SMS mile relay record broken in Grand Rapids

The mile relay record for Sturgis Middle School was broken on Thursday evening.

The track and field teams were competing in the West Michigan Regional Middle School Championship held in Houseman Field in Grand Rapids.

Sturgis’ team of Aiden Gorham, Dane VanNest, Wyatt Miller and Kaicee Kyle set the new two-mile mark with a time of 3:54.94. This broke the old record, set in 1999, by Drew Crites, DJ Merrill, Marcus Finnerman and Chad Craig of 3:55.2. On Thursday, the team of Gorham, VanNest, Miller and Kyle finished second overall as they set the new record.

There were several teams in attendance, better than 20 for both the boys and girls. The Sturgis boys finished eighth (40 points) out of 21 teams. The Sturgis girls finished 18th (11 points) out of 22 teams.

Allendale was first for the boys with 90.5 points, Charlotte finished second with 78 followed by Coopersville at 62 then Sparta and Holland West Ottawa in a tie with 52. Three Rivers finished ninth with 37 points.

Holland Christian won for the girls with 81 points, Holland West Ottawa came in second with 79.5 points. Spring Lake finished third with 57 followed by OJ DeJonge (Ludington) in fourth with 55 and Grand Rapids Christian tying with Wayland for fifth with 54. Three Rivers finished 11th with 19 points.

Kyle also did well in the sprint races. He won the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.02 seconds and came in second in the 200 dash at 24.80 seconds.

Jason Torres finished second overall in the high jump, he cleared 5-6. Roy VanderHulst finished seventh in that event, clearing 5-0.

In the 70-meter dash, Keagan Boring of Three Rivers and Torres tied for 10th place at 9.38 seconds.

Boring finished eighth in the 100 dash at 12.80 seconds, Jackson Palmer finished ninth at 12.81 seconds.

The 55-meter hurdles saw Carter Rice finish sixth at 9.43 seconds and Carter Hensley of Three Rivers finish ninth at 9.50 seconds.

Rice finished sixth in the 200 hurdles at 29.66 seconds, Hensley finished ninth at 30.26 seconds.

Three Rivers’ 400 relay team came in seventh. Boring, Treyvon Stewart, Yahir Lopez-Chacon and Palmer placed seventh with a time of 50.18 seconds.

Three Rivers’ 800 relay team of Blake Stewart, David Wills, Brayden Carpenter and Brady Penny finished fourth at 1:44.30. The Wildcat team of Carpenter, Bryce Brookens, Wills and Troyer Serna finished third in the mile relay at 4:01.30.

In the two-mile relay, TR’s team of Charlie Brauer, Brookens, Serna and Reece Howes finished second at 9:36.87. Sturgis’ team of Joel Smith, Alan Montoya, Darren Speelman and VanderHulst came in seventh overall at 10:25.17.

Jaxon Smith was fourth in the shot put at 36-6, as was Gavan Miller of Sturgis.

Three Rivers’ 400 girls’ relay team of Denajia Brumfield, Olivia Wenzel, Akeyla Williamson and Amaria Currier finished fourth at 55.74 seconds. The mile relay team of Taylor Knauss, Wenzel, Avery Hall and Calista Lockwood finished eighth overall with a time of 4:48.55.

Sturgis’ mile relay team of Sydney Bir, Myah Burkey, Kenzie Eicher and Tessa Hatt ran a time of 4:52.54 for 10th place.

In the two-mile relay, Sturgis’ squad of Bir, Hatt, Eleanor Park and Olivia Green finished fifth with a time of 10:59.67. Three Rivers’ team of Knauss, Gabby Kilbourn, Paige Conatser and Lillie Kerr came in 10th position at 12:13.32.

Lillian Blakely of TR was sixth in the shot put event at 29-9.5 feet.

Eicher ran to sixth place in both hurdle events. She had a time of 10.24 seconds in the 55 hurdles and 33.91 seconds in the 200. Juliet Mendoza Rangel placed eighth in the 200 hurdles at 34.59 seconds.

Sturgis has 14 athletes qualified for the All Weather Seal of West Michigan Megastar Meet Middle School Invitational. That will take place on June 1 in Lowell.

Berkley Holtz, Green, Park, Bir, Hatt, Burkey, Eicher, Gavan Miller, VanNest, Wyatt Miller, Gorham, Kyle, Smith and Torres will each compete at that event.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: SMS mile relay record broken in Grand Rapids