HAMILTON – Parma Western boys track & field coach Lucas Sponsler never has been happier to see one of his relay teams finish second.

Entering the 1,600 relay at Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals, Sponsler knew his team needed to finish sixth or higher to overtake River Rouge, which held a two-point lead but didn’t have a team competing in that last race of the afternoon.

As it turns out, that closing event was a perfect reflection of Western’s day.

Western took second to win its first Finals team title by six points, with 44 total, despite not winning a single event throughout the competition.

Depth and versatility in running and field events allowed Western to prevail. 

“That’s pretty sweet,” Sponsler said. “I felt like our team was built a lot more for team states. We knew we were built for this because we had a variety of strong athletes.”

While Parma Western made history by winning what Sponsler said was just the third state title by any sports team at the school, River Rouge also had reason to be proud.

After registering just one point at last year’s event, the Panthers took a major jump with their best Finals finish. 

Leading the way for River Rouge were seniors Jaiden Melton and Donpaul Keith. Melton won the 100 meters in 10.62 seconds, while Keith won the 200 in 21.66. The two also were part of River Rouge’s winning 800 relay, which came in first with a time of 1:27.89.

“Those guys, they did everything they could and it was amazing for them,” River Rouge head coach Mike Carson said. “We bounced back and we showed up in the individuals, and we showed up in the relay. I’ll take a team runner-up.”

The multiple-event winners on the day individually were Marshall senior Jack Bidwell and Battle Creek Harper Creek junior DJ Wood. 

Bidwell won 1,600 meters in 4:14.95 and the 3,200 meters in 9:12.13, using a lethal finishing kick to surge ahead at the finish line.

“I like to use my kick a lot, so I pushed on that today,” said Bidwell, who will run in college for Michigan. “I’ve kind of just always had a kick. I like to say it’s my mentality a lot. It’s like, ‘Why not?’ … I feel like that pushes me a lot and has helped me get to a lot of places I’ve been.”

After not competing at the Finals last year, Wood swept the hurdles events taking the 110 race in 14.15 seconds and winning the 300 hurdles in 39.24.

“I felt really confident doing it,” Wood said. “I put in a lot of work and really cared about it.”

Another standout performance came from Stevensville Lakeshore sophomore Kaden Griffiths, who broke a meet record in the long jump with a leap of 24-¼ . 

Click for full results.

PHOTOS (Top) Parma Western sprints to the finish in the 1,600 relay; the Panthers' runner-up finish in the race clinched their team title. (Middle) Marshall's Jack Bidwell, left, raises his hands in victory as he crosses the finish line. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)