Seven Wins Help Fowler Hurdle D4 Again
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
June 2, 2018
HUDSONVILLE – Nabbing seven individual event victories Saturday at Hudsonville, the Fowler girls track & field team racked up 87 points to win its fourth Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals championship in dominant fashion.
Pittsford took second place with 55.50 points, followed by Southfield Christian with 37. The title was the Eagles' second in three seasons and came after they finished runner-up to Southfield Christian a year ago.
“It’s a great feeling, said 11-year Fowler coach Jill Feldpausch, a former standout for the Eagles during the 1980s. “We had 30 points coming out of the morning (session) with a first place in high jump, a first place in pole vault and the 3,200-meter relay. That was pretty awesome.”
The 3,200 relay team of Josie Koenigsknecht, Taryn Schafer, Grace Boak and Morgan Goerge turned in a time of 9:51.85 to get things rolling in the right direction for the Eagles. Combined with Ciera Weber’s height of 10 feet, 3 inches in the pole vault, and Alyssa Vandegriff’s top effort and school record of 5-5 in the high jump, Fowler had a good cushion with some of its best events remaining.
The Eagles plowed through the rest of the relays, with Shannon Schmitz, McKenzie Koenigsknecht, Sidney Horak and Kaitlyn Langin winning the 800 in 1:46.28, and McKenzie Koenigsknecht, Langin, Weber and Horak clocked a 50.61 to win the 400. The 1,600 relay crew of McKenzie Koenigsknecht, Josie Koenigsknecht, Boak and Goerge put a bow on the meet with a victory in 4:05.99.
Vandegriff added a win in the 100 hurdles in 15.56 seconds and a fourth-place finish in the 300 hurdles (47.02). She led a trio of Eagles to make the finals in the 100 hurdles. Ciera Weber secured fourth in 16.41 and Sadie Weber was sixth in 16.76. Goerge also scored with a fifth-place run in the 800 (2:24.83).
“Our goal was to win all four relays, and I don’t think that’s been done at Fowler before,” Feldpausch said. “In the 100 hurdles, for three of them to make the finals? They are constantly being challenged, and it’s something to be proud of.”
“Everyone on the team has worked so hard to win a state championship,” Vandegriff added. “We all pushed each other at practices and worked our tails off.”
A couple of future University of Michigan runners capped their prep careers in style Saturday as Concord distance dynamo Samantha Saenz pulled off a hat trick and sprinting star Chika Amene nearly did the same, settling for two victories and a runner-up effort by the closest of margins.
Closing out a phenomenal four years, Saenz, who boasts three all-state performances in cross country, including a Division 4 title this past fall, entered Saturday’s meet as the two-time reigning champion in the 1,600 and a 2017 all-state performer in the 800 and the 3,200. She swept all three events this time around.
The first Saturday in June continues to be bittersweet for Saenz. It was just two years ago that her older sister, Saren, passed away due to complications from a combination of physical and mental disabilities the evening of Samantha’s first 1,600 title.
“I just wanted to go out there and do it one last time for my family, for my friends and for my sister,” Saenz said. “I just run for her. It’s a great feeling.”
Saenz took a conservative approach in the 1,600 (5:00.46) in an effort to leave some in the tank for her other two events. It paid off as she ran a personal-record time of 2:16.31 in the 800. She finished the 3,200 in 11:15.51.
“It never loses its excitement,” she said. “Every time I cross the finish line, it’s so meaningful to me because my sister couldn’t walk or talk. Just the fact that I get to have that gift, it’s just a good feeling.”
For Amene, winning championships has become standard operating procedure, but she certainly hasn’t taken them for granted. She captured victories in all three sprints and was part of Southfield Christian’s winning 1,600-meter relay last June and followed that up with wins in the 100 (12.44) and the 200 (25.33) in her final prep appearance Saturday.
As proud of those wins as she is, the second-place effort to Beal City freshman Angela Kotecki (57.53) in a photo finish at the line in the 400 stung.
“I didn’t get out to a great start in the 100, but I was able to run the girl down,” she said. “The 400 really didn’t go as planned. But the most exciting part was that I was able to PR in two events (100 finals and 200 prelims) and then have a season best in one. The loss in the 400 was painful, but my time was really good.”
So were the performances of several others who came away from Hudsonville with championships. Reading’s Baleigh Irelan was the top performer of the day in the 300 hurdles (45.85), Litchfield’s Allie Vanous notched victories in both the discus (132-10) and shot put (40-4) and Hillsdale Academy’s Katie Vanhavel claimed a title in the long jump (17-3¾).
