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.)
It's Hartland's Turn to Celebrate 'Ring Season' After Clinching 1st Finals Title
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 7, 2025
GRAND RAPIDS – It may not yet possess the tradition of a holiday season, but the Hartland gymnastics team is ecstatic to have a whole new season to celebrate.
It's now Ring Season for the Eagles.
Hartland turned eight top-five finishes into its first MHSAA Finals team gymnastics championship Friday at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills by outlasting three-time reigning champ Rockford. The Eagles finished with 148.57 points to 146.525 for the runner-up Rams.
Eagles coach Gavin Kress said the result lived up to the team's ultimate goal going way back to last year's narrow but promising fourth-place finish. And Kress said his team had the perfect expression for the success going back to the first days of practice this winter.
"Our motto all year has been ring season," he said. "That's what the girls call it – ring season."
While programs such as Rockford, Farmington United and Grand Ledge have dominated the sport with 14 Finals titles between them since 2008, Kress didn't think his team’s championship came out of the blue. Hartland finished fourth the last two years, missing out on last season’s title by 2.5 points and by 4.1 in 2023.
This time around, the Eagles were led by seven seniors, but with plenty of underclassmen talent. The team didn't score below 142 points in any significant meet this winter, topped off by arguably their best showing Friday.
"We've definitely built up to this, and we killed (routines) today," he said. "We've beat team and individual records all year. I didn't want to predict this, but the girls did."
Hartland was headed by junior Alexis Fundich, who finished first on bars (9.6750), beam (9.75), floor (9.7) and all-around (38.425). She said many of her teammates have been on varsity for two or three years while showing significant improvement. That improvement, Fundich said, is what pushed the Eagles from the cusp of a state title to taking home the hardware.
"We've worked hard, so it's not too surprising to us," she said. "We were a little frustrated after finishing fourth last year, but that motivated us. We worked hard and expected to do better than fourth."
Farmington United was third with 144.975 points, Northville fourth at 142.575 and Linden/Fenton/Lake Fenton was fifth at 139.925.
Rockford coach Michelle Ankney, part of a program which has collected six Finals titles since 2015, said she wasn't surprised by Hartland's solid showing, which also featured four top-five finishes by Abby Griffen, including a first on vault (9.725), as she placed fourth all-around (37.8).
"They have some amazing skills, hard skills. We're impressed with them, for sure," Ankney said. "But we're proud of ourselves. We're young (six seniors among 27 athletes). We had the highest team score we've had this year, so we're very proud."
Hartland senior Jayden Garcia said while some teams would be more than content with a top-five Finals finish, last year's meet left her teammates believing they could take the next step this season.
"We got fourth, but we tried to push ourselves more and more," she said. "This year we thought we could do better. We worked from the moment we got fourth last year. We were fired up at every event. Winning state was our main goal."
Kress said much of the team's strength can be traced to talent. But when you toss in the leadership of seven seniors, the motivation from being in the hunt a year ago and obvious improvement over the last three months, winning the championship actually shouldn't have been considered a longshot.
"One hundred percent," he said of the seniors' influence. "They support every single person on the team and help build up their confidence. That definitely contributed to our scoring."
Leah Hodge of Farmington United, last season’s Division 1 individual all-around champ, was second on vault (9.7), second on bars (9.675), third on floor (9.475) sixth on beam (9.325) and second all-around (38.175).
Rockford's Ava Ezell was runner-up on beam (9.65) and third all-around (37.875). Keira Sadler of Linden finished fifth (36.8) all-around.
The Individual Finals will be held at Kenowa Hills beginning at noon Saturday.
PHOTOS (Top) Hartland's Emma Beres competes on floor exercise during Friday's Team Gymnastics Final at Kenowa Hills. (Middle) Livonia Stevenson's Mya Chamberlain competes on balance beam. (Below) The Eagles take a team photo with their championship trophy. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)