Reeths-Puffer ‘Ironman’ Slows Down to Help Team Surge
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
May 6, 2021
Klay Grant’s strategy going into last week’s Greater Muskegon Athletic Association city track meet seemed, at first, counterintuitive.
“My plan was to try and run each event as slow as possible,” said Grant, a junior at Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, before adding:
“And still win.”
His plan to conserve energy – essentially sacrificing fast times for himself to try and gather as many points as possible for his team – worked to perfection as Grant became the first athlete in the 65-year history of the GMAA meet to take first place in the four longest events.
Grant’s “Ironman” performance and four first-place finishes accounted for 40 of his team’s 132 points, helping the Rockets edge six-time reigning champion Fruitport and win the meet for the first time since 2006.
Grant started his record-breaking night by running the anchor leg on R-P’s winning 3,200-meter relay team (8:40.84), then followed with wins in the open 1,600 (4:42.94), 800 (2:07.25) and 3,200 (10:29.69).
“Klay is all about the team,” explained Reeths-Puffer boys track coach Don Ketner, who is in his 15th year. “He’s the kind of kid that would give the shirt off of his back for you, and that’s basically what we asked him to do on Friday night.”
The GMAA Meet, known locally simply as the “City Meet,” dates back to the 1950s, and during its long history many male and female athletes have won four events. However, that feat normally happens with sprinters in short events and relays or with an athlete who picks up a win or two in the field events before the running finals begin.
Grant was the first to capture all four of the longest running events, but he said that individual feat was secondary. He said the best part was helping to deliver a memorable night for Reeths-Puffer, as his family is heavily invested in the Muskegon County school district and its track & field and cross country programs.
Both of his parents, Darren and Angie Grant, are Reeths-Puffer graduates and runners who went on to run in college at Indiana Wesleyan and now teach and coach in the R-P district. Darren Grant, who teaches fifth grade, is the Rockets’ head cross country coach and assistant boys track coach. Angie Grant teaches special education at the middle school and is the head girls track coach.
“It was fun to be a part of such a great night,” said Grant, 17, who plans to go into the ministry and pursue Biblical studies in college. “Faith encompasses everything that I do, so it felt great to use my gifts to help out my teammates and coaches.”
Grant, who is also laser-focused in the classroom with a gaudy 4.333 GPA, is the third of four children. His older siblings are Cole and Kenna, and younger brother Kye is a talented runner on the Reeths-Puffer middle school team.
While running has always been a part of his life because of his parents, his primary sport growing up was soccer. In fact, it wasn’t until last year that he focused exclusively on track and cross country, which is why he believes he can greatly improve his times.
Perhaps the key race of the entire GMAA meet last week was the opening 3,200-meter relay, which Fruitport was favored to win. Ketner gambled that by putting Grant on the anchor leg, he might be able to catch up and pass Fruitport.
As it turned out, strong performances on the first three legs by freshmen Jackson Allen and Tate Bradley and senior Caden Tufts had the Rockets in the lead when Grant got the baton – allowing him to cruise to the tape and make a major statement in the process.
Grant then had a nice stretch of time to rest before his next race, the 1,600, but that was the first of three long races over a short period of time.
After pulling away from Jackson Helmer of Mona Shores in the 1,600, Grant had just three events of rest before getting back on the track for the 800 – the event he will likely focus on for the upcoming Ottawa-Kent Conference Green meet May 13 and the Division 2 Regional on May 20.
Then came the shortest turnaround of the night, with just the quick 200-meter run coming between the 800 and the 3,200.
Grant knew he could empty the tank in the 3,200, and it didn’t take long for Grant and his senior teammate and training partner Brett Schlaff to separate themselves from the rest of the field. With those two running 1-2 ahead of the pack, it was clear that the Rockets would pick up 18 points in that event and clinch the meet title.
The only drama remaining was whether Grant would make history or if the fresher Schlaff would prevail.
“With about 300 meters to go they were still close and I said out loud: ‘Klay is so nice, he’s going to let Brett win,’” said Ketner.
Grant ended up pulling away over the final 200 meters to win the race and make history. Schlaff took a strong second, and the Rockets were on top of the Muskegon city track world for the first time in 15 years.
“My times were nothing special that night, that’s for sure,” said Grant. “But this meet wasn’t about me. This meet was all about the team.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Klay Grant (1) competes in the 800-meter run at the Rocket Invitational on April 16 at Reeths-Puffer. Grant won the race. (Middle) Grant cruises to victory in the 1,600-meter run at the GMAA city meet. (Photos by Payden Challinor.)
