Smith Sets Tone as Multi-Talented Pewamo-Westphalia Ascends Again
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
June 1, 2024
KENT CITY – Trevor Smith set the tone early for the Pewamo-Westphalia boys track & field team Saturday at Kent City.
The junior sprinter earned a narrow win in the 100 to collect early points that would prove beneficial in the Pirates’ pursuit of their latest Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship.
“It was a big win right away in the beginning, and it helped put us in a good position,” Smith said. “It was a big emotional shift, and it was unreal.
“I didn’t really expect it, but it was a big help toward our team with points. I just missed winning last year, so to come back and win it meant a lot.”
Pewamo-Westphalia kept its early advantage throughout and hung on in the end to capture the title. The Pirates, last year’s runners-up, recorded 49 points to clip second-place Clare by four points. Detroit Edison was third with 32 points.
P-W senior Gavin Nurenberg repeated in the shot put (60-02), while senior Collin Farmer added a pair of top-4 finishes in the distance events.
“Our boys had a really nice season, but this was always the focus from Day 1,” Pirates coach Scott Werner said. “We felt we had the pieces in place when we got out of Regionals, and we were just excited to attack the day.
“We are the type of program where we are good in quite a few events. We don't rely on one person. We set the tone early with unexpected points in the 3,200 relay, and it built from there.”
Farmer finished runner-up in the 3,200 and fourth in the 1,600.
“There are not a lot of teams that have good guys in the field, sprints and distance, so I think that brings a lot of peace to the team,” Farmer said. “We knew that we could trust each other, and not one person had to take control.”
Senior Dalton Brown also provided a lift with a personal record en route to a third-place finish in the shot put.
“I challenged each of the separate groups to go out and score a minimum of 15 points,” Werner said. “We had a plan and an approach for every single event, and they trusted the process and executed at the highest level. I’m proud of them.”
Clare made a late push with a strong showing in the relays, while also receiving a boost from senior Brad White. He cruised to a win in the 800 with a new personal-best time and also was part of the winning 1,600 relay.
“Honestly, I didn't expect this,” White said. “I came into today pressure-free. I’ve already accomplished everything I could ever want in a season, and I'm just as happy as I can be to come out here and do something special, especially in my last high school race. I’m proud of my team and my PR.”
North Muskegon senior Jerry Wiegers repeated in the 400 by edging Geoffrey McBurrow of Detroit Edison. Wiegers also won the 200.
“There was a lot of pressure (to repeat), and I was worried on the whole ride here that I was going to screw up and I was going to have to hand the title to someone else,” Wiegers said. “But when I finally passed the finish line and I won, I was like, ‘I did this again, in my final year in high school.’ It was a good way to cap off my career.”
Coloma senior Boden Genovese (1,600) and Grayling senior Drew Moore (3,200) won the distance races, and Napoleon senior Holden Van Poppel (110) and Elk Rapids junior Max Ward (300) were hurdles champions. Standish-Sterling (400), Edison (800) and Traverse City St. Francis (3,200) also won relays. Lawton junior Mason Mayne (discus), Ovid-Elsie junior Tryce Tokar (pole vault) and Clare sophomore Conan Weeks (long jump) were other field event winners. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett senior Jake Juip (100 and 200), Montague junior Wyatt Fairchild (400) and Perry senior Alec Chapman (shot put) won the adaptive event championships.
PHOTOS (Top) Pewamo-Westphalia's Trevor Smith, center, edges Dearborn Advanced Technology's Cobey Cureton and University Liggett's Santino Cicarella, among others, in the 100 on Saturday. (Middle) Ovid-Elsie's Tryce Tokar attempts a vault amid the rainy conditions. (Click for more from Jamie McNinch/RunMichigan.com.)
Performance of the Week: Kalamazoo Loy Norrix's Jackson Lam
May 1, 2025
Jackson Lam ♦ Kalamazoo Loy Norrix
Junior ♦ Track & Field
Running on his home track Friday during the annual Don Lukens Invitational, Lam broke Loy Norrix's 57-year-old record in the 1,600 with a winning time of 4:13.32. The historic performance came at the first Lukens meet since the legendary coach's death last Sept. 15, and Lam finished nearly 15 ahead of the field. He also ran on the winning 3,200 relay.
The school record was Lam's second, as he was also part of the Norrix all-time best 3,200 relay finish as a freshman. The 1,600 time Friday bested that of Gary Harris from 1968, which was the oldest on Loy Norrix's record board, and Lam's time ranks as the fifth-fastest in the state this season regardless of division. He reached the MHSAA Finals as part of the 3,200 relay in 2023 and running the 1,600 a year ago, and he finished 12th at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Cross Country Finals this past fall.
@mhsaasports 🏃POW: Jackson Lam #loynorrix #running #record #breaker #1600m #57years #track&field #part1 #highschoolsports #tiktalk #interview #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
@mhsaasports 🏃POW: Jackson Lam #twix #chocolatemilk #grantfisher #hobbskessler #dog #skullemoji #laughingcrying #michigan #part2 #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys - Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
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Previous 2024-25 honorees
April 25: Isabelle Horvath, Bangor - Report
April 18: Presley Jones, Sterling Heights Stevenson soccer - Report
April 11: Olivia Jasniewicz, Troy soccer - Report
March 27: Katie Spicer, Fowler basketball - Report
March 21: Moses & Markus Blackwell; Warren Lincoln basketball - Report
March 13: Keyshawn Summerville, Lansing Sexton basketball - Report
March 6: Maggie Buurma, Fowlerville wrestling - Report
Feb. 28: Maren Studt, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep skiing - Report
Feb. 21: Olive Krueger, Marquette swimming - Report
Feb. 14: Hunter Lemmon, Fraser swimming - Report
Feb. 7: Aubrey Hillard, Rochester competitive cheer - Report
Jan. 31: Wyatt Spalo, Reed City wrestling - Report
Jan. 24: Olivia Flynn, Harbor Springs basketball - Report
Jan. 17: Levi Rozema, Holland Christian swimming - Report
Jan. 10: McRecco McFadden, Burton Bentley basketball - Report
Dec. 18: Nash Leonard, Bay City Western hockey - Report
Dec. 11: Blake Cosby, Dundee wrestling - Report
Dec. 4: Keaton Hendricks, Zeeland West football - Report
Nov. 29: Kate Simon, East Grand Rapids swimming - Report
Nov. 22: Ella Kokaly, Essexville Garber volleyball - Report
Nov. 15: Caroline Bryan, Grosse Pointe South swimming - Report
Nov. 8: Kaylie Livingston, Whitmore Lake cross country - Report
Oct. 25: Oliver Caldwell, Grand Rapids West Catholic tennis - Report
Oct. 18: Alex Graham, Detroit Cass Tech football - Report
Oct. 11: Victoria Garces, Midland Dow cross country - Report
Oct. 4: Asher Clark, Bay City John Glenn soccer - Report
Sept. 26: Campbell Flynn, Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball - Report
Sept. 19: TJ Hansen, Freeland cross country - Report
Sept. 12: Jordan Peters, Grayling soccer - Report
Sept. 6: Gabe Litzner, Sault Ste. Marie cross country - Report
Aug. 30: Grace Slocum, Traverse City St. Francis golf - Report
(Action photo by Graig Stacy. Headshot by RunMichigan.com.)