Preview: Team Contenders Seek to Make Stars Align at LP Boys Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 29, 2026
Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Boys Track & Field Finals again will bring together a serious collection of star power at four sites across the Grand Rapids area.
But adding to an intriguing day is the relative unpredictability of the team title races. A large variety of schools have won championships over the last several years in all four divisions, and forecasting which might climb the podium this weekend remains a difficult task.
All four LP Finals will begin with pole vault and long jump beginning at 9 a.m., followed by race semifinals and the 3,200 relay at 10 a.m. and the rest of the running finals starting at noon. Tickets cost $11 and are available digitally only via GoFan.
MHSAA.tv will live-stream all four meets beginning at 10 a.m., viewable with subscription. Check out the Boys Track & Field page for meet information for all four sites and lists of all qualifiers. Those described as "seeded" below have received those seeds based on Regional performances or meeting early qualification standards. (Although not noted for most, several individuals below also will run on contending relays.)
Below is a glance at team contenders and individuals to watch in all four divisions:
Division 1 at Rockford
Team forecast: We’re up to six teams that have won LPD1 championships over the last five seasons (with Fenton and Rockford tying for first in 2021). Belleville is the reigning champ and has some points potential again this weekend. But Detroit Catholic Central’s star power across several events could be a difference maker, with Oak Park, East Kentwood and potentially Grand Haven and Northville among others that could have the right mix of standouts, depth and variety to make a run at the team title.
Zacchaeus Brocks, Detroit Catholic Central senior: He’s one of the nation’s top high school hurdlers and seeded first in the 110 (13.26) and 300 (36.23) by notable margins, but is seeking his first title after his 2025 ended early because of an injury.
Wendell Childs Jr., Clarkston junior: He’s seeded second in the 800 (1:51.49) after winning that race a year ago.
Beckett Crooks, Ann Arbor Pioneer senior: The reigning 3,200 champion is seeded fourth (9:03.74) and won’t run another individual race as he’s scratched from the 1,600, where he also would have been seeded fourth.
Reece Emeott, East Kentwood senior: He’s looking to cap his high school career with a third-straight Finals championship in the pole vault and has the top-seeded vault (16-0) by three inches.
Samson Gash, Detroit Catholic Central senior: He won the 100 in an all-Finals record 10.41 seconds last season and also finished third in the 200, and he enters this weekend seeded second in both in 10.51 and 21.53 seconds, respectively.
Luka Hammond, Grand Haven senior: The reigning 1,600 champ is seeded first in that race (4:08.29) and the 3,200 (8:58.33) and fifth in the 800.
De-Mani Roberts, East Kentwood sophomore: He could make a splash entering as the top seed in the 400 (47.55), third seed in the 200 (21.55) and sixth seed in the 100.
Division 2 at Hamilton
Team forecast: Parma Western became a first-time champion in this division a year ago, and Harper Woods may be the next with two top-seeded relays and more possibilities in sprints and hurdles. Flint Powers Catholic is seeking a first title as well and has three top-three seeded relays and potential points in sprints, hurdles and distance. Frankenmuth has won three team titles, its most recent in 2021, and might have the right mix with strong relays and a variety of events covered individually.
Declin Doroh, Stevensville Lakeshore junior: He finished second in the high jump last season but may be on the cusp of history with his statewide-best 7-0 at his Regional just an inch shy of the all-Finals record that has stood since 1989.
Ryan Good, Parma Western junior: Last season’s runner-up in the 800 has finished lower than first in an individual race just once across three events this spring and enters top-seeded in the 800 (1:50.11) and second-seeded in the 1,600 (4:16.30) after scratching from the 400, where he would have been seeded fifth.
Kaden Griffiths, Stevensville Lakeshore junior: He’ll return to the long jump pit seeking a third-straight championship and after winning last season’s by nearly 20 inches.
Zachary Overmyer, Edwardsburg senior: He won the high jump just ahead of Doroh last season and has continued to impress, seeding fourth for this weekend.
D.J. Wood, Battle Creek Harper Creek senior: He swept the hurdles championships last season and is seeded first in both the 110 (14.18) and 300 (tied at 38.44).
Division 3 at Kent City
Team forecast: Hanover-Horton tied for 33rd at last season’s Finals, but looks to have the power at relays and elsewhere to make a massive jump this weekend. Lansing Catholic could do the same after finishing ninth a year ago, and Ann Arbor Greenhills may make some noise with two top-seeded relays among a strong group on the running side.
Jack Deitsch, Reed City senior: The reigning champion in the long jump enters with the top Regional jump (22-10¼) plus is seeded second in the 100 (10.77) and will run the 200.
Hunter Eaton, Charlevoix junior: The fall’s Division 3 cross country champion also will look to repeat in the 3,200 and carries the second seed in that race (9:33.24) plus the second seed in the 1,600 (4:18.52) and sixth in the 800.
