Kayela Putnam sets new Stephenson record in pole vault

HARRIS — Stephenson’s Kayela Putnam soared into the history books with a record-smashing performance in the pole vault at the Bark River-Harris track and field invitational on Monday.

Putnam established the new Stephenson High School watermark with a vault of nine feet, six inches, breaking the old record set by Debbie Palmer (9’ 2”) in 1998.

“Kayela has worked so hard for this, and to think she only began vaulting last year as a junior. We couldn’t be more proud of her and her huge accomplishment,” Stephenson coach Kate Kuntze said. “Her record-breaking performance is a testament of all her hard work and hours put in at practice.”

Putnam’s vault was good for first place, with Bark River-Harris’ Mira Johnson a distant second with a vault of 8’ 0”.

Putnam also competed in the 3,200-meter run and placed second with a time of 14:30.41.

Putnam’s record-smashing performance helped the Stephenson girls finish third overall with 59 points, despite several Lady Eagles missing Monday’s meet while competing at Nationals for Business Professionals of America.

BR-H won both the boys and girls’ competitions, with the Bronco boys collecting 120.5 points, while the BR-H girls racked up 171.

Manistique (126) was second on the girls’ side, while Carney-Nadeau (39) edged Big Bay de Noc (38) by one point to capture fourth place.

The Stephenson boys placed seventh overall with 23 points. Munising (103) was second while Manistique (93) was third.

On the girls’ side, Stephenson’s Jade Kuntze won the high jump with a leap of 4’ 10”.

Kuntze and Putnam teamed with Layla Engel and Gabriella Putnam to take third in the 3,200-meter relay with a time of 11:57.55.

Mattie Prestin, Madalynn Vista, Lilliana Revall and Adria Ruleau ran the 400m relay and placed third after crossing the finish line in 56.67 seconds.

Carney-Nadeau had a pair of first-place finishes from Samantha Kedsch and Mariska Laurila, with Kedsch winning the long jump (16’ 0.5”) while Laurila won the discus with a toss of 92’ 10.5.

Laurila also participated in the shot put, finishing third overall with a heave of 31’ 5.5”.

Canon Kuntze authored the best finish of the afternoon for the Stephenson boys after taking third in the 3,200m run in 11:49.60. Kuntze also ran the 800m and placed fourth with a time of 2:16.07.

Asher Priebe (19.24) took fifth in the 110m hurdles, while Dusty Gallop (48.71) was fourth in the 300m hurdles.

C-N’s Sam Salo finished the long jump with a distance of 13’ 0”, good for 14th place. Teammate Cullen Kasbohm (12’ 6”) was 16th.

Up nextStephenson and Carney-Nadeau will compete in the MHSAA U.P. Region 48 championships on Friday at North Dickinson, with events getting underway at 11:30 a.m.

Bark River-Harris Invitational resultsTeam scores

Boys — Bark River-Harris 120.5, Munising 103, Manistique 93, Rapid River 86, North Central 29, Mid-Pen 27, Stephenson 23, Holy Name 17, Wilson-Hannahville-Nah Tah Wahsh PSA 12, Norway 6, Big Bay de Noc 1.5

Girls — Bark River-Harris 171, Manistique 126, Stephenson 59, Carney-Nadeau 39, Big Bay de Noc 38, Munising 30, Norway 28, Rapid River 22, Mid-Pen 11

Stephenson results

Girls

100m — 11. Prestin, 14.33; 15. Revall, 15.05; 18. Tiffany Kurz, 15.57; 23. Addison Olson, 15.86

200m — 9. Ruleau, 29.38; 17. Kurz, 32.87; 18. Olson, 33.37

800m — 5. J. Kuntze, 2:26.56

1,600m — 5. G. Putnam, 6:59.10; 9. Engel, 7:21.64

3,200m — 2. K. Putnam, 14:30.41; 5. G. Putnam, 15:13.44; 7. Engel, 16:37.20

400m relay — 3. Prestin/Vista/Revall/Ruleau, 56.67

800m relay — 5. Presin/Vista/Revall/Ruleau, 2:00.93

1,600m relay — 4. J. Kuntze/Vista/Kurz/Prestin, 4:45.38

3,200m relay — 4. J. Kuntze/K. Putnam/G. Putnam/Engel, 11:57.55

Shot put — 5. Alayna Strahl, 30’ 2”; 7. Caitlyn Johnson, 27’ 0”

Discus — 4. Johnson, 78’ 3.5”

High jump — 1. J. Kuntze, 4’ 10”; 7. Veronica Van, 4’ 6”; 9. Vista, 4’ 4”

Pole vault — 1. K. Putnam, 9’ 6”

Long jump — 6. Ruleau, 14’ 1”; 11. Revall, 11’ 9”; 15. Kurz, 11’ 2”; 24. Olson, 9’ 7.5”

Boys

100m — 14. Oren Marcoe, 12.97; 16. D. Gallop, 13.36

400m — 5. Priebe, 58.26; 14. Marcoe, 1:04.35

800m — 4. C. Kuntze, 2:16.07

1,600m — 6. C. Kuntze, 5:13.42

3,200m — 3. C. Kuntze, 11:49.60

110m hurdles — 5. Priebe, 19.24

300m hurdles — D. Gallop, 48.71

1,600m relay — 5. Priebe/Marcoe/D. Gallop./C. Kuntze, 4:16.76

Shot put — 5. Dahlton Berg, 35’ 2.5”; 15. Cooper Gallop, 29’ 9.75”; 28. Nolan Strahl, 25’ 0”

Discus — 10. C. Gallop, 83’ 8.5”; 13. Berg, 80’ 3.5”; 20. N. Strahl, 69’ 9”

Mixed

400m throwers relay — 7. Johnson/A. Strahl/C. Gallop/N. Strahl, 1:05.17

Carney-Nadeau results

Girls

100m — 5. Kedsch, 13.78; 22. Ashlie Topper, 15.79; 26. Addie Ross, 16.10

200m — 7. Kedsch, 28.55

400m — 7. Kenna Thiry, 1:12.01

100m hurdles — 4. Thiry, 20.33

400m relay — 6. Thiry/Kedsch/Laurila/Kelsie Smith, 59.30

Shot put — 3. Laurila, 31’ 5.5”; 4. Smith, 30’ 10”

Discus — 1. Laurila, 92’ 10.5; 5. Smith, 76’ 4”

Long jump — 1. Kedsch, 16’ 0.5”; 8. Thiry, 13’ 3”; 10. Topper, 12’ 6”

Boys

1,600m — 11. Kasbohm, 5:59.07; 12. Salo, 6:07.53

300m hurdles — 7. Kasbohm, 1:01.58

Long jump — 14. Salo, 13’ 0”; 16. Kasbohm, 12’ 6”