Meyers Gives Kentwood Crowd Final Show
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
June 3, 2017
Khance Meyers put on one final show in an East Kentwood uniform Saturday, and did it on his home track.
The senior sprinting star won the 100 and 200 meters for the second straight year at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Boys Track & Field Finals, and anchored the winning 800 relay team also to a repeat championship.
“Doing all this on my home turf feels amazing,” said Meyers, who also anchored the runner-up 1,600-relay team. “Just knowing that you’re at home, competing against the best, the top in the state, some even nationally ranked, it’s just amazing. Coming out here, giving the fans what they want, giving them a show – all I can say is I thank God that I’m able to do this.”
Meyers’ performance led an all-around remarkable day for the Falcons, who finished with 78½ points to claim their first MHSAA team title since 2014. It was the school’s sixth title under coach Dave Emeott. Rival Rockford was second with 62 points, followed by defending champion Oak Park in third with 44.
“Ultimately it was a full team approach,” Emeott said. “We won a bunch of events, and we set a state record in the long jump and ended up second place; that doesn’t happen very often. Our kids were on fire, every event. I’m so proud of them.”
Meyers set the Division 1 meet record in the 100 meters with his time of 10.53 seconds. He just missed breaking his own 200-meter record, winning in 21.27. He joined teammates Al Jeffries, Jacobie Welch and Stephan Bracey to run 1:26.07, breaking the Division 1 meet record East Kentwood set a year ago.
“People ask me all the time, ‘Khance, how does it feel to be No. 1 in the state?’ or ‘How does it feel to be competing at the top level?’” Meyers said. “Just being No. 1 in the 100, 200 and dropping your times -- all I can say is, I just thank God.”
Meyers wasn’t the only Falcon to take home an individual title, as sophomore thrower Logan Brown won the shot put with a toss of 60 feet, 1½ inches.
He also wasn’t the only record setter on the day. Salem’s Mason Phillips won the long jump with a leap of 24-2¾, the best mark not only in Division 1 meet history, but for all Finals.
Rockford’s 400-meter relay team did the same, as their time of 41.2 seconds is a new top mark in MHSAA Finals history. The team included Melvin Moseley, Noah Stallworth, Josh Patterson and Nicholas Isley.
Like Meyers, Oak Park’s Cameron Cooper came away with three titles and one runner-up finish. He won the 800 in 1:51.22, teamed with Dewan Hawthorne, Bryce Pickett and Javonne Kirksey to win the 1,600 relay in 3:17.58, and teamed with Hawthorne, Kirksey and Michael Campbell to win the 3,200 relay in 7:44.85. He was second in the 1,600 meters, edged out at the line by Rockford’s Cole Johnson.
“I just ran it,” Cooper said of the 800. “I had to come back after all of those events -- I can’t really feel my legs. I’m kind of used to (running four events) because I do it throughout the year, sometimes even doing two meets a week. I’m really strong, so I can come back and still run the same thing.”
For Johnson, his 1,600 win was a redemption story. He stumbled early in the race a year ago, but bounced back to take third. This year, he got out fast and won in 4:08.60, despite a late push from Cooper.
“Since I wanted to run fast, I had to be out there pushing the pace,” Johnson said. “I definitely learned from my fall last year to get out fast. I knew that I could go out in sub-60 (seconds on the first lap) because that’s what I went out at in an MSU meet earlier this year. I definitely wanted to get out fast.”
East Lansing’s Kentre Patterson doubled in the hurdle races, winning the 110 in 13.84 and the 300 in 38.23 seconds despite not running in the final heat. It was the second straight title for Patterson in the 110 hurdles.
“I always love competition, but being in the slow heat, kind of controlling the race was pretty good,” Patterson said. “It let me relax and do my own thing. I didn’t put my clothes back on until after (the final heat).
“I just had it in my head that this is the last race of the season, last time running the 300 hurdles. My coaches had me thinking about it all week, telling me I could do it coming out of the slow heat.”
Ypsilanti Lincoln’s Matthew Moorer won the 400 meters in 47.42 seconds. Fenton’s Dominic Dimambro won a tight 3,200-meter race in 9:07.79.
Randy Prince of Portage Northern won the discus with a throw of 173 feet. Connor Bush of Plymouth won the high jump with a jump of 6-6. Cale Snyder of Macomb Dakota won the pole vault, clearing 15-6.
PHOTO: East Kentwood's Khance Meyers pushes past his competitors during a sprint win Saturday. (Photo by Carter Sherline/RunMichigan.com.)
Duckett's Mentorship Continues to Inspire as Standout Pair Help Set Pace for Loy Norrix
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
April 29, 2026
KALAMAZOO — After losing their longtime mentor and coach, the Kalamazoo Loy Norrix track & field teams are dedicating their seasons to Ted Duckett, who died unexpectedly Jan. 8.
“We’re still feeling it now,” said head coach Bradley Schmidt, who leads both the boys and girls programs. “When you lose that wealth of knowledge, parts of seven decades of coaching.
“He knew so much. Not just the knowledge of how track works, the Xs and Os, but how to get the most out of kids. There are a lot of kids who ran just because he was the coach. To lose him was tough.”
Senior high jumper Jaylind Motton is one of those drawn to the sport by the legendary coach.
“When I was a sophomore, I was in basketball and I’ve been able to dunk since eighth grade year, so I’ve just had the ability to jump high,” Motton said.
“Coach Duckett convinced me to join track because of it and do high jump.”
