Inspiration Fuels Windemuller's Pursuit
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
June 3, 2017
ZEELAND – It hasn’t been easy at Holland Christian this school year. Certainly not as easy as Kayla Windemuller made it look on the track Saturday.
Windemuller pulled off a rare triple as the junior defended her titles in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs and ran anchor on the winning 3,200 relay (9:09.41) at the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Track & Field Finals at Zeeland.
Five people associated with Holland Christian schools died this school year. One was a 13-year-old girl and two were teachers, and it’s something Windemuller and everyone associated with the schools can’t forget.
“It’s tough at the school,” Windemuller said. “In some meets during the season it’s tough to run. When I run in those I think of them. They inspire me. I run for them.”
Windemuller is an inspiration to any young runner, distance or otherwise. She set a personal record in the mile (4:52.60) and, although she came up short of her goal in the 3,200 run (10:49.90), it was a day to savor.
“I was concerned about the heat, but it didn’t affect me too much,” she said. “It’s amazing to defend my title(s). I really like (running) the two mile. I’m more of a distance girl.
‘My goal was to get under 10:40. At the start I felt pretty good. That’s OK. I ran a PR in the mile. It is a long day, but it’s nice to have the meet spaced out. We run the relay in the morning, and then the races get slower as the day goes on. The day, overall, was awesome. I’m not happy with the times. The three state titles are sweet.”
Team title No. 2
Lansing Waverly competed well but luck also played a part in its second consecutive title.
Waverly had no individual winners, but did place first in two relays (400 and 800) to win with 47 points. Zeeland East was second with 46, and Holland Christian was third with 34.
Here’s how some of the drama played out.
Due to injuries Waverly coach Rex Wilkes, Jr., had to shuffle his lineup on the relays. The Warriors had the fastest time in the division in the 1,600 relay entering the Finals, but Wilkes made the decision not to compete in the event while attempting to save his top runners for other races.
It worked, but just barely.
“I knew we could score around 50 (points),” he said. “I just didn’t know what the other teams would do. We got some extra points in the shot. We got 10 there. And then I was told that Priscilla (Trainor) had to finish third or higher in the 200 for us to win.”
Trainor finished third. That’s not all. Suenomi Norinh of Zeeland East finished tied for first in the 100 hurdles with times measured out to hundredths of a second; to break the tie, it was determined she finished second by two thousandths of a second.
“Sometimes it’s good to be great,” Wilkes said. “Sometimes it’s good to be lucky.”
Norinh, a junior, did take first in the high jump (5-foot-8) and was second in the long jump.
Double winner
Liz Pyles of Cadillac placed third in both the discus and shot put last season as a junior, and she took that experience to place first in the shot with a put of 45 feet, 4 inches, a personal best, and won the discus with a throw of 146-3.
“I’m so happy,” she said. “I had three new PRs today (in the shot put). I’m so pleased.
“Last year was something to build upon. I worked with my coach. I worked in the weight room. I went to a bunch of camps. I’m real serious about this.”
Pyles signed with Grand Valley State University and expects to compete in both events. She qualified for the MHSAA Finals in the shot put all four seasons and the discus three times. Even so, she doesn’t have a favorite.
“It depends on the season,” she said.
Catching up quickly
Zoe Eby of Carleton Airport is a notorious slow starter. And when you’re competing in the 100 dash, that usually doesn’t bode well.
Eby got off to a poor start again but managed to come back to win the race with a time of 12.11.
“The last 30 meters was really close,” she said. “When I got off to that start I thought I would (finish) in the middle of the pack. I honestly don’t know how I did it.”
Eby, a junior, also defended her title in the 200. As a freshman she won the 400. She doesn’t compete in that event anymore.
“It’s not my niche,” she said.
Switching gears
Jakarri Alven of Grand Rapids Catholic Central wasn’t at her best Saturday. She said she had to pull out of the 200 because she was feeling ill.
Nevertheless, she won the 400 (56.48), a race she also won last year as a freshman, and she ran anchor on the winning 1,600 relay.
“I’m better at the longer distances,” she said. “But I like the (200). I got off to a good start today (in the 400). It’s the longer distances that I can work through better. I guess I’m better at it.”
Waiting pays off
Waiting for the other competitors to complete their jumps in the long jump was getting to Taylor Dziatczak of Macomb Lutheran North. Dziatczak had used up her tries and stood in first place with a jump of 17 feet, 11½ inches.
