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.)
LP Division 3 Champs Take Winning Steps
June 4, 2016
By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half
COMSTOCK PARK – In track and field, the difference between an MHSAA Finals championship and not being atop the medal stand may be the difference of a step or two.
Marlette's Andrew Storm proved that Saturday at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals at Comstock Park High School.
Two tweaks to his technique paid huge dividends, as Storm won both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles with times of 14.82 and 39.14 seconds, respectively.
"I eliminated a step from my block and found a lot of new drills that helped me win the 110," said Storm, who will take his talents to Oakland University next year. "Then in the 300, I eliminated two steps from that race, which really helped me."
Both were personal-best times, and they could not have come at a better time.
"All year I have been tweaking my runs, and I progressively got better," Storm said. "I didn't hit the first hurdle today in the 110, because I planted the first hurdle at Regionals, and that's why I was not seeded first today in that event. It really comes down to that."
The Sanford-Meridian 400 relay of Monte Petre, Andre Smith, Miles Leviere and Christian Petre set a meet record with a great time of 43.14. That group effort helped the team win its second MHSAA title in three years with 39 points, five more than runner-up Hillsdale.
"This was a group effort," Christian Petre said. "Everyone has put in the work, and we ran a smooth relay. We were peaking at the right time."
"We knew the 4X100 was going to be our strength coming in, and they set a goal of breaking a state record earlier this year and they accomplished that," Sanford-Meridian coach Mike Bilina added. "The kids work really hard, they buy into the weight room and really enjoy improving."
The Sanford-Meridian 800 relay team of Monte Petre, Matt Hoffman, Leviere and Christian Petre also won with a time of 1:29.21, while Christian Petre took second in the 100 and 200 and Monte Petre took sixth in the 100.
The Mustangs’ finish was not a huge surprise. But another thing great about sports is that anybody can have the day of his or her life and make a name just like that.
That's what happened to Wyoming Lee sophomore Thomas Robinson, as he won both the 100 and 200 with times of 11.09 and 22.2 seconds, respectively.
What makes Robinson's story so special is that he did not even play a sport his freshman year, but decided to go out for football this year and played both wide receiver and cornerback.
And after a little nudging from former Lee football coach Carlton Brewster, Robinson decided to go out for track as well.
"Coach said this would help me out for football, and I think it will," Robinson said. "I did expect to win the 200, but never thought I could win the 100, because I was seeded sixth coming in."
An athlete used to the spotlight was Grand Rapids West Catholic senior thrower Carl Myers.
Myers came into Saturday's Finals as the reigning champion in the shot put, looking to break the meet record that Allendale's Zack Hill earned with an impressive toss of 63 feet, 9.5 inches in 2009.
Myers came up short of that, but won his second shot put title with a personal-best throw of 62-9.75. He also won the discus title with a throw of 172-1.
"Of course my goal was to break the record, but I'm happy to get the wins," said Myers, who will be going to the University of Michigan next year to play football and throw the shot put. "My whole team worked hard this year, and it paid off."
PHOTO: Marlette's Andrew Storm (right) clears a hurdle on the way to one of his two individual titles Saturday at Comstock Park. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)