MHSAA Track and Field State Finals Preview- Branch County Edition
The pinnacle of high school track in the state of Michigan is upon us as student-athletes from across the Lower Peninsula will travel to their respective destinations for the MHSAA Track and Field State Championships on Saturday.
The Branch County area boasts a handful of individuals vying for postseason glory this coming Saturday across three different divisions, including Division One, Three and Four. As those athletes continue to prepare for the biggest meet of the season, let us take a look at how their road may look at their respective state finals with our MHSAA Track and Field State Finals Preview Edition.
(Editor’s Note: All times, distances or heights used in seeding for the state finals came from the respective athlete’s regional qualifying effort. In some cases the athlete may have a personal best better then their qualifying mark, however the seeds are determined by the regional mark)
Division One at Rockford High School
Coldwater Cardinals
The Coldwater Cardinals have one student-athlete who will be competing at the state finals on Saturday as senior Avery Boyce earned the right to compete in the pole vault. Boyce finished in third place at the regional competition, clearing a height of 10 feet, 3 inches, a personal best, to finish in third place. Thanks to the additional qualifying standard Boyce will be traveling to Rockford High School for the finals where she will be seeded in sixteenth position along with eight other vaulters. Natalie Blake of Holland West Ottawa draws the number one seed after clearing an amazing height of 13 feet, 0 inches.
Division Three at Kent City High School
Traveling to Kent City from right here in Branch County are a handful of athletes, all residing in the Big 8 conference. Making the trip from our humble area will be Quincy’s Nikkia Cronk, Sophia Snellenberger, Raigen Horsfall, and the boys 400 meter relay team of Tae’Sean Bodley, Bryce Bellamy, Ethan Hollister and Ben Schreur; Union City’s Logan Cole and Nevada Gillons; and Bronson’s Jordan Shadix and Jaiden Hayes.
Quincy Orioles
The Big 8 conference champion Quincy Lady Orioles are represented by three individual athletes in a pair of throwing aces and a sprinter.
Out of all of the athletes from the area, the duo of Snellenberger and Horsfall have the best chance at earning All-State honors according to Athletic.net.
Snellenberger heads to the state finals as the number one seed in the discus with a top personal best throw nearly 16 feet farther than her next closest competition. Snellenberger has broken the Quincy High School discus record several times this season and comes into the finals after breaking her own record once again, this time with a throw of 144 feet, 0 inches at the Big 8 conference championship. Snellenberger’s state final qualifying throw came in her regional championship win where she threw 134 feet, 2 inches.
Snellenberger’s next closest competitor based on qualifying throws recorded at regionals is Grayling sophomore Rylan Finstrom who recorded a throw of 121 feet, 10 inches in her regional. Not far behind those two is Snellenberger’s teammate in junior Raigen Horsfall who has also had herself an amazing 2022, qualifying for the state finals in both throwing events. Horsfall finished in second place at the regional competition and comes into the state finals seeded third with a qualifying throw of 120 feet, 7 inches. Based on personal best throws both Snellenberger and Horsfall remain seeded first and third respectively, with Snellenberger’s top throw at 144 feet, 0 inches and Horsfall’s at 125 feet, 2 inches, which also came at the Big 8 conference championship. Finstrom’s top throw for the season came on May 13 with a toss of 128 feet, 1 inch.
Both Snellenberger and Horsfall are also seeded near the top in the shot put after going 1-2 at the regional competition. Horsfall won the regional championship and enters into the finals seeded second with a qualifying throw of 37 feet, 7 inches. Snellenberger finds herself seeded tenth based on her regional throw, a throw of 34 feet, 4.50 inches. Both have recorded a higher personal best throw this season, which if used for seeding would place Snellenberger one and Horsfall two. Snellenberger’s best throw this season came on May 4 in a dual versus Reading when she broke the QHS school record with a throw of 40 feet, 3 inches. Horsfall’s top throw on the season came on May 13 at the Constantine invitational when she recorded a throw of 39 feet, 6 inches.
The top overall seed in the finals based on their regional qualifying throw is Adyson Nederhood of McBain who recorded a throw of 37 feet, 7.25 inches in her regional championship win. Nederhood’s personal best throw came back on May 17 when she threw 37 feet, 8 inches.
Quincy senior Nikkia Cronk qualified for the state finals in the 100 meter dash after winning the regional championship with a run of 13.67 seconds. Cronk enters the state finals seeded twenty-third based on her regional qualifying time. Cronk’s best time this season came back on May 13 when she posted a time of 13.27 seconds while her career best time came during her sophomore season when she posted a time of 13.04 seconds. The top seed for the 100 meter dash finals is Kylee Poulton of Holland Black River who comes in with a qualifying time of 12.23 seconds.
