Upper Peninsula Teams Find Successful Footing at Hancock Invitational
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 7, 2026
HANCOCK — Whatever happened to the days of smaller track & field meets?
Are they gone?
Answer: No.
The Hancock Bulldogs held their invitational this past Saturday in the Copper Country.
“This is the first time we’ve held this meet on a Saturday,” Hancock coach Jennifer Smith said. “This is also the first time we’ve held the varsity and middle school meets on the same day. We had a beautiful day and had a lot of PRs (personal records).”
The Bulldogs, showing superior numbers, swept both girls and boys titles in their lone home meet this season.
“It’s nice to have a home invitational, but it’s kinda scary having the only relay team in the race,” Bulldogs’ junior Olivia Kangas said after anchoring their 800 relay. “All the eyes are on you. The downside of that is you don’t have any competition, but it’s still a motivator and counts as a win.”
The Hancock girls scored 174 points, followed by Dollar Bay with 82 and Ontonagon at 60.
Sophomore Alena Pietila provided the Bulldogs with firsts in the 800 (2:41.48), 1,600 (6:03.68) and 3,200 (13:28.19).
“This was a phenomenal day for Alena, and our captain Rebekah Barrette and Olivia Kangas had solid days,” Smith added. “The rest of the kids are younger.”
The Hancock boys collected 145 points. They were followed by Dollar Bay with 70 and Calumet Copper Island Academy with 51.
“The smaller numbers make for a more relaxed atmosphere,” Hancock sophomore Robert Comstock said. “It was fun and it’s motivation to run against the seniors. It’s better on your home track. I’m looking forward to next year’s meet.”
Hancock sophomore Sawyer Martens, who anchored three winning relays, placed second in the boys 200-meter dash in 26.42 seconds on the asphalt surface.
“I really pushed myself and ran hard in every race,” he said. “This is a good meet, and it’s really fun. This is way better than practice. We fought real hard. Running against older people builds confidence.”
Although the meet drew six relatively small schools, some of the events were quite competitive.
The girls 400-meter dash was an example of that as Ontonagon senior Violet Amos pulled away in the home stretch to win in 1:07.2. Her opponent, Dollar Bay sophomore Emma Myllyoja, was clocked at 1:10.88 on a sunny and mild day.
“I could have run better,” Amos said. “Although, she’s a decent runner. It’s a good meet. There’s not many teams here, but it’s fun. We’ve lost a couple meets due to the weather. It’s nice to be able to fill a gap in our schedule.”
Amos, who will attend classes at Bay College this fall, also won the 100 (13.5) and 200 (28.31).
“We didn’t have everybody here, but some of the kids came out on a Saturday which shows they like what they’re doing,” Ontonagon coach Brian Amos said. “We didn’t make any changes. We kind of let them do their thing. We just want to see some progress.”
Dollar Bay junior Laila Bell won long jump (15-7½) and pole vault (7-6) and placed second in the 100 (14.08) and 800 (3:00.81).
“This is definitely not what I was expecting (in the 800),” she said. “I need to work on pacing. In the last meet, I was not very good in long jump. I just needed to fix some things and got a PR in the 100, which I’m happy about.”
Chassell sophomore Jordan Holombo took the 100 hurdles (17.69) and 300s (49.31).
“It’s awesome having another opportunity to compete,” Chassell coach Casana Ryynanen said. “We had a girl run the 100 hurdles for the first time and had another doing the 1,600 for the first time. The kids are doing an awesome job.”
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.
PHOTO Hancock athletes bite down on their medals won at their home invitational.
Keweenaw Classic Provides Indoor Competition as UP Spring Begins
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
April 28, 2022
HOUGHTON — The weather may still be in no particular hurry to warm up, but many Upper Peninsula track & field teams found a way to beat the elements earlier this month.
Michigan Technological University, as it had for many years, was ready to lend a helping hand and hosted its annual Keweenaw Classic indoor meet April 12.
Northern Michigan University also has hosted high school meets inside the Superior Dome for more than 25 years. Those meets, however, have been interrupted by COVID-19.
This year’s event at Tech included a pre-meet clinic for the first time.
“The Tech athletes were very helpful,” said Houghton boys coach Erik Johnson. “With no meets in the Dome, this kind of fills a void. It was absolutely critical to get this in. With 44 guys on the team, any open meet you can get is good. This gives us a chance to compete with schools we often don’t see.”
Baraga coach Tammy Crittenden was also thankful for the opportunity.
“The clinic was very helpful,” she said. “Hopefully, our kids got something out of it. We also brought our middle school kids to the clinic. They do a nice job putting on this meet and helping all the student-athletes.”
L’Anse coach John Jacobson had similar thoughts.
“The clinic was very valuable, and I think we learned a few things,” he said. “We’re very thankful to have this opportunity. A lot of work goes into this.”
Team scores weren’t kept, and shot put was the lone field event.
“We appreciate the opportunity to do shot put,” said Negaunee girls coach Vickie Paupore. “That’s one area I think we’re going to be real strong. It was nice for our younger kids to have this experience. I’m very grateful for our kids to have a chance to compete this early in the season. We still have snow on our track.”
Bark River-Harris sophomore Mackenzie Hoffmeyer, who won the 60 and 200-meter dashes, was grateful to have a chance to compete.
“I was real nervous at first,” she said. “After the 60 I felt little more relaxed. I was in the fifth lane in the 200. I knew I had to go out fast.”
Ontonagon junior Makennah Uotila was also anxious to get the season underway.
“Getting a meet in right now was huge,” she said. “Pretty soon we’ll be doing two meets a week. This was good for conditioning.”
Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie hosted two indoor meets this year with the more recent one taking place April 21.
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.
PHOTO Ontonagon’s Makennah Uotila, here starting the 400 at last season’s Upper Peninsula Division 3 Finals, was among athletes who competed at the Keweenaw Classic. (Photo by Kara Camps.)