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.)
No Individual Event Wins Needed as Parma Western Clinches 1st Finals Team Title
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2025
HAMILTON – Parma Western boys track & field coach Lucas Sponsler never has been happier to see one of his relay teams finish second.
Entering the 1,600 relay at Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals, Sponsler knew his team needed to finish sixth or higher to overtake River Rouge, which held a two-point lead but didn’t have a team competing in that last race of the afternoon.
As it turns out, that closing event was a perfect reflection of Western’s day.
Western took second to win its first Finals team title by six points, with 44 total, despite not winning a single event throughout the competition.
Depth and versatility in running and field events allowed Western to prevail.
“That’s pretty sweet,” Sponsler said. “I felt like our team was built a lot more for team states. We knew we were built for this because we had a variety of strong athletes.”
While Parma Western made history by winning what Sponsler said was just the third state title by any sports team at the school, River Rouge also had reason to be proud.
After registering just one point at last year’s event, the Panthers took a major jump with their best Finals finish.
Leading the way for River Rouge were seniors Jaiden Melton and Donpaul Keith. Melton won the 100 meters in 10.62 seconds, while Keith won the 200 in 21.66. The two also were part of River Rouge’s winning 800 relay, which came in first with a time of 1:27.89.
“Those guys, they did everything they could and it was amazing for them,” River Rouge head coach Mike Carson said. “We bounced back and we showed up in the individuals, and we showed up in the relay. I’ll take a team runner-up.”
The multiple-event winners on the day individually were Marshall senior Jack Bidwell and Battle Creek Harper Creek junior DJ Wood.
Bidwell won 1,600 meters in 4:14.95 and the 3,200 meters in 9:12.13, using a lethal finishing kick to surge ahead at the finish line.
“I like to use my kick a lot, so I pushed on that today,” said Bidwell, who will run in college for Michigan. “I’ve kind of just always had a kick. I like to say it’s my mentality a lot. It’s like, ‘Why not?’ … I feel like that pushes me a lot and has helped me get to a lot of places I’ve been.”
After not competing at the Finals last year, Wood swept the hurdles events taking the 110 race in 14.15 seconds and winning the 300 hurdles in 39.24.
“I felt really confident doing it,” Wood said. “I put in a lot of work and really cared about it.”
Another standout performance came from Stevensville Lakeshore sophomore Kaden Griffiths, who broke a meet record in the long jump with a leap of 24-¼ .
PHOTOS (Top) Parma Western sprints to the finish in the 1,600 relay; the Panthers' runner-up finish in the race clinched their team title. (Middle) Marshall's Jack Bidwell, left, raises his hands in victory as he crosses the finish line. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)