County's best face off in the Branch County Track and Field Invitational

UNION CITY, MI. - On Saturday the whole of Branch County traveled to Union City’s Alumni Field for the new version of the formerly known area best meet, as Coldwater, Bronson, Quincy and Union City faced off in the Branch County Track and Field Invitational.

For a number of years the high school track season in Branch County has ended in what has been known as the Area Best Meet, a meet featuring the top eight competitors in each event from around the county based on their performances throughout the season. That iteration of the Area Best Meet has since gone the way of the dinosaur, suffering from a lack of participation for various reasons, one of which being the timing of the meet. Routinely the meet was held after the regular season had finished, meaning teams had either seen their season come to an end or they had advanced on to the state finals. Either way the interest of local athletes in competing in the invitational had dropped significantly, leaving the event a shell of what it once was. This season, in an effort to increase participation in the event and to bring it back to the prestigious event it once was, Branch County coaches and administrators voted to move the event to the beginning of the season while also changing the format. Rather than just the top eight competitors from each event being invited to the Branch County Invitational, teams were free to enter whomever they wanted in an effort to truly see who the best of the best in Branch County really is.

While an overall team score was not tabulated, athletes took to the track or their chosen field event in an effort to prove they are the best Branch County had to offer. What ensued was an exciting day of action on the track, in the pits and on the mats as Branch County’s best were crowned.

In the women’s portion of the invitational, three local athletes came away with multiple individual wins, staking their claim to the best Branch County has to offer.

In the throwing events it was Quincy’s Grand Valley State bound throwing ace Sophia Snellenberger sweeping the events, winning the shot put with a throw of 38 feet, 9 inches while also winning the discus with a throw of 137 feet, 4.5 inches.

In the running events it was Union City sophomore Nevada Gillons taking a total of four wins, winning two individual events and winning two gold medals as part of a relay team. Gillons won the 100 meter hurdles in a time of 17.03 seconds and took the win in the 300 meter hurdles in a time of 51.26 seconds. Gillons was also a member of the winning 400 meter relay team along with teammates Adalynn Rumsey, Abigail Goodrich and Alaina Labar who won in a time of 54.94 seconds and as part of the 800-relay team along with teammates Rumsey, Addison Meyer and Goodrich in a time of 1 minute, 55.21 seconds.

Also securing four total wins, including two individual and two relay team events, was Union City junior Adalynn Rumsey. Rumsey not only competed as part of the gold medal winning 400- and 800-meter relay teams, but Rumsey also took first place in the 200 in a time of 28.28 seconds as well as first place in the long jump with a jump of 15 feet, 4.75 inches.

Rounding out the event winners for Branch County were Quincy’s Anna Richer who won the 100 meter dash in a time of 13.99 seconds; Quincy’s Elizabeth Craig with a win in the 400 meter dash in a time of 1 minute, 7.37 seconds; Coldwater’s Grace Huff who won the 800 meter run in a time of 2 minutes, 37.78 seconds; Coldwater’s Lainey Yearling with a win in the 1600 meter run in a time of 5 minutes, 49.22 seconds; Union City’s Skyler Fraley with a win in the 3200 meter run in a time of 13 minutes, 42.20 seconds; Coldwater’s 1600 relay team of Jaelah Sloan, Lainey Yearling, Ta’Vaiyah Hughes, and Grace Huff, first place in a time of 4 minutes, 34.71 seconds; Union City’s 3200 meter relay team consisting of Kyla Burdick, Elizabeth Arlt, Lilly Eyre, and Skyler Fraley, first place in a time of 11 minutes, 50.13 seconds; Coldwater’s Jaelah Sloan with a first place finish in the high jump with a jump of 4 feet, 8 inches; and Quincy’s Lita Fulton with a win the pole vault with a vault of 8 feet, 9 inches.

Branch County Invitational Final Results (top 6 finishers) 

100-meter dash: 1. Anna Richer, Quincy, 13.99 seconds; 2. Riley Graham, Coldwater, 14.57; 3. Victoria Loth, Bronson, 14.67; 4. Abby Tinervia, Quincy, 14.78; 5. Laura Vasquez, Bronson, 15.01; 6. Grace Riley, Coldwater, 15.54.

200-meter dash: 1. Adalynn Rumsey, Union City, 28.28; 2. Jatziri Martinez, Coldwater, 29.59; 3. Anna Richer, Quincy, 29.74; 4. Addison Meyer, Union City, 30.12; 5. Abigail Goodrich, Union City, 30.47. 6. Cheyenne Marske, Quincy, 30.91.

