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.)
Bush Capping Championship Career as Arbor Prep's 1st Track Finalist
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
May 28, 2025
Eliza Bush admits it would be nice to have teammates, but the Ypsilanti Arbor Prep distance runner hasn’t let that stand in the way of a successful track season.
The senior three-sport athlete qualified for Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals in the 1,600 and 3,200.
“It doesn’t bother me, but it’s hard at times,” Bush said. “I don’t have anyone to run with or that is pushing me during my workouts. It’s made me more self-motivated. I’ve had to push myself.”
Bush has been all-state four consecutive years in cross country, finishing as LPD3 Final runner-up in the fall while just one of two Gators on the cross country team. She was an all-stater in basketball this winter when she led Arbor Prep to its second-straight Division 3 championship. During that Final she played all 32 minutes and scored 10 points, with three huge 3-pointers as the Gators defeated Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest by 11.
This is Arbor Prep’s first season with an MHSAA-sanctioned track & field team.
“Our school never had track, and I’ve always done AAU basketball in the spring,” Bush said. “I basically had to beg (Arbor Prep athletic director Scott) Stine to let me do track.”
When Stine said yes, she also had to find competition. Since Arbor Prep is not part of a conference, she helped make her own schedule. She competed at weekend events like the Farmington Invitational, Oakland University High School Invitational, Ann Arbor Greenhills April Showers Invitational and Ypsilanti Lincoln’s Railsplitter Invite.
“I would look for weekend events to go to, then ask Mr. Stine to register me,” she said. “I wanted to compete at races where I knew there would be good competition. Almost everywhere I went there were 30 to 40 other schools there. I want to race against good competition.”
She won the 3,200 and finished second in the 1,600 at her Regional.
Her personal best this season in the 1,600 was 5:00.31, which is second-fastest in LPD3 behind only 2024 champion Emmry Ross of Onsted. She’s also run second in LPD3 in the 3,200, about eight seconds behind Ross. She finished ahead of Ross in that race at the Regional at Adrian Madison.
“I’m hoping to get into the fours in the mile,” she said.
Stine is the official head coach of the Gators track team, but Bush did a lot of research about workouts and training on her own, with a major assist from cross country coach and school dean Stephanie Roberts.
“She was really helpful with timing and giving me splits,” she said. “I do appreciate everything she has done and being there. It has helped me a lot doing the research on my own, though, because I’ve learned so much from doing it.”
Last year, before Arbor Prep was allowed to run in postseason competition, Bush raced in four events when she could – the 400, 800, 1,600 and 3,200. She started this season running the 400 as well, but decided to go with her strength and focus on the two longest distances instead.
She’s not one to shy away from competition, which has been the mantra at Arbor Prep no matter the sport.
“For some people it can be difficult when it gets (to be) higher competition, but I’m used to that,” she said. “Having such good competition in multiple sports is helpful.”
Bush lives in Dexter. She’s been part of the Arbor Prep sports program, however, since she was in the fifth grade when she became the ball girl for the Gators girls basketball team.
“I really liked going to their practices and games,” she said. “When I was younger, I would go to a lot of their games because they’ve always been so good. The team became like sisters to me, and it made me want to go there.”
Bush plans to run at Oakland University next season. She had debated playing basketball in college, but said she started looking more at track & field after Oakland contacted her last year. She wants to go into pre-medicine or study to become a physician’s assistant.
And she’s looking forward to having teammates again.
“It was a very hard choice. I think I’ve always focused more on basketball. I’m curious to see what it will be like doing (running) year-round,” Bush said. “I’m looking forward to running in college, to have teammates to work out with and push each other.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Arbor Prep senior Eliza Bush rounds a curve during a track race. (Middle) Bush puts up a jumpshot at the Breslin Center. (Below) Bush takes a photo during a visit to Oakland University. (Track photo by Dan Zeppa; Oakland photo courtesy of Bush family.)