Fowler Cashes in on Another Champiopnship
June 4, 2016
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – Fowler girls track coach Jill Feldpausch might have felt like she won the lottery Saturday afternoon, even though she said she “didn’t have a winning ticket.”
The lack of a “winning ticket” that Feldpausch referred to was her team failing to have an individual champion at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals at Houseman Field. A bevy of solid performances, including three relay titles, led Fowler to first place with 56 points. Concord was second with 44, and New Lothrop was third with 38.
“We don’t have a winning ticket. We have two awesome seniors who really stepped up,” Feldpausch said. “We just do what we train for. We keep coming and working hard, and it seems like every meet they kept setting personal records one right after another.”
It was the seventh state championship for the Fowler girls program and third with Feldpausch as coach. Last year, Fowler was runner-up to Harbor Springs.
“After finishing second last year and third the year before that, our team was ready to finish it and ready to get first,” said Madison Koenigsknecht, one of those two “amazing seniors.”
Julie Thelen, the other “amazing senior,” said, “We got closer and closer every year, and this year it was like the big bang – the perfect finish – and it was just awesome. It was amazing since we all worked so hard all season.”
Koenigsknecht and Thelen ran on two of the three winning relay teams. McKenzie Koenigsknecht, younger sister of Madison, also ran on two of the winning relay teams.
“I think everybody working together in the relays really put us over the edge,” Madison Koenigsknecht said.
Fowler won the 800 relay as the Koenigsknecht sisters teamed with Thelen and Sidney Horak to win in 1 minute, 46.57 seconds. In the 1,600, it was the Koenigsknecht sisters again, this time with Thelen and Taryn Shafer to win in 4:08.23. Both the 800 and 3,200 relay teams broke school records.
That third winning relay was a collection of the classes as senior Madison Koenigsknecht, junior Ashley VanElls, sophomore Kian Becker and freshman Morgan Goerge won in 9:38.0.
“In the individual events, everybody picking up points here and there really made a difference,” Madison Koenigsknecht said.
She was one of those who helped individually as she was third in the 400 in 59.43. Thelen also took third in the 800 in 2:23.64, and Becker was sixth in the 3,200 in 1:41.59.
In the field events, Fowler sophomore Ciera Weber was fifth in the pole vault as she cleared 6-0 to break the school record. Freshman Alyssa Vandegriff was fifth in the high jump at 5-0.5, and Horak was sixth in the long jump (15-11.5).
“It’s just awesome because we’re all one family, and we all work hard and push each other,’ Madison Koenigsknecht said. “Right from the beginning of the season, we knew that this was one of our biggest goals and if we continued to work really hard and push each other that we would be able to do it.”
It was truly a team championship.
“Everybody stepped up, and I’m so proud of them,” she said. “It was all about the team aspect, and our 12 girls here all contributed.”
Concord, which finished second after placing third a year ago, was led by senior Lindsey Lehman, who repeated as champion in the 200 and also won the 100 after finishing second a year ago. She appeared a bit surprised at her victory in the 100 as she was seeded fourth coming into the meet.
“I was shocked that I won the 100,” said Lehman, whose winning time was 12.30 seconds, breaking the Division 4 meet record. “The girl who got third beat me at Regionals, and she’s a really good runner. She’s only a sophomore.”
After winning the 100, Lehman was able to set her sights on repeating as champion in the 200 in what would be the final individual event of her high school career. She won it in 25.70.
“I got out of the blocks really well, and that was one of my better races,” she said. “I just always feel good in that race.
“I wanted to prove that how much work you put in during the offseason can determine the outcome.”
Concord had another individual title. Sophomore Samantha Saenz won the 1,600 in 5 minutes, 10.89 seconds.
New Lothrop, which finished third, had a championship in the 400 relay. Skye Nancarrow, Alex Bedrosian, Sydney Pope and Caitlyn Bruff won in 50.83. Pope and Bruff are freshmen.
Ashley Hermann of Petersburgh-Summerfield repeated in the high jump by clearing 5-4, and Caylin Bonser of Harbor Springs set a Division 4 meet record in the discus with a toss of 141-6. Harbor Springs swept the throws as Erika Lechner took the shot put with a toss of 41-11.75.
Another meet record was broken in the 100 hurdles, where Mary Leighton of Mendon won in 14.53. Sophomore Baleigh Irelan of Reading added a victory in the 300 hurdles in 46.25.
Other winners in the running events included sophomore Alexandra Hannson of Brown City in the 400 (58.11), Kensington Garvey of Blanchard Montabella in the 800 (2:21.58) and Ava Strenge of Battle Creek St. Philip in the 3,200 (10:59.5).
In the field events, Sydnie Avery of Saugatuck won the pole vault at 10-3, and Akwia Tilton of Birmingham Roeper took the long jump at 17-6.
PHOTOS: (Top) Fowler's Julie Thelen (middle) works for valuable points in finishing third in the 800. (Middle) Concord's Lindsey Lehman breaks away for one of her two sprint championships. (Photos by Angie Graham/RunMichigan.com.)
