Perfection: Negaunee Girls Finish Undefeated Record-Setting Season as Repeat Champs
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 17, 2026
NEGAUNEE — This was a highly-successful track & field season for the Negaunee girls, to say the least.
The Miners finished first in every meet they ran, completing a perfect spring by retaining their Upper Peninsula Division 1 Finals title May 30 at Kingsford.
The team set eight school records during the season, including a pair by junior Keira Waterman. Her record in the 800 (2:19.78) took place at the U.P. Finals, and she broke the 400 with the top performance (58.5) at the Negaunee Lions Invitational on May 8.
“We had lots of fun,” she said. “I think the season just went by so fast. I was pretty confident we would do well. It feels great to get the school records, which is sometimes unexpected. We were so supportive of each other. This was a fun group to be with.”
Junior Sadie Rogers set a U.P. Finals and school record in the 300-meter hurdles in 45.04 seconds and established an additional school record in the 200 (26.21). Rogers also holds the school record in the 100 hurdles (15.75), which she set a year ago.
She is now a three-time U.P. champion in the 100 hurdles and a repeat winner in the 300.
“You just think about the next hurdle and go on,” she said. “I try not to stutter-step, and get into a rhythm. The 100 is such a fast race. There’s no margin for error. I had a good finish in the Finals, which I think set the tone.”
In the 200, Rogers was runner-up to Marquette freshman Jordyn Anthony who was clocked in a personal-best 26.11 seconds.
The Miners set a school and league scoring record in the Mid-Peninsula Conference meet at Gwinn with a whopping 317 points. Manistique was runner-up at 85.
“We scratched three of our top runners because we were going after the (school) 400 record,” junior Izzy Francisco said. “We got that by six seconds and were surprised by that, but I’d say our biggest highlight was the Lions meet because we didn’t know if we were ready to go. Winning that meet made us realize we were right where we wanted to be.”
Rogers, Waterman, Riley Conklin and Brynn Wieciech combined to set the school record in the 1,600 relay (4:02.64) while putting the finishing touches on their 16th consecutive M-PC title.
“One of our goals is to get under four minutes next year,” Rogers said. “I think it’s cool that our team is so deep.”
Beside winning the M-PC, the Miners were crowned Western Peninsula Athletic Conference champions for the fifth-straight time.
“These girls are very competitive,” coach Vickie Paupore said. “I never saw so much depth among the hurdlers. We were down by 10 points early in the U.P. Finals. We really got pushed by Marquette. Kiera ran the perfect race in the 800. I never had a girl go under 2:20 (through 30 years of coaching).”
Francisco joined Rogers, Waterman and sophomore Elvira Coyne in the 400 relay which set the school record at 50.47 in the Marquette County Meet on May 26.
“It felt good to do that,” Coyne said. “We weren’t really going for the record. It just happened to work out. We always supported and pushed each other and went into the U.P. Finals with a positive mindset. Marquette was our biggest challenge, especially in the distances. Our hard work paid off. It was a lot of fun receiving the (championship) trophy.”
Coyne also set a school record while placing second in the 100 (12.61) at the Finals, topping last year’s record run by Macyn DellAngelo by one tenth of a second.
Junior Priya Morey earned her first U.P. title with a throw of 110 feet, 5 inches in discus.
“I think last year’s experience helped me a lot,” she said. “I had a lot better idea of what to expect. Having my teammates there also helped a lot. Last year I was there to have fun. This time there was a little more pressure.”
Morey says winning the Ram Scram at Harbor Springs on April 24 was a major motivator for the team.
“That was a confidence builder,” she added. “Our coaches just put in so much work to make a happy environment. When we went downstate, our coach came over and watched us because the timing of everything allowed her to do that. She’s such a motivator and great leader. We had such a great time this season. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to throw.”
Rogers was the team’s leading scorer this season with 229¼ points. Waterman collected 213¼, followed by Coyne 195¼, senior Nori Korsman 177¼ and senior Josie Mechling 132. Korsman also is the owner of the school’s pole vault record at 10 feet and finished her career with more than 500 points.
Waterman recently competed at the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association Champions of Champions meet at Davison, where she placed fourth in her 800 race.
“That was quite a learning experience,” she said.
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Negaunee's Keira Waterman reacts to breaking the school record in the 1,600 relay (with Sadie Rogers, Riley Conklin, and Brynn Wieciech) as she crosses the finish line during the Mid-Peninsula Conference finals May 18 at Gwinn. (Middle) Negaunee's Sadie Rogers leads and eventually wins the 100 hurdles April 21 at Marquette. (Below) The Miners pose for a team photo after winning the UP Division 1 Finals championship May 30 at Kingsford. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)
Reeths-Puffers' Depies Rewrites Records
May 11, 2016
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
The Greater Muskegon Athletic Association City Track Meet began in 1954, within days of Roger Bannister busting through the 4-minute mile barrier. So breaking a meet record is a big deal.
