Preview: Classic Clashes and Broken Records Expected
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 5, 2021
The attention that will be paid to one of the Lower Peninsula Boys Track & Field Finals on Saturday will go past usual interest in just a local school or single division.
Many eyes will be turned to the Division 1 meet, featuring among many Ann Arbor Skyline senior Hobbs Kessler, who has made national news over the last few weeks by setting the national high school record in the 1,500 (3:34.36) and qualifying for the Olympic Trials in the event.
But he’ll be facing some familiar competition in his distance races at East Kentwood – including Hartland junior Riley Hough, who edged Kessler by two seconds in the Division 1 cross country final this past fall.
Their matchup is just one of many stories worth tuning in for this weekend. Events at all four sites begin at 10 a.m. (EDT) and tickets to attend can be purchased online only at GoFan. The meets also will be broadcast on MHSAA.tv and viewable with subscription. Click to watch each division: LPD1 | LPD2 | LPD3 | LPD4.
Below is a glance at team contenders and individuals to watch in all four divisions.
Division 1 at East Kentwood
Top Regional scores: Macomb Dakota 160, Traverse City West 145½, Northville 136, Novi 136.
Team forecast: East Kentwood won the last three championships before COVID, with Ann Arbor Pioneer finishing runner-up in both 2018 and 2019. Dakota is an interesting possibility this time with qualifiers throughout the meet. Fenton has top-three seeds in six events, and Zeeland West is another team with scoring opportunities in a variety of events.
Trey Gardette, Ann Arbor Huron: The senior sprint star has taken amazing strides over the last two years and may be on the verge of an unforgettable finish to his high school career. Gardette’s top-seed 10.5 in the 100 is a blink faster than the LPD1 Finals record of 10.53, and he’s second-seeded in the 200 and also will run on the 400 relay.
Riley Hough, Hartland: The I-96 corridor has been the center of distance running this school year, and Hough hopes to follow his Division 1 cross country championship in the fall with titles in the 1,600 and 3,200. He’s seeded first in the former with a 4:13.93.
Hobbs Kessler, Ann Arbor Skyline: He’s slated to run the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 and on the top-seeded 3,200 relay (7:53.30) Saturday. He won all three of those open races at his Regional, and so while he isn’t top-seeded in any that likely means little as he could drop major time.
Tamaal Myers II, Detroit Cass Tech: The Technicians standout junior has the top 110 hurdles seed time (14.06) by nearly a second and is tied for the top seed time in the 300 (39.32). He’ll also run the 400 and on the 1,600 relay.
Brandon Miller, Fenton: He finished fifth in the 200 as a sophomore in 2019, but he can take a massive leap Saturday as his top seed time in that race (21.25) is five hundredths of a second off the meet record. He’s also the second seed in the 100 with a seed time of 10.60 that is seven hundredths of a second off that meet record. And he’ll also run on contending 400 and 800 relays.
Division 2 at Zeeland
Top Regional scores: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 216½, Dearborn Divine Child 186, Frankenmuth 164.
Team forecast: Four teams have won this championship over the last four seasons. Flint Powers Catholic is a possibility to make it five as it runs for its first team title led by sprint standouts and relays. Frankenmuth with top qualifiers in the sprints, relays and field events is another to watch in what lines up to be a low-scoring team race. A total of 10 schools won championships in this division over the previous 11 seasons before 2020 was canceled.
Ryan Brenner, Frankenmuth: The senior Eagles hurdler is the top seed in the 300 with a time of 40.1 and also will run on the top-seeded 1,600 relay (3:28.44) and high jump.
Jamal Hailey, Berrien Springs: The standout junior sprinter has the top seed time in the 100 (11.04) and the third-fastest in the 200, and he’ll also run on the second-seeded 400 relay.
Austin Hamlin, Flint Powers Catholic: The Chargers sophomore would play a major role in any team title pursuit, entering with the top seed in the 200 (22.5), third-fastest in the 100 and as part of the top-seeded 400 relay (43.3) and fourth-seeded 800 relay. That 400 relay time is a second off the meet record.
