Record Books Rewritten as Negaunee Girls Bring Their Best at Power-Packed Final
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2026
KINGSFORD — Doing as expected can sometimes be challenging.
The Negaunee girls did that in convincing fashion here Saturday by retaining their Upper Peninsula Division 1 Track & Field Finals title with 173 points.
Marquette earned the runner-up honor with 123, and third-place Gladstone scored 61.
“We thought we had an outstanding season, although you’re still a little nervous coming in,” Miners coach Vickie Paupore said. “The girls worked hard. They believed in themselves and each other. All of our throwers showed up today and got personal bests. All of the girls performed very well.”
Negaunee junior Sadie Rogers set the U.P. Division 1 Finals record in the 300-meter hurdles in 45.04 seconds, topping the previous record (45.4) run by Sault Ste. Marie’s Selena Moser in 2010.
That also marked a school record for Rogers, who also won the 100-meter dash in a season-best 15.96 and placed second in the 200 in a school-best 26.21 on this sunny and warm afternoon.
Marquette freshman Jordyn Anthony tied the UPD1 Finals record in the 100 at 12.55, which she shares with Calumet’s Chelsea Jacques from 2012.
Anthony also won the 200 in a personal-best 26.11 and helped the Sentinels sweep the sprint relays.
“She’s a very talented runner,” Rogers said.
“It’s so relieving to set the school record in the 300 hurdles. It was just so hard to get here, and it feels so good to get the school record in the 200. This is a confidence builder for sure. Having good weather also helped. These were perfect conditions.”
Classmate Keira Waterman added a Negaunee school record while winning the 800 (2:19.78), followed by Marquette senior Ella Fure in a personal-best 2:21.14 and freshman Emma Ziegler (2:33.82).
Waterman also won the 400 in a personal-best 58.5 and placed third in long jump (15-3¼).
Sophomore Elvera Coyne provided the Miners with yet another school record while placing second in the 100 (12.61), followed by junior teammate Izzy Francisco (12.9).
Coyne’s season-ending effort in the 100 topped the previous record (12.62) by Macyn DellAngelo set a year ago.
“It felt amazing,” Coyne said. “It’s an awesome feeling to do it as a sophomore. Macyn was a good friend of mine.”
Negaunee junior Priya Morey added a first in discus at 110-5.
Fure, who anchored the winning 3,200 relay, later set a meet record in the open 3,200 (11:21.58), which surpassed the previous best from seven years ago (11:25.52) by Emily Paupore of Negaunee.
“The 3,200 is my race,” Fure said a week after running a 10:49.17 at Grand Rapids. “I was real confident because all three of us PR’d downstate. I knew I could run a sub-11. Emma Ziegler had a good, strong finish and Ava Cantway ran real well.”
Junior Taylen Todd, also part of Marquette’s sprint relays, added a first in long jump (16-8½). Kingsford junior Mylee Kreider was runner-up (16-6¾).
Manistique set a school record while placing third in the 800 relay (1:50.42), and senior Gwen Brewster took first in shot put (33-1½).
“I just kept pushing myself,” freshman Harper Andersen said after anchoring Manistique’s record-setting relay. “Our handoffs went well. This makes me feel I can accomplish a lot because I’m a part of this.”
Also winning championships were Escanaba’s Rayne Martin in the high jump and Gladstone’s Maggie Karl in the pole vault. Houghton’s Amy Sziber finished first in the 100, 200 and shot put adaptive events.
PHOTOS (Top) Negaunee's Sadie Rogers, center, leads and eventually wins the 100 hurdles Saturday. (Middle) Marquette's Jordyn Anthony, center, gets ready to lean for the finish line during a Sentinels relay victory. (Click for more from Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)
Oak Park Climbs Podium Again in LPD1
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
June 2, 2018
EAST KENTWOOD – Aasia Laurencin crossed the finish line at East Kentwood High School multiple times Saturday, but the sweetest crossing for the Oak Park sophomore came after a race in which she didn’t compete.
Laurencin was the first to greet teammate Dorriann Coleman following the 1,600-meter relay which clinched a Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship for the Knights, their fourth in five years.
“It’s been a long outdoor season, and we finally got the win we’ve been looking for,” Laurencin said. “Last year we didn’t get it, but now it’s all excitement, all joyful tears.”
