Gaylord-area track and field athletes to watch

GAYLORD ― Hopefully sooner rather than later, the Northern Michigan weather will allow for spring sports to fully get going.

To maybe no one's surprise, the first scheduled high school track and field meets are already being canceled due to weather, delaying the beginning of what could be an exciting season for area athletes.

With all three area teams returning several valuable athletes for the 2023 season, the Gaylord, St. Mary's and Johannesburg-Lewiston teams are hoping to be competitive among their respective divisions. Here are some were are keeping an eye on as they (eventually) hit the track.

Allie Nowak, Sophomore, Johannesburg-Lewiston

One of the highlights of the fall prep sports season was the Johannesburg-Lewiston girls cross country team capturing the school's first-ever state championship at the state meet at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. Sophomore Allie Nowak played a large role in her team's success, finishing third overall in the Division 4 race back in November.

Now, as the track and field season sets to begin, Nowak figures to play a large role in a successful campaign again.

Nowak excelled in a variety of events as a freshman, individually performing well in the 800-meter run, the 1600-meter run and the pole vault while playing a big part in successful 4x400-meter and 4x800-meter relay teams. She took part in the Division 4 Finals a year ago, finishing 11th in the 1600-meter with a personal best time of 5:41.51 and seventh in the pole vault after clearing eight feet.

Madalyn Agren, Junior, Johannesburg-Lewiston

Another key member of the state-title-winning Lady Cardinals was junior Madalyn Agren and, much like Nowak, figures to play just as big of a role once track meets fully get underway.

A true distance runner, Agren won two individual MHSAA D4 regional titles last track season, claiming first in both the 1600-meter (5:51.25) and the 3200-meter (13:16.95) back at the D4 Lower Peninsula Region 31-4 at Indian River on May 20, 2022.

She would go on to set personal best times at the D4 state meet, finishing 12th in the 1600-meter (5:41.55) and 18th in the 3200-meter (12:36.28).

Jacob Wartenberg, Senior, Johannesburg-Lewiston

While certainly the highlight of the JoBurg fall, the Lady Cardinals' state title slightly outshined what the boys were able to accomplish in the same season, bringing home the school's first state-runner-up performance from the same meet.

Of course, the leader of that team, Jacob Wartenberg, figures to be one of the key members of the JoBurg track team in his final high school season before moving on to the next level.

A Northwood University commit, Wartenberg figures to be one of the top competitors in the 1600-meter run this season after just missing a chance at qualifying for states, finishing third at the regional meet with a time of 4:54.43. He also finished fourth in the 800-meter with a time of 2:12.47.

Miriam Murrell, Junior, Gaylord St. Mary

Another one of the area's top cross-country runners figures to be one of the best track and field athletes as Miriam Murrell, a D4 state finalist this past fall, figures to be one of the top runners for the St. Mary's girls this season.

Murrell made her fourth appearance at the D4 state cross country meet this fall, and while she excels in distance running on the track team as well, her short-distance speed has been useful on some successful relay teams as well.

The best individual results from her sophomore track campaign came in the 1600-meter run, setting her personal best time at the Northern Michigan Meet of Champions with a 5:44.94 to take first place.

Her 4x200-meter relay team also showed some strength with her in the lead position, taking second place at both the D4 regional race (1:58.26) and the Ski Valley Conference Meet (2:02.40) back in late May.

Russell Hush, Junior, Gaylord

Unlike many others on this list, Gaylord's Russell Hush was not running cross country in the fall. He was running, however.

The junior was one of the lead-backs for the Gaylord football team, finishing a breakout as one of the team's top rushers with 735 yards and a team-best 6.18 yards per carry. Now, he looks to pick back up in track where he left off in 2022.

Hush was one of the top hurdlers in Northern Michigan as a sophomore, with the 300-meter hurdles becoming his main event, finishing first, second or third at every meet he ran that event in up until the Division 2 state finals. His personal best time came at the D2 regional meet performance at Charlevoix on May 21, posting a 41.64 second time to win an individual regional championship. He also posted his season-best time on the 110-meter hurdles at that meet with a 17.28, good for fifth place.

Ella Moylan, Sophomore, Gaylord

Moving from runners to the field events, Gaylord has already seen some of their top throwers have success in their lone indoor meet at the Saginaw Valley Invitational on Wednesday, March 22.

One of those that saw success was sophomore Ella Moylan, posting a top-ten finish in shot put with a throw of 32 feet 1/4 inch, already just inches shy of her personal best abd turning some heads as the underclassman begins her second high school season.

Moylan was a consistent top-ten finisher in her 2022 shot put campaign, recording a personal best throw at the home Blue Devil Classic in early May, finishing fourth with a 32-foot-6-inch throw.

Gage Looker, Senior, Gaylord

Meanwhile, another Gaylord thrower saw success at the SVSU indoor opener, that being senior Gage Looker.

He also came home with a top-ten finish in the boys shot put, placing sixth overall with a throw of 44 feet, 11 inches to start his final high school season with a bang.

As a junior, Looker was just shy of qualifying for the state meet, placing fourth overall with a 45-foot, 5-inch throw at the regional meet in Charlevoix. He finished the season with a personal best, throwing 48 feet, 10 inches to win the event at the Northern Michigan Meet of Champions.

It has been a tumultuous senior year for Looker, suffering a torn ACL in the fall during the football team's opener that cost him the entire season and part of the hockey season. Still, he has bounced back tremendously, and now has a chance to cap off his high school career with a storybook ending if all goes to plan.

Others to watch

Emma McKinley, Senior, Gaylord St. Mary

Katie Berkshire, Freshman, Gaylord

Lilly Palmer, Senior, Gaylord

Dominik Mikel, Sophomore, Gaylord

Blake Fox, Junior, JoBurg

Ronin Vaden, Senior, JoBurg

Malaki Gascho, Senior, JoBurg

Rosalinda Gascho, Junior, JoBurg

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Gaylord-area track and field athletes to watch