Record-Setting Harper Woods Earns 1st Title, Western's Good Doubles Up on Greatness

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

May 30, 2026

HAMILTON — Parma Western junior Ryan Good was traditionally a competitor in the 400 and 800 dashes going into this spring, but he said he had a revelation earlier in the year while running the 1,600 at the Branch County Invite.

“I ran a 4:18,” he said. “I was just kind of like, ‘That’s pretty high up in the state. I might as well try and go for the 1,600 as well.”

Good did, and at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals, he was more than just good. He was the champion in two events. 

First, he prevailed in the 1,600, claiming that title in a time of 4:13.20. Later, he won the 800 in a time of 1:53.81, pulling away over the last 100 meters with a big finishing kick.

“I’m definitely more 800 and 400 oriented,” he said. “But I think my body’s changed a lot. I used to be scrawny, a little bit weak. Over the past couple of years, I’ve gotten a lot more strength and mental strength as well.” 

In the team portion Saturday, Harper Woods won going away, already having the title clinched before the final races of the day. 

On the strength of dominant sprint relays, the Pioneers finished with 47 points, eight ahead of runner-up Otsego.

It was the school’s first Finals title in boys track & field.  

“They had a lot of strong times going into indoor season,” said Harper Woods head coach Mike Carson, who was the coach of River Rouge’s runner-up team last year. “As we went from indoor into outdoor, we knew we wanted to do something special together as a team.”

Parma Western's Ryan Good leads one of his two winning races.Harper Woods set LPD2 Finals records in two relays. The 400 relay of Jayden Crump, DeAndre Bidden, Dakota Guerrant and Shawn Mosley won in a time of 41.50, which broke the record of 42.13 set in 2024 by Berrien Springs. 

In the 800 relay, Harper Woods won in a record time of 1:27.26 with the team of Mosley, Crump, Dewayne Johnson and Bidden. The old record was 1:27.71 set by Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in 2016. 

Crump, Bidden, Guerrant and Johnson are all standout football players as well, and Carson said there was little issue having them all come out for track.

“All the football players run track,” Cross said. “All the skill players run, and all the linemen do shot put. “They’ve been the ones to take the track program to the next level.” 

Battle Creek Harper Creek senior DJ Wood repeated in the 110 hurdles in a time of 14.20, but fell short in his bid to repeat as champion in the 300 hurdles, finishing ninth. Corunna senior Logan Herrick claimed the 300 with a time of 38.02. 

After finishing second in the high jump last year and reaching 7 feet at his Regional, Stevensville Lakeshore junior Declin Doroh won this time at 6-10. 

Other champions Saturday included Coopersville’s Austin Langeland in the 100, Otsego’s Jack Cook in the 200, Portland’s Brady Rowe in the 400, Whitehall’s Robert Jazwinski III in the 3,200, Frankenmuth’s 1,600 relay and Grand Rapids Christian’s 3,200 relay, Vicksburg’s Kameron Kessler in the shot put, Otsego’s Alex Robbins in the discus, Spring Lake’s Ben Goran in the pole vault and Saginaw Swan Valley’s Jamison Pelt in the long jump.

Adrian’s Dillon Lauffer (100, 400) and Ethan Boprie (200) and Grand Rapids Christian’s Ezra Ippel (shot put) finished first in adaptive events.

Click for full results.

PHOTOS (Top) Harper Woods' DeAndre Bidden sprints to the finish ahead of the field in the 800 relay Saturday. (Middle) Parma Western's Ryan Good leads one of his two winning races. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)

Gladstone Takes Back Top Spot in UPD1

By John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com

June 1, 2019

KINGSFORD – The Gladstone boys had quite a championship reign at the Upper Peninsula Track & Field Finals during the previous decade, taking the Division 1 titles from 2004-09, then winning again in 2013.

They returned to the winner's circle here Saturday, bringing home the championship trophy for the eighth time in 16 years with 127 points. Ishpeming Westwood and four-time reigning champ Marquette shared runner-up honors at 97.

Gladstone senior Adam Bruce, who underwent hip surgery in late January, earned his first 1,600-meter title in four minutes, 35.73 seconds and also won the 3,200 (10:04.67), both in season-best times.

"The 1,600 is the one that evaded me for four years," he said. "It felt great to go under 4:40. I think good training all week really helped and having the break (nine days from competition) helped my hip heal.

"In the 3,200, I just wanted to go out relaxed in the first lap, and I stayed relaxed. I was hitting my splits each 200 (meters). I'm proud of my time after hip surgery. There was no guarantee I'd be able to run like this so soon. The guys were around the track cheering me on, which I really appreciate. I'm just thankful for everybody, especially Zoie (Berg) who's there for me all the time.

"We also wanted to do this for Mr. Houle (longtime coach and athletic director Matt Houle, who died last fall), who always told us 'It's a great day to be a Brave.'"

Sophomore teammate Calvin Thibault retained his 110 and 300-meter hurdle titles in 15.35 and 40.35, respectively, and placed second in the 200 (23.13) and third in the 100 (11.58).

The Braves showed their depth especially in hurdles with sophomore Blake Servant taking second in the 110s (15.99) and senior James McKnight runner-up in the 300s (41.66).

Servant added a first in discus (137-9).

Escanaba junior Dayton Miron set a U.P. and school record in pole vault at 13-8, erasing the previous U.P. Finals record of 13-7 by Mike Coyne of Gladstone in 2007 and the 47-year-old school record (13-6¾) by John Noblet.

"It felt amazing to clear 13-8," Miron said. "It felt real good to see the bar stay up there after I rolled over. I couldn't stop thinking about it on my 14-foot attempts. I couldn't have done it without the help from my coach (Joe Royer), who gave me a lot of pointers. I won it at 13, then decided to go for 13-8. I'm really glad it happened here. I have a new pole, which separated me from 13 feet."

Marquette senior Raphael Millado captured high jump (6-3) and long jump (20-7), and classmate Mathurin Gagnon took the 800 (2:03.84) and helped the Redmen take the 3,200 relay.

Westwood senior Nathan Beckman won the 200 (22.96), and junior Chad Pohlman won the 400 (51.13).

The Patriots also swept the sprint relays, and senior Blake Hewitt added a first in shot put (44-4½).

Click for full results.

PHOTOS: (Top) Gladstone’s Calvin Thibault powers through the finish to take first in the 300 hurdles, while teammate James McKnight follows to finish second. (Middle) Marquette’s Raphael Millado clears the bar on the way to winning the high jump.  (Photos by Cara Kamps.)