Dennis Jackson, Detroit Edison senior: He won the 400 last season and returns seeded first in that race (48.26) and fourth in the 200 (21.95).
Chaze Lorenz, Hart senior: He ran on three high-placing relays last season, including the champion 800, and could add a few individual titles seeded first this weekend in the 100 (10.67) and 200 (21.72) and second in the 400 (49.10).
Nolan Schaap, Kalamazoo Christian junior: He could make a big jump in his hurdles races, seeded first in the 300 (39.40) after finishing 14th a year ago and seeded fourth in the 110 after placing 15th during the 2025 prelims.
Division 4 at Hudsonville Baldwin
Team forecast: Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep finished just a point behind champion Southfield Christian last season and most recently won back-to-back Division 4 titles in 2022 and 2023. Distance dominance could bring the Irish to the top of the podium again this weekend. Eau Claire, Manchester, Reading and Royal Oak Shrine also are intriguing possibilities on the board.
Marek Butkiewicz, Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep senior: The two-time Finals champion in cross country also has won the 3,200 the last two seasons and the 1,600 last spring. He’s seeded first in the 1,600 (4:14.83) and 3,200 (9:05.33) and third in the 800 (1:57.79).
Abenezer Cerone, Royal Oak Shrine Catholic senior: The reigning champion in the 800 is seeded first in that race (1:52.24) and the 400 (49.33), fourth in the 1,600 and also has qualified in the 200.
Grant Johnson, Manchester senior: He finished third in the 110 hurdles and fifth in the 300 last season but enters this weekend seeded first in the 110 (14.84) and sixth in the 300, and he’s also expected to long jump.
Oliver Long, Morrice senior: The two-time reigning champion in the shot put is seeded first (56-9) by nearly five feet, and also fourth in the discus.
Dawson Scharer, Hillsdale Academy senior: He won the 300 hurdles and finished second in the 110 a year ago. He is seeded second in both in 39.06 and 14.92 seconds, respectively, and he’s also scheduled to run the 200.
PHOTOS (Top) Royal Oak Shrine’s Abenezer Cerone leads during the 800 meters at Friday’s Oakland County Championships. (Middle) Grand Haven’s Luca Hammond, followed by Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Beckett Crooks, pushes toward the finish during the Diamond 1,600 at Romeo’s Barnyard Invitational this season. (Photos by Dave McCauley, at Oakland County, and John Brabbs at Romeo/RunMichigan.com.)
Jones Era Ends with 3 More Race Wins - But Better Yet, Benzie's 1st Team Title
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2023
KENT CITY – For four years of MHSAA cross country and track, Benzie Central’s boys runners and competitors alike have been trying to keep up with the Joneses.
Specifically, Benzie Central senior All-American Hunter Jones.
Well, Pol Molins lives with the Joneses (Hunter’s family) as a foreign-exchange student from Spain. Over the last few months, Molins has done a better job keeping up with Hunter Jones.
Now Jones, Molins and their Benzie Central teammates are all on the same level – as MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 champions. The Huskies captured their first MHSAA Boys Track & Field Finals title, powered by Jones’ three individual championships along with strong efforts by Molins & Co. at Kent City High School.
Benzie Central totaled 51 points to hold off runner-up Pewamo-Westphalia, which tallied 44 points. Hart finished third (38), Sanford Meridian fourth (36) and Ottawa Lake Whiteford fifth (28).
“I’m very proud of myself, but ultimately my biggest goal today was to win a team state championship. We came out here, that’s what we did,” said Jones, a 6-foot, 160-pound Wake Forest signee, who cruised to victories Saturday in the 800-meter run (1:57.60), 1,600 run (4:17.48) and 3,200 (9:10.19).
Jones expressed much gratitude for not only Molins – who earned valuable points by taking second in the 1,600, fifth in the 3,200 and seventh in the 800 -- but for the other two runners on Benzie Central’s runner-up 3,200 relay team: Lucan Louwsma and Dorian Olson.
Benzie Central veteran coach Asa Kelly said Olson had never competed at Finals track meet before, and that this was the first time this foursome had run the 3,200.
“I really praise the 4x8 – those other two guys, they put us in the race and we got those eight points we needed,” Jones said. “If we didn’t run the 4x8, we would have lost. I thank those guys and I feel very blessed to finally get a team state championship. That’s been my biggest goal since I’ve gotten to Benzie.”
That’s a big statement coming from a generational runner who closes his MHSAA career with 10 individual Finals championships: four in Division 3 cross country and six in track & field.
Jones is a multiple-time national champion in various events as well as an indoor state champ numerous times. He holds MHSAA LP Division 3 Finals records in the 800 and 1,600, and he missed the Finals record in the 3,200 on Saturday by 1½ seconds.
