Thriving with Dual-Sport Athletes, Brandywine Claims 1st Girls Track Regional Title
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
June 17, 2026
NILES – Just a few days after the 2025 girls track & field season had ended at Niles Brandywine, Terry Borr and his coaching staff were already looking forward to the start of the 2026 campaign.
"We had done a really good job at the 2025 Regional meet with the team finishing third. Our only goal that day was simply to qualify as many kids as we could for the state meet," Borr said.
Impressed with the effort put forth at last season’s meet by his Bobcats, Borr and his assistants used that as strong motivation for their athletes to attain high goals this spring.
"As a coaching staff we got together, talked things over and put some things in place with our No. 1 goal this spring being to win a Regional championship," Borr recalled.
Borr knew that wouldn't be an easy task at Brandywine, which like most small schools, must share several athletes with other spring sports teams. Out of 13 athletes on his 2026 track & field roster, eight were dual-sport participants.
Freshman Grace Colbert, junior Lily Gill, senior Karleigh Byrd and sophomore Alison Murray also played tennis.
"I managed to balance both tennis and track by prioritizing both as much as possible,” Byrd said. “Whether that was fitting in both practices and even matches and meets in the same day, that was easy to do because both my coaches are very understanding about each sport and my dedication to both programs.”
Freshman Hailey Smith also competed in softball, and freshmen Laila Wogatzke and Aubrey Burt are soccer players as well.
"We don't have a lot of practice time with some of these girls. But a lot of them are all just quality athletes and that helped us out a great deal,” Terry Borr said. “Five of these girls have broken over six school records here over the last three years.”
Borr also credits the strong contributions of his assistant coaches Brian McNamara (distance runners), Becky Shafer (throws) and Jeff Miller (hurdles).
"Brian has really worked well with our distance runners. Jeff is our football coach and he worked this spring with some of our hurdlers. Becky does a great job with our throwers too," Borr said.
Despite being spread so thin with limited practice time for nearly half the squad, Brandywine accomplished its preseason goal of winning the first Regional championship in girls track. The Bobcats placed first with 97 points to claim the Division 3 Regional at Bangor.
Brandywine scored points in 13 of 17 events to take the top spot and edge Red Arrow (a cooperative of Three Oaks River Valley and New Buffalo) by three points.
"Almost everybody on our team scored for us in the Regional. It really was a team effort,” Borr noted. “A couple weeks before the meet we had the Red Arrow team beating us by three points. So we figured out where we could put kids in different events so we could gain the maximum amount of points.”
Brandywine junior Mackenna Price was the Regional long jump champion (15-10¼).
"I think what makes me such a good competitor in the long jump is my confidence and ability to set my mind to any distance I believe in. My athleticism helps me by allowing me to push myself to be the best athlete I can be," Price said.
She teamed with Allison Kline, Byrd and freshman Zaya Price for third in the 1,600 relay. She also placed eighth in the 800.
"Makenna's desire to work hard, get better, and improving her speed down the runway all make her a good long jumper. Now she's just working more on the technical aspects to keep improving," Borr said.
Senior Allison Kline, sophomore Isabella Padron, Burt and freshman Laila Wogatzke took fifth in the 3,200 relay.
Zaya Price earned runner-up in the high jump. Murray placed second for Brandywine in the 1,600 run, fourth in the 3,200 and seventh in the 800.
"This year I succeeded the most in my 1,600. I enjoy that race the most because it takes a lot of mental strength, especially doing multiple events in one day. You really have to push yourself to the limit,” Murray said. “It's fun to watch myself and my mindset as years of running go by. My confidence and positivity are improving.
"I run cross country, and it prepares me well for track because it takes a lot of hard conditioning, like hills, pace workouts, long runs, and more. They are the same kind of workouts that you need to be successful in both sports. Since cross country is a whole 5K, the races in track, like the 800 and 1,600, feel way quicker and easier."
Byrd earned fifth in the 200 and joined Mackenna Price, Zaya Price and junior Lily Gill on the winning 800 relay (1:53.63).
"I think what makes our sprint relays so strong is that we are all so athletic and we have good chemistry. Everyone on our team pushes themselves, and we try our hardest," Zaya Price said.
Gill was a Regional champ in the 100-meter hurdles (16.19) and earned second in the 300 hurdles. Colbert took second in the 100 hurdles.
"Lily is a great athlete who has yet to reach her full potential in the hurdles. Her mechanics have improved along with her speed and athleticism. That’s what makes her a great competitor,” Borr said. “We believe that Grace will be an all-stater within the next couple years in the hurdles as well.”
Colbert, Byrd, Zaya Price and Gill swiped second in the 400 relay.
"I enjoy running in the sprint relays because working with a team of really fast girls who work as hard as you is such a fun experience," Byrd said.
Brandywine had two all-state places at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals on May 30 at Kent City. Gill finished sixth in the 100 hurdles, and Zaya Price was sixth in the high jump.
Scott Hassinger is a contributing sportswriter for Leader Publications and previously served as the sports editor for the Three Rivers Commercial-News from 1994-2022. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Niles Brandywine junior hurdler Lily Gill attacks a hurdle during one of her races this season. (Middle) Makenna Price sails through the air for Niles Brandywine in the long jump. (Below) The Niles Brandywine girls track & field team and coaching staff pose for a photo with the 2026 Division 3 Regional trophy at Bangor. (Action photos by Tanya Hagen. Team photo provided by the Niles Brandywine athletic department.)
Preview: Jokela's Final Lap Leading Way, but Many More Stars Also Ready to Shine
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 29, 2025
Spectators and competitors will get one more opportunity to watch Lake Linden-Hubbell 10-time champion Emily Jokela at Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Girls track & Field Finals – but also should keep an eye on several more standouts at Kingsford High School, including a few just getting started on potentially magnificent careers.
Jokela will seek to add to her career collection and also lead her team to a third-straight championship in Division 3. But champions from a combined 19 individual events in 2024 will be back this weekend, plus a group of freshman sprinters who are sure to make noise as we head into the second half of this decade.
All three divisions will be hosted by Kingsford High School, with preliminaries leading off the day at 9 a.m. local (Central) time. Tickets cost $11 and are available digitally only via GoFan.
MHSAA.tv will live-stream the meets beginning at 9 a.m. (CDT)/10 a.m. (EDT), viewable with subscription. Check out the Girls Track & Field page for meet information and lists of all qualifiers. Those described as "seeded" below have received those seeds based on Regional performances or early qualification during the regular season.
Following is a glance at team contenders and individuals to watch in all three divisions:
Division 1
Team forecast: Sault Ste. Marie last spring became the third school in three seasons to win the Division 1 title, following Marquette in 2023 and Negaunee in 2022. Marquette and Negaunee won the two Division 1 Regionals earlier this month, but Gladstone – third last season – could make a push to become a fourth different champion in four seasons with favorites across several running events and potential field-event points especially in pole vault.
Ella Bracket, Gladstone freshman: Along with senior teammate Lauren Sundquist, Bracket gives Gladstone potential dominance in sprints with the top seed times in the 200 (26.89) and 400 (1:02.08) and running with Sundquist as part of the top-seeded 400 (52.56) and 800 (1:52.96) relays.
Ella Fure, Marquette junior: Last season’s champion in the 1,600 and runner-up in the 3,200 is top-seeded in the 3,200 (11:57.24), third in the 1,600 (5:33.35) and will again run the 800 after finishing seventh in that race last spring.
Maija Maki-Warne, Marquette senior: She could finish her career in a big way after running on two third-place relays at last year’s Finals. Maki-Warne is seeded first in the 1,600 (5:25.82) and 800 (2:27.69) and second in the 3,200 (11:59.25), and will run on the top-seeded 1,600 relay (4:18.06).
Tessa Rautiola, Houghton junior: The reigning 3,200 champion also finished second in the 1,600 and ran on the winning 3,200 relay last season. She’s seeded fourth in both the 3,200 (12:48.67) and 1,600 (5:35.47), seventh in the 800 and will run on the top-seeded 3,200 relay (10:52.72).
Sadie Rogers, Negaunee sophomore: She made her Finals debut last season with a championship in the 100 hurdles and runner-up finish in the 300, and she’s seeded first in both the 100 hurdles (16.62) and 300 hurdles (48.13), fourth in the 200 (27.68) and will run on the third-seeded 400 relay.
