Preview: Anticipating New Title Possibilities
June 1, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
With power programs shifting into different divisions and the next contenders emerging, Saturday’s MHSAA Girls Track & Field Finals appear full of opportunities to shake up the standings and watch a new batch of champions shine.
Below is a look at some of the teams and individuals to watch at Saturday’s girls meets. All events begin at 9 a.m. local time on both peninsulas.
Click for meet information including all qualifiers. Check out MHSAA.TV for live streaming of running events from both peninsulas, available with subscription, and come back Saturday night for results as they come in and coverage of all seven meets on Second Half.
The MHSAA Track & Field Finals are presented by the Michigan Army National Guard. (All times/measurements referenced below were achieved during Regional competition.)
LP Division 1 at East Kentwood
Top Regional scores: 1. Rockford 204, 2. East Kentwood 190 2/3, 3. Northville 177.
Oak Park won three straight LPD1 titles from 2014-16 and finished runner-up four points back a year ago. Lansing Waverly won the last two LPD2 championships but moved into LPD1 this season. East Kentwood was third and Rockford fourth a year ago, and both figure to be in the mix again this weekend as well.
Lansing Waverly: Senior Malin Smith and sophomore Priscilla Trainor provide plenty of star power for the Warriors. Smith is seeded second in both the shot put (46-8½) and discus (135-9), and Trainor is seeded second (tied) in the 100 (12.15), first in the 200 (24.77) and fifth in the 400 (57.35).
Oak Park: The Knights have the top-seeded 800 (1:38.6), 1,600 (3:56.7) and 3,200 (9:23.2) relays, plus the second-seeded 400 relay (47.68). Oak Park won the 400, 800 and 1,600 relays at last year’s Finals. Senior Miyah Brooks (57.06) and freshman Jada Rountree (57.08) ran the two fastest 400 Regional times in the division, and senior Doriann Coleman posted the second-fastest in the 800 (2:13.52) and won that race at the 2016 Finals. Sophomore Aasia Laurencin is seeded second in the 100 hurdles (14.28) and 200 (24.87).
Rockford: The Rams’ power will come in distance and relay events. Junior Ericka VanderLende is seeded first in the 1,600 (4:45.85) and 3,200 (10:29.10). The 800 relay (1:42.4) is seeded third, the 1,600 relay (4:00.6) fourth and the 3,200 relay (9:23.3) second and only a tenth of a second behind Oak Park.
East Kentwood’s Corinne Jemison: The reigning champion in the discus is seeded first in both that event (151-9) and the shot put (46-10½) as a senior.
Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Anne Forsyth: Entering her last Finals, the Pioneers’ senior is seeded third in the 1,600 (4:57.01) after winning that event a year ago and second in the 3,200 (10:32.75) after coming in runner-up in that race in 2017.
White Lake Lakeland’s Grace Stark: Another senior star will look to improve on last year’s runner-up finishes in the 100 hurdles and dash; she’s seeded first in both at 13.58 and 12.12 seconds, respectively.
LP Division 2 at Zeeland
Top Regional scores: 1. Dearborn Divine Child 212, 2. South Lyon East 119, 3. Frankenmuth 118½.
The championship is open with two-time reigning winner Waverly in LPD1 this weekend. Divine Child will look to return to the top for the first time since winning three in four seasons in 2010, 2012 and 2013. Zeeland East finished only a point behind Waverly a year ago and might be the favorite. Detroit Country Day and Holland Christian should be able to ride relay successes into the hunt.
Detroit Country Day: The Yellowjackets tied for sixth last season and are keyed by senior sprinter Alexis Officer, who is seeded fourth in the 100 (12.59) and third in the 200 (25.92), and sophomore Ahvon Mitchell, who has the top seed in the 100 hurdles (14.71). Country Day also carries the top seeds in the 400 (49.68) and 800 (1:47.1) relays.
Holland Christian: Last season’s third-place team has the top seeds in the other two relays – 4:04.9 in the 1,600 and 9:24.4 in the 3,200 – and one of the state’s best distance runners in senior Kayla Windemuller. She’s seeded first in the 1,600 (4:54.6), third in the 3,200 (11:07.3) and sixth in the 800 (2:18.2).
Zeeland East: The Chix should have one of the day’s biggest stars in any division – senior Suenomi Norinh has the top seeds in both the high jump (5-5) and long jump (18-0¼) and won the former the last two seasons, and also is seeded second in the 100 hurdles (14.99) and third (tied) in the 300 (46.08). The throws also will be big; junior Aliyah Boeve is the top seed in discus (138-6) and fifth in shot put (38-8¾), and junior Taylor Waterway is the fourth seed in the discus (128-3).