400-meter dash: 1. Elizabeth Craig, Quincy, 1:07.37; 2. Ta’Vaiyah Hughes, Coldwater, 1:10.02; 3. Lita Fulton, Quincy, 1:10.43; 4. Lauren Cayo, Union City, 1:13.74; 5. Victoria Loth, Bronson, 1:15.19; 6. Kyleigh Springman, Bronson, 1:15.94.

800-meter run: 1. Grace Huff, Coldwater, 2:37.78; 2. Kyla Burdick, Union City, 2:44.38; 3. Sadie Miller, Quincy, 2:50.73; 4. Eysha Chavez, Coldwater, 3:00.56; 5. Olivia Golematis, Coldwater, 3:04.48; 6. Libby Butchart, Quincy, 3:36.19.

1600-meter run: 1. Lainey Yearling, Coldwater, 5;49.22; 2. Skyler Fraley, Union City, 6:14.76; 3. Sadie Miller, Quincy, 6:22.86; 4. Eysha Chavez, Coldwater, 6:48.40; 5. Elizabeth Arlt, Union City, 6:59.64; 6. Abbi Ferry, Bronson, 7:28.07.

3200-meter run: 1. Skyler Fraley, Union City, 13:42.20; 2. Elizabeth Arlt, Union City, 15:41.45.

100-meter hurdles: 1. Nevada Gillons, Union City, 17.03; 2. Brookelyn Parker, Quincy, 17.67; 3. Jaiden Hayes, Bronson, 18.26; 4. Madilynn Persails, Coldwater, 19.64; 5. Lorelai Kugler, Quincy, 19.75; 6. Alaina Labar, Union City, 20.09.

300-meter hurdles: 1. Nevada Gillons, Union City, 51.26; 2. Brookelyn Parker, Quincy, 51.48; 3. Jaiden Hayes, Bronson, 51.97; 4. Morgan Baker, Coldwater, 56.97; 5. Lorelai Kugler, Quincy, 1:00.97.

4x100 meter relay (400-meter relay): 1. Union City (Gillons, Rumsey, Goodrich, Labar), 54.94; 2. Coldwater (J. Martinez, Szafranski, Abigail Robinson, Riley Graham), 55.66; 3. Quincy A (Davenport, Richer, Tinervia, McVicker), 57.78; 4. Quincy B (Markse, Payne, Gould-Zimmer, Massey), 59.07.

4x200 meter relay (800 meter relay): 1. Union City (Gillons, Rumsey, Meyer, Goodrich), 1:55.21; 2. Coldwater (Martinez, Szafranski, Robinson, Sloan); 3. Quincy A (Tinervia, Marske, Richer, Craig), 2:00.53; 4. Bronson (Loth, Calloway, Vasquez, Hayes), 2:02.39; 5. Quincy B (Gray, Payne, White, Leosh), 2:24.34.

4x400 meter relay (1600-meter relay): 1. Coldwater (Sloan, Yearling, Hughes, Huff), 4:34.71; 2. Quincy (Fulton, Miller, Craig, Parker), 4:50.88; 3. Union City (Goodrich, Eyre, Cayo, Burdick), 4:56.29.

4x800 meter relay (3200-meter relay): 1. Union City (Burdick, Arlt, Eyre, Fraley), 11:50.13; 2. Quincy (Crabbs, R. Fulton, Butchart, Miller), 12:21.76; 3. Coldwater (Austin, McFarland, Ramos, Golematis), 12:50.15.

Shot Put; 1. Sophia Snellenberger, Quincy, 38’9”; 2. Raigen Horsfall, Quincy, 36’10”; 3. Elli Foley, Coldwater, 36’5”; 4. Abigail Jones, Coldwater, 29’10”; 5. Hallie Jones, Quincy, 28’11”; 6. Emyleigh Burlew, Quincy, 28’5”.

Discus: 1. Sophia Snellenberger, Quincy, 137’4.5”; 2. Raigen Horsfall, Quincy, 119’1.5”; 3. Elli Foley, Coldwater, 88’11.5”; 4. Ilsa Katz, Coldwater, 87’3”; 5. Emyleigh Burlew, Quincy, 87’2”; 6. Abigail Jones, Coldwater, 84’2”.

High Jump: 1. Jaleah Sloan, Coldwater, 4’8”; 2. Coelie Smullen, Quincy, 4’8”; 3. Ta’Vaiyah Hughes, Coldwater, 4’8”; 4. Abigail Miller, Quincy, 4’6”; 5. Gillian Gallup, Union City, 4’4”; 6. Morgan Baker, Coldwater, 4’4”.

