Performance: Houghton's Clayton Sayen
May 14, 2018
Clayton Sayen
Houghton senior – Track & Field
Sayen added another night of highlights to an incredible senior campaign, winning a rare race combination of the 100, 400 and 3,200 meters at the Ontonagon Invitational on May 4 to earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week” for April 30-May 6. He ran the 100 meters in 11.14 seconds to set a school record and the 400 in 49.76 to break another record he already held; Sayen also owns school records in the 200 (22.63) and 800 (1:56.83) and as part of the 1,600 and 3,200 relays.
Also a standout runner in the fall, Sayen capped his final high school cross country season by leading his team to the Upper Peninsula Division 1 championship and claiming the individual title by a tenth of a second with a time of 16:25.7 – the fourth fastest in U.P. Division 1 Finals history. During the winter, he moved on to hockey and helped the Gremlins to a No. 3 ranking in Division 3 during the regular season. He entered this spring as a three-time U.P. Track & Field Finals individual champion coming off last year’s wins in the 200 and 400 and as part of the 3,200 relay. He’s broken his two goals for this season – to go under 50 seconds in the 400 and 1:57.5 in the 800 – and the fastest meets are coming up with his Regional on Thursday at Negaunee and the Finals on June 2. This season also has provided a chance for Sayen to run with his brother Tyler, a freshman on the team.
Clayton carries a 3.9 grade-point average and will be sticking close to home after this spring, studying and running track and cross country at Michigan Tech. He plans to pursue a degree in engineering management, diving into his interests in science and also business, as he’d like to follow some of the footsteps of his father, a local business owner. But for a few more weeks of high school, Sayen will continue setting the pace – with his trademark headband and sunglasses he’s become known for around the U.P., and also with the speed that should put him in line to contend for a few more championships.
Coach Daniel Junttila said: “I’ve been coaching 38 years and I’m an outgoing guy, and you meet hundreds of coaches and you talk – and I’ve never spoken to anyone, let alone seen it where somebody will run the 3,200 that well, be a Division 1 champion (and then the 100) … that range of athleticism blows me away. And he just keeps bringing it. … I coached him in eighth grade football, so I knew him really well. He’s a special athlete with such will and drive. I could tell honestly when I saw him in eighth grade, and then I watched him in middle school track, and already as a freshman he was doing things that were very uncommon.”
Performance Point: “My primary focus for the day was the 100,” Sayen said of the Ontonagon meet. “I wanted to break our school record in the 100, which was an 11.23. I ended up getting it with an 11.14, and that was my first real event of the day; I ran the (3,200) relay at the beginning, but that was kinda just a cruise. There wasn’t a whole lot of competition there, so I used that as my warm-up. The 100 was to get the day going … and I won, and I was like, ‘Cool, I got the school record. That’s what I was going for today. So mission accomplished.’ It was a nice day overall, and I decided my next event the 400, I was going to push that one too because it was my goal sometime this season to go sub-50. At 49.76 I ran sub-50 and I met that goal, so the day was just excellent as it was. (Then) I’ve got the 2-mile left, so I’m going to see what I have left. I went out and I pushed myself in that one – not a phenomenal time, but I ended up winning. And it was just cool to have a meet under my belt where I won the shortest and the longest events.”
Run ’em all: When I first started in middle school, I was a distance runner. But growing up, I’ve always been a pretty fast sprinter. Way back in elementary school I was always the fastest kid in my class. It wasn’t until this year where I started doing them both, distance and sprints. My freshman year of high school, I was a strict 2-mile, 1-mile guy. And now I’m more of a 200, 400, 800 kind of guy. So I’ve kinda worked my way around the whole spectrum a little bit. This year I’m going to just try to combine the two and have a little fun with it. Because that was my main goal for the season, to have as much fun as I can.”
What a finish: “Cross Country was unbelievable – U.P. champions, I was the Division 1 individual winner. Cross country was so much fun, everything about it. I had a lot of fun in hockey too. We had a pretty successful season, had a lot of highlights there. And to wrap it up with track, how this season is going … senior year, athletically, it would be hard to beat.”
