Performance: Waverly's Keshaun Harris
May 24, 2019
Keshaun Harris
Lansing Waverly senior – Track & Field
The reigning Lower Peninsula Division 1 champion in the 300-meter hurdles, Harris put himself in position to challenge for multiple titles at next weekend’s MHSAA Finals with wins in both the 300 (38.71 seconds) and 110 (14.23) at last week’s Regional at East Lansing, earning him the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Harris’ winning 300 time was his season best, as was his 14.14 prelim time in the 110. Also an all-league football player during the fall and starting guard in basketball, Harris is among the state’s elite on the track and undefeated in both hurdles races this spring despite getting a slow start after hurting his right ankle in his final basketball game this winter. As noted, he won the LPD1 title in the 300 last season in a personal-record 37.81 seconds and just missed the double finishing seventh hundredths of a second behind East Kentwood’s Job Mayhue in the 110. Harris also finished second in the 110 and third in the 300 at the LPD2 Finals as a sophomore, and qualified for the LPD2 Finals in both races as a freshman, earning seventh place in the 110.
The 37.81 at last year’s Finals and the 14 flat he ran in the 110 at the 2018 Regional are Waverly school records – which says a lot as the Warriors have produced a number of state contenders over coach David Pike’s 29 seasons leading one of mid-Michigan’s strongest programs. Harris will announce next week where he’ll continue his academic and athletic careers at the collegiate level – he has Division I and II opportunities – and will bring both first-class hurdling skills and a 3.6 GPA with aspirations of studying kinesiology and becoming an athletic trainer.
Coach David Pike said: “Keshaun’s success in the hurdles is due to his focus on getting better every day. He’s always the last one off the track, taking time each day to get the repetitions he needs to become fluent with each motion. The quickness and fluidity of his hurdling action come from years of focused practice. That’s not to say he’s hurdling 365 days a year. In fact, much of his success in track and field comes from his involvement in other sports. Football has helped him develop the strength and toughness needed to run through hurdle contact. Basketball with all of its jumping and rapid changes of direction has helped him become a more explosive and kinesthetically aware athlete. In the end, the bottom line is that Keshaun’s dedication to daily incremental improvement as an athlete has put him in position to compete for the state title in both the high and 300 hurdles.”
Performance Point: “Nobody really knew this but my coach, but I was sick,” Harris said in recalling the Regional. “I was pushing through it, so I just went out there and ran my best races of the season. I was dealing with the flu. .... Before the race I had to hydrate a lot. My body was a little weak. I had to make sure I got my body moving, got in a good warm-up, stayed loose and warm. I just went out there and gave it everything I’ve got and ran my best.”
Remembering runner-up: “(Last year’s 110 Final) has been in the back of my mind since it happened last year. My goal is still to be the state champion in both the 110 and 300. That’s been the goal since I came to Waverly, since I’ve been a freshman. That’s always been the goal, and always been a motivation too. … Last year I wasn’t as good with my form as I am this year. So this year as I go into this last week, I’m just working on form, getting over hurdles and getting back down quick and keeping everything tight.”
Multi-sport mechanics: “I think (all my sports) work together, because I’m always active doing something. Even in the winter or the summer, I’m always doing something. When track season comes around, I’m already in shape, and I’m already feeling good and strong. (Track has) made me even faster on the court or the field. I’m very elusive. I’m very flexible. So it’s helped me in a lot of areas.”
Looking up, looking ahead: “Aries Merritt, he’s an Olympic champion, and Grant Holloway goes to Florida and he’s another guy I look up to. I also look up to guys I ran against – Kentre Patterson (East Lansing), Noah Caudy (Lake Odessa Lakewood), even Job Mayhue who beat me last year. I still look up to all those guys, figure out what they’re doing and how I can input it into my hurdling. In track, you run against these guys so much. Once they’re gone, you’ve built a relationship with them, so it’s cool.”
Staying in sports: “I just like working with athletes and just being around sports, so I think (trainer) would be the perfect job to do. Actually, at the start of this season I had an ankle injury, I sprained it during my last basketball game, and that had me out for a month. As I worked with the athletic trainer at my school, I developed a love for wanting to become an athletic trainer and wanting to study kinesiology.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2018-19 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard recognizes 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.
Past 2018-19 honorees
May 16: Gabbie Sherman, Millington softball - Read
May 9: Nathan Taylor, Muskegon Mona Shores golf - Read
May 2: Ally Gaunt, New Baltimore Anchor Bay soccer - Read
April 25: Kali Heivilin, Three Rivers softball - Read
March 28: Rickea Jackson, Detroit Edison basketball - Read
March 21: Noah Wiswary, Hudsonville Unity Christian basketball - Read
March 14: Cam Peel, Spring Lake swimming - Read
March 7: Jordan Hamdan, Hudson wrestling - Read
February 28: Kevon Davenport, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling - Read
February 21: Reagan Olli, Gaylord skiing - Read
February 14: Jake Stevenson, Traverse City Bay Reps hockey - Read
February 7: Molly Davis, Midland Dow basketball - Read
January 31: Chris DeRocher, Alpena basketball - Read
January 24: Imari Blond, Flint Kearsley bowling - Read
January 17: William Dunn, Quincy basketball - Read
November 29: Dequan Finn, Detroit Martin Luther King football - Read
November 22: Paige Briggs, Lake Orion volleyball - Read
November 15: Hunter Nowak, Morrice football - Read
November 8: Jon Dougherty, Detroit Country Day soccer - Read
November 1: Jordan Stump, Camden-Frontier volleyball - Read
October 25: Danielle Staskowski, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep golf - Read
October 18: Adam Bruce, Gladstone cross country - Read
October 11: Ericka VanderLende, Rockford cross country - Read
October 4: Kobe Clark, Schoolcraft football - Read
September 27: Jonathan Kliewer, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern soccer - Read
September 20: Kiera Lasky, Bronson volleyball - Read
September 13: Judy Rector, Hanover-Horton cross country - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Lansing Waverly's Keshaun Harris charges toward the finish during last season's Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final in the 300 hurdles. (Middle) Harris clears a hurdle during the 110 championship race in 2018. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Van Valkenburg Returns to Madison to Continue Dad's Pole Vaulting Program
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
April 8, 2026
Larry Van Valkenburg had two passions in retirement – coaching high school track & field and racing motorcycles.