Keira Waterman, Negaunee sophomore: She’s also coming back off a championship debut after winning the 400, 800, finishing second in the 200 and fourth in the 100 in 2024. She’s seeded second in the 400 (1:02.52), sixth in the 800, will long jump and run on the 1,600 relay this weekend.
Division 2
Team forecast: Bark River-Harris has won the last three Division 2 championships, but the Broncos finished only third at their Regional behind champion Pickford and runner-up Munising. Pickford ranks third all-time with 14 U.P. Finals titles but is seeking its first since 2007. West Iron County won the Division 2 title in 2021 and finished runner-up in both 2022 and 2024, and should be in the mix again after edging Ironwood to win the other Regional in this division two weeks ago.
Lauren Adams, Norway junior: She’s seeded first in the 100 (13.97), 200 (29.02) and 400 (1:05.85) and will run on the third-seeded 400 relay. She finished fourth in the 100 and 200 and third in the 400 in Division 3 as a sophomore.
Mira Johnson, Bark River-Harris sophomore: She won the pole vault and ran on two championship relays to cap an impressive freshman season, and she’s back as the top seed in the pole vault (7-6) and running on the 1,600 relay.
Talya Schreiber, Pickford junior: The reigning champion in the 1,600 and 3,200 and runner-up in the 800 could double her career haul. She’s seeded first in the 1,600 (5:33.10) and 3,200 (11:48.82), third in then 800 (2:36.22) and will run on the top-seeded 3,200 relay (11:16.56).
Bristol Shamion, West Iron County freshman: The Shamion family has dominated U.P. track this decade, and Bristol will join junior sister Lacey Shamion among the team’s likely scorers Saturday. Bristol enters her first Finals seeded first in the high jump (5-0) and 300 hurdles (51.64) and second in the 100 hurdles (18.05) and 200 (29.12).
Emma Wardon, Ironwood junior: The reigning shot put champ and fifth-place finisher in discus is seeded first in shot put (33-11) and second in discus (89-3½) this time.
Division 3
Team forecast: Lake Linden-Hubbell has won the last two championships, sharing with Stephenson in 2023 and winning outright last season. Both were among Regional champions earlier this month, along with Rapid River and Newberry – with Newberry coming off last year’s runner-up Finals finish and potentially possessing the running firepower to pull away for a first Finals title since 2015.
Destiny Bleau, Big Bay de Noc freshman: She won the 200, finished second in the 100 and third in the high jump as an eighth grader, and returns as the top seed in the 200 (26.49), sixth in the 100 and seventh in the high jump.
Faith Cappaert, Stephenson junior: The reigning champion in the 800 also finished third in the 1,600, fifth in the 400 and ran on a runner-up relay last year. She’s back as the fifth seed in all three open races and running on the second-seeded 3,200 relay.
Ava Fischer, Crystal Falls Forest Park junior: She was another big scorer last season winning the 100 hurdles, finishing second in the 300 hurdles, fifth in the pole vault and running on a runner-up relay. She’s seeded second in the 100 hurdles (16.92) and also will compete in the pole vault, 300 and 1,600 relay.
Kiera Isaacson, Dollar Bay junior: Last season’s high jump champion is top-seeded (5-3) in that event and will again run two relays.
Emily Jokela, Lake Linden-Hubbell senior: She’s finishing up a legendary career as one of seven athletes to win four individual events at a Finals, which she did in 2023 before adding titles in the 100, 400 and 300 hurdles last season and a runner-up finish in the 200. She’s seeded first in the 100 hurdles (16.56), second in the 300 hurdles (49.22) and 100 dash (13.05), and fourth in the 400.
Mariska Laurila, Carney-Nadeau senior: She’s won the discus the last two seasons, added a shot put title last year and also finished third in the long jump. She’ll compete in all three again, with the top seed in the discus (105-11) and third seed in the shot put (31-10).
Samantha Taylor, Newberry junior: She’s the reigning champion in the 1,600 and as part of the 3,200 relay, and top-seeded this weekend in the 1,600 (5:14.06) and 3,200 (11:21.07) while potentially running on the top-seeded 1,600 (4:28.60) and 3,200 (10:51.53) relays.
PHOTO Negaunee's Sadie Rogers carries the baton across the finish line to give her team a win in the 800 relay at the Marquette County Meet earlier this month. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)