The Quincy Oriole boys team saw a relay team qualify for the state finals as the 400 meter relay team of Tae’Sean Bodley, Bryce Bellamy, Ethan Hollister and Ben Schreur earned a spot at the state meet after reaching the additional qualifying standard at regionals. Quincy enters the finals ranked in seventeenth place with a regional qualifying time of 45.40 seconds. The top seeded 400 meter relay team hails from Detroit Edison with a team of Rodney Jackson, Autus Wagner, Devin Burch and Geoffrey McBurrows who sit in the top spot with a time of 44.02 seconds.
Union City Chargers
The Union City Chargers have two state final qualifiers, with thrower Logan Cole and hurdler Nevada Gillons making the trip to Kent City.
Cole, a sophomore, is poised to earn All State honors this season in the discus after earning his trip to the D3 state finals with a regional championship win thanks to a qualifying throw of 140 feet, 0 inches. Cole enters the state finals as the fifth seed based on his regional qualifying throw even though his personal best throw this season is over 10 feet further. Cole’s season best throw broke the Union City school record that he had already owned as Cole unleashed a throw of 150 feet, 3 inches which he set at the Big 8 conference meet. The top seed in the discus based on his regional qualifying throw is Kellen Kimes of Hart with a throw of 165 feet, 2 inches.
Gillons heads to the state finals in this her rookie season as the freshman makes the trip to compete in the 100 meter hurdles. Gillons earned her trip to the state finals after a finishing in second place in her regional with a state finals qualifying time of 17.43 seconds. Gillons enters the state championship as the seventeenth seed based on that regional qualifying time. Gillons personal best time in the event is just a tad quicker with a time of 17.41 seconds set at the Big 8 conference meet. The number one seed entering the state finals comes in the form of Saige Martin of Pewamo Westphalia who earned the top seed with a regional time of 15.68 seconds.
Bronson Vikings
The Bronson Vikings boast two state finalists in senior Jordan Shadix and freshman Jaiden Hayes.
Shadix and his trek to the state finals is a true story of perseverance as the senior qualified for the state tournament in the shot put after finishing in third place in his region with an additional qualifying standard throw of 46 feet, 5 inches. Shadix punched his ticket to the state finals after returning from a devastating leg injury suffered near the end of the basketball season. Shadix will now enter the state finale as the fourteenth seed, the second highest seeded additional qualifier. The top seed for the state finals in the shot put is Andrew Quinn of Mason County Central who won his regional with a qualifying throw of 54 feet, 11.5 inches.
Hayes will compete in the 300 meter hurdles after finishing in second place in her regional with a qualifying time and a personal best time of 51.09 seconds. In just her rookie season Hayes will look to earn All-State honors as she enters the finals as the fifteenth seed. The top seed in the 300 hurdles is Libby Munderloh of St. Louis who won her regional championship with a qualifying time of 47.05 seconds.
The Tekonsha/Marshall Academy co-op team has a pair of state qualifiers in Tekonsha student Wyatt Blashfield and Marshall Academy student Dani VanLente.
Blashfield, a junior, earned his trip to the state finals in the discus after throwing a state qualifying throw of 130 feet, 8 inches in his third place finish at regionals. The throw of 130 feet, 8 inches is not only Blashfield’s season best throw, but it is also his career best throw. Blashfield enters the state finals as the fourteenth overall seed. The top seed in the Division Four discus state finals is Zane Forist of Carson City Crystal with a monster qualifying throw of 190 feet, 2 inches, a qualifying throw nearly 34 feet further then his next closest competition.
VanLente, a junior from Marshall Academy, will compete at the Division Four state finals in the 3200 meter run. VanLente qualified for the finals after finishing in fourth place in her regional, notching a state qualifying time of 12 minutes, 34.93 seconds, which seeds her in fourteenth position. VanLente’s season best and personal best time in the 3200 came back on May 16 in the Regional Tune-Up meet held at Colon when she ran a blistering time of 12 minutes, 19.2 seconds. The top overall seed in the 3200 is Makenna Scott of Maple City Glenn Lake who recorded a qualifying time of 11 minutes, 3.29 seconds.
Athens Indians
Athens has a total of 16 student-athletes that qualified for the state finals, including 13 in the girls meet alone after the high powered Lady Indians won their Division Four Regional title. Athens is one of the favorites to possibly chase an MHSAA State Championship in the girls competition after having just won the MITCA state championship this past weekend.
The defending Division Four 100 meter hurdle champion, Jocelyn Hall, returns this year to defend her crown after winning the regional title in a time of 16.75 seconds. Hall will enter the state finals seeded third behind Larissa Huffman of Indian River (16.45 seconds) and Alexiss Guitar of Ubly (16.63).
