in nine years and the first complete meet at Mid Pen since 2019.
Norway debuted its rebuilt track during its junior high invitational April 28.
“Everything is all set, thanks to our referendum,” Norway boys coach Al Trudeau said. “It’s great to be able to host a meet. Our students, physical education instructors and community members will be able to use it. We’ll be set for a long time. We have lots of help, which is awesome.
“Our guys did all right. Our sprint relays went real well.”
Rapid River’s boys, who ran at Norway for the first time, won with 142 points. The Rockets were followed by Bark River-Harris with 130, Florence-Niagara, Wis., at 70 and Norway at 69.
Rapid River’s lone first came on freshman Coen Smith’s personal-best jump of 5 feet, 10 inches in high jump, and junior Lane Olson was runner-up on a tie-breaker to BR-H freshman Samuel Varoni in pole vault (10-6) on a sunny and mild day.
“I was happy with all the guys,” Rockets’ coach Steve Ostrenga said. “Our depth came through. Taking three places in the 3,200 decided the issue. We had some adversity tonight. We had to scramble to put a 1,600 relay team together. Our guys said it was a good track, and it was a very quick meet.”
BR-H junior Gionni McDonough was a four-event winner, taking the 100-meter dash in 12.2 seconds, 110 hurdles at 16.9 and 300s at 45.63, and long jump at 19 feet, 11½ inches.
“I’m very happy with that,” he said. “The track is nice and bouncy, and the long jump area is really nice.
“Doing well as a team is really a nice boost for us.”
BR-H coach William Soper was also impressed with the newly-resurfaced Norway facility, and delighted by his team’s progress.
“It’s an awesome track,” he said. “I’d be happy to come back here.
“I think we’re developing more of a team mentality. The kids are willing to do anything to help the team. We got Ben Olson back from surgery, and Gionni just started practicing long jump Thursday. We’re trying to find people for events that will match our strengths.”
Felch North Dickinson captured the girls title at Norway with 106 points, followed by BR-H with 92 and Stephenson at 70.
Junior Aunika Lindholm provided the Nordics with victories in the 1,600 (5:58.04) and 3,200 (13:20.55), both personal bests.
“A lot of things went our way today,” Nordics coach Mike Roell said. “A lot of kids stepped up. They really competed. Aunika did a nice job winning the 1,600 and 3,200 and helping our longer relays take first. Aspen (Anderson) winning pole vault and going 1-2 in the 800 were also huge.”
Rapid River sophomore Victoria Coppock recorded her first varsity victory in the 100 hurdles (18.75).
“This is very exciting,” she said. “I haven’t been able to practice because of softball. The track was quite nice, and this is probably the best weather we’ve had.”
At St. Nicholas, the Mid Peninsula Wolverines got part of a meet in last year, but it was cut short by poor weather conditions.
“It went great today,” Mid Pen coach Carl Brunngraeber said. “We appreciate Superior Central and Big Bay de Noc coming over here. We tried to do a meet here last year, then it started raining and weren’t able to get it all in. What we’re trying to do is bring some of this back. I like the idea of having a smaller meet and giving the kids a chance to do something different. We’re hoping to make this a small-school invitational.”
Mid Pen sophomore Lewis Holmes took the 100 (11.98) and 200 (25.08), and eighth-grader Siwal Holmes won the 300 hurdles (48.49) on a revamped asphalt surface.
“I think I could have run a faster time, although it was exciting,” Siwal Holmes said. “It’s still a hard surface, but I like it. I know I have to raise my foot a little more and work on technique.”
Mid Pen senior Hope Brunngraeber captured girls shot put (30-9) and discus (107-7) in a meet for which team scores weren’t kept.
“It’s really nice to have a meet at our school,” she said. “It feels good to finally throw here in my senior year. It was also good to have people come here and watch us throw.”
Superior Central’s Kendra Peterson took the girls 400 (1:11) and 800 (3:07.81), slightly more than a second ahead of senior Addie Frusti in the longer race.
“I ran behind Kendra because she’s my pacesetter,” she said. “It felt good to have a meet over here. It was fun. The weather is good, ideal for distance running.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Norway welcomes back a home track meet with its junior high invitational April 28. (Middle) The long jump pit is prepared during the school’s first meet in nearly a decade. (Photos courtesy of Norway-Vulcan Area Schools.)