Brotherly bond: Having (Tyler) on the team with me, it’s a lot of fun. He’s a 400/800 runner, just like me, so before he runs I give him my strategy. He’ll go out and do the best he can – he’s a freshman, so he’s not going to put down some crazy times. … Having him on the team with me, it’s good bonding between the two of us.”
Signature style: “The headband, it started back about eighth grade with my buddy Seth (Helman) one day in practice. In middle school, my hair was kinda long, kinda in my eyes, so I told him, ‘I’m going to wear a headband.’ It just carried through high school, and then I decided to grow my hair really long. It’s not anymore; it’s short now. (But) as the years have gone on, the two of us, the headband has become our thing. That’s what we’re known for – head bands and sunglasses – that’s a thing we do together.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
May 3: Autumn Roberts, Traverse City Central tennis - Read
April 26: Thomas Robinson, Wyoming Lee track & field - Read
March 29: Carlos Johnson, Benton Harbor basketball - Read
March 22: Shine Strickland-Gills, Saginaw Heritage basketball - Read
March 15: Skyler Cook-Weeks, Holland Christian swimming - Read
March 8: Dakota Greer, Howard City Tri-County wrestling - Read
March 1: Camree' Clegg, Wayne Memorial basketball - Read
February 23: Aliah Robertson, Sault Ste. Marie swimming - Read
February 16: Austin O'Hearon, Eaton Rapids wrestling - Read
February 9: Sophia Wiard, Muskegon Oakridge basketball - Read
February 2: Brenden Tulpa, Hartland hockey - Read
January 25: Brandon Whitman, Dundee wrestling - Read
January 18: Derek Maas, Holland West Ottawa swimming - Read
January 11: Lexi Niepoth, Bellaire basketball - Read
November 30: La'Darius Jefferson, Muskegon football - Read
November 23: Ashley Turak, Farmington Hills Harrison swimming - Read
November 16: Bryce Veasley, West Bloomfield football - Read
November 9: Jose Penaloza, Holland soccer - Read
November 2: Karenna Duffey, Macomb L'Anse Creuse North cross country - Read
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City West golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Houghton’s Clayton Sayen carries the baton down the stretch during a relay this season. (Middle) Sayen, right, and teammate Seth Helman lead the pack during the U.P. Division 1 Cross Country Final last fall. (Top photo courtesy of the Houghton track & field program; middle photo by Kara Camps.)
Football Future Awaits, but Mayne Focused First on Finishing Track Finals Sweep
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
April 22, 2025
LAWTON — One inch. One lousy inch.
That was the difference between a championship and second place for Mason Mayne in the shot put at last year’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Track & Field Finals.
One year later, it is still fresh in the mind of the personable Lawton senior as he begins his quest for more hardware.
“That one hurt,” said Mayne, whose best attempt finished second to a 60-foot, 2-inch toss by Pewamo-Westphalia’s Gavin Nurenberg.
“That really burned. You start to wonder, did they measure it wrong? What if I just literally put a little more into it? It drove me to work harder toward it.”
That harder work paid off during the second event that day as Mayne defeated the then-senior Nurenberg 166-6 to 165-11 in the discus to claim Lawton’s first-ever track & field state championship in that event.
Besides taking home that Finals title last year, Mayne holds school records with an indoor-season shot of 62-6 and outdoor of 60-9, as well as a discus toss of 178 feet.
An all-state football player and outstanding student as well, Mayne had opportunities to continue his athletic careers in both sports before signing with Northwestern University. But he also made the decision to compete for his high school one more time this spring instead of graduating early to begin his college career – much to the delight of Lawton track & field coach Mike Meyer.
“He’s been nothing but a joy ever since his freshman year,” Meyer said. “He’s a good, hard worker, obviously a great athlete. All his talent is definitely a nice problem to have.
“He’s been a two-year captain for us, so a good leader, (he) does everything and more than what we ask. That’s why he has the success that he has.”
All-around talent
Mayne said coaching is one big crossover from football to track & field.
“Listening to someone tell you what to do and then do it, I think that’s a super big part of throwing,” he said. “If someone tells you how to do something better in your throw to make it technically better, and you can’t do it, then you can’t get better.