“It was a nail-biter,” she said. “A couple of girls who were close had a couple more jumps left. The girl from Zeeland East (Norinh) had three more left. I had to go to some deep breathing to stay calm.”
Dziatczak, who placed second last year, did hold on for first.
The long jump isn’t her best event, and it’s really not second as far as favorites. The javelin is tops with her. Dziatczak is a two-time AAU All-American in the javelin and has signed with Ashland University in Ohio to compete in the heptathlon. That’s seven events, in case you’re wondering. She placed in the javelin as a sophomore nationally in her age group and was third this year. Dziatczak, who is 17 years old, pointed out she moved up to the 18-and-under age group this year.
She just started competing in the heptathlon two years ago.
Her second favorite event is the 200 dash. The other events are the 100 hurdles, 800 run, high jump and shot put.
“I ran. I jumped. I figured why not do all of the others?” she said.
Why not indeed.
Record vaulter
Spring Lake senior Gabriella LeRoux set the only meet record in Lower Peninsula Division 2 for this season, pole vaulting 12 feet, 6 inches to break Kristen Hixson's mark of 12-4 set in 2010 while competing for Remus Chippewa Hills.
LeRoux's best this season heading into the meet was 12-0. A junior, she also won the pole vault championship in 2016 and was second in 2015 to her older sister Allie.
PHOTO: Holland Christian's Kayla Windemuller stays a pace ahead of Tecumseh's Christina Sawyer during one of their two races against each other Saturday. (Photo by Janina Pollatz/RunMichigan.com.)
Preview: Jokela's Final Lap Leading Way, but Many More Stars Also Ready to Shine
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 29, 2025
Spectators and competitors will get one more opportunity to watch Lake Linden-Hubbell 10-time champion Emily Jokela at Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Girls track & Field Finals – but also should keep an eye on several more standouts at Kingsford High School, including a few just getting started on potentially magnificent careers.
Jokela will seek to add to her career collection and also lead her team to a third-straight championship in Division 3. But champions from a combined 19 individual events in 2024 will be back this weekend, plus a group of freshman sprinters who are sure to make noise as we head into the second half of this decade.
All three divisions will be hosted by Kingsford High School, with preliminaries leading off the day at 9 a.m. local (Central) time. Tickets cost $11 and are available digitally only via GoFan.
MHSAA.tv will live-stream the meets beginning at 9 a.m. (CDT)/10 a.m. (EDT), viewable with subscription. Check out the Girls Track & Field page for meet information and lists of all qualifiers. Those described as "seeded" below have received those seeds based on Regional performances or early qualification during the regular season.
Following is a glance at team contenders and individuals to watch in all three divisions:
Division 1
Team forecast: Sault Ste. Marie last spring became the third school in three seasons to win the Division 1 title, following Marquette in 2023 and Negaunee in 2022. Marquette and Negaunee won the two Division 1 Regionals earlier this month, but Gladstone – third last season – could make a push to become a fourth different champion in four seasons with favorites across several running events and potential field-event points especially in pole vault.
Ella Bracket, Gladstone freshman: Along with senior teammate Lauren Sundquist, Bracket gives Gladstone potential dominance in sprints with the top seed times in the 200 (26.89) and 400 (1:02.08) and running with Sundquist as part of the top-seeded 400 (52.56) and 800 (1:52.96) relays.
Ella Fure, Marquette junior: Last season’s champion in the 1,600 and runner-up in the 3,200 is top-seeded in the 3,200 (11:57.24), third in the 1,600 (5:33.35) and will again run the 800 after finishing seventh in that race last spring.
Maija Maki-Warne, Marquette senior: She could finish her career in a big way after running on two third-place relays at last year’s Finals. Maki-Warne is seeded first in the 1,600 (5:25.82) and 800 (2:27.69) and second in the 3,200 (11:59.25), and will run on the top-seeded 1,600 relay (4:18.06).
Tessa Rautiola, Houghton junior: The reigning 3,200 champion also finished second in the 1,600 and ran on the winning 3,200 relay last season. She’s seeded fourth in both the 3,200 (12:48.67) and 1,600 (5:35.47), seventh in the 800 and will run on the top-seeded 3,200 relay (10:52.72).
Sadie Rogers, Negaunee sophomore: She made her Finals debut last season with a championship in the 100 hurdles and runner-up finish in the 300, and she’s seeded first in both the 100 hurdles (16.62) and 300 hurdles (48.13), fourth in the 200 (27.68) and will run on the third-seeded 400 relay.