VIDEO: Fowler’s Eagles Fly High In Relays
PHOTOS: (Top) Fowler’s Alyssa Vandegriff clears a hurdle during her team’s championship run Saturday. (Middle) Concord’s Samantha Saenz sprints the straightaway during one of her three victories. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
Norway, Mid Peninsula Welcome Back 1st Home Track Meets in Nearly Decade
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 15, 2026
NORWAY — It had been quite a while since Norway and Rock Mid Peninsula had been able to host a track & field meet.
That changed last week as Mid Pen hosted a triangular meet Thursday, and Norway held its invitational Friday. Those marked Norway’s first varsity home meet in nine years and the first complete meet at Mid Pen since 2019.
Norway debuted its rebuilt track during its junior high invitational April 28.
“Everything is all set, thanks to our referendum,” Norway boys coach Al Trudeau said. “It’s great to be able to host a meet. Our students, physical education instructors and community members will be able to use it. We’ll be set for a long time. We have lots of help, which is awesome.
“Our guys did all right. Our sprint relays went real well.”
Rapid River’s boys, who ran at Norway for the first time, won with 142 points. The Rockets were followed by Bark River-Harris with 130, Florence-Niagara, Wis., at 70 and Norway at 69.
Rapid River’s lone first came on freshman Coen Smith’s personal-best jump of 5 feet, 10 inches in high jump, and junior Lane Olson was runner-up on a tie-breaker to BR-H freshman Samuel Varoni in pole vault (10-6) on a sunny and mild day.
“I was happy with all the guys,” Rockets’ coach Steve Ostrenga said. “Our depth came through. Taking three places in the 3,200 decided the issue. We had some adversity tonight. We had to scramble to put a 1,600 relay team together. Our guys said it was a good track, and it was a very quick meet.”
BR-H junior Gionni McDonough was a four-event winner, taking the 100-meter dash in 12.2 seconds, 110 hurdles at 16.9 and 300s at 45.63, and long jump at 19 feet, 11½ inches.
“I’m very happy with that,” he said. “The track is nice and bouncy, and the long jump area is really nice.
“Doing well as a team is really a nice boost for us.”
BR-H coach William Soper was also impressed with the newly-resurfaced Norway facility, and delighted by his team’s progress.
“It’s an awesome track,” he said. “I’d be happy to come back here.
“I think we’re developing more of a team mentality. The kids are willing to do anything to help the team. We got Ben Olson back from surgery, and Gionni just started practicing long jump Thursday. We’re trying to find people for events that will match our strengths.”
Felch North Dickinson captured the girls title at Norway with 106 points, followed by BR-H with 92 and Stephenson at 70.
Junior Aunika Lindholm provided the Nordics with victories in the 1,600 (5:58.04) and 3,200 (13:20.55), both personal bests.
“A lot of things went our way today,” Nordics coach Mike Roell said. “A lot of kids stepped up. They really competed. Aunika did a nice job winning the 1,600 and 3,200 and helping our longer relays take first. Aspen (Anderson) winning pole vault and going 1-2 in the 800 were also huge.”
Rapid River sophomore Victoria Coppock recorded her first varsity victory in the 100 hurdles (18.75).
“This is very exciting,” she said. “I haven’t been able to practice because of softball. The track was quite nice, and this is probably the best weather we’ve had.”
At St. Nicholas, the Mid Peninsula Wolverines got part of a meet in last year, but it was cut short by poor weather conditions.
“It went great today,” Mid Pen coach Carl Brunngraeber said. “We appreciate Superior Central and Big Bay de Noc coming over here. We tried to do a meet here last year, then it started raining and weren’t able to get it all in. What we’re trying to do is bring some of this back. I like the idea of having a smaller meet and giving the kids a chance to do something different. We’re hoping to make this a small-school invitational.”
Mid Pen sophomore Lewis Holmes took the 100 (11.98) and 200 (25.08), and eighth-grader Siwal Holmes won the 300 hurdles (48.49) on a revamped asphalt surface.
“I think I could have run a faster time, although it was exciting,” Siwal Holmes said. “It’s still a hard surface, but I like it. I know I have to raise my foot a little more and work on technique.”
Mid Pen senior Hope Brunngraeber captured girls shot put (30-9) and discus (107-7) in a meet for which team scores weren’t kept.
“It’s really nice to have a meet at our school,” she said. “It feels good to finally throw here in my senior year. It was also good to have people come here and watch us throw.”
Superior Central’s Kendra Peterson took the girls 400 (1:11) and 800 (3:07.81), slightly more than a second ahead of senior Addie Frusti in the longer race.
“I ran behind Kendra because she’s my pacesetter,” she said. “It felt good to have a meet over here. It was fun. The weather is good, ideal for distance running.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Norway welcomes back a home track meet with its junior high invitational April 28. (Middle) The long jump pit is prepared during the school’s first meet in nearly a decade. (Photos courtesy of Norway-Vulcan Area Schools.)