'Prepapalooza' Kicks Off 3-Week Celebration

NEGAUNEE — This was a highly-successful track & field season for the Negaunee girls, to say the least.

The Miners finished first in every meet they ran, completing a perfect spring by retaining their Upper Peninsula Division 1 Finals title May 30 at Kingsford.

The team set eight school records during the season, including a pair by junior Keira Waterman. Her record in the 800 (2:19.78) took place at the U.P. Finals, and she broke the 400 with the top performance (58.5) at the Negaunee Lions Invitational on May 8.

“We had lots of fun,” she said. “I think the season just went by so fast. I was pretty confident we would do well. It feels great to get the school records, which is sometimes unexpected. We were so supportive of each other. This was a fun group to be with.”

Junior Sadie Rogers set a U.P. Finals and school record in the 300-meter hurdles in 45.04 seconds and established an additional school record in the 200 (26.21). Rogers also holds the school record in the 100 hurdles (15.75), which she set a year ago.

She is now a three-time U.P. champion in the 100 hurdles and a repeat winner in the 300.

“You just think about the next hurdle and go on,” she said. “I try not to stutter-step, and get into a rhythm. The 100 is such a fast race. There’s no margin for error. I had a good finish in the Finals, which I think set the tone.”

In the 200, Rogers was runner-up to Marquette freshman Jordyn Anthony who was clocked in a personal-best 26.11 seconds.

The Miners set a school and league scoring record in the Mid-Peninsula Conference meet at Gwinn with a whopping 317 points. Manistique was runner-up at 85.

“We scratched three of our top runners because we were going after the (school) 400 record,” junior Izzy Francisco said. “We got that by six seconds and were surprised by that, but I’d say our biggest highlight was the Lions meet because we didn’t know if we were ready to go. Winning that meet made us realize we were right where we wanted to be.”

Rogers, Waterman, Riley Conklin and Brynn Wieciech combined to set the school record in the 1,600 relay (4:02.64) while putting the finishing touches on their 16^th consecutive M-PC title.

“One of our goals is to get under four minutes next year,” Rogers said. “I think it’s cool that our team is so deep.”

Beside winning the M-PC, the Miners were crowned Western Peninsula Athletic Conference champions for the fifth-straight time.

“These girls are very competitive,” coach Vickie Paupore said. “I never saw so much depth among the hurdlers. We were down by 10 points early in the U.P. Finals. We really got pushed by Marquette. Kiera ran the perfect race in the 800. I never had a girl go under 2:20 (through 30 years of coaching).”

Francisco joined Rogers, Waterman and sophomore Elvira Coyne in the 400 relay which set the school record at 50.47 in the Marquette County Meet on May 26.

“It felt good to do that,” Coyne said. “We weren’t really going for the record. It just happened to work out. We always supported and pushed each other and went into the U.P. Finals with a positive mindset. Marquette was our biggest challenge, especially in the distances. Our hard work paid off. It was a lot of fun receiving the (championship) trophy.”

Coyne also set a school record while placing second in the 100 (12.61) at the Finals, topping last year’s record run by Macyn DellAngelo by one tenth of a second.

Junior Priya Morey earned her first U.P. title with a throw of 110 feet, 5 inches in discus.

“I think last year’s experience helped me a lot,” she said. “I had a lot better idea of what to expect. Having my teammates there also helped a lot. Last year I was there to have fun. This time there was a little more pressure.”

Morey says winning the Ram Scram at Harbor Springs on April 24 was a major motivator for the team.

“That was a confidence builder,” she added. “Our coaches just put in so much work to make a happy environment. When we went downstate, our coach came over and watched us because the timing of everything allowed her to do that. She’s such a motivator and great leader. We had such a great time this season. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to throw.”

Rogers was the team’s leading scorer this season with 229¼ points. Waterman collected 213¼, followed by Coyne 195¼, senior Nori Korsman 177¼ and senior Josie Mechling 132. Korsman also is the owner of the school’s pole vault record at 10 feet and finished her career with more than 500 points.

Waterman recently competed at the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association Champions of Champions meet at Davison, where she placed fourth in her 800 race.

“That was quite a learning experience,” she said.

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.

PHOTOS (Top) Negaunee's Keira Waterman reacts to breaking the school record in the 1,600 relay (with Sadie Rogers, Riley Conklin, and Brynn Wieciech) as she crosses the finish line during the Mid-Peninsula Conference finals May 18 at Gwinn. (Middle) Negaunee's Sadie Rogers leads and eventually wins the 100 hurdles April 21 at Marquette. (Below) The Miners pose for a team photo after winning the UP Division 1 Finals championship May 30 at Kingsford. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)