D League Champs take a Victory Lap
Portagers Boys and Girls take 1st

By DYLAN SAVELA, Manistee News Advocate Sports Writer

CUSTER — After countless laps around numerous tracks this season, the Onekama Portagers had just one more to go — and they took their time.

The slow jog wasn’t a strategy to pace themselves, or caused from fatigue.

The Portagers took their time because they could — they had already won.

Boys and girls runners, throwers, vaulters, and jumpers ran as one.

And instead of batons, the collective group passed, from hand to hand, the pair of first place trophies it had just won.

The Portagers’ victory lap was somewhat expected, but not guaranteed.

Onekama’s boys and girls teams knew going into the West Michigan D League championship meet Tuesday, that they had clinched at least half of the league title by winning all three jamborees this season.

But, the Portagers wanted to avoid sharing the title, like they had last year with Mason County Eastern.

“The kids have been shooting for this all season long,” Onekama coach Bonnie Brown said. “I’m really proud of them. They all gave 110 percent.”

Onekama took its top spots in convincing fashion. The boys placed first with 185 points, followed by Big Rapids Crossroad Charter Academy’s 127, while the girls led the pack with 175 over second placed MCE’s 138.

The boys took eight top spots en route to the title, while the girls had nine first place finishes.

Onekama junior Danny Brown leads a victory lap for the Portagers after both the boys and girls teams won West Michigan D League track and field titles during Tuesday's meet at Mason County Eastern in Custer. (Dylan Savela/News Advocate)

The Portagers’ Danny Brown won the two hurdle events, clocking 17.56 in the 110-meter hurdles and 47.00 in the 300-meter hurdles, while Cody Graf finished first in the 3200-meter run (11:20), Chase Calloway won the discus (124-4), Parker Johnson took gold in pole vault (11-6) and Jaron Llewellyn won the 800-meter run (2:08).

Onekama’s 1600- and 3200- meter relay teams also finished in the top spot.

For the Portager girls, Jaylee Brown and Tobi Schoedel each had two first place finishes — Brown in the 100-meter hurdles (16.62) and pole vault (9-0) and Schoedel in the 800-meter run (2:34.80) and 3200-meter run (14:04). Elizabeth Schoedel won the 1600-meter run in 6:17.43 and Ashley Rupert placed first in the high jump with a jump of 4-11. The girls 400-meter, 1600-meter and 3200-meter relays also took gold.

The Brethren Bobcats took a third and sixth place finish in the girls and boys respectively.

The Bobcats’ Dustin McConnon took a second and third place finish in the hurdle events while Nathan Hobart placed in four events (1600-meter run, 3200-meter run, 400-meter dash, and 800-meter run).

The Brethren girls team took five second place finishes — Rebecca Priest in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, Ashleigh Maier in the long jump, Karen Lewis in the 200-meter dash as well as the 400-meter relay team.
 Boys Results
  • 110-meter hurdles — 1, Danny Brown, OHS, 17.56; 2, Dustin McConnon, BHS, 19.41; 3, Lewis Bartlett, OHS, 19.50; 4, Bobby Myers, OHS, 23.21.
  • 200-meter dash — 6, Troy Rau, OHS, 26.05.
  • 300-meter hurdles — 1, Brown, OHS, 47.00; 3, McConnon, BHS, 48.66; 5, John Evans, OHS, 49.24; 6, Bartlett, OHS, 50.11.
  • 400-meter dash — 3, Joe Kosiboski, OHS, 57.18; 6, Nathan Hobart, BHS, 59.03.
  • 400-meter relay — 2, OHS, Parker Johnson, Evans, Joerdan Daldos, Rau, 47.46.
  • 800-meter run — 1, Jaron Llewellyn, OHS, 2:08.00; 2, Tyler Groenwald, OHS, 2:13.00; 4, Ryan Pienta, OHS, 2:20.00; 5, Hobart, BHS, 2:32.00.
  • 800-meter relay — 3, OHS, Daldos, Johnson, Evans, Rau, 1:39.80.
  • 1600-meter run — 2, Llewellyn, OHS, 4:54.00; 3, Cody Graf, OHS, 5:08.00; 4, Hobart, BHS, 5:12.00; 6, Pienta, OHS, 5:21.00.
  • 1600-meter relay — 1, OHS, Llewellyn, Tyler Fogarty, Groenwald, Johnson, 3:48.00.
  • 3200-meter run — 1, Graf, OHS, 11:20.00; 2, Alex Ringel, OHS, 11:24.00; 3, Laust Merrild, OHS, 11:25.00; 4, Hobart, BHS, 12:18.00.
  • 3200-meter relay — 1, OHS, Graf, Llewellyn, Pienta, Groenwald, 9:00.00.
  • Pole vault — 1, Johnson, OHS, 11-6; 3, Fogarty, OHS, 9-6; 4, Brown, OHS, 9-0.
  • High jump — 4, Kosiboski, OHS, 5-2; 6, Myers, OHS, 4-9.
  • Shot put — 4, Chase Calloway, OHS, 34-2 1/2; 6, Tyler Bajtka, OHS, 32-11 1/2.
  • Discus — 1, Calloway, OHS, 124-4; 3, Bajtka, OHS, 92-7; 4, Kosiboski, OHS, 89-3.
     

Girls Results
  • 100-meter hurdles — 1, Jaylee Brown, OHS, 16.62; 2, Rebecca Priest, BHS, 16.93; 4, Kailyn Ware, BHS, 17.24; 5, Yumi Babinec, OHS, 17.48.
  • 100-meter dash — 2, Babinec, OHS, 13.55; 5, Karen Lewis, BHS, 14.14; 6, Danielle Ward, OHS, 14.62.
  • 200-meter dash — 2, Lewis, BHS, 28.87; 4, Ward, OHS, 29.52; 6, Nicole Slater, OHS, 29.87.
  • 300-meter hurdles — 2, Priest, BHS, 51.87; 3, Brown, OHS, 52.02; 5, Olivia Bolthouse, OHS, 55.81; 6, Ware, BHS, 59.91.
  • 400-meter dash — 3, Anna Veverica, OHS, 1:06.00; 5, Kailani Buckner, OHS, 1:11.00; 6, Shelby Sidor, OHS, 1:12.00.
  • 400-meter relay — 1, OHS, Brown, Babinec, Ward, Taylor Hagen, 55.18; 2, BHS, Lewis, Priest, Ashleigh Maier, Ware, 57.41.
  • 800-meter run — 1, Tobi Schoedel, OHS, 2:34.80; 4, Veverica, OHS, 2:52.00; 5, Sidor, OHS, 3:08.00.
  • 800-meter relay — 2, OHS, Ward, Ashley Rupert, Slater, Hagen, 1:57.00; 3, BHS, Lewis, Priest, Maier, Ware, 2:01.00.
  • 1600-meter run — 1, Elizabeth Schoedel, OHS, 6:17.43; 2, Sidor, OHS, 6:17.90; 5, Tobi Schoedel, OHS, 7:55.00.
  • 1600-meter relay — 1, OHS, Veverica, Hagen, Babinec, Tobi Schoedel, 4:50.00.
  • 3200-meter run — 1, Tobi Schoedel, OHS, 14:04.00; 3, Elizabeth Schoedel, OHS, 14:40.00; 4, Amber Sullivan, OHS, 21:57.00.
  • 3200-meter relay — 1, OHS, Veverica, Elizabeth Schoedel, Sidor, Tobi Schoedