Sturgis Girls Celebrate 1st Team Title, Multiple Multi-Event Winners Reign
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2025
HAMILTON – As they gave congratulatory hugs to each other on the infield following the 200-meter dash, Dearborn Divine Child sophomore Aubrey Wilson smiled at Saginaw Swan Valley senior Sydney Kuhn and good-naturedly said, “You can’t get all three” as the two shared a laugh.
Wilson had just edged Kuhn for the title in the 200, making their tallies of victories two apiece at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals.
From the team perspective, Sturgis ruled the day, winning its first Finals title with 54.2 points. Goodrich was runner-up with 39 points, one ahead of Saginaw Swan Valley.
Wilson repeated in the 100 meters with a time of 11.55 and then avenged last year’s second place to Kuhn in the 200, switching positions with Kuhn in a winning time of 23.85.
Wilson said the difference in that race this year was her increased endurance as a result of running 400-meter sessions during training throughout the season.
“I started running the 400 to make me stronger for the last 15 meters of the 200,” she said. “That’s where I lost it at last year. I just kept working hard because I really wanted this.”
While she didn’t quite reach three victories, it still was an outstanding meet for Kuhn, who will run collegiately for Michigan.
In addition to finishing second in the 200, Kuhn repeated in the 400 with a time of 54.70. Kuhn also won the 300 hurdles in a time of 44.29, returning to running that event this year after not doing so last year as a junior.
“I did it my freshman and sophomore year and then I stopped,” Kuhn said. “I’m doing it again this year because it might be something I do in college. I’ve gotten pretty good at it. It’s kind of riding a bike once you learn the hurdles form.”
Kuhn finished the meet by running a scintillating 53.8-second anchor leg for Swan Valley’s winning 1,600 relay, taking the baton with the Vikings in fourth place and racing into the lead to help Swan Valley win with a time of 4:00.66.
A third individual multi-event winner Saturday was Otsego junior Emma Hoffman. The junior swept the distance events, taking the 1,600 meters in 4:52.86 and the 3,200 meters in 10:27.44.
“Last year, missing out on all-state by one place was really hard,” Hoffman said. “This year, I wanted to get a good place. The experience helps you a bunch.”
Sturgis girls track & field coach Lesley Starkey said experience helped her team, given many of her athletes were freshmen and sophomores on the Finals runner-up team two years ago.
Relays were a big part of the win for Sturgis.
The team of Tenley Banaszak, Angela Cary, Hannah Garbine and Keyanna O’Tey won the 400 relay in 48.48 seconds, while Addison Eicher, Garbine, Sydney Bir and O’Tey won the 800 relay in 1:42.80.
Sturgis senior Eleena Kelley added a title in the discus with a distance of 135-9.
“We had a nice balance,” Starkey said. “We had field events represented well. I thought it was more of a team effort versus just a few events two years ago.”
PHOTOS (Top) Sturgis' Keyanna O'Tey carries the baton across the finish line for one of Sturgis' relay championships at Hamilton High School. (Middle) Dearborn Divine Child's Aubrey Wilson ducks past the finish line ahead of Swan Valley's Sydney Kuhn, right, in the 200. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
Speedy Pair Help Negaunee Pass Rival
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 2, 2018
KINGSFORD — Sophomore Emily Paupore and senior Clara Johnson provided the Negaunee girls with a potent 1-2 punch in the distance races Saturday, helping them earn their first Upper Peninsula Division 1 track title in eight years with 115 points.
With the win, the Miners also broke the seven-season championship streak for Marquette, which came in second this time with 89½ points. Kingsford was third with 84.
“This was a very exciting day,” said Negaunee coach Vickie Paupore. “At the beginning of the season we knew this was a special group of girls, and our seniors were excellent leaders and role models. They fought real hard. It was exciting to see Emily and Clara go 1-2 those races. It’s so inspiring to see the way they care about each other.”
Emily Paupore and Johnson helped the Miners open with a victory in the 3,200-meter relay in 10 minutes, 4.56 seconds. Paupore then captured the 800 (2:23.7), 1,600 (5:15.23) and set the U.P. meet record in the 3,200 (11:25.52), shaving 86 hundredths of a second off the previous record by Marquette’s Lindsey Rudden (11:26.38) in 2013.
“I’ll take anything if it’s a U.P. record,” said Emily, who also owns the school record in the 3,200 (11:11). “Being my fourth race, I knew it’d be tough.
“The past two years I’ve had so much support from Clara. It’s really sad to see she’s going.
“I always get butterflies before a race, which probably helped me in the 800. You can always build off that energy. I’m going to keep myself busy this summer with weight training and local road races to get ready for cross country. I love cross country. That’s my favorite.”
Johnson, who plans to play basketball at Michigan Tech next winter, was runner-up in the 800 (2:24.44), 1,600 (5:16.7) and 3,200 (12:01), all in personal-best times.
“It was nice having somebody to train with the last two years,” said Johnson, who like Paupore was nearly overcome with emotion after their last high school race together. “There was a lot of pressure being the second seed because I knew there would be a lot of people coming after me. I did what I had to do to get second. I PRd, which is what you hope to do at the Finals, especially with this being my last one. In my junior year, I led Emily and pushed her to get better. This year she led and pushed me to get better.”
Sophomore Chloe Norman, also part of the winning 3,200 relay, added a first in the 300 hurdles (47.78), second in high jump (4-8) and third in long jump (15-2½).
“Last year we set our school record in the 3,200 relay (9:46.91),” said Norman. “This time we just wanted to get a good place and conserve energy for other events.”
Marquette’s Rachel Hunt won long jump (15-2½), edging Houghton junior Anabel Needham by a half-inch. Hunt also helped the winning 800 relay (1:49.2) and was runner-up in the 200 (27.35).
Kingsford junior Olivia Allen took the 100 (13.09), retained her 200 (27.07) and 400 (59.51) titles and helped the Flivvers repeat as 1,600-meter relay champions (4:19).
“I’ve been working pretty hard on my starts, and I think I had one of my best starts in the 100,” said Allen. “It wasn’t perfect, but it gives me something to work on for next year.
“We had a great bunch of seniors who helped us so much. The weather was definitely on our side today. The breeze helped cool us off a little on the back stretch.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Negaunee’s Emily Paupore checks to make sure teammate Clara Johnson will finish second to her in a race Saturday; they came in first and second, respectively, in three events. (Middle) Kingsford’s Olivia Allen breaks across the line first in the 100-meter dash. (Photos by Cara Kamps. Click for more at RunMichigan.com.)