Moment: Fisher Runs into Record Books
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 27, 2020
Grant Fisher had already established himself as one of the state's top high school distance runners of his era when he took the track for his last MHSAA Finals on May 30, 2015.
By the end of the day, he'd run into the record books as one of Michigan's fastest all-time.
Fisher added his fourth and fifth individual Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals championships that day, three-peating in the 3,200 meters (8:53.41) and repeating in the 1,600 (4:00.28). His time in the latter broke the previous all-MHSAA Finals record by more than seven seconds and at the time was the second-fastest time in NFHS history. It remains the third fastest nationally.
The previous all-MHSAA Finals record in the 1,600 had been set by fellow Grand Blanc graduate Omar Kaddurah (4:07.67) in 2010.
“I never raced against Omar,” Fisher said after his last Finals races. “I thought it was incredible he ran a 4:10. It’s nice to keep it in Grand Blanc. He was someone I looked up to.”
Fisher went on to star at Stanford, winning league and NCAA championships, earning 12 All-America honors and setting the U.S. collegiate record for the indoor 3,000 meters.
Click for coverage of his 2015 Division 1 Finals from Second Half and watch his 1,600 record run from the NFHS Network.
Moment: Look Back at Boys Track's Yesteryear
April 24, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Today's look back at MHSAA Finals past provides a pair of opportunities to take a trip back in time to a recognizable place as it hosted some of the legendary champions in state boys track & field history.
This collection of clips from the 1965 and 1968 Lower Peninsula Class A Finals at Michigan State University were donated to the MHSAA archives by Roseville High School and includes a variety of races and pole vault from those meets.
The 1965 championship was won by Kalamazoo Central, while Battle Creek Central repeated in claiming the 1968 title. Also notable: That 1968 meet saw Flint Central finish team runner-up for the sixth-straight season.
Flint Central's Len Hatchett was among stars of the 1965 meet as he won both the 120 and 180-yard hurdles. Battle Creek Central's Arnie Williams was a repeat winner in the 100.
The 1968 Finals saw a pair of two-time winners – Flint Central's Herb Washington in the 100 and 220 and Pontiac Central's Robert Johnson in the two hurdles races. Washington had won both sprints in 1967 as well. He went on to earn All-America honors four times at Michigan State while tying or breaking world records multiple times. He also played briefly for MLB's Oakland A'S and was drafted by the NFL's Baltimore Colts.