Oak Park finished with 66 points to claim the title, with Rockford close behind at 59.5. East Kentwood was third with 52 points, followed by Lake Orion with 48 and Northville with 41.
The Knights thrived on the track, especially in the relays, despite losing a runner early in the meet and coming to East Kentwood with just 10. They won the 3,200 relay and 1,600 relay with the team of Coleman, Makayla Gates, Jayla Jones and Mariyah Archibald, and placed second in the 400 relay. Oak Park looked to be on its way to competing for first place in the 800 relay before Jada Roundtree suffered an injury on the anchor leg.
“We really, really showed some grit and toughness,” Oak Park coach Brandon Jiles said. “We really showed that we can win if we don’t have the perfect meet.”
Laurencin and Brooks were the lone Knights to win individual titles, as Laurencin won the 200 with a time of 24.64, and Brooks won the 400 in 55.12.
“I wanted to run faster, but it was OK,” said Laurencin, who was second in the 100 hurdles and a member of both sprint relays. “I’m satisfied. I’m really satisfied with today.”
Grace Stark of White Lake Lakeland denied Laurencin a title in the 100 hurdles, and she did it in record-breaking fashion. Stark finished in 13.12 seconds, a Finals record for all divisions. One event later, she doubled her title count, winning the 100 meters in 11.74 seconds.
“I really wanted it last year and I missed out, and I was really excited I got to do it here today,” said Stark, who was runner-up in both events a year ago. “I was just hoping to win it. Last year kind of hurt me, and I was upset, but I wanted redemption.”
While Stark and Laurencin had a duel early on, Rockford’s Ericka VanderLende and Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Anne Forsyth had their own in the distance events.
VanderLende won the 1,600 with a personal best time of 4:45.17, while Forsyth won the 3,200 with a time of 10:08.07, an all-division Finals record.
In each race, the other finished second, and in each race, it was VanderLende who took control of the pace. For the 1,600, it worked to perfection.
“I didn’t really want to pay attention to what other people around me were doing,” VanderLende said. “I just wanted to stick to the race plan I knew I was capable of. I normally even split or negative split, so I wasn’t really too surprised that if I took it out hard I could hold it.”
The middle distance events supplied equal drama, as a strong 800-meter field provided a strong race. Waterford Mott’s Katie Osika came out on top, winning in 2:08.88, using a late kick to defeat Hudsonville’s Melanie Helder, who was second at 2:09.28.
“Of course you’ve got that fast time on your mind,” Osika said. “I’m running in New Balance Nationals, so I want to get a good time, but I had to put winning first, like, ‘You have to win state champ first.’ It was definitely tough; it wasn’t easy. This was probably one of the most competitive races I’ve been in all year.”
Lake Orion’s Melissa Symons was used to competition, as Troy’s Lauren Felcher had been pushing her all year in the 300 hurdles. But on the final day of the season, it was Symons, who didn’t run the event a year ago because of injury, who came out on top. As she finished, Symons had a look of shock and excitement on her face, and immediately looked to Felcher, who finished second, and gave her a hug.
“She’s amazing, she’s been my biggest competitor this entire year, and so we were just pushing each other so well throughout this entire year,” Symons said. “I know she’s going to go out strong, so I can just stick with her and then it’s just a battle of the wills at the end to see who can go. I know how she runs, so I think it really does help.”
East Kentwood’s Corrine Jemison set a meet record in the shot put, winning the event with a throw of 49 feet, 11¾ inches. Lansing Waverly’s Malin Smith won the discus with an all-division Finals record throw of 163-9.
Waterford Kettering’s Jessica Mercier won the pole vault with a height of 12-10. Novi’s Hannah Hood-Blaxill won the high jump with a height of 5-6. Northville’s Clare McNamara won the long jump with a distance of 18-7½.
Detroit Renaissance (Makylah Slappy, Mizan Thomas, Paige Chapman and Donae Adams) won the 800 relay in 1:39.91. Adams, Chapman and Thomas joined Imani Jackson to win the 400 relay in 47.42.
VIDEO: Waterford Mott's Katie Osika kicks to win the 800.
PHOTOS: (Top) Oak Park’s Aasia Laurencin, left, surges ahead of Lansing Waverly’s Priscilla Trainor and the rest of the championship heat in the 200 on Saturday. (Middle) Lakeland’s Grace Stark, middle, pulls away for the 100-meter championship. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)