Alex Mansfield, Monroe Jefferson: The junior thrower is another who has made a major move over the last two years. He enters Saturday with the top seed in the shot put (56-3) by two feet and the top seed in the discus (163-11) by nearly 10.
Luke Stowasser, Edwardsburg: The junior Eddies jumper also is top-seeded in both of his events, with a 22-6½ in the long jump and 6-10 in the high jump. That high jump is six inches better than the field and two off the meet record. He was the high jump runner-up as a freshman.
Division 3 at Jenison
Top Regional scores: Grass Lake 132, Caro 129, Pewamo-Westphalia 126 1/3.
Team forecast: Grass Lake will be pursuing its first team title since 1970 and has six top-four seeds leading the way. Figuring the next few contenders is difficult with points looking to be spread among a number of teams.
Brennan Bargesser, Grass Lake: A drive for the team championship would include significant points from Bargesser, who is seeded first in the 200 (21.98) and 400 (49.34) and second in the 100 for his final high school meet. He’ll also run on the top-seeded 400 relay (44.14) – that seed time is one second off the meet record.
Hunter Jones, Benzie Central: The sophomore standout has two Division 3 cross country championships to his credit and will make his Track Finals debut as the top seed in the 3,200 (9:37.42) and a likely contender in the 1,600 and 800 as well.
Josh Jones, Harrison: He’ll close his high school career running the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, with his 1,600 seed time (4:19.84) topping that event list.
Brenden Quackenbush, Chesaning: He’s set to establish himself in both throws at this level Saturday, with the top seed in the discus (143-0) by nearly two feet and the third seed in the shot put.
Derrick Voltz, Carrollton: A qualifier in the 100 as a freshman in 2019, he could cap his junior season as a two-event champion. He’s seeded first in the long jump (23-2) by nearly a foot with that leap only five inches off the meet record. He’s also the top seed in the 100 (11.11) just ahead of Bargesser.
Division 4 at Hudsonville
Top Regional scores: Lutheran Westland 171, Reading 170, Carson City-Crystal 147.
Team forecast: Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep was the back-to-back champion before COVID, and Saugatuck was the Division 3 runner-up in 2019 but is back in Division 4. Saugatuck won’t run a relay this weekend but has favorites in the hurdles and distance events, and Breckenridge’s strengths in the sprints and relays should make it a team title contender as well as it seeks its first championship.
Coleman Clark, Carson City-Crystal: The lone returning champion in this division won the 3,200 as a sophomore in 2019 and will run that race along with the 800 and 1,600 and as part of the top-seeded 3,200 relay (8:19.40).
Benny Diaz, Saugatuck: The junior sprint/hurdles standout could make a run at four individual titles Saturday or next season. He’s the top seed in both hurdles races this time (15.01 in the 110 and 40.59 in the 300), and the fourth seed in the 200 and seventh in the 100. He was third in Division 3 in the 300 as a freshman.
Zane Forist, Carson City-Crystal: He was the runner-up in the discus and eighth in the shot put as a freshman two years ago, and he’s aiming for much more this time. His top-seed throws of 196-8 and 64-4, respectively, would both set LPD4 championship meet records – both by roughly six feet.
Nik Pettinga, Saugatuck: A top distance runner in cross country the last few seasons, he is looking to finish as a champion in his last high school meet and enters as the top seed in the 1,600 (4:26.99) and second seed (to junior teammate Max Sharnas) in the 3,200.
Charlie Steinhaus, Breckenridge: The speedy senior would help lead any charge for a team championship, entering as the top seed in the 100 (11.01) and second in the 200. He’ll also run on the top-seeded 400 relay (44.51) and second-seeded 800 relay.
PHOTO: Carrollton’s Derrick Voltz, right, breaks across the finish line during the 100-meter preliminaries at his Division 3 Regional at Shepherd last month. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Owner of State's All-Time Farthest Shot Put Aiming for National Record, Olympics
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 25, 2026
From the first time Montrose's Addyson Stiverson picked up the shot put at a sixth-grade track & field practice, it was clear there was something there.
Even if she wasn’t quite clear on the name.