Reeths-Puffer's 'Marvin Moore Experience' On Track for Memorable Finish
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
May 14, 2026
Not many high school kids have started their own non-profit organization.
But, then again, there are not many kids quite like Muskegon Reeths-Puffer senior Marvin Moore – who as a sophomore founded Rocket-Powered Positive Path Forward, Inc. (Rocket-Powered.org) a nonprofit committed to igniting young people’s confidence, fueling their potential and launching them toward brighter futures.
“I wanted to help kids not get discouraged by seeing negative things online or get down on themselves if it seems like other kids are having all of the success,” said the soft-spoken Moore. “I just want to be there for other people.”
Moore somehow finds time to grow and develop the organization while playing three sports and maintaining a 3.977 GPA, with a schedule packed with Advanced Placement classes.
He is best known as a basketball player, a three-year varsity starter and 1,000-point career scorer for the Rockets. Moore, a 6-foot, 175-pound guard, will play college basketball next year at Kalamazoo College.
“I challenged the younger guys in our program,” said R-P boys basketball coach JR Wallace, who recently completed his second year as varsity coach. “I told them: Marvin is leaving us, but he showed you how to do it, with great humility and the attitude of doing whatever he can for the team.”
Moore was also a standout receiver in football who was having a breakout season as a junior – including during a memorable win over Grand Rapids Union when he caught a touchdown pass, ran for another TD, intercepted a pass and had a long kickoff return. Unfortunately, his season was cut short by a dislocated shoulder against Byron Center – and he decided to not play football his senior year for fear of re-injuring that shoulder and jeopardizing his senior basketball season.
He is now one of the Muskegon area’s top track & field athletes, entering Friday’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Regional at Zeeland as the top seed in the 400-meter dash after a couple of big wins over the past couple of weeks.
Moore achieved one of his main goals earlier this month by winning the 400 at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association city meet.
Last week, he edged Jenison’s Kole Bassler to win the 400 at the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green meet with a personal-best time of 49.97.
He was able to post that sub-50 second time despite running it right after helping his team to a conference title in the 800-meter relay and also running the second leg of the 400-meter relay.
“He’s always been a little bit tired running the 400 in our big meets so far,” explained R-P boys track coach Don Ketner, who is also hoping for a big day Friday from senior Mason Darke, the top seed in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles. “This Friday, we will finally be getting the full Marvin Moore experience, and we’ll see how low he can go.”
Ketner believes Moore has a shot to eclipse the 300 school record of 48.88, set by Jared Meier in 2008.
Moore, who ranks sixth on the school’s career basketball scoring list with 1,095 points, would love to add his name to the track school record board in the gym which has meant so much to him throughout his life.
He was first moved up to the varsity basketball team late in his freshman year, and truly emerged as a sophomore – averaging 10 points for a Puffer team which finished 19-4 and co-champion of the O-K Green.
R-P lost a loaded senior class after that season (notably current Central Michigan athletes Jaxson Whitaker and Travis Ambrose), and with the Rockets in somewhat of a rebuilding mode, several athletes transferred to other schools.
“There were some schools that reached out and asked me to go there, but I started my whole career at Reeths-Puffer and I wanted to end it here at Reeths-Puffer,” said Moore, the son of Marvin and Kathy Moore, who plans to major in accounting in college. “I wanted to stay with my friends and be there for them and support them any way possible.”
The Rockets struggled on the basketball court the past two seasons, but Moore certainly provided some bright spots. He was a three-time all-conference pick and an MLive Muskegon Area Dream Team selection this past year, averaging 20 points per game despite facing constant double teams.
Moore helped his team snap an 11-game losing streak on Jan. 24, scoring 15 of his game-high 24 points during the fourth quarter including a floater off the glass as time expired in a 65-63 win over visiting East Grand Rapids.
Two weeks later, Moore scored 37 points and almost single-handedly helped the Rockets erase a 10-point deficit against Caledonia over the final three minutes, driving for a bucket during the final seconds in a 65-62 win. He remembers a huge student section was going crazy that night at R-P’s Dan Beckeman Arena, and that excitement carried over to a school dance after the game.
“That was such a fun night all the way around and something I will never forget,” said Moore, who was awarded the prestigious Lux Esto Scholarship at Kalamazoo College.
“We had a lot of losses the past couple of years, but honestly, I will never forget so many of those Friday nights. It was so much fun playing at home and having the whole community there for us.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s Marvin Moore, middle, runs the inside lane during a meet this season. (Middle) Moore lines up for a free throw. (Below) Moore breaks away on a run against Grand Rapids Union. (Photos by Joe Lane.)