Grand Rapids South Christian’s Mariel Bruxvoort: The reigning champion in both hurdles races will try for two more titles in her final high school meet, seeded fourth in the 100 hurdles (15.08), first in the 300 (44.44) by a second and also fifth in the 200 (26.07).
Lansing Catholic’s Olivia Theis: The Cougars’ senior has risen to national prominence this year for her cross country times, and she also won the 1,600 and 3,200 in LPD3 a year ago; she’s seeded second in the 1,600 this weekend (5:04.6) to Windemuller, second in the 3,200 (10:58.6) to sophomore sister Jaden and fourth (tied) in the 800 (2:17.6).
Bridgeport’s Payten Williams: After finishing fourth in the 100 and 200 a year ago, Williams is set to move up as a junior seeded first in the 100 (12.27) and tied for first in the 200 (25.80).
LP Division 3 at Comstock Park
Top Regional scores: 1. Ida 194, 2. Pewamo-Westphalia 186, 3. Saugatuck 149.
Adrian Madison went from runner-up in 2016 to champion last spring, and Pewamo-Westphalia has won two titles and finished runner-up once over the last five seasons. Ida is in the mix after competing in LPD2 last year, and Hillsdale, Shepherd and Onsted are other hopefuls in what could be a wide-open meet.
Adrian Madison: The Trojans still have their share of standouts after winning last season by 15½ points. Junior Kaiya Wall is seeded third (tied) in high jump (5-2) and fourth in the 100 hurdles (15.69), and won the latter in 2016. Senior Kiarah Horn is third-seeded in pole vault (10-6), and freshman Carly Anschuetz also is among those seeded in high jump at 5-2. The team’s 1,600 relay (4:08.9) is seeded second and was the champion a year ago.
Onsted: The Wildcats should make a big jump from 10th a year ago, based solely on their possible relay successes. The 400 relay (51.18) is seeded third, the 800 relay (1:47.7) is seeded second and the 1,600 relay (407.6) is seeded first. Senior Harlie Sweet is seeded first as well in long jump (17-9½), and sophomore McKenna Russell is seeded second in 300 hurdles (47.41).
Pewamo-Westphalia: The Pirates tied for fifth last season and have potential scorers all over the lineup, led by the top-seeded 800 relay (1:47.3). Senior Grace Trierweiler is seeded fourth in pole vault (10-4) and junior Amelia Thelen is tied for fifth (10-0), and sophomore thrower Katie Lehman is seeded fourth in discus (115-9) and could make a run at a top-eight placing in shot put as well.
Shepherd’s Amber Gall: The champion in the 800 last season as a sophomore, she’s seeded first in that race (2:16.9) and fourth in the 1,600 (5:10.7).
Grass Lake’s Ella Suliman: She will look to repeat in the long jump as a senior and is seeded second in that event (17-4¾), third in the 200 (26.27) and fifth in the 400 (59.96).
Clinton’s Amanda Schaare: The reigning discus champion enters her final high school meet as the top seed in that event (144-6) by nearly 25 feet; she’s also seeded second in shot put (40-7).
Parchment’s Shiyon Taylor: She won the 100 and 200 last season as a junior and will run those races one more time, seeded first in the 100 (12.58) and fourth in the 200 (26.52).
LP Division 4 at Hudsonville
Top Regional scores: 1. Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest 185, 2. Deckerville 175, 3. Lutheran Westland 174.
Fowler is a regular at the top with recent championships in 2011, 2012 and 2016 and runner-up finishes in 2015 and last spring. Pittsford could be a strong challenger as it goes for its first title after finishing fourth last season. After that, it’s a tougher call with lots of individual standouts that could carry teams in the standings. Hillsdale Academy is an intriguing possibility to contend.
Fowler: The Eagles are all over this meet again, starting with top-seeded relays in the 400 (50.90), 1,600 (4:13.43) and 3,200 (10:14.12) and second-seeded 800 relay (1:49.29). Junior Alyssa Vandegriff is the top seed at high jump (5-3) after taking first a year ago, and senior Ciara Weber is the top seed at pole vault (10-0); both run hurdles as well, Vandegriff seeded second in the 100 and third in the 300. Junior Morgan Goerge brings another high seed, third in the 800 (2:24.66).
Hillsdale Academy: The Colts have a handful of individual qualifiers, most notably junior Katie Vanhavel seeded fourth in long jump (16-7½). But the key will be the fourth-seeded 800 relay (1:51.23) and second-seeded 1,600 (4:17.26) and 3,200 (10:14.61) relays.
