Newberry Girls Follow Taylor Sisters in Going Distance Again to Clinch Repeat
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2026
KINGSFORD — The distances have been the primary strength for the Newberry girls throughout this track & field season.
That proved true again Saturday as they retained their Upper Peninsula Division 3 Finals title with 73 points. They were followed by Lake Linden-Hubbell with 58 and Big Bay de Noc with 50.
Newberry wasted no time setting the tone on this sunny and warm day with a UPD3 Finals record-setting performance in the 3,200-meter relay at 10 minutes, 15.39 seconds, topping Cedarville’s effort (10:20.07) from 20 years ago.
“Our handoffs were pretty good,” Newberry freshman Molly McNamara said. “I thought it went pretty well. We’re pretty happy about getting the U.P. record. I also got a PR by 20 seconds in the 1,600, which I’m pretty happy about. The warmer weather I think helped.”
Senior Samantha Taylor, also part of that relay, provided her team with victories in the 1,600 (5:12.89) and 3,200 (11:32.57)
Junior Abby Taylor added a season-best while placing second in the 1,600 (5:23.87), with McNamara taking third (5:32.7). Abby also ran a season-best 12:31.69 in the 3,200 and covered the 800 in 2:24.61 while taking second in both, with McNamara third in the 800 in a personal-best 2:28.4.
Samantha Taylor, who plans to continue her running career at Central Michigan University, was pleased with how this day went.
“I think it went really good,” she said. “This was a nice finish to my high school career. I wanted to do my best and finish on this note. We’re happy with how everything went. Abby and Molly had a good day, too.”
LL-H senior Maddy Dudenas won shot put with a season-best toss of 32-11¼, and sophomore Addeline Schmitt anchored the winning 400 relay which was clocked at a school-record 52.6 seconds.
“Our handoffs went real well,” Schmitt said. “It feels amazing to be part of this. Running the anchor leg is a little intense, but it’s fun overall. This has been a good year for us.”
Dollar Bay senior Kiera Isaacson cleared a school-record 5-6 in high jump, two inches higher than Big Bay de Noc sophomore Destiny Bleau’s season-best jump which tied her own school record.
Bleau set UPD3 meet records in the 200 (26.01) and 400 (58.05) and won the 100 (12.91).
Her effort in the 200 surpassed the previous best by Chassell’s Jamie Dompier (26.36) in 2012, and her 400 time topped the record set by LL-H’s Emily Jokela (58.91) two years ago.
“I had a great start again,” Bleau said. “I felt really good, then I suddenly realized I was all by myself. I knew I had to keep going (in the 400). I was hoping to get (personal records). I just had to stay focused and do it.”
Chassell sophomore Jordan Holombo established a meet record in the 100 hurdles at 15.94, which is 0.3 of a second faster than the previous 20-year-old record by LL-H’s Holly Seppala, and added a first in the 300s (46.55).
Dollar Bay junior Laila Bell took long jump at 16-1, and Stephenson senior Faith Cappaert won her final individual race as a high school runner, the 800 in a personal-best 2:24.23.
St. Ignace senior Avery Visnaw took pole vault (9-0), edging Baraga junior Elisa Delene on a tie-breaker, and Brimley senior Tallulah Slabosheski captured disc (114-11).
PHOTOS (Top) Newberry's Samantha Taylor set a UPD3 Finals record in the 3,200 with a time of 11:32.57 on Saturday. (Middle) Big Bay De Noc's Destiny Bleau breaks the UPD3 Finals record in the 200 with a time of 26.01. (Click for more from Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)
Performance of the Week: Saginaw Swan Valley's Sydney Kuhn
May 16, 2025
Sydney Kuhn ♦ Saginaw Swan Valley
Senior ♦ Track & Field
The reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals champion in the 200 and 400-meter races, Kuhn is undefeated across those two events and also the 100, 800 and 300 hurdles this spring. She ran the state's fastest 300 hurdles time this season (42.06) during last week's Tri-Valley Conference Red championship meet, winning that race by seven seconds, and she also won the 200 (24.63) by more than three seconds and ran on the first-place 1,600 relay.
Kuhn's top 400 time (53.90) also is the state's fastest in that event this season, and her best 800 (2:08.73) ranks second. She's planning to run the 200, 400, 300 hurdles and as part of the 1,600 relay at Friday's Regional at Cadillac, and notably also posted a combined three top-six Finals finishes as a freshman and a sophomore despite suffering stress fractures (one in each foot) during those first two high school seasons. Kuhn also played volleyball all four years of high school and basketball during her first two, earning all-state honorable mention and academic all-state in volleyball and all-league honorable mention in hoops. She will continue academically and on the track at University of Michigan, and intends to major in kinesiology as she studies to become a physician assistant.
@mhsaasports 🏃♀️➡️POW: Sydney Kuhn #track #undefeated #5events #swanvalley #vikings #part1 #highschoolsports #tiktalk #interview #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
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Previous 2024-25 honorees
May 8: Ryan Bosch, Fruitport baseball - Report
May 1: Jackson Lam, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix track & field - Report
April 25: Isabelle Horvath, Bangor softball - 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