ADA, MI – East Grand Rapids girls team captured its second consecutive title, and Corunna’s boys squad snapped a 23-year drought with its championship at Saturday’s MHSAA Division 2 track and field state meet at Forest Hills Eastern.
Championship chases on both the boys and girls sides came down to the wire, with EGR sealing its title in school-record time in the 1,600-meter relay, while Corunna’s 4x400 relay team placed seventh in the meet’s final event to hold off a pair of challengers.
Follow along for highlights from a thrilling day at the Division 2 state finals.
PHOTOS: See our gallery from the Division 2 track and field state finals
EGR girls make school history
Last year, the Pioneers pulled away from runner-up Grand Rapids Christian without much trouble, but Saturday was a different story, as EGR edged runner-up Sturgis, 50-34, thanks to first-place finishes in the distance relays and individual titles from senior Camryn Bodine and Drew Muller.
Bodine defended her title in the 800 run with a personal-best time of 2:11.53, led off the 3,200 relay team’s winning time of 9:28.17, then anchored the final race of the day in the 1,600 relay, where the Pioneers set a school record of 3:58.18.
“We’ve been looking at our school record, which was around four minutes, and when I got the baton, it was pretty clear that we were going to win, it was just a matter of whether I was going to be able to run the time I needed to run to be under four minutes,” Bodine said. “That was really exciting for us.”
Claire Weaver, Avery Hecksel and Muller ran the first three legs that gave Bodine a commanding lead, and she sped through the final 400 meters to secure the school record and leave no doubt about which team was leaving with the state championship trophy.
“They all ran insane,” Bodine said of her teammates. “The first two were sub-60 (seconds) or right at 60, and when I was watching them go, it was so exciting. Just to watch them be at the time we needed, and then bring it home and break the school record again, it was just fun.”
Like Bodine, Muller had a title to defend, and the junior claimed another 1,600 run championship by finishing less than a second ahead of runner-up Emily Tomes, of Grand Rapids Catholic Central, with a first-place time of 4:56.01.
On a day where temperatures reached the high 80s, and the stadium’s artificial turf radiated that heat around the athletes, times in the distance events weren’t setting records, but thanks to a week of preparation, Muller and her teammates were able to get the job done.
“I’ve been preparing for this since Monday with hydration and drinking a ton of water, so that’s a big factor, but it’s hard, especially like for longer distances,” she said. “Shout out to the two-milers because that must have really sucked. For like the mile and the 800 and the relays, it was definitely tough but afterwards I was trying to make sure that I got in the shade and rehydrated.”
EGR sophomore Sadey Seyferth placed fourth in the 3,200 run to cap her first season of high school track, and it was those types of efforts that allowed the Pioneers to capture their second title in program history.
“At the state meet, it’s kind of goofy. You just have to find kids who can be successful at a high level in an event,” EGR coach Mike Dykstra said. “We have a girls in the two-mile that wasn’t on our team last year, and she got fourth, so there’s five points right there. We had a freshman (Catherine Schellhammer) who filled in a spot on our 4x8 (3,200 relay), who hadn’t run an 800 until May. It’s about just kind of trying to figure it out as the year went on, but we’ve got a bunch of hard-working kids. Finding the events for them kind of was the challenge and how it was different (than last year).”
Underdog mentality leads Corunna boys to the top
Corunna came in second at regionals behind Frankenmuth, so the Cavaliers flew under the radar heading into Saturday, but they embraced that underdog role and used that motivation to score 41 points, edging runners-up Forest Hills Eastern and Mason, who tied with 35 points.
“We were picked to lose by 40 at the regionals, and we scored (148.75) points, and that wins every regional, except for that one,” coach Jeff Sawyer said. “So, we were a little disappointed that we didn’t win that, but we knew that we had scorers, and we had some relays. Our 4x100 and 4x200 have been in the top two or three the whole year, and my long jumpers have been up there, so I knew it was possible.”
“A few people had it in the back of their minds (that Corunna would win), but we didn’t say it,” Sawyer added. “We were just being the underdog this year, but next year, we won’t be because we’re still going to be pretty good.”
Corunna’s 400 relay team of Isaac Jacobs, Wyatt Bower, Nick Strauch and Tarick Bower placed first, while the Cavaliers’ 800 relay team composed of those same runners took second.
Wyatt Bower won the long jump with a personal best of 22 feet, 8.5 inches, which bested his twin brother and third-place finisher, Tarick, by less than a foot.
But Tarick still holds the school record at 22 feet, 9 inches, and when asked if they’d rather have a state title or their name in the Corunna record books, both brothers defended their own accomplishments.
“The state championship, personally,” Wyatt said with a laugh.