“Playing football for so long, I’ve had so many coaches tell me to do this just a little bit different. And being able to flip that and make that change and adjustment, that’s what makes me able to get better at throwing.”
Mayne said hurling the disc takes more finesse than the shot.
“Technical-wise, the shot put (12 pounds) is easier because I can base it more on how much muscle I can put into it,” he said. “Discus is lighter, (3.5 pounds) but you also have to use your technique a lot more.
“Also, you have to push your body to a point of really stretching it back, allowing it to create a lot of torque into the disc to be able to throw it far enough for it to be worth anything.”
As for those windy days competing in field events, “A lot of people think that the wind behind you helps you,” Mayne said. “That’s actually not true.
“It actually bats the disc down. In the discus, as a right-handed thrower, you want the wind to come across a little bit from your left to throw into. Think of it as an airplane wing, holding up the airplane, the air coming into it. With the shot, it doesn’t matter. It’s just throwing it.”
Lawton’s athletes who specialize in field events also compete in some running competition. Mayne has run the 200 this season and took a turn running the 100 last spring as well.
“We usually have our throwers run the 200,” Meyer said. “We like athletes instead of just specializing in just one or two things for the (Southwest Athletic) Conference.
“We have all of our kids run two, three and sometimes four events. It can be a long day at a track meet if your events are done and you have nothing to do.”
Mayne is not only an accomplished athlete, but carries a 4.19 grade-point average.
“With the way my mom (Pat) raised me and my brother (Carter) both, she’s a teacher at Paw Paw in the elementary,” he said. “She raised us with the idea that academics are very important. That’s where I’m academically driven.
“She might get mad at me for saying this, but if I miss an assignment, I’m getting a picture on my phone with a circle around it of the assignment missing in my grade book. It’s very important to me.”
That emphasis motivates Mayne’s advice for freshmen who play sports.
“Stay on top of (academics),” he said. “For so many years my mom kept me on top of things. Now I’m able to stay on top of things better myself.
“Your freshman year is the make-or-break it. Having an older brother helped a lot because without him, he wouldn’t have told me that and I wouldn’t have stayed ahead of it.”
Tough decisions
Mayne’s outstanding performances in throwing events last year attracted several college scholarship offers for track in addition to several he’d received previously for football. Choosing a college was not an easy decision for the defensive lineman, who is a two-time Kalamazoo Gazette Dream Team selection in that sport.
“It’s funny because I was really, really considering track for a while,” said the 6-foot-3, 275-pound Mayne. “After my sophomore year when I had a very successful track season, I started to lean toward track.”
But a trip to the Big House to watch University of Michigan play tilted the scale to football.
“I was watching and I realized I just couldn’t give it up,” he said. “I love both sports, but something about football, the team atmosphere, just sitting in the stadium gets me antsy, that atmosphere and that vibe. That’s really what flipped me into the football aspect. That electricity from the fans and the guys around you. I haven’t experienced any other sport like it.
“It was a very tough decision. I was sad that I couldn’t go multiple ways. Many fantastic coaches recruited me. It’s unfortunate that you have to tell coaches you can’t go to their program because you’re choosing a different program.”
Mayne said he had specific criteria in mind when choosing a college. “Academics is a priority here,” he said. “I also want to play football at a very high level, and then the last is a family aspect.
“Northwestern just checked all the boxes.”
Before the season, Meyer thought he might lose Mayne to early graduation since “he’s a very, very good student. We chatted and he said, ‘Coach, I definitely want to be throwing. I love throwing,’ and he’s a man of his word.
“Once he told me that, I was more excited for the season.”
At one point, Mayne did indeed consider leaving high school to enroll early at Northwestern, which would have meant missing his final spring throwing season.
However, “my mom wasn’t ready for me to leave, which I’m fine with,” he said. “I understand that. I’m her youngest child, I get it.
“Also, you get to start throwing indoors and it’s like, ‘I don’t want to give this up, either.’”
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) Lawton’s Mason Mayne begins to unwind while throwing the shot during a meet. (Middle) Lawton track & field coach Mike Meyer. (Below) Mayne stands tall on the football field. (Action photos courtesy of Mason Mayne; headshot by Pam Shebest.)