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.)
East Kentwood Friends Continuing to Excel as NCAA Champ, Pro Soccer Keeper
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
August 8, 2022
Maia Perez and Gabriela Leon saw it coming.
In fact, the two 2017 East Kentwood all-staters each predicted remarkable post-high school success for each other long before graduation.
Perez was a four-year letterwinner as a soccer goalkeeper who led the Falcons to the Division 1 Semifinals as a sophomore and now plays professionally in Los Angeles. Leon, an all-state pole vaulter in high school, recently became University of Louisville's first NCAA champion in that event.
The two say the success doesn't come as a surprise to either, that part of that success can be explained because they continually pushed each other athletically at East Kentwood.
"Obviously there are a lot of good athletes at East Kentwood, and she was one of those amazing athletes," Perez said of Leon. "When she accomplished something, I wanted to do something big, too. I was all-state in soccer, she was all-state in track, and it was nice to have someone push you, even on days when you didn't feel like being pushed."
Leon credits Perez for helping her grasp the difference between toiling as an ordinary athlete and rising to an elite status as early as the ninth grade.
"When you see high-caliber athletes in the state finals, I think you see the struggles that others don't see," Leon said. "I saw what she was doing, and I learned from that. I learned, and I think she did too, that you have to work hard to be good, to achieve your goals. There is definitely mutual respect between us."
The two met as freshmen and quickly became friends. They originally had soccer in common as both played junior varsity as freshmen before Perez was promoted to varsity later that spring. The teammates began hanging out together off the field, be it at the beach or while taking the school's advanced physical education class together. By the time they were sophomores, however, it had become apparent that Perez's future – despite being a good basketball player – would remain in soccer, while Leon – who had also lettered in volleyball and cross country – narrowed her focus to track.
Both excelled after leaving East Kentwood. Leon had earned her first top-eight MHSAA Finals places as a sophomore, and as a senior placed fourth in pole vault, third in long jump and ran on the fourth-place 400 relay and third-place 1,600 relay as East Kentwood finished third in Lower Peninsula Division 1. Her high school personal records were 13 feet in pole vault and 18-11 in long jump (with a wind-aided 19-7). She broke Louisville's indoor and outdoor records in the pole vault as a sophomore and never looked back. She won the 2022 NCAA outdoor championship in June with a jump of 15-feet, one inch (4.6 meters) while becoming just the fourth collegian ever to amass three clearances over 4.6 meters.
Perez was a three-time Ottawa-Kent Conference Red soccer pick in high school who helped the Falcons in 2015 to their best postseason finish, when they lost to 1-0 in a Semifinal to eventual Division 1 champ Saline. She went on to play at University of Hartford after attracting interest from other programs including Western Michigan, Coastal Carolina and Pittsburgh. She wound up playing every minute of all 37 of her starts as a sophomore and junior while missing just 45 minutes over 19 games as a freshman. COVID-19 wiped out the program's season when Perez was a senior. Still, she is eighth on the school's all-time saves list with 206 while ranking 10th in shutouts with 12.
Following college, Perez was signed by the Los Angeles-based Angel City FC of the National Women’s Soccer League. While she wasn't drafted by any NWSL club, Perez impressed coaches enough during a tryout to land a spot on the team's "Discovery List" as the youngest of three goalkeepers.
"Things have been going real well for me there," Perez said. "I feel like I've improved a ton."
While Perez credits Leon with pushing her as an athlete, she said the two didn't necessarily dwell on what they accomplished in high school. They did, however, compare notes on the similarities it took for both to succeed, both physically and mentally.
"We didn't necessarily talk about (honors) a lot," Perez said. "We both knew what each other accomplished, and I don't think we need to talk about it. But I just knew one day she would be really good in track."
Leon said the trait which stuck out about Perez in high school was her competitive drive. She hated to lose, Leon said.
"She was always a very impressive athlete," Leon noted. "She always had (success) in her because she was a real hard worker. Going into high school you could see her work ethic. We had a mutual friendship, and I saw what a work ethic and being humble could do for you."
As for herself, Leon, like many athletes, explored playing many sports. But she always came back to track.
"I always wanted to be the best athlete I could be," she said. "I was never just satisfied with just doing something. I always had this deep desire to perform to the best of my ability."
Perez remembers the first sport which interested her was skateboarding. In fact, the first time Perez met then-East Kentwood coach John Conlon, she told him she was only marginally interested in soccer. Conlon, who led East Kentwood’s girls and boys programs to a combined 654 wins and the boys varsity to five Division 1 championships, quickly made a convert of Perez.
"It's funny how things work out," Perez said. "I was looking for something that I could really be a part of, and now it's my job and I'm so happy I can say I'm getting paid for something I really like."
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PHOTOS (Top) Clockwise from left, Gabriela Leon competes for the East Kentwood and University of Louisville track & field teams, and Maia Perez plays soccer for East Kentwood and trains for the NWSL's Angel City FC. (Middle) Leon holds up her NCAA championship trophy in June. (Below) Perez is one of three keepers for Angel City FC. [Photos courtesy of East Kentwood's athletic department (2017 soccer), Run Michigan (2017 track & field), the Louisville athletic department (2022 track & field) and Will Navarro/Angel City FC (2022 soccer).]