Pittsford: The Wildcats may have enough to topple Fowler with a combination of high seeds individually and in relays. Starting with the latter, Pittsford is seeded first in the 800 relay (1:47:57), second in the 400 (52.11) and fourth in the 3,200 (10:24.11). Junior Alison Toner is seeded fourth in the 100 hurdles (16.14) and second in the 300 (46.77). Sophomore Rachael Patterson leads three contenders in the pole vault, seeded second (9-9).
Southfield Christian’s Chika Amene: As a junior, she played the biggest part in Southfield Christian’s team title with wins in the 100, 200 and 400; she’s seeded first in the 100 (12.56), fifth in the 200 (26.68) and second in the 400 (59.67).
Ubly’s Haili Gusa: The reigning champion in the 800 is seeded fourth (2:26.80) in that race.
Addison’s Ally McLouth: The long jump champion last year as a freshman is seeded first (17-1) in that event and fourth in the 300 hurdles (47.63).
Concord’s Samantha Saenz: The senior is the reigning champion in the 1,600 and seeded first in that race (5:10.37), the 800 (222.28) and second in the 3,200 (11:36.29).
UP Division 1 at Kingsford
Top Regional scores: 1. Negaunee 71, 2. Marquette 57½, 3. Sault Ste. Marie 57.
Marquette has won seven straight U.P. Division 1 championships, last year’s by 27 points ahead of runner-up Negaunee. Negaunee won its Regional two weeks ago, but Marquette was at a different site – where it barely fended off Sault Ste. Marie.
Marquette: Junior Ahnika Puskala is the reigning champion in the 100 hurdles and is seeded fifth in that race (17.75). The Redettes have the top seeds in two more events but a host of other competitors who should keep the team running for another title.
Negaunee: Senior Clara Johnson won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 and ran on the winning 3,200 relay last season. That 3,200 relay is seeded first (10:26.21), while she’s seeded second in the 800 (2:26.43) and 1,600 (5:30.03) both times to sophomore teammate Emily Paupore (2:22.43 and 5:18.69, respectively). Johnson is seeded third in the 3,200 (12:11.44), where Paupore is again seeded first (11:29.76).
Houghton’s Kendra Monette: She’s the reigning champion in the 100 and seeded first (13.29) in her final meet, while also seeded first in shot put (37-1½) and fourth in the 200 (28.6).
Kingsford’s Olivia Allen: The reigning champion the 200 and 400 is now a junior and seeded second in the 100 (13.52), first in the 200 (27.77) and second in the 400 (1:01.79).
UP Division 2 at Kingsford
Top Regional scores: 1. St. Ignace 98, Iron Mountain 74, Ishpeming 49½.
St. Ignace broke Ishpeming’s two-year hold on Division 2 last season with its sixth championship over the last eight years. Iron Mountain is competing for its first team title since 2004. Together have the top seeds in all but two events.
St. Ignace: Reigning individual champions Linnie Gustafson and Libby Becker are back for the Saints. Gustafson, a senior, is seeded first in high jump (4-9), while the junior Becker is seeded first in the 800 (2:22.45), 1,600 (5:13.86) and 3,200 (12:38.13). St. Ignace has six other top seeds.
Iron Mountain: The Mountaineers were seventh in UPD1 last season. They have the top seeds in five events, with two standouts earning two apiece: senior Taylor Talerico in the 100 dash (13.35) and 300 hurdles (50.09) and senior Olivia Berutti in the 100 hurdles (17.12) and 200 (27.82).
UP Division 3 at Kingsford
Top Regional scores: 1. Lake Linden-Hubbell 94, 2. Brimley 61½, 3. Felch North Dickinson 54.
Coming off its first MHSAA championship in this sport since 1994, Lake Linden-Hubbell is undefeated this season and dominated its Regional. Additionally, nine athletes who won a combined 11 individual titles last year also will be back Saturday.
Lake Linden-Hubbell: The Lakes are loaded, led by three-time individual and two-time relay champion Laura Lyons. She’s seeded second in the long jump (15-3¾), fifth in the 100 (13.9), fifth in the 200 (28.69) and second in the 400 (1:04.48) after winning long jump and the 200 in 2017. Jamie Hendrickson is the reigning champion in the high jump and seeded first (5-0), Sienna Anderson the reigning champion in the 100 hurdles and seeded first in that race (17.78), and Mariah Willmer is the reigning champion in the 800 and also seeded first for her repeat attempt (2:32.99).
Engadine’s Ashtyn Buss: The shot put champion the last two seasons is seeded first in that event (36-6) and third in discus (96-5) as a senior.