Frankfort Relay Recipe Proven Winner as Panthers Seek to Extend Title Streaks
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
April 7, 2026
FRANKFORT – Frankfort may not have written the recipe for winning MHSAA Finals relay championships.
But they follow one that’s shown growing dominance in Division 4 over the last half-decade.
It starts with four student-athletes able to make strong friendship bonds. Then, lots of practice is added to develop muscle memory and mix in ways to maximize speed potential in the designated 30-meter exchange zone. And, perhaps finally, it is highly recommended to blend in near-perfect handoffs.
Frankfort has been crowned the LPD4 400-meter relay champion the last five years. The Panthers also have run the LPD4 Finals record time in the event, in 2024. And to top it off, the Panthers broke the 800 relay meet record in winning that race last spring.
The championships have come with different tight-knit combinations of runners over the years. Current junior Alice Luther, current seniors Addison Jarosz and Sofia Alaimo Schindler and 2025 graduate Gwyneth Dunaway won both championships together last season and the 400 title in 2024 as well, and first-place combinations also have included Addison Chownyk, Reagan Thor, Tara Townsend, Keyan Clapp, Grace Wolfe and Eliza Frary.
To finalize the recipe, the Panthers add optional ingredients – a golden baton and pineapple socks
Be sure though, it is the golden baton but not the same pineapple socks.
“I get different pairs, because I wear them for all my sports,” said Jarosz, now a senior, who’s been on the last three 400 relay champions along with fellow senior Alaimo Schindler. “They get worn down, but I've worn them since like seventh grade.”
Jarosz is not sure how her special socks-wearing got started. She only knows the first time produced satisfying results. She also runs middle distances with her socks on display for multiple laps.
“I think I might have gotten them as a gift because I was in middle school and going through a phase of crazy socks and stuff,” Jarosz recalls. “I had good luck so now I always wear them.”
As for the golden baton, it’s currently stored in the home of Alaimo Schindler. It got there after last year’s team competed at the Nike Outdoor National Championships in Eugene, Ore. It’s there for safe keeping and only used for relays Jarosz and Alaimo Schindler race.
“We don't let anyone else use it but us – Addie and I have been running together since middle school, and that's the baton we use,” Alaimo Schindler said. “It's just special to us, and it has one tiny dent.”
The bonds – and skills – formed over the last three years by those two and Luther are expected to bode well for the Panthers again this year.
“I think that there's always kind of pressure going into state finals, but I think that we have great coaching and we all work really hard,” admitted Luther, who also runs hurdles. “Gwen's shoe is a hard one to fill, but I think that we have good candidates who are willing to work hard to do it.”
Sophomore Riley LeVack is expected to join Luther, Jarosz and Alaimo Schindler on the shorter relays at the Regional, which the Panthers will host in late May. LeVack filled in a handful of times last spring, helping the Panthers pick up key competition points as they collected team trophies as well.
“Getting on the relay team is a big deal for the girls because this won't go on forever, and it's going to be something they'll look back on and really appreciate how good they were in high school,” said sixth-year Frankfort head track & field coach Ed Schindler. “Sophia, Alice and Addie all had it where they joined a team that had already won the state, so now it's Riley’s turn to see if she can win the state championship with them.”
The composition of the 400 and 800 teams this year will be finalized in time for the Regional. Frankfort has won every relay over the last two Regionals on the way to claiming the team titles at those meets as well. The Panthers also won the Northwest Conference last season. Those team championships in both the league and Regional were the first won by the program over more than 50 years of competition.
“All of our girls are really fast in relays because once we get to max speed, we're pretty good and manage 30 meters of exchange well,” Schindler pointed out. “We have a person on our 4x4 team that pole vaults and another one on our 4x8 that does too. They're all great athletes. When you have a good core group of maybe eight of your total 13 athletes that really score in big meets, that's gives you a shot at the state championship.”
Frankfort placed second to Fowler at last year’s LPD4 Final, its highest MHSAA Finals team finish. In addition to repeating as Regional champion, and keeping the Finals relay title strings alive, Frankfort has its eyes on a Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association team championship.
The Panthers will start the season with lots of confidence they’ll repeat their relay dominance – even if new fourth runners don’t lead to faster times than last year.
“Last year when we were competing against other teams, we were winning by a few seconds, so we have that room and space for another runner who is just a few seconds behind Gwyn,” Alaimo Schindler said. “We're really close to each other, and we hand it down each year. So I'm still I'm very confident, and I think with a lot of practice, we will get to where we were last year.”
“Our handoffs are so good it gives us just that little bit of advantage and helps us get a little bit ahead,” added Jarosz. “It just amazes me sometimes that just that little bit can do a lot.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Frankfort's Sofia Alaimo Schindler crosses the finish line first in anchoring her 800 relay to last season's Division 4 championship. (Middle) Alice Luther rounds a curve during a winning relay. (Below) From left: now-graduated Gwyneth Dunaway, Luther, Alaimo Schindler and Addison Jarosz take a photo at last year's Finals holding their golden baton. (Photos by Ken Swart/RunMichigan.com.)