Did you see that?
May 14, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It's league championship time for many MHSAA teams, especially with tennis and track and field Regionals coming up later this week. And the week that was May 7-12 provided for a good share the first of many championship-level opportunities to shine.
Tennis
Streak stopper: The Fenton tennis team ended Holly's 29-season league title run by edging the Bronchos by a point in Tuesday’s Metro League championship tournament. The Flint Journal reported that Madison Ballard became the first Fenton No. 1 singles player to win a league championship in 24 seasons. (Tri-County Times)
Softball
On the rise: Division 1 No. 5 Portage Central swept top-ranked Mattawan -- putting Portage Central ahead by two games at the top of the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West standings. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Strike 75: Fennville’s Selena Beltran-Pena had strikeouts for 25 of 30 outs in two five-inning wins over Martin. Beltran-Pena threw a no-hitter in the opener and a one-hitter in the second game. (Holland Sentinel)
Tuned up: Saginaw Swan Valley beat three ranked Division 3 teams – No. 2 Saginaw Valley Lutheran, No. 4 Tawas and No. 7 Unionville-Sebewaing – as part of a round-robin brought on by a delay at the Hemlock Invitational that forced the tournament to break up into smaller groups of games. Swan Valley is ranked No. 3 in Division 2. (Saginaw News)
Track and Field
Down to the wire: Two of the state’s best boys and girls teams compete in the O-K Red, and Friday’s conference championship meet no doubt provided at least a partial preview of next month’s MHSAA Division 1 Finals. The top-ranked Rockford girls edged No. 2-ranked East Kentwood, while the top-ranked East Kentwood boys ran away from the No. 3 Rockford boys and the rest of the field to win that league title. (Grand Rapids Press)
Record Breaker: Jackson High’s Cierra Pryor won the 100 meters and also the long jump at Friday’s Siena Heights Invitational, with her jump of 19 feet, 1.5 inches breaking a 31-year-old school record. (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)
Just getting started: Richland Gull Lake freshman Kirsten Taylor also broke her school's long jump record, which had stood since 1978, with a leap of 18-5. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Still undefeated: Norway’s Dani Gagne had won all 24 events in which she’d competed through Friday, including winning the 100, 200, 400 and long jump at the Norway Miners Co-Ed Meet. Her long jump of 17-0.5 broke her school record in that event set a year ago, and her 58.61 in the 400 broke another school record set during the early 1980s. (Iron Mountain Daily News)
Baseball
Best of the Best: Richland Gull Lake, ranked No. 3 in Division 2, beat top-ranked Grand Rapids Christian 10-4 in the championship game of its Best of the Best Invitational. Gull Lake also beat No. 5 St. Clair during the event. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Editor's note: Did we miss something? Comment below and tell us about it. Is there an event coming up that we should make sure to note? Comment or e-mail [email protected].
Record Books Rewritten as Negaunee Girls Bring Their Best at Power-Packed Final
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2026
KINGSFORD — Doing as expected can sometimes be challenging.
The Negaunee girls did that in convincing fashion here Saturday by retaining their Upper Peninsula Division 1 Track & Field Finals title with 173 points.
Marquette earned the runner-up honor with 123, and third-place Gladstone scored 61.
“We thought we had an outstanding season, although you’re still a little nervous coming in,” Miners coach Vickie Paupore said. “The girls worked hard. They believed in themselves and each other. All of our throwers showed up today and got personal bests. All of the girls performed very well.”
Negaunee junior Sadie Rogers set the U.P. Division 1 Finals record in the 300-meter hurdles in 45.04 seconds, topping the previous record (45.4) run by Sault Ste. Marie’s Selena Moser in 2010.
That also marked a school record for Rogers, who also won the 100-meter dash in a season-best 15.96 and placed second in the 200 in a school-best 26.21 on this sunny and warm afternoon.
Marquette freshman Jordyn Anthony tied the UPD1 Finals record in the 100 at 12.55, which she shares with Calumet’s Chelsea Jacques from 2012.
Anthony also won the 200 in a personal-best 26.11 and helped the Sentinels sweep the sprint relays.
“She’s a very talented runner,” Rogers said.
“It’s so relieving to set the school record in the 300 hurdles. It was just so hard to get here, and it feels so good to get the school record in the 200. This is a confidence builder for sure. Having good weather also helped. These were perfect conditions.”
Classmate Keira Waterman added a Negaunee school record while winning the 800 (2:19.78), followed by Marquette senior Ella Fure in a personal-best 2:21.14 and freshman Emma Ziegler (2:33.82).
Waterman also won the 400 in a personal-best 58.5 and placed third in long jump (15-3¼).
Sophomore Elvera Coyne provided the Miners with yet another school record while placing second in the 100 (12.61), followed by junior teammate Izzy Francisco (12.9).
Coyne’s season-ending effort in the 100 topped the previous record (12.62) by Macyn DellAngelo set a year ago.
“It felt amazing,” Coyne said. “It’s an awesome feeling to do it as a sophomore. Macyn was a good friend of mine.”
Negaunee junior Priya Morey added a first in discus at 110-5.
Fure, who anchored the winning 3,200 relay, later set a meet record in the open 3,200 (11:21.58), which surpassed the previous best from seven years ago (11:25.52) by Emily Paupore of Negaunee.
“The 3,200 is my race,” Fure said a week after running a 10:49.17 at Grand Rapids. “I was real confident because all three of us PR’d downstate. I knew I could run a sub-11. Emma Ziegler had a good, strong finish and Ava Cantway ran real well.”
Junior Taylen Todd, also part of Marquette’s sprint relays, added a first in long jump (16-8½). Kingsford junior Mylee Kreider was runner-up (16-6¾).
Manistique set a school record while placing third in the 800 relay (1:50.42), and senior Gwen Brewster took first in shot put (33-1½).
“I just kept pushing myself,” freshman Harper Andersen said after anchoring Manistique’s record-setting relay. “Our handoffs went well. This makes me feel I can accomplish a lot because I’m a part of this.”
Also winning championships were Escanaba’s Rayne Martin in the high jump and Gladstone’s Maggie Karl in the pole vault. Houghton’s Amy Sziber finished first in the 100, 200 and shot put adaptive events.
PHOTOS (Top) Negaunee's Sadie Rogers, center, leads and eventually wins the 100 hurdles Saturday. (Middle) Marquette's Jordyn Anthony, center, gets ready to lean for the finish line during a Sentinels relay victory. (Click for more from Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)