Record number of teams attend Harbor Springs Ram Scram event

HARBOR SPRINGS — The Harbor Springs Ram Scram is always a favorite early season track and field event of many around northern Michigan.

It took just one look around at the variety of pop-up team tents and jerseys filling the infield to see that when the Rams hosted the annual spectacle Friday.

A record 17 programs showed up Friday in Harbor Springs, from the Upper Peninsula, down to Traverse City, with a trio of records broken on both the boys and girls sides.

Standing atop the event in the end were two of the larger schools in attendance of course, with the Petoskey girls claiming an overall win, along with the Sault Ste. Marie boys.

Petoskey won with 140.5 points, followed by Sault Ste. Marie (91), TC St. Francis (74), Inland lakes (72), Gaylord (71), East Jordan (36.5) and Harbor Springs (32).

On the boys side, the Sault’s victory came behind 103 points, followed by TC St. Francis (97.5), Petoskey (81.2), Gaylord (65.4), Kalkaska (43), Harbor Springs (40), Grayling (39) and Cheboygan (34).

Boyne City’s Ava Maginity, who was part of a recording breaking performance in the season opener for the Ramblers in Sault Ste. Marie, kept up that same energy Friday as well.

Maginity set a new meet record in the 800 meter run, breaking the previous mark of 2:24.85 set by Charlevoix’s Caroline Boss in 2013.

Maginity ran 2:23.21, which also came as a personal best for the senior who will compete for the Northern Michigan University women’s team next season.

Inland Lakes senior Natalie Wandrie also smashed the discus record at the event, which takes a combination of the two best throws. Wandrie’s total came in at 257-feet, 7.5-inches, beating the old mark of Harbor Springs’ Caylin Bonser of 234-feet, 8-inches, set in 2017.

Johannesburg Lewiston’s Blake Fox also broke former Harbor Springs runner Jeremy Kloss’ 2019 record in the 800, running a time of 1:59.36, a hair under Kloss’ 2:00.09.

Also on the girls side, Petoskey’s Nevaeh Leonard was first in the 100 (13.33 seconds), followed by teammate Gretchen Woodbury (13.38), then Petoskey took the top three in the 200 thanks to Madeline Loe (27.42), Woodbury (27.78) and Leonard (27.84).

Loe also won the 400 meter dash (1:00.82), followed by teammate Alison Bailey (1:01.81) and Inland Lakes’ Lauren Fenstermaker (1:04.88).

Behind Maginity in the 800, Petoskey’s CamBrie Corey was second (2:31.74), Petoskey’s Fiona Scott was third (2:37.25) and Veronica Paga of Petoskey St. Michael was fifth (2:39.72).

In distance, Maginity placed first in the 1600 with a new personal best (5:17.29), followed by Katie Berkshire of Gaylord (5:22.48), Corey of Petoskey (5:39.20) and Katie Rohrer of Charlevoix (5:52.73). Harbor Springs’ Juniper Rodham was also sixth (6:00.60) in a new PR.

Gaylord’s Berkshire then won the 3200 (11:35.00), Nora O’Leary of Petoskey was second (11:49.78) in a new PR, then Jane Manthei of Petoskey St. Michael was third (11:53.79).

In hurdles, Inland Lakes’ Larissa Huffman placed first in the 100 meter event (17.44 seconds), Petoskey’s Alynna Himebaugh was second (17.70) and Rosalinda Gascho of J-L was third (18.11).

The 300 meter hurdles then went to Gaylord’s Lauren Rigney (51.58), while Madelyn Hardy of East Jordan led for the area in fourth (53.88).

Relay events came as co-ed races as usual at the Ram Scram, with Petoskey’s group winning the 4x400 event in 4:00.07, followed closely by Harbor Springs in 4:01.40.

Harbor Springs was also second in the 4x200 meter relay in 1:45.43 and Petoskey was runner-up in the 4x800 meter rely in 9:19.11.

In field events, Inland Lakes impressed, as Hannah Robinson led in the high jump (5-feet, 2-inches), then teammate Huffman was second (5’ 0’’). Petoskey’s Braylin Adair also set a new personal best in third place (5’ 0’’).

East Jordan’s June Kirkpatrick then placed third in the long jump with a combined total of 29-feet, 1-inch, followed then by teammate Madelyn Hardy (29’ 0.5’’).

Inland Lakes’ Wandrie then won both the discus and shot put events. She claimed the shot win with a combined two-throw score of 71-feet, 0.5-inches, then set the previously mentioned record in the discus. East Jordan’s Izzy Boyer was also third in the discus (181’ 9’’).

Boys results

On the boys side of things, top finishes were tough to come by for area competitors, with Petoskey’s Michael Squires earning the lone first on the track in the 400 meter dash (54.72). Laith Griffith of Pellston was also third in the race (55.63).

In the 100 meter dash, Petoskey’s Sam Mitas was third (11.50), while Cheboygan’s Keegan Mosher won the 100 (11.29) and was second in the 200 (23.61).

Squires also took fifth in the 800 meter run (2:10.13), Harbor Springs’ Cal Benjamin was third in the 1600 meter run (4:37.22) and Petoskey’s Tommy Farley was fourth the 3200 (10:15.70).

In the 110 hurdles, Petoskey’s Luke Ingalls placed second (17.96), then East Jordan’s Logan Shooks took third (17.97) and Charlevoix’s Peyton Scott placed fourth (18.12), both coming as new personal bests.

Charlevoix’s Scott was also third in the 300 meter hurdles (45.13) and Petoskey’s Ben Shuman placed sixth (46.68).

Inland Lakes’ Sam Schoonmaker made it a sweep for the Bulldogs in the high jump in 5-feet, 10-inches for the win, with Harbor Springs’ Evan Whitfield then placing third (5’ 6’’).

Petoskey’s Austin Delmas was third in the long jump in 36-feet, 10-inches for his two best jumps and Petoskey’s Brody Shaw also took second in the discus in 237-feet, 6.5-inches. Shaw set a new personal record with one of the throws at 122-feet, 4.5-inches.

Charlevoix’s Camden Carey also had an impressive day, winning the shot put with a combined total of 84-feet, 5.25-inches, then was fourth in the discus (215’ 10.25’’). Boyne City’s Ryan Clapp also took second in the shot (79’ 8’’).

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Record number of teams attend Harbor Springs Ram Scram event