“I ran at the first couple practices, and was like, this wasn’t for me,” she said. “They said, ‘You’re strong, try the heavy ball thing.’ I honestly never threw it like a baseball. It wasn’t impeccable, but I kind of knew the basics. I definitely had some sore elbows and shoulders.”
Five years later, Stiverson sits atop the record books as she’s thrown that heavy ball thing farther than any female in Michigan high school history.
Her personal best of 53 feet, 7½ inches, which she threw Dec. 13 at an indoor meet at Grand Valley State University, is nearly two feet farther than the previous record of 51-11 held by Byron great Sarah Marvin, according to MichTrack.org, which tracks records from all meets. (The MHSAA record book is for Finals meets only.)
And as she enters her junior outdoor season having already won the shot put twice and discus once at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Track & Field Finals, Stiverson’s goals go well beyond the state’s borders.
“(Competing in the Olympics) is the goal,” Stiverson said. “Throwing in 2028 would be nice, but I think a good goal is to be a good contender in (2032). Even going to trials in 2028 and getting close to making the team would be a big win for me.”
It’s a huge goal, but not at all outlandish for Stiverson, who is already fielding scholarship offers from between 20 and 30 major Division I programs and is part of the Nike Elite Team, which includes 40 of the country’s top high school track & field athletes.
She also trains with Dane Miller at Throws University in Reading, Pa. Miller has trained two national champions and 12 World Team members.
“When he texted me like a month or two after we went out there and he was like, ‘I want to coach you,’ I was like, holy crap. I was kind of fan-girling for a moment,” Stiverson said. “He’s like one of the only reasons I throw as far as I do. When he first started coaching me, he was like, you’re not doing this anymore, we’re doing this. He cut out all the bad stuff.”
Stiverson’s 53-7½ would rank seventh all-time on the National Federation of State High School Associations list. The listed record there is 57-1¼, by Alyssa Wilson of New Jersey. But Wilson threw 58-1 during the summer after her senior year, and that’s the record Stiverson is chasing.
Plus a little more.
“She always has that goal in the back of her mind of breaking that 58-1,” said Adam Stiverson, Addyson’s father and Montrose’s girls track coach. “She kind of has a little future goal that no one really talks about it: Could a high school female thrower ever hit 60 feet?
“She wants to compete in college no matter what, and she wants to get better. There’s always room for improvement. If she can fix some things, get a little bigger, a little stronger, 60 feet could be possible. But let’s get 55 feet out of the way, 56 feet out of the way, 57 feet out of the way. If we can get to 57, then we can talk about that 60, because then we’d know that 58-1 is coming.”
While chasing down national goals, Stiverson has been dominating locally.
She’s never been beaten in the shot put during the high school season, and she’s never finished lower than third in the discus, despite it being much less of a focus for her, as she doesn’t want it to affect her form in the shot.
“I’m not going to lie, I don’t touch a disc that much,” Stiverson said. “I give it maybe 75-25, maybe 70-30 during the season. I feel like if I give it too much attention, it could mess up my shot.”
While throwing is her main focus now, Stiverson did play varsity basketball as a freshman and sophomore at Montrose. She also played football all the way through freshman year.
At 5-foot-9, her all-around athletic ability and explosiveness are a great base for her throwing ability, and while she hasn’t shown it off in a while, she can run, too.
On the day she set the Montrose school record for the shot put as a freshman, she also won the 100 meters at a Mid-Michigan Activities Conference quad meet.
“That was for team points,” Stiverson said with a laugh. “Our coach said, ‘One of the girls didn’t show up, we need you to run.’ And I had my spikes with me, so I did.”
Stiverson was the Division 3 Finals champion in the shot put both of the past two years, and won the discus in 2025 as well. She was runner-up in the discus as a freshman.
There are still two full seasons to go, but she’s on pace to become the first female thrower in the Lower Peninsula to win four Finals titles in the shot put.
“I think that was my biggest goal when I came into high school; I wanted to be a four-time shot put state champ,” she said. “When it does happen, that would be one of the coolest things. That was a dream.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS Montrose's Addyson Stiverson competes in the shot put at last season’s LPD3 Finals. (Photos by Mary Wilson/RunMichigan.com.)