Senior Jackson Lam, who owns two school records, also credits Duckett with his success.
“Coach Duckett gave me such good advice,” Lam said. “Compliments didn’t come often from him, but when he did, I knew I was doing something right.
“It’s definitely hard with him gone. It took me a while to get over it. I think I will be able to turn it around and use it as motivation to run the season in honor of him.”
Part of that motivation came during Friday’s Don Lukens Invitational hosted by Norrix.
Lam was named the Coach Duckett Male VIP Award recipient.
The award isn’t new, but the name of the award has been changed to honor the former coach.
A year ago, Lam set the 1,600 school record at the Invitational when his time of 4:13.32 bested the 4:19 mark set by Gary Harris in 1968.
"It was an incredible day for me,” Lam said. “I felt like everything I worked for paid off.
Earlier this season he broke that record again, turning in a personal-best 4:12.07.
Although the Knights boys team finished second to Portage Central on Friday, Lam bested that mark once more at 4:10.6, which is also a meet record.
Using that second-place finish as motivation, Schmidt hopes the team improves on its 33rd-place finish at last year’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals.
“It helps that kids are getting more mature, getting more training,” said Schmidt, who finished his fifth Boston Marathon a week ago. “It’s nice to see improvement in kids who did some offseason work. If you just rely on the work in-season, it’ll never happen.”
Lam is one who works on his running all year and already has qualified for the Finals in the 1,600 meters.
“It’s almost like having an unpaid coach,” Schmidt said of Lam. “He talks to the kids at their level, makes sure they’re warming up, they’re stretching, they’re warming down, they’re getting ready at the right times for their events, they’re eating right and sleeping right.
“It’s one thing to come from a coach, it’s another thing to come from a peer, a teammate. It’s nice to have that experience on the team for sure.”
Adapting to change
Going from middle school to high school was a big adjustment for Lam.
“I learned a lot,” he said. “I learned that middle school is nothing like high school running. I came out of middle school feeling good. Like, man, I’m good, I can beat people.
“Then I get to high school and I’m racing guys who are half a foot taller than me, and they’ve been running double the amount of time I’ve been running. They taught me a lot of good things.”
Lam first tasted success in high school in 2023 on the 3,200 relay team as the only freshman running with three seniors – Samuel Allen, Oskar Wiedenhoeft and Gryffin Hurley.
Lam said he looks up to Allen as a mentor. Allen currently holds Norrix’s 800 record of 1:51.1, a mark Lam is chasing.
“He taught me a lot about the 800 – how you pace it, how you prepare yourself for it,” Lam said. “The best way to learn is by watching, so I was able to watch him.”
Another runner who pushes Lam to improve is Hackett Catholic Prep standout Marek Butkiewicz. The two train together often, including on the Kal Haven Trail.
Since Norrix is in Division 1 and Hackett is Division 4, the two don’t compete head-to-head.
“We both like to push each other in runs and workouts,” Butkiewicz said. “We’re close in fitness and that also helps.
“He’s a great kid, super smart, super nice, very down to earth, intelligent, mature. A super hard worker.”
One thing they don’t agree on is colleges. Lam is headed to University of Michigan, while Butkiewicz is going to Michigan State on a track scholarship.
“We both have similar goals,” Butkiewicz said. “He’s going to Michigan academically so there’s a little rivalry there, but it’s healthy.”
Although Lam does not have a spot waiting on the U-M track team, he plans to continue running. “My goal since I was a kid is to break 4 minutes in the mile,” he said.
Soaring to new heights
While dunking a basketball is a lot different than soaring over a horizontal bar in track, Motton uses the spring in his step to reach new heights.
As a sophomore, his personal best was 6-foot-4, “but I was inconsistent with it, going from 6-2 to 5-10 to 5-8,” he said. “My junior year I had a growing (spurt) and was stuck between 5-10 to 6-2.”
Motton, who is 6 feet tall, is having a breakout senior season, and no one is more surprised than he is at his performance: “I came out at the indoor meet and jumped 6-9, then currently PR-ed at 6-10.”
That personal record set a school record as well and was special in many ways.
“Since last year, I didn’t really take track that serious,” Motton said. “I was doing it just for fun. Coach Duckett’s passing sparked something inside of me, made me more determined to do better for him. I went out and jumped for him, PR-ed, broke the school record and I feel good for it.”
Schmidt said going from 6-4 last season to 6-9 during the indoor season and 6-10 at the Eastern Michigan University Relays on March 21 was impressive.
“To see that type of improvement is inspiring to all the kids,” he said. “They can see he put in the time, he put in the effort, he put in the work, watching videos, trying different drills to work on his craft.
“To make that much gain in such a short time is unheard of. It shows the kids that wherever you’re at, you can still improve.”
Motton said the key to being a good high jumper is not the spring in your step, but technique.
“If you have a good form, you can be a good jumper,” he said. “It’s not really about jumping high; it’s how you approach it.”
Motton is not satisfied with the school record.
“My current goal is to clear 7-foot,” he explained, “but once I clear 7-foot, my actual goal is to go 7-3.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Kalamazoo Loy Norrix’s Jaylind Motton, left, and Jackson Lam are among those competing this year inspired by past coach Ted Duckett’s memory. (2) Knights track coach Bradley Schmidt. (3) Lam shows off his Coach Duckett Male VIP Award won this season. (4) Motton. (Action and meet photos courtesy of the Loy Norrix athletic department. Headshots by Pam Shebest.)