In September, only a few months after completing his 25th season as the pole vault coach at Adrian Madison, Van Valkenburg loaded up his motorcycle and headed to Harpster, Ohio, a tiny, unincorporated city of 160 residents in central Ohio.
“He loved racing motorcycles,” said his son, Trevor Van Valkenburg. “Seems like an odd hobby for someone in their 70s, but he loved it. He hadn’t done it for a couple of years and said he wanted to give it one more shot.”
While at a race in Harpster, Van Valkenburg, 78, was involved in a motorcycle crash, had trouble catching his breath and tragically died.
“He took a very hard fall,” Trevor said.
This spring, after months of deliberations, Trevor decided to end his nine-year run as track coach at nearby Onsted and take over for his father as an assistant at Madison. For all intents and purposes, he’s coming home.
“It really is like coming home,” Trevor said. “I have crazy Madison ties that go way back.”
Trevor was a big reason why his dad began coaching at Madison. He was a high school sophomore in the early 2000s when he switched from baseball to track.
“When Coach (Josh) Powers took over the program in 1999, Madison didn’t have pole vault,” Van Valkenburg said. “Most of the schools in the 1990s had gotten rid of it. As a sophomore, I said if you have pole vault, I’ll run track. That is how my dad got involved.”
Trevor knew his dad had some background in pole vault.
“He was a vaulter in high school,” he said. “He always told us he had the school record. He vaulted in the 1960s where he would land in a pit of saw dust. As a junior, he broke his arm vaulting. He had a scar he would show us from time to time. His proud accomplishment was he came back as a senior and set the school record.”
With Trevor a senior, the Van Valkenburgs were part of Madison’s run to a Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association (MITCA) track & field team state championship.
“He ended up staying 25 years,” Trevor said, speaking of his dad. “He loved it.”
Pole vault is a tough event to learn – and teach.
“In my opinion, it’s probably the most complicated high school sport,” Trevor said. “There are so many variables, how long your pole is, what the wind rating is, the flex rating and you have to set up your steps. You can move the bar so you have to know where to put it. It’s almost impossible to do well without a good coach. There are too many things an outside person needs to watch and give you feedback on.
“I always tell the kids every time you focus on one thing in pole vault about 30 other things go wrong – and that’s fine. It’s a very complicated high school thing to do. If you don’t have a good coach, it’s really hard to be successful.”
Last year, Trevor’s son Noah was on the Trojans middle school track & field team and chose the pole vault as one of his events. His grandfather was able to coach him.
“I am thankful for that,” Trevor said.
Over the years, the elder Van Valkenburg coached numerous league, county and Regional champs. Trevor joined his high school friend, Kyle Cessna, at Onsted, first coaching the pole vault but later coaching distance runners and the Wildcats cross country team. Madison and Onsted were in the same league, the Lenawee County Athletic Association, for the last several years.
“Over the years my dad and I had plenty of good pole vault coaching and team battles,” Trevor said. “We were really competitive at first. Over time, that relaxed a little bit.”
Returning to Madison to coach was an emotional decision for Trevor.
“I’ve coached Onsted for nine seasons,” Van Valkenburg said. “It was kind of always in the back of my head that if my dad was ever done, I’ll go back to Madison. I knew he would hold on as long as he could. It didn’t end up the way we thought it would, but it finally happened and I’m back home.”
Another reason it is home is because his wife, Kathryn, has taught at Madison schools for more than 20 years. His younger son, Dominque, also attends Madison schools.
“When I’m here after school, my whole family is here,” he said. “My wife is in the building. My one son is getting out of elementary at 3:30, my other son is on the middle school track team.”
Larry Van Valkenburg was an ex-Marine who retired as an air traffic controller in 2011. His legacy will remain at Madison, mainly because he teamed with Powers and the rest of the coaching staff to form a powerhouse track & field program that won numerous league championships and made an impact at MHSAA Finals.
“Larry was a great coach,” Powers said. “Trevor is a lot like him. We are really happy he came back to coach.”
Trevor Van Valkenburg is the director of the Lenawee District Library, a system that has six branches and a bookmobile. They circulate more than 150,000 items a year. Each spring, he adjusts his schedule to allow for coaching. He feels at home at Madison – and the track & field athletes can take comfort knowing a Van Valkenburg is still coaching them.
“We’re pretty similar,” Trevor said. “I learned a lot of it from (my dad), so it makes sense we would be similar. We both are pretty laid-back people. We’re not going to scream in kids’ faces. I might be a little more drill-heavy instead of just practicing jumping over the bar. I learned everything I know from him.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Adrian Madison track & field assistant coach Trevor Van Valkenburg stands at the entrance to the school’s track this spring. (Middle) At left, JaLonn Borders stands for a photo with Larry Van Valkenburg and Larry’s grandson Noah after breaking the school’s pole vault record during last season’s Lenawee County Championships. (Top photo by Doug Donnelly. Middle photo courtesy of Trevor Van Valkenburg.)