Pole Vault: 1. Lita Fulton, Quincy, 8’9”; 2. Kyla Burdick, Union City, 7’6”; 3. Brooke McVicker, Quincy, 6’6”.

Long Jump: 1. Addy Rumsey, Union City, 15’4.75”; 2. Abby Tinervia, Quincy, 14’7.5”; 3. Jaiden Hayes, Bronson, 14’0”; 4. Alaina Labar, Union City, 13’8.75”; 5. Abigail Robison, Coldwater, 13’5.5”; 6. Kendyll Szafranski, Coldwater, 13’2.5”.

In the men’s portion of the event, three local athletes came out of the day with multiple individual wins.

In the field events it was Union City junior Logan Cole sweeping the throwing events, winning the shot put with a throw of 48 feet, 0 inches while also winning the discus with a throw of 147 feet, 8 inches.

Joining his teammate atop the podium in several events was Union City junior speedster Riley Laird who swept the sprints, winning the 100 meter dash in a time of 11.67 seconds and winning the 200-meter dash in a time of 24.34 seconds. Laird was also a member of the gold medal winning 800 meter relay team along with teammates Rick Austin, Finn Parnell and Hunter Sinke who won in a time of 1 minute, 37.83 seconds.

The final multi-event winner hailed from Bronson as sophomore Boston Bucklin secured a pair of wins, winning the 800-meter run in a time of 2 minutes, 9.16 seconds to go along with a win in the high jump with a jump of 6 feet, 0 inches. Bucklin also finished in second place in the 400 in a time of 52.67 seconds.

Rounding out the event winners in the men’s portion of the day were Hunter Sinke of Union City with a win in the 400 in a time of 52.47 seconds; Union City’s Ben Gautsche with a win in the 1600 in a time of 4 minutes, 59.76 seconds; Union City’s Jason Shoop who won the 3200 in a time of 11 minutes, 4.28 seconds; Coldwater’s Kendall Austin who won the 110 hurdles in a time of 17.50 seconds; Union City’s Nathaniel Maurer with a win in the 300 hurdles in a time of 43.53 seconds; Coldwater’s 400 meter relay team consisting of Kaden Lewis, Kazzier Lindblom, Kendall Austin and Naseem Taha, first place in a time of 46.91 seconds; Union City’s 1600 meter relay team of Nathaniel Maurer, Cohen Burdick, Ben Gautsche and Hunter Sinke, first place in a time of 3 minutes, 45.53 seconds; Union City’s 3200 meter relay team of Ben Gautsche, Jason Shoop, Malachi Payne and Cohen Burdick, first place in a time of 9 minutes, 8.04 seconds; Coldwater’s Hunter Munson with a first place finish in the pole vault with a vault of 12 feet, 0 inches; and Union City’s Rick Austin with a win in the long jump with a jump of 20 feet, 0.25 inches.

Branch County Invitational Final Results (Top 6 finishers) 

100-meter dash: 1. Riley Laird, Union City, 11.67 seconds; 2. Naseem Taha, Coldwater, 12.02; 3. Michael Daniels, Quincy, 12.11; 4. Kazzier Lindblom, Coldwater, 12.19; 5. Tyler Wilber, Bronson, 12.41; 6. Andrew Tundevold, Union City, 12.51.

200-meter dash: 1. Riley Laird, Union City, 24.34; 2. Naseem Taha, Coldwater, 24.67; 3. Dalton Coville, Coldwater, 25.62; 4. Kaden Lewis, Coldwater, 25.67; 5. Wesley Wasikowski, Quincy, 25.79; 6. Steven Pfister, Bronson, 26.02.

400-meter dash: 1. Hunter Sinke, Union City, 52.47; 2. Boston Bucklin, Bronson, 52.67; 3. Arif Ahmed, Coldwater, 58.09; 4. Bryton Beckwith, Quincy, 59.91; 5. Laith Musa, Coldwater, 59.93; 6. Kent Robbins, Union City, 1:01.87

800-meter run: 1. Boston Bucklin, Bronson, 2:09.16; 2. Aden Hathaway, Bronson, 2:13.28; 3. Ben Gautsche, Union City, 2:13.89; 4. Cohen Burdick, Union City, 2:14.15; 5. Drew Seekman, Bronson, 2:24.74; 6. Claudel Wischmeyer, Coldwater, 2:27.31.