That perspective is necessary to truly appreciate what Muskegon Reeths-Puffer junior distance runner Maryssa Depies accomplished Friday at the 63rd annual meet at Holton High School.
Depies broke not one, not two, not three, but four meet records that evening – and since individuals are limited to competing in four events, it’s a performance which will never be surpassed. Depies powered the Rockets’ girls team to its 11th city championship over the past 12 years.
“I guess it proved to me what I can do when I’m mentally prepared,” said Depies, who ran the anchor leg of R-P’s winning 3,200-meter relay, then won three straight individual events – the 1,600, 800 and 3,200.
“It was a perfect night, perfect weather. The records just kind of built on each other – once I got one, I figured I should go after another one.”
Reeths-Puffer girls track coach Gary Niklasch knew his team was a safe bet to win the meet (R-P ended up 88 points ahead of second-place Whitehall), so he felt it was a good time to see how his standout junior could handle doing the four longest events in a single meet.
“It was first time we really turned her loose in all four events,” Niklasch said.
Her big day started by anchoring the Rockets’ wide victory in the 3,200 relay, where she joined with teammates Lilah Parker, Jayme Brantsen and Kendra Irvine to win in 9:36.23, breaking an 18-year-old record by a whopping 18 seconds.
The relay wins are the most special for Depies, because they are part of a team effort with her friends and the culmination of all the hard work they put in with Reeths-Puffer distance coach Dee Richardson, who is also the school’s cross country coach.
“He is like a second dad to me,” said Depies, the daughter of Grant and Laree Depies. “He plants the seed in all of us, letting us know all of the things we can accomplish. Then it’s up to us to go out and do it.”
Her first individual race that day was the 1,600, which she has never considered her best distance. But after posting one of the state’s best times this season (5:03.06), Depies and her coaches are starting to wonder whether the mile might be her ideal race for the upcoming Regional and MHSAA Finals meets.
Next came the 800 meters, where her time of 2:19.51 broke the oldest girls city meet record, the yard-converted time of 2:20.8 recorded by Amy Laswell of Mona Shores in 1977.
By the time the meet reached the 3,200-meter run, the second-to-last event, any drama surrounding the battle for the team title was long gone and the crowd was aware that individual history was about to be made.
Depies appreciated the cheers from spectators from all of the area schools, and really appreciated that the announcer knew how to say her last name correctly (pronounced Depp-pis).
Despite already winning three long events, and having a quick turnaround after the 800 meters, Depies dug deep and fed off the crowd to break the meet record she had set one year ago by more than 10 seconds, winning in 11:04.72.
“Maryssa only does things one way and that’s all-in,” said Niklasch. “She has made steady improvement since her freshman year. She has built up her strength, and that is why she was able to break all four records.”
Bigger challenges await the 17-year-old, starting Thursday with the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black meet at Reeths-Puffer. The featured race will be the 1,600, where Depies is expected to race her friend Madison Goen of Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills in a matchup of two of the state’s top milers.
Area track fans do not have to go far to watch Depies compete in any of her remaining big meets. Her Division 1 Regional is May 20 at Grand Haven, the Meijer West Michigan Invitational is May 25 at Reeths-Puffer and the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals are June 4 at Hudsonville.
Depies and her coaches are eager to see how she will match up against the top runners from around the state.
Depies is something of a late bloomer on the state distance-running scene. She first started running near the end of elementary school in the “Girls on the Run” program, and says it wasn’t until her sophomore year of cross country, when she first dipped under 19 minutes, that “a light bulb kind of switched on” and she realized she could be really good.
Niklasch hopes her record-setting performance at the city meet is another defining moment for Depies, and will propel her to new heights at the regional and state level.
Depies said she is just enjoying having fun and having success doing something she loves.
“Everyone has their escape in life, and for me, it’s running,” she said. “When I’m sitting in school all day, I’m like a big wad of energy just waiting to be released.”
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 junior Maryssa Depies competes at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association City Track Meet on Friday, May 6, at Holton High School. Depies won four events and set city meet records in all four - 800 meters, 1,600 meters, 3,200 meters and anchoring the winning 3,200-meter relay. (Middle) Depies (third from left) poses with teammates after winning four events. The Reeths-Puffer girls won the city title for the 11th time in the past 12 years. (Photos by Tim Reilly.)