After he learned Benzie Central had wrapped up the team title, he said he didn’t even care if he had won any events Saturday.
“It’s an overwhelming feeling, you know,” Jones said. “A couple of minutes ago, I was getting tears in my eyes and I was like, ‘It’s all over now.’ But I’m really happy that it ended with this and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I’m very, very happy.”
There was plenty of joy to go around Saturday. North Muskegon junior Jerry Wiegers, who was making his Finals debut, raced to victories in the 200 and 400 with personal-record times in both. In the 200, he won with a time of 22.11 seconds. In the 400, he finished first with a time of 49.49.
Wiegers also anchored North Muskegon’s 800 relay team that placed seventh (1:32.44) for all-state honors.
“Yeah, I’m still processing it,” Wiegers said. “It’s just, like, a good feeling to have when all the work you put in through the whole year finally comes to a close out of everyone. I’ve been waiting to do this for a long time.”
It was a bit of a “bittersweet” day for Hart senior standout thrower Kellen Kimes. The Liberty University signee defended his Division 3 title in discus with a toss of 174 feet, 3 inches, but he came up just short in winning the shot put with a second-place toss of 57-¼.
It was the second-straight year Kimes finished runner-up in shot put, but the New Balance Indoor national champion in the weight throw was trying to keep proper perspective.
“I’m pretty sad that it’s over. I’ve got two more meets this year with the high school events, but from then on I’m going to be moving to college (competition),” Kimes said. “It’s easy to be, like, ‘OK, next chapter in my life,’ but I do need to spend some time reflecting on it and just realizing just how blessed I am with all the people that God’s put in my life.”
Kimes is a fierce competitor, but he’s always willing to help others, including his direct competition.
That was the case with Pewamo-Westphalia junior Gavin Nurenberg, who launched a personal record in shot put by two feet with an effort of 57-¼ that edged Kimes.
“I mean, it means a lot. It’s just, we were competitors – honestly, he taught me the most out of anybody in shot put,” Nurenberg said. “Like, this guy is telling me, get like certain cues and stuff and I do credit him for some of that for sure.”
Other champions Saturday included: Warren Michigan Collegiate’s Jailin Spikes in the 100 (10.71 PR), Napoleon’s Holden Van Poppel in the 110 hurdles (14.48 PR), Delton Kellogg’s Torren Mapes in the 300 hurdles (40.01 PR), Meridian’s Sawyer Moloy in high jump (6-4), Ovid-Elsie’s Tryce Tokar in pole vault (15-0), Grayling’s Mitchel Harrington in long jump (22-1.75), Meridian’s 400 relay (Kenneth Emmerson, Madix Saunders, Nickolas Metzer and Brayden Riley; 43.47), Burton Atherton’s 800 relay (Romiel Clausell, Joseph Embury, Jaymes Vines, Patrick Rice; 1:30.51), Whiteford’s 1,600 relay (Shea Ruddy, Ryin Ruddy, Dylan Anderson, Jacob Iott; 3:27.28), and Hart’s 3,200 relay (Clayton Ackley, Seth Ackley, Guillermo Ortega, Wyatt Dean; 8:04.54). Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett junior Jake Juip won the adaptive 100 race (1:04.21), and Perry junior Alec Chapman competed in the adaptive shot put (3-8¼).
Benzie Central was the Division 3 runner-up in 2021 and 2001. This time, the Huskies got over the hump.
Dominant as Jones was, Molins provided quite the boost in the way of quality depth.
“It’s crazy with Pol (when he applied to be an exchange student) – they said he liked to run and he checked off track & field as an interest, but can’t find anything else about the kid,” Kelly said with a smile. “… In cross, he was maybe like 23rd (in the state) or something like that, but then over the course of the winter running every day with Hunter, he just exploded.”
Kelly said that Molins will head back to Spain in a few weeks and he’ll race in the Spanish U18 Nationals. Kelly noted that after this season with Benzie Central, Molins is ranked second in Spain for his division in the 1,500 and 800.
Molins, a sophomore who recently turned 16 years old, said he could not have asked for a better experience or better host family than the Joneses.
“They’ve pushed me in every way,” he said. “I’ve learned lots of stuff, a lot of discipline. I’ve worked a lot, put in a lot of miles. All of this, I’m going to take it to Spain. I’m going to get better and if I can, I’m going to come back in a couple of years for college. It would be great.
“I’m really grateful,” added the lanky, 6-foot-3 Molins. “l couldn’t have asked for a better experience. I’m looking forward to coming back one day and checking on everyone, how they are doing.”
(PHOTOS) Benzie Central’s Hunter Jones, far right, leads one of his races by a significant margin Saturday at Kent City. (Middle) Teammate Pol Molins, second from right and leading the rest of the field, follow Jones. (Photos by Carter Sherline/RunMichigan.com.)