1600-meter run: 1. Ben Gautsche, Union City, 4:59.76; 2. Perry Lake, Bronson, 5:27.06; 3. Malachi Payne, Union City, 5:32.39; 4. Talan Doll, Coldwater, 5:39.47; 5. Aiden Parker, Coldwater, 5:45.23; 6. Layne Kinsely, Bronson, 6:10.35.

3200-meter run: 1. Jason Shoop, Union City, 11:04.28; 2. Layne Knisely, Bronson, 12:54.66; 3. Hunter Barnett, Coldwater, 13:02.19; 4. Davin George, Quincy, 13:03.68.

110-meter hurdles: 1. Kendall Austin, Coldwater, 17.50; 2. Clayton Benson, Quincy, 17.56; 3. Nathaniel Maurer, Union City 17.81; 4. Kaleb Handy, Quincy, 18.34; 5. Dylon MacDonald, Union City, 19.66; 6. Stevie Wilson, Bronson, 20.58.

300-meter hurdles: 1. Nathaniel Maurer, Union City, 43.53; 2. Kendall Austin, Coldwater, 44.50; 3. Stevie Wilson, Bronson, 47.02; 4. Clayton Benson, Quincy, 47.08; 5. Kaleb Handy, Quincy, 47.90; 6. Drew Ennis, Coldwater, 48.95.

4x100 meter relay (400-meter relay): 1. Coldwater (Lewis, Lindblom, Austin, Taha), 46.91; 2. Quincy (Bellamy, Turner, Daniels, Wasikowski), 48.05; 3. Union City (Maurer, MacDonald, Hull, Parnell), 48.36.

4x200 meter relay (800-meter relay): 1. Union City (Ausitn, Parnell, Laird, Sinke), 1:37.83; 2. Bronson (Brackett, Wilber, Wilson, Bucklin), 1:40.70; Quincy and Coldwater were both disqualified for hand off violations.

4x400 meter relay (1600-meter relay): 1. Union City (Maurer, Burdick, Gautsche, Sinke), 3:45.53; 2. Bronson (Brackett, Pfister, Hathaway, Wilber), 3:52.64; 3. Quincy (Bellamy, Beckwith, Benson, Reif), 3:56.44; 4. Coldwater (Ahmed, Ocampo, Wischmeyer, Musa), 3:59.78.

4x800 meter relay (3200-meter relay): 1. Union City (Gautsche, Shoop, Burdick, Payne), 9:08.04; 2. Coldwater (S. Ocampo, Barnett, JP Ocampo, Wischemeyer), 9:42.89; 3. Quincy (George, Gray, Jenson, Mosher), 10:35.83.

Shot Put: 1. Logan Cole, Union City, 48’0”; 2. Ashtyn Morris, Quincy, 44’0”; 3. Zach Coffing, Coldwater, 43’11”; 4. Jackson Reilly, Coldwater, 42’0”; 5. Garrett McVicker, Coldwater, 40’5”; 6. Brady Crabtree, Coldwater, 40’1”.

Discus: 1. Logan Cole, Union City, 147’8”; 2. Ashtyn Morris, Quincy, 131’6”; 3. Caleb Kelley, Quincy, 119’0”; 4. Zach Coffing, Coldwater, 109’10.5”; 5. Jackson Reilly, Coldwater, 105’4.5”; 6. Joseph Johnson, Union City, 102’6”.

High Jump: 1. Boston Bucklin, Bronson, 6’0”; 2t. Kam Brackett, Bronson, 5’8”; 2t. Clayton Benson, Quincy 5’8”; 2t. Ayden Dirschell, Coldwater, 5’8”; 5. Andrew Tundevold, Union City, 5’4”; 6t. Trevor Hensinger, Coldwater, 5’2”; 6t. Bennett McDonald, Coldwater, 5’2”.

Pole Vault: 1. Hunter Munson, Coldwater, 12’0”; 2. Corey Turner, Quincy, 11’6”; 3. Kaleb Handy, Quincy, 10’6”; 4. Drew Ennis, Coldwater, 9’0”.

Long Jump: 1. Rick Austin, Union City, 20’0.25”; 2. Kazzier Lindblom, Coldwater, 19’7.25”; 3. Hunter Sinke, Union City, 18’2.25”; 4. Hunter Munson, Coldwater, 17’10”; 5. Michael Daniels, Quincy, 17’5.75”; 6. Kam Brackett, Bronson, 17’4.25”.

For full results of every race please visit the results website on Athletic.net at https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/496198/results/all.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Branch County Track and Field Invitational Results