Pickford’s Clare Cottle: Last season’s pole vault champion is among eight who vaulted 7-0 or better at their Regionals; she was a winner at hers.
Cedarville’s Mackenzie Barr: She won the discus last spring and is seeded sixth in that event (88-0) and ninth in shot put (29-9).
Bark River-Harris’ Hailee Demers: The reigning champion in the 100 dash and 300 hurdles will run both hurdles races this time as a junior, seeded sixth in that 100 (18.56) and first in the 300 (51.58).
Chassell’s Lela Rautiola: She won the 3,200 last season as a sophomore but Saturday will run the 400 and potentially on the top-seeded 3,200 relay.
PHOTO: Negaunee's Clara Johnson, right, here running during her Regional, was a three-time Finals champion in 2017 and will compete again Saturday. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)
Lehman's Concord Run Nears Final Turn
By
Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
April 29, 2016
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
CONCORD – Lindsey Lehman was just 4 years old when the family dog went on a full-speed run – with her trying to hold on – and she did a good job of keeping up with it.
“Those little legs kept up with that dog, and I thought then about how fast she ran across the yard,” Lehman’s mother, Kathy, remembered.
The speed was no mirage. It was an early flash of athletic ability. Lehman, a senior at Concord High School, won the Lower Peninsula Division 4 championship in the 200 last spring and was runner-up in the 100. But running fast isn’t Lehman’s only talent, and it doesn’t nearly tell her story or reflect what is ahead of her athletically.
Lehman has been a three-sport standout at Concord. She is a two-time Jackson Citizen Patriot Player of the Year in volleyball, and last week she signed to play basketball at nearby Spring Arbor University. And, obviously, she’s a track MHSAA Finals champion.
Despite the early flash of speed, track was not an initial priority for Lehman, whose mother is the volleyball coach at Concord. Her father Matt coached boys basketball and now is the principal at the K-8 school.
“Track was kind of an afterthought,” Matt Lehman said. “She really wasn’t that interested in softball, although she did a little bit growing up. It was mainly basketball and volleyball. We kind of convinced her – I was coaching middle school track – and I said, ‘Why don’t you give track a try? It’s a great sport to keep you in shape.’
“She found out she was good at it, and it might have been her best sport.”
Is track her best sport? Possibly. Is it her favorite sport? Well, her answer was, “whatever sport is in season.”
That is one reason why she had such a difficult decision to make about college. Some of the bigger schools like Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Grand Valley State and Saginaw Valley State looked at her for track. Other schools looked at her for volleyball.
Ultimately, Lehman chose basketball and Spring Arbor, a mere 5 miles from Concord.
“It was a really difficult decision,” she said. “I’ve played basketball and AAU my entire life, and my dad was a coach and I was a manager, and that was a reason why I wanted to play basketball.
“At Spring Arbor, my parents and the community can come watch me play on the college level. I was looking at the bigger cities, and that’s why I liked Grand Valley. I love Grand Rapids. But I decided to stay close to home.”
Family tradition
Athletics have been a part of Lindsey’s life practically from the day she was born. And her mother says even before that.
“She’s been on the court since I was pregnant with her,” Kathy Lehman said.
Kathy was a very good athlete at Concord some 30 years ago. But Lindsey hasn’t exactly duplicated her mother’s trail.
“It’s been kind of an honor to watch her follow me, but she’s taken her own path,” Kathy Lehman said. “I was a hitter in volleyball, she’s a setter. I was a forward in basketball, she’s a guard. She handles the ball 20 times better than I could ever dream of, and she’s much faster. I played softball, she ran track, so she has laid out her own path, but it’s been nice that it’s at the same school.
“She is the fifth or sixth generation of Snows (her mother’s maiden name) to graduate from Concord. It’s a tradition that is handed down. Her great-grandfather’s picture is hanging up on the wall, and he played basketball here.”
Lindsey was the rare setter who not only led her team in assists, she also led the team in kills. As a junior, she led the Yellow Jackets to the MHSAA Quarterfinals, and this season, with most of last year’s team absent due to graduation, the team still won its fifth consecutive Big Eight Conference title.
In fact, Lindsey said it was during volleyball season that she had what might have been her proudest moment, even including the championship in track.
“Last year in volleyball, when we beat Bronson,” she said of defeating the eventual Class C champion. “Bronson beat us twice that year, and we beat them the third time. That was a great feeling.
“I like achieving goals on my own, but as a team, it just feels better because you can share it with teammates and friends. This year, we were such a young team in volleyball, and we did so well, and it was a great feeling to watch everybody get better.”
It is hard to imagine that feeling being any better than how she must have felt last spring when she barely edged her good friend to win the Division 4 championship in the 200 after finishing a close second in the 100. The race was so close that the finish was not immediately posted.