“They’re both pretty cool,” Tarick said. “I like that he won it. He’s been working toward it, and this was just my third time doing the long jump ever, and I set the school record in my second time, so it feels good to have it on the board.”
Girls individual state champs
100-meter dash
Keyanna O’Tey (Soph., Sturgis), 11.84 PR
Adaptive 100-meter dash
Jillian Romanyk (Sr., Sturgis), 30.53 PR
200-meter dash
Keyanna O’Tey (Soph., Sturgis), 24.61 PR
400-meter dash
Elizabeth Anderson (Sr., New Boston Huron), 55.38 PR
800-meter run
Camryn Bodine (Sr., East Grand Rapids), 2:11.53 PR
1,600-meter run
Drew Muller (Jr., East Grand Rapids), 4:56.01
3,200-meter run
Natalie VanOtteren (Jr., Grand Rapids Christian), 10:57.20
100-meter hurdles
Ella Jenkins (Sr., Warren Regina), 14.64 PR
300-meter hurdles
Annabelle Densmore (Sr., Charlotte), 45.06
400-meter relay
Berrien Springs (Zariyah Mance, Kirsten Krause, Jasmin Williams, Grace Constable), 49.32
800-meter relay
Cadillac (Emily Anway, Avery Meyer, Madisyn Lundquist, Hanah Johnson), 1:44.76
1,600-meter relay
East Grand Rapids (Claire Weaver, Avery Hecksel, Drew Muller, Camryn Bodine), 3:58.18
3,200-meter relay
East Grand Rapids (Camryn Bodine, Catherine Schellhammer, Sadey Seyferth, Drew Muller), 9:28.17
Shot put
Janae Hudson (Jr., Marysville), 42′7 PR
Adaptive shot put
Jillian Romanyk (Sr., Sturgis), 13′7
Discus
Haley Guerrant (Sr., Otsego), 136′11 PR
High jump
Lyberty Brandt (Sr., Saginaw Swan Valley), 5′5
Pole vault
Allison Shelton (Jr., Ortonville Brandon), 12′0
Long jump
Kaitlyn Molnar (Jr., Grosse Ile), 18′5.75 PR
Girls top 10 teams
1. East Grand Rapids, 50
2. Sturgis, 34
3. Mason, 26
3. New Boston Huron, 26
3. Otsego, 26
6. Tecumseh, 24
7. Grand Rapids Christian, 22.5
8. Saginaw Swan Valley, 19
9. Grosse Ile, 18
9. Warren Regina, 18
9. Cadillac, 18
Boys individual state champs
100-meter dash
Jack Maciniak (Jr., Berrien Springs), 11.84 PR
Adaptive 100-meter dash
Jacob Nelson (Sr., Chelsea), 27.28 PR
200-meter dash
Michael Wright (Sr., Vicksburg), 21.72
Adaptive 200-meter dash
Jacob Nelson (Sr., Chelsea), 57.71
400-meter dash
Trannon Aylor (Jr., Whitehall), 48.83 PR
800-meter run
Aiden Sullivan (Sr., Forest Hills Eastern), 1:53.92
1,600-meter run
Kyle Eberhard (Sr., Linden), 4:14.79 PR
3,200-meter run
TJ Hansen (Soph., Freeland), 9:11.56 PR
110-meter hurdles
Tyler Baker (Jr., Mason), 14.63 PR
300-meter hurdles
AJ Martel (Jr., Mason), 38.90 PR
400-meter relay
Corunna (Isaac Jacobs, Wyatt Bower, Nick Strauch, Tarick Bower), 42.63
800-meter relay
Berrien Springs (Jared Wilburn, Zander White, Noah Jarvis, Jack Machiniak), 1:28.18
1,600-meter relay
Grand Rapids Christian (Ethan Lenters, Reuben Wiering, Jonah Knoester, Jordan Rogers), 3:24.49
3,200-meter relay
Adrian (Jake Eagling, Ben Schefka, Aiden Smith, Matthew Canales), 7:39.77
Shot put
Michael Howey (Sr., Alma), 55′8
Adaptive shot put
Jacob Nelson (Sr., Chelsea), 6′6
Discus
Dalton DeBeau (Sr., Frankenmuth), 171′6
High jump
Jacob Dunlap (Jr., Alma), 6′7 PR
Pole vault
Sam Vesperman (Soph., Grosse Ile), 15′1 PR
Long jump
Wyatt Bower (Jr., Corunna), 22′8.5 PR
Boys top 10 teams
1. Corunna, 41
2. Mason, 35
2. Forest Hills Eastern, 35
4. Whitehall, 33
5. Frankenmuth, 29
6. Vicksburg, 26
7. Freeland, 24
7. Berrien Springs, 24
9. Dearborn Divine Child, 21
10. Adrian, 20
10. Alma, 20
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