Munising Follows Leaders to Repeat
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2015
KINGSFORD — Senior Andy Cooper and junior Brett Hannah have been the leaders for the Munising boys track team all season.
They continued to lead Saturday as the Mustangs retained their Upper Peninsula Division 3 title with 134 points.
Rapid River brought home the runner-up trophy with 65, with Bessemer and Stephenson sharing third at 45 apiece.
Cooper set U.P. meet records in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.96 seconds and 300 (40.13). He also won the 200 (22.8) and high jump at 6-foot-2, making it two straight seasons with four individual Finals championships.
His effort in the 110 race topped the previous best (15.21) by Grayson Hood of Engadine in 2007. In the 300, he bettered the old standard (40.42) by Mike Schmaus of Ontonagon from five years ago.
Hannah established the 800 record with a personal-best 2:01.45, surpassing the old mark (2:03.41) by Tyler Veraghen of Powers North Central in 2009. He also captured the 1,600 (4:38.09) and 3,200 (10:40.5).
“Getting the PR (and U.P. record) in the 800 felt pretty good,” said Hannah. “It definitely helps to have people from our community come all the way over here and show their support. It’s definitely nice to have that sense of comfort.”
Senior Ben Stasewich added a first in shot put (44-2½).
Munising senior Alex Hill was runner-up in the 100 (11.64) by two hundredths of a second to St. Ignace’s James Cryderman. He also placed second in the 200 (23.95) and third in high jump (5-10). Classmate Austin Kelto was runner-up in long jump (18-5) and Ian McInnis was third in discus (122-7).
Rapid River didn’t get any firsts, but got seconds from junior Dan Blair in the 800 (2:03.2) and 1,600 (4:43.44).
Junior Jon Stropich added a second in pole vault (12-0) and freshman Logan Hardwick was runner-up in discus (125-11).
Rapid River sophomore Mason Berglund was third in the 110 hurdles (17.3) and 300 (44.24).
Bessemer retained its 3,200 relay title and Tim Buerger placed second in the 3,200 (10:51.06) and fourth in the 1,600 (4:58.98). Brayden Tomes was runner-up in the 300 hurdles (44.0) and senior Jess Mazzon placed third in the 400 (54.44).
Stephenson senior Brandon Kau won discus (135-9). Senior Connor Cappaert placed third in the 3,200 (10:58.42), and Tristan Johnson was third in the 100 (11.72).
Crystal Falls Forest Park junior Bill Ragio set the U.P. meet pole vault record at 13-3½, topping the old mark (13-3) by Jimmi Cretens of Rock Mid-Peninsula in 2007. He also took third in the 200 (24.14).
North Central junior Bryce Holle won the 400 (51.78) and placed third in the 800 (2:05).
“I just tried to build up a little speed in practice,” he said. “I did a lot of sprints by doing power line pulls where you sprint one, walk one and jog one (prior to repeating the process). Those seem to help me a lot. Winning the 400 means a lot to me. It’s hard to get good placing when there’s so much competition. The rest of the guys also did a pretty good job.”
Senior J.J. Larson became the first Hannahville athlete to place in the U.P. Finals, taking fifth in discus (114-0).
PHOTO: Munising's Brett Hannah won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 at the U.P. Division 3 Final on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Cara Kamps.)
Lake Linden-Hubbell Boys End Title Wait with 1st Finals Championship
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2026
KINGSFORD — They say there’s a first time for everything.
The Lake Linden-Hubbell boys proved that beyond any shadow of a doubt here Saturday, earning their first Upper Peninsula Division 3 track & field championship with 64 points.
Rapid River was runner-up with 55 and St. Ignace placed third at 46.
“We’ve been waiting for this for four months,” LL-H coach Brett Gervais said. “Back in March we started asking a lot of the boys. I couldn’t be happier for the kids. I’m super happy for the boys. Having coach (Gary Guisfredi) here really helps. He has coached the girls team for many years. I’ve watched the way they did things and learned a lot from that.”
The Lakes won just two individual events, but had enough depth to carry them through.
Junior Lukas Axford won the 400-meter dash in a personal-best 53.48 seconds and sophomore Tobin Baril took pole vault at 11 feet on this sunny and warm day at Flivver Field.
“I was almost in disbelief with all the work the boys had done,” Gervais said. “The weather sometimes made it tough to prepare. There’s roughly 30 teams in our division. They’re working just as hard as we are. There’s a high level of competition in our region, which helps us so much. Dollar Bay and Baraga pushed us all year. It’s such a great feeling to be part of this.”
Baraga senior Matt Rinkinen won the 100-meter dash in 11.66 seconds, just 0.2 of a second ahead of LL-H junior Josh Daavettila.
Superior Central junior Will Spranger took the 200 (23.31), followed by Rinkinen (23.71) and Dollar Bay junior Baron Colbert (23.96).
“I thought my start was a little weak, but I was able to accelerate,” Spranger said. “I need to work on my blocks in the offseason. Our 4x2 (800 relay) went well. Our handoffs were good.”
Cedarville/DeTour junior Ethan Snyder set the meet record in the 1,600 (4:25.8), shaving 0.11 of a second off the previous best by Dollar Bay’s Nik Thomas from four years ago, then added firsts in the 800 (2:02.18) and 3,200 (10:24.21).
St. Ignace senior Kollin Bird captured both throws with a personal-best heave of 45-6 in shot and a toss of 138-11 in disc. L’Anse junior Taven Lewis placed second in shot (41-9) and disc (137-9).
In the hurdles, it was Brimley junior Brady Leblanc winning the 110 event (16.43) and 300 (41.66), both with personal-best times. Connor Kemppainen, also a junior from L’Anse, was runner-up in both races at 16.54 and a person-best 42.68, respectively.
Also winning individual events were Rock Mid Peninsula sophomore Lewis Holmes with a personal-best leap of 6-3 in high jump and Bessemer junior Henry Jenkins taking long jump (19-2), also with a personal best.
PHOTOS (Top) Lake Linden-Hubbell's Lukas Axford, center, crosses the finish line first in the 400 meters Saturday. (Middle) Brimley's Brady Leblanc, second from left, and L'Anse's Connor Kemppainen, just to his right, jump over the last hurdle in the 100 hurdles. (Click for more from Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)