Hall also will be competing in the state finals as part of the regional championship 400 meter relay team along with teammates Kenneddi Cromwell, Sara Nobach and Kami Parlin who finished with a regional time of 53.50 seconds. The Athens 400 relay team enters the finals as the sixth seed, with the top seed hailing from Southfield Christian with a team of Grace Ligon, Nia Iwuoha, Eden Stokes and Kendyll Martin with a time of 52.26 seconds.
Also competing in multiple events will be senior Sara Nobach who finished in first place at regionals in the 200 in a time of 26.86 seconds and first place in the 400 in a time of 1 minute, 1.31 seconds. Nobach will toe the line in the 200 meter dash as the third seed while the top seed will be Nicole Olivieri of Mt. Pleasant who qualified with a time of 26.57 seconds. In the 400 meter run Nobach will be the third seed as well while the number one seed is again Olivieri of Mt. Pleasant after qualifying with a time of 58.11 seconds.
Senior Kenneddi Cromwell has also qualified in numerous events, three to be exact, after winning the regional championship in the 100 in a time of 13.60 seconds, taking second place in the 200 in a time of 28.11 seconds, and placing second in the 400 with a time of 1 minute, 4.46 seconds. Cromwell is seeded in the twentieth spot in the 100, with the top seed being Kendyll Martin of Southfield Christian who qualified in a time of 12.87 seconds. In the 200 Cromwell draws the thirteenth seed while the top seed is again Olivieri of Mt. Pleasant. In the 400 Cromwell is seeded fifteenth with Olivieri again drawing the top seed.
Junior middle/long distance runner Kylie Quist will be competing in two individual races at the Division Four state finals after qualifying in the 800 and in the 1600. Quist finished in second place in the 1600 in a time of 5 minutes, 45.25 seconds and qualified in the 800 after her fourth place finish in a time of 2 minutes, 33.24 seconds. Quist draws the nineteenth spot in the 800 while the top seed belongs to Aiden Harrand of Buckley who qualified with a time of 2 minutes, 20.66 seconds. In the 1600 meter run Quist will travel to the state finals as the eighteenth seed while the top seed, Abigail VanderKooi of Muskegon West Michigan Catholic, qualified with a time of 5 minutes, 5.40 seconds.
Athens qualified an additional two relay teams as the 1600 relay team of Mckenzie Miller, Quist, Nobach and Zoey Williams finished in second place in the regional in a time of 4 minutes, 20.54 seconds while the 3200 relay team of Miller, Quist, Williams and Alina Sprung finished in third place in a time of 10 minutes, 28.55 seconds. The 1600 relay team enters as the fifth seed overall, with the top seeded team from Hillsdale Academy consisting of Anna Roberts, Haven Socha, Caroline Roberts and Megan Roberts qualified in a time of 4 minutes, 10.82 seconds. The 3200 relay team will draw the sixth seed with the top seeded team from Muskegon West Catholic, consisting of Abigail VanderKooi, Grace VanderKooi, Nora Anderson and Grace Folkema, qualifying in a time of 10 minutes, 7.93 seconds.
Finally in the field events the Athens Lady Indians have a pair of shot putters advancing on to the state finals as seniors Emma Dexter and Abby Youmans finished 1-2 at regionals. Dexter took home the regional title with a throw of 34 feet, 3 inches, a personal best, while Youmans finished in second with a throw of 33 feet, 7 inches. Dexter will draw the eighth seed in the state finals while Youmans will sit in the tenth spot. The top seed, Tess VanDyk of Kalamazoo Christian qualified with a throw of 40 feet, 0 inches.
Athens also had two boys qualify for the state finals across three events as sophomore Landon Bennett qualified in two events while Brock Milam found his way to the finals in one.
Bennett will compete in two separate events at the finals after qualifying in the 300 hurdles after a second place finish in a time of 41.97 seconds, a personal best, and in the high jump after a second place finish thanks to a jump of 5 feet, 11 inches. Bennett draws the seventh seed in the 300 hurdles while Nathan Herrmann of Petersburg Summerfield draws the top seed with a time of 39.17 seconds. Bennett draws the tenth seed in the high jump while Braden Prielipp of Marion draws the one seed after a regional jump of 6 feet, 7 inches.
Milam will compete at the state meet in the long jump after finishing in third place at regionals thanks to a jump of 19 feet, 8.25 inches, a personal best. Milam draws the twentieth seed in the finals while Mekhi Wingfield of Concord sits in the top spot with a qualifying jump of 21 feet, 5.5 inches.
All the local runners will compete in their respective MHSAA State Finals this Saturday in venues across the state. Stay tuned to The Daily Reporter for updates on these efforts or try to keep up with results as they are recorded on athletic.net.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Reporter: MHSAA Track and Field State Finals Preview- Branch County Edition
