Division 4 track: Athens girls roll to regional title; Athens, Tekonsha combine for 19 state final berths

HILLSDALE — As they have done all season long, the Athens Lady Indians dominated the competition Friday at the MHSAA LP Division Four Regional Track and Field Invitational.

Athens continued their season long trek towards the biggest stage of track and field in the state of Michigan on Friday, bringing home the regional championship after out distancing the field with a score of 154 points. Hillsdale Academy finished in second place, taking runner-up honors with a score of 109 points. Pittsford finished in third place with 91 points, followed by Morenci, Reading, Mendon, Colon, White Pigeon and Litchfield.

The Tekonsha/Marshall Academy Indians finished in tenth place overall with a team score of seven points while sending one athlete on to the state finals as junior Dani VanLente qualified for a return trip to the finals.

Will Carlton and Climax Scotts rounded out the team standings in the girls division.

The dominant effort by the Athens girls team was nothing short of amazing, as the Indians managed to bring home six regional championships, 13 state finals qualifiers and a total of 25 podium finishes.

Senior Sara Nobach led the Athens effort with not one but two individual regional crowns and one gold medal as part of a relay. Nobach struck gold after winning the 200 meter dash in a time of 26.74 seconds, a personal best, while also taking first place in the 400 meter dash in a personal best time of 1 minute, 1.31 seconds. Nobach also ascended to the top of the podium in the 400 meter relay along with teammates Jocelyn Hall, Kenneddi Cromwell and Kami Parlin as they won the gold medal in a time of 53.50 seconds.

Senior Kenneddi Cromwell also had a huge regional championship event, winning one title and qualifying for the state finals in three individual events and one relay. Cromwell took first place in the 100 meter dash in a time of 13.60 seconds while also taking second place in the 200 in a time of 28.11 seconds and second place in the 400 in a time of 1 minute, 4.46 seconds. Cromwell was also a part of the aforementioned gold medal wining 400 meter relay team.

Defending 100 meter hurdle state champion Jocelyn Hall took one more step towards possibly defending her crown, winning the regional title in the 100 hurdles in a time of 16.75 seconds. This came in addition to Hall’s gold medal win as part of the 400 relay team and a third place in the 200 in a time of 28.28 seconds

Athens boasted one more regional champion as senior Emma Dexter took first place in the shot put with a personal best throw of 34 feet, 3 inches. Dexter will be joined at the MHSAA state finals by teammate Abby Youmans who finished in second place in the shot put with a throw of 33 feet, 7 inches.

Also earning state qualification for the Athens Lady Indians was junior Kylie Quist who finished in second place in the 1600 in a time of 5 minutes, 45.25 seconds in addition to a fourth place finish and a state qualification in the 800 in a time of 2 minutes, 33.24 seconds.

In all, Athens will be sending every relay team to the state finals as well as all four teams qualified for the state meet based on either earning a top two finish or a qualifying time. In addition to the gold medal winning 400 relay team is the 800 relay team of Jocelyn Hall, Kalecia Garza-McNutt, Addison Miller and Zoey Williams who finished in third place with a state qualifying time of 1 minute, 59.28 seconds; the 1600 relay team of Mckenzie Miller, Quist, Nobach and Zoey Williams, second place in a time of 4 minutes, 20.54 second; and the 3200 relay team consisting of Miller, Quist, Williams and Alina Sprung who finished in third place in a state qualifying time of 10 minutes, 28.55 seconds.

Rounding out the Athens effort with a top eight finish and a spot on the podium at Regionals was Addison Miller, fourth place in the 100 in a time of 13.99 seconds and third place in the pole vault with a vault of 7 feet, 0 inches; Alina Sprung, eighth place in the 400 in a time of 1 minute, 15.70 seconds; Mckenzie Miller, eight place in the 800 in a time of 2 minutes, 57.80 seconds and sixth place in the 1600 in a  time of 6 minutes, 29.56 seconds; Shelby Evans, third place in the 100 hurdles in a time of 18.18 seconds, fourth place in the 300 hurdles in a time of 52.37 seconds and seventh place in the long jump with a jump of 13 feet, 11 inches; Emma Dexter, seventh place in the discus with a throw of 86 feet, 11 inches; and Kami Parlin, eighth place in the high jump with a jump of 4 feet, 2 inches.

Tekonsha/Marshall Academy’s effort was led by junior Dani VanLente who qualified for the state finals with a fourth place finish in the 3200 meter run, crossing the line in a state qualification time of 12 minutes, 34.93 seconds.

Rounding out the Tekonsha/MA effort with a top eight finish and a spot on the podium was the 800 relay item of Alisha Shedd, Emily Rizo, Karly Nill and Kimberly NIll, eighth place in a time of 2 minutes, 7.92 seconds and the 3200 relay team of Alisha Shedd, Carissa Shedd, Karly Nill and Kimberly Nill, eighth place in a time of 12 minutes, 46.32 seconds.

On the boys side of the competition it was the host team from Hillsdale Academy just nipping the Reading Rangers for first place, with the Colts taking the win with a score of 139.5 points. Reading finished in a close second place, taking runner-up honors with a score of 127.5 points. Pittsford finished in third place with 66 points, followed by Colon and Morenci in a tie for fourth place.

Athens finished in sixth place with a score of 45 points after sending two athletes to the state finals. White Pigeon finished in seventh, followed by Mendon and Tekonsha in a tie for eighth place with 38 points. Tekonsha saw one student athlete earn the right to compete at the state meet as thrower Wyatt Blashfield qualified in the discus. Rounding out the team standings were Climax Scotts, Will Carleton, Camden Frontier and Waldron.

The Tekonsha/Marshall Academy effort saw one state qualifier as junior Wyatt Blashfield battled his way to a third place finish in the discus with a state qualifying throw of 130 feet, 8 inches. Blashfield also finished in eighth place overall in the shot put with a throw of 36 feet, 8 inches.

Rounding out the Tekonsha/MA effort with a top eight finish and a spot on the podium is Kyle Redd, fifth place in the 100 in a time of 11.69 seconds; Anthony Carter, seventh place in the 200 in a time of 24.44 seconds; Derek Booker, seventh place in the 400 in a time of 56.11 seconds; Stephen Smith, fourth place in the 800 in a time of 2 minutes, 9.19 seconds; Keyonte Gamble, sixth place in the 300 hurdles in a time of 45.82 seconds; the 400 relay team of Wyatt Blashfield, Isaac Henry, Stephen Smith, and Kyle Redd, fourth place in a time of 47.20 seconds; the 800 relay team of Anthony Carter, Keyonte Gamble, Bryce Johnson and Derek Booker, fifth place in a time of 1 minute, 40.56 seconds; the 1600 relay team of Gamble, Carter, Smith and Booker, fifth place in a time of 3 minutes, 51.12 seconds; and the 3200 relay team of Ben Mead, Ben Swegles, Emmitt Blashfield, and Jake Boring, seventh place in a time of 10 minutes, 19.07 seconds.

The Athens Indians had a total of three state qualifiers, with sophomore Landon Bennett earning two of those three slots. Bennett finished in second place overall and punched his ticket to the state finals in the 300 hurdles in a time of 41.97 seconds, a personal record, in addition to finishing in second place in the high jump with a jump of 5 feet, 11 inches. Bennett also earned one other podium spot, taking eighth place in the 200 in a time of 24.94 seconds.

Also qualifying for the state finals with his effort at the regional competition was junior Brock Milam who finished in third place in the long jump with a state qualifying jump of 19 feet, 8.25 inches. Milam also earned another podium spot, taking sixth place in the 400 in a personal best time of 54.54 seconds.

Adding to the Athens boys effort with a top eight finish and a spot on the podium was Nollan Fry with a eighth place finish in the 400 in a time of 57.63 seconds and a seventh place finish in the pole vault with a vault of 10 feet, 6 inches; the 400 relay team of Fry, Addison Stanton, Milam and Bennett, fifth place in a time of 47.59 seconds; the 1600 relay team of Landen Drake, Dru Slater, Nollan Fry and Addison Stanton, sixth place in a time of 3 minutes, 51.87 seconds; Evan Baylis, fourth place in the discus with a throw of 122 feet, 9 inches; and Addison Stanton, fourth place in the high jump with a jump of 5 feet, 9 inches.

Those qualifying for the state finals will busily prepare themselves for the Division Four State Finals to be held June 4 in Hudsonville. Before that however the Athens and Tekonsha track and field teams will look for SCAA glory as they travel to the Ken Herrick Track on the grounds of Hillsdale College on Tuesday for the SCAA Conference Championship.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Reporter: Track: Athens girls roll to regional title; Athens, Tekonsha combine for 19 state final berths