“It seemed like it took forever,” Lindsey said. “The both of us really had no idea who had won.”
Lehman’s winning time was 25.92 seconds. Jennifer Davis of Reading also was clocked in 25.92. Lindsey’s mom watched as her daughter paced in anticipation of the announcement of the final result.
“She was going back and forth, and just watching the anticipation and then seeing her face when she realized that she had won was fantastic,” Kathy Lehman said. “Just seeing her face light up at that moment was my proudest moment.”
It had to be especially sweet for Lindsey as she had lost the 100 in a race that was nearly as close as the 200. She was timed in 12.42 seconds, while the MHSAA title went to Mason County Eastern’s Jordan Goodman, who tied the LP Division 4 meet record at 12.40.
This year, Lehman has a goal of not only repeating as champion in the 200 but adding the title in the 100.
“I want to do better than I did last year,” she said. “I probably think more about the race that I lost than the one I won. I don’t like losing.”
Maybe the thought of losing is what drives her. Her parents both spoke highly of her work ethic and desire to be the best she can be.
‘She has always been a hard worker, but she has a drive that she doesn’t like to lose, and if she loses one time, she doesn’t quit,” Kathy Lehman said. “She is going to keep working to get there. Her brother is probably her best incentive because she hated losing anything to her brother.
“Sometimes it would be knock-down, drag-outs, but eventually she would sometimes best her brother. It’s always been a good competition between them.”
Lindsey still has most of the track season ahead of her, but she knows that it might be her last time in the sport. She isn’t sure if she will try to run track as well as play basketball at Spring Arbor. It hasn’t been addressed with the school, and while it has not been ruled out, it certainly is not the priority.
She also has developed a new respect for referees. This past year, Lindsey has served as a referee for sixth-grade games, and it was an enlightening experience.
“Last year, I never said anything, but I got mad at the refs sometimes,” she said, “but this year, I don’t because I know what they are going through. I don’t like being yelled at.”
Close to home
Although she had plenty of options, Spring Arbor made an offer that was too good to pass up.
“She had a chance to go to a four-year university and not have to pay nearly the amount of money she would have had to pay to go to other universities,” Matt Lehman said. “It’s an opportunity for the rest of her life.
“If someone had said at the beginning of the process that she was going to end up at Spring Arbor to play basketball, I would have said, ‘I’m not sure that would happen.’ I wouldn’t have bet on that.”
The transition to college basketball won’t be easy, but Spring Arbor coach Ryan Frost believes she has what it takes to possibly make an impact as a freshman.
“That is up to her,” he said. “You never know how a kid is going to adjust. She will have some really good seniors to learn the college game from. We have a nice group coming back. We’re excited to get her in the mix for that.
“Athletically she’s a super athlete. She has a lot of skill. She’s a competitor. She fits the mold of what we look for in a guard. She will be very similar to some of the guards we have and our style of play. We press a lot and get up and down the floor. She sees the floor real well as a point guard, and she can score, too.”
And, while her parents would have supported any decision that she made, having her at college just 5 miles away will allow them to attend most of her games.
“It has gone by so fast,” Matt Lehman said. “This is my little girl, my little gym rat who was by my side at practices and huddles with me. She’s graduating from high school and going on to college to play basketball.
“She was a gym rat from the get-go, and more than any of my children when I was coaching basketball, she was in the gym with me. She always wanted to come to practice. She was just 4 or 5, but she always wanted to be a part of it. She always had a ball in her hand, and she did the same thing with Kathy in volleyball.”
Lindsey is a pretty solid student, too, as she has a 3.85 grade point average.
“She’s a 3.85 student because of her work ethic,” Matt Lehman said. “She has balanced everything. She likes sports, she’s a good student, and she’s a good kid. I don’t have to worry about her.
“She’s a smart aleck in a good way, and she’s an easy kid to get along with. She knows how to talk to other students and how to talk to adults. She’s very well-rounded. I’m just proud of her because she didn’t accomplish this because her mom was a coach and her dad was a coach and an administrator. She accomplished it because she has talent and she worked her tail off. That’s on her.”
Chip Mundy served as sports editor at the Brooklyn Exponent and Albion Recorder from 1980-86, and then as a reporter and later copy editor at the Jackson Citizen-Patriot from 1986-2011. He also co-authored Michigan Sports Trivia. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Concord's Lindsay Lehman runs her leg of a relay for her track team. (Middle) Lehman signs her letter of intent with Spring Arbor, surrounded by father Matt, mother Kathy and younger sister Bradie . (Photos courtesy of the Lehman family.)