Area athletes compete in LMC Championships, state finals up next
BOYNE CITY — It’s already been decided who will be moving on to their respective state finals competition and who will soon have the 2022 track and field season close.
Earlier this week at Boyne City High School, member teams of the Lake Michigan Conference figured out who the best of the league was with the annual LMC Championships.
From a team standpoint, Traverse City St. Francis swept both competitions between the boys and girls sides.
The Gladiator boys team finished the meet with a league-best 164.5 points, followed by Grayling’s 108 and Charlevoix’s 104. Kalkaska also scored 100, Elk Rapids, 84; Harbor Springs, 64; East Jordan, 45; and Boyne City, 26.
On the girls side, Traverse City St. Francis earned the victory with a 182 points, Elk Rapids was second with 125, followed by East Jordan, 88; Harbor Springs, 69; Graying, 56; Boyne City, 47; Kalkaska, 45; and Charlevoix, 43.
While points were scarce at the top for the host Ramblers on the boys side, Boyne senior Phillip Banner swept both the 100 (11.90) and 200 (23.59) meter dashes. Harbor Springs’ Jack Clancy also placed third in the 200 meter dash (24.41).
In the 400, Charlevoix’s John Sauer placed second (53.23) with a new personal record to lead for the area, while Lance Smar of Harbor Springs also set a season-best in fourth (54.73).
No surprise came at the top of the distance races, as Charlevoix senior Sam Peterson swept all three events. Peterson won the 800 (1:59.78), 1600 (4:37.54) and 3200 (9:55.94) meter runs. He was the lone sub 10-minute finisher in the 3200 and lone under two minutes in the 800.
Harbor Springs’ Cal Benjamin placed second in the 1600 (4:43.16), followed by Charlevoix’s Dominic Schwein (4:48.16), which came as a new PR for Schwein.
Schwein was also third in the 3200 (10:07.10) and Benjamin set a new PR in the 3200 in fourth place (10:10.05).
East Jordan’s Logan Shooks led for the area in hurdles in fifth place (45.74), then East Jordan’s 400 meter relay team of Shooks, Caleb Ziebarth, Braylan Grybauskas and Carter Sherman placed second (47.01).
In field events, East Jordan’s Lee Nemecek was fourth in the shot put (40’3”), then second in the discus (125’11.5”), then Charlevoix’s Benjen Sheaffer was second in the long jump (17’10.5”).
On the girls side, Harbor Springs’ Grace Thorpe placed first overall in the 200 meter dash (27.28), while Boyne City’s Ava Maginity set a new season best time in fifth (28.07).
Maginity also placed second in the 400 meter dash in a new PR (1:01.85), then Thorpe was third (1:05.85), which also came as a PR. Maginity then placed second in the 800 meter run (2:32.65) in a new PR as well.
Harbor Springs’ Maye Burns placed second in the 1600 (5:37.48), followed by Laine Sladics of Charlevoix in third (5:47.86) and Christine Whitaker in fourth (5:52.12). Elke Knauf then led for the area in the 3200 in fifth (13:45.34).
Madelyn Sobleski of Boyne City led in hurdles for the area with a fourth place time in the 100 meter event (19.51).
The leading area relay team came as Harbor Springs’ 1600 meter team of Tara Shouldice, Burns, Thorpe and Claire Ranney, as they placed second (4:27.52).
East Jordan’s Grace Nemecek won the shot put (33’8”), then teammate Izzy Boyer placed third (29’6.5”), while Charlevoix’s Leah Rohrer was third in the discus (92’2”) and Boyer followed in fourth (89’1”).
Boyne City took the top two spots in the high jump with Keni Ciesielski and Grace Dawson at the same height (4’8”) and East Jordan’s June Kirkpatrick was second in the long jump with a new PR (14’4.5”).
Many of the athletes within the LMC will now turn their focus to the state finals held on Saturday, June 4, while some will also take to the Gaylord Meet of Champions on Tuesday, May 31.
Contact Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Area athletes compete in LMC Championships, state finals up next
