Rudyard Girls Soar to Historic Height, Claiming 1st Team Title Since 1977
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2026
KINGSFORD — Jimmy Carter was president the last time a Rudyard girls track & field team was crowned Upper Peninsula Finals champion.
The year was 1977 when the Bulldogs were competing in Class C, and gasoline was selling for less than one dollar a gallon.
But there were signs Rudyard’s history was about to change May 15 when the Bulldogs won the Division 2 Regional at Bark River-Harris.
That indeed did change Saturday as the Bulldogs were crowned Finals champions with 87 points. They were followed by BR-H with 78 and Ewen-Trout Creek with 71.
“We were dealing with a lot of little things, but the girls kept battling,” coach Mike Kirschner said. “They love to compete, and the warm weather helped. We knew what to expect from Pickford and Bark River-Harris, but we didn’t see (E-TC) coming because West Iron County won that (Gwinn) Regional. They’re young, but (E-TC has) some good athletes. No doubt, they’re tough.”
Bulldogs freshman Melissa Kirschner soared a personal-best 9 feet, 1 inch in pole vault, enough to match the UPD2 Finals record she now shares with Kali Jo Marshall of St. Ignace from 2010.
Rudyard sophomore Amelia Fountain won the 100-meter dash in 13.22 seconds and 400 (1:02.27) and was runner-up in the 200 (27.4).
“This is a great way to go into the summer, that’s for sure,” Coach Kirschner said. “We’re still young. I’m hoping we’ll continue to get more girls to come out. We had a solid year, which always means a lot more when you’re coaching your own kids.”
BR-H swept the sprint relays and junior Emma Zawada, who was a part of each relay, added a first in long jump at 14-11½.
E-TC crossed the finish first in the 3,200 relay and senior Irelynd McGeshick took discus (101-1).
Sophomore Bristol Shamion was West Iron’s leader with victories in the 100 hurdles (16.81) and 300 (48.49), both personal bests, and a third-place finish in the 200 at a season-best 27.82.
Zawada was second in the 300 hurdles (49.42), and Munising sophomore Addie Bowerman placed third (50.34), also both personal bests.
Hancock sophomore Alena Pietila, who anchored the winning 1,600 relay, placed second in the 800 (2:32.01) and 1,600 with a personal-best 5:41.12.
“It’s pretty fun,” she said about the 1,600 relay. “It’s exciting to run it. I like running when it’s warm, and I’m happy with how the day went. This is definitely a confidence builder going forward. I’m not sure about doing cross country, but I’m considering it. I didn’t do it (last fall) because I didn’t want to double with volleyball.”
Pickford senior Talya Schreiber, who will continue her running career at Bowling Green (Ohio) University, captured the 800 (2:29.58), 1,600 (5:08.2) and 3,200 (11:14.28). She won a combined eight individual championships over her final three seasons.
Also among individual champions were Norway’s Lauren Adams in the 200 and Hancock’s Tatum Sporalski in the shot put.
PHOTOS (Top) Rudyard's Amelia Fountain celebrates taking first place in the 100 dash Saturday. (Middle) Ewen Trout Creek's Leona Schutz hands off the baton to Alyssa DeCremer during the 3,200 relay. E-TC won the race with team members also including Emma Besonen and Bree Besonen. (Click for more from Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)
Reigning Champions Rule UPD2 Again with Repeat and 3-Peat Performances
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
June 4, 2023
KINGSFORD – Ishpeming’s Lola Korpi hadn’t lost in the 800, 1,600 or 3,200 at the last two Upper Peninsula Division 2 Finals. The same was true for West Iron County’s Danica Shamion in the 100, 200 and 400.
With that kind of track record, the expectations were through the roof Saturday.
“There’s so much pressure,” the Ishpeming junior said. “People do expect a champion out of me; it gets really hard mentally, there's a lot of pressure on me all the time. But I love to do this. I just love running so much. So I just go out there and do what I can, just do the best I can do.”
Her best continues to be really good.
Korpi won all three of the distance events again, plus she was a member of the first-place 3,200 relay team, which gave her 11 career championships. Shamion, meanwhile, won all of the dashes again as well.
“It’s been a good day, just really hot out,” Shamion said.
Korpi defeated some talented young runners. Pickford freshman Talya Schreiber took second in the 1,600 and 3,200, and Manistique sophomore Leah Goudreau was runner-up in the 800.
“I was challenged on all of them,” Korpi said. “It’s my 200 kick at the end that gets it. Now that I’m a junior I have a lot of experience against all the fast freshmen this year. So I just let them take the lead for a little bit while I coast behind them and then kick it in at the end. Or depending on how I feel, maybe I’ll just go out there right away.”
Her 3,200 relay team, also including Tiana Bosworth, Brittanie Piotrowski and Kadie Kaukola, was down by 200 meters with Hancock in front of them.
“I got the baton and I was just feeling great. I went out and beat her,” Korpi said. “That started the whole team out with a good chunk of points.”
Shamion now has nine individual titles.
She said the 400 dash was her best event of the day. She broke her own Upper Peninsula Division 2 Finals record with a time of 57.18 seconds; she had set the record at 58.77 last year.
“I PR’d by a second, which I really wanted to, so I’m glad,” Shamion said.
Her goal was to finish that race in 56 seconds.
“I was so close,” she said. “But I’m happy I took my own record that I had.”
Shamion also set a UPD2 Finals record in the 200 with a time of 26.34 seconds. Norway’s Dani Gagne had the previous record (26.42).
Shamion almost won four events. Teammate Calli Pellizzer won the high jump in a tiebreaker as both cleared 4 feet, 10 inches.
“Someone from my team won, good for my team,” Shamion said.
The Wykons finished in fourth place with 73 points.
Bark River-Harris repeated as team champ after winning for the first time in school history last year. The Broncos had 100 points, 13 better than runner-up Ishpeming and 24 ahead of third-place Manistique.
Gwinn’s Lena Pleaugh placed first in both of the hurdles events; she was the 100 champion for the second year in a row.
Pickford’s Kadence Potoczak won discus in Division 2 after earning the UPD3 title last year, Manistique’s Danielle Lund won the shot put, Ishpeming’s Mya Hemmer the long jump and St. Ignace’s Avery Visnaw the pole vault.
The Emeralds won the 400 relay (Emma Jones, Lund, Kelsey Muth and Leah Goudreau), and BR-H won the 800 relay (Mckenzie Hoffmeyer, Lauren Zawada, Julia Olson and Marissa Ives) and 1,600 (Juliian Koch, Julia Nault, Zawada and Olson).
PHOTOS (Top) Bark River-Harris's Lauren Zawada hands off to the fourth leg of their 1,600 relay, Julia Olson, on Saturday. (Middle) West Iron County's Danica Shamion starts her winning 400. (Below) Manistique's Leah Goudreau, left, and Ishpeming's Lola Korpi run the first lap of the 800. (Photos by Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)