Saints Surge to 3rd Straight Finals Win
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 2, 2019
KINGSFORD – The St. Ignace girls achieved a three-peat in convincing fashion here Saturday, taking their third consecutive Upper Peninsula Division 2 track title with 130 points.
They were followed by Ishpeming with 61 and Bark River-Harris at 54.
St. Ignace grabbed seven firsts, including a trio by Libby Becker.
The senior distance ace captured the 800-meter run in two minutes, 23.1 seconds; 1,600 (5:20.63) and 3,200 (12:13.88).
"It was really hot," said Becker, who plans to run track and cross country at Michigan State in 2019-20. "The heat kind of got to me. My main goal was just to win the 3,200. I was pretty happy with my 800 and 1,600. Madeleine (Peramaki) really helped me with those."
Peramaki, a senior from Munising and Cedarville (Ohio) University recruit, was runner-up in the 800 (2:27.32) and 1,600 (5:40.86).
St. Ignace freshman Ally Schultz captured the 200 (27.05) and 400 (1:02.24) and placed second in the 100 (13;18).
"I usually run a negative (200) split in the 400, but today I got a positive split," said Schultz. "Often you're feeling good, then you get to the last 100 and your legs start to tighten up. You just have to push through it."
Junior Heather Lamb, who was battling hip problems, provided the Saints with a first in long jump at 15 feet, 10½ inches, and freshman Brooke Brandstrom won high jump (5-1).
"Libby is amazing in all her events," said Saints' coach Trudy Olsen. "Ally also had an amazing day. Heather did well for having hip problems, and Sarah Lamb had a real good day."
Although this wasn't Heather's longest jump, she was happy with the victory.
"My PR (personal record) is 16-5¾," she said. "My sister helped me count my steps. I tried to get as far as I could on my first jump and make adjustments when needed. I hope to break the school record (17-7½), but I have a ways to go. I have to practice in the offseason."
Gwinn senior Emily Curtice took the 100 (12.95) and anchored the Modeltowners to a U.P. Finals record in the 400 relay at 52.34, shaving two hundredths of a second off the previous best by Manistique run in 2010.
Junior teammate Marissa Delmont added a first in shot put (37-0).
Sophomore Rebekah Loman provided Ishpeming with its lone first, in discus (104-7).
BR-H senior Hailee Demers won the 300 hurdles (47.66) and anchored the winning 800 relay (1:54.82).
"We practiced a lot on handoffs," she said. "This was a perfect time to have good handoffs. This was one of our better times."
Manistique senior Ashley McDonald retained her pole vault title (7-6) and helped the Emeralds establish a school record in the 1,600 relay (4:25.67) and take the 3,200 relay (10:52.86).
PHOTOS: (Top) St. Ignace’s Libby Becker checks the clock as she approaches the finish line in the 800 on Saturday. (Middle) The Saints’ Ally Schultz, far left, wins the 200. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)
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.)