Keira Waterman, Negaunee sophomore: She’s also coming back off a championship debut after winning the 400, 800, finishing second in the 200 and fourth in the 100 in 2024. She’s seeded second in the 400 (1:02.52), sixth in the 800, will long jump and run on the 1,600 relay this weekend.
Division 2
Team forecast: Bark River-Harris has won the last three Division 2 championships, but the Broncos finished only third at their Regional behind champion Pickford and runner-up Munising. Pickford ranks third all-time with 14 U.P. Finals titles but is seeking its first since 2007. West Iron County won the Division 2 title in 2021 and finished runner-up in both 2022 and 2024, and should be in the mix again after edging Ironwood to win the other Regional in this division two weeks ago.
Lauren Adams, Norway junior: She’s seeded first in the 100 (13.97), 200 (29.02) and 400 (1:05.85) and will run on the third-seeded 400 relay. She finished fourth in the 100 and 200 and third in the 400 in Division 3 as a sophomore.
Mira Johnson, Bark River-Harris sophomore: She won the pole vault and ran on two championship relays to cap an impressive freshman season, and she’s back as the top seed in the pole vault (7-6) and running on the 1,600 relay.
Talya Schreiber, Pickford junior: The reigning champion in the 1,600 and 3,200 and runner-up in the 800 could double her career haul. She’s seeded first in the 1,600 (5:33.10) and 3,200 (11:48.82), third in then 800 (2:36.22) and will run on the top-seeded 3,200 relay (11:16.56).
Bristol Shamion, West Iron County freshman: The Shamion family has dominated U.P. track this decade, and Bristol will join junior sister Lacey Shamion among the team’s likely scorers Saturday. Bristol enters her first Finals seeded first in the high jump (5-0) and 300 hurdles (51.64) and second in the 100 hurdles (18.05) and 200 (29.12).
Emma Wardon, Ironwood junior: The reigning shot put champ and fifth-place finisher in discus is seeded first in shot put (33-11) and second in discus (89-3½) this time.
Division 3
Team forecast: Lake Linden-Hubbell has won the last two championships, sharing with Stephenson in 2023 and winning outright last season. Both were among Regional champions earlier this month, along with Rapid River and Newberry – with Newberry coming off last year’s runner-up Finals finish and potentially possessing the running firepower to pull away for a first Finals title since 2015.
Destiny Bleau, Big Bay de Noc freshman: She won the 200, finished second in the 100 and third in the high jump as an eighth grader, and returns as the top seed in the 200 (26.49), sixth in the 100 and seventh in the high jump.
Faith Cappaert, Stephenson junior: The reigning champion in the 800 also finished third in the 1,600, fifth in the 400 and ran on a runner-up relay last year. She’s back as the fifth seed in all three open races and running on the second-seeded 3,200 relay.
Ava Fischer, Crystal Falls Forest Park junior: She was another big scorer last season winning the 100 hurdles, finishing second in the 300 hurdles, fifth in the pole vault and running on a runner-up relay. She’s seeded second in the 100 hurdles (16.92) and also will compete in the pole vault, 300 and 1,600 relay.
Kiera Isaacson, Dollar Bay junior: Last season’s high jump champion is top-seeded (5-3) in that event and will again run two relays.
Emily Jokela, Lake Linden-Hubbell senior: She’s finishing up a legendary career as one of seven athletes to win four individual events at a Finals, which she did in 2023 before adding titles in the 100, 400 and 300 hurdles last season and a runner-up finish in the 200. She’s seeded first in the 100 hurdles (16.56), second in the 300 hurdles (49.22) and 100 dash (13.05), and fourth in the 400.
Mariska Laurila, Carney-Nadeau senior: She’s won the discus the last two seasons, added a shot put title last year and also finished third in the long jump. She’ll compete in all three again, with the top seed in the discus (105-11) and third seed in the shot put (31-10).
Samantha Taylor, Newberry junior: She’s the reigning champion in the 1,600 and as part of the 3,200 relay, and top-seeded this weekend in the 1,600 (5:14.06) and 3,200 (11:21.07) while potentially running on the top-seeded 1,600 (4:28.60) and 3,200 (10:51.53) relays.
PHOTO Negaunee's Sadie Rogers carries the baton across the finish line to give her team a win in the 800 relay at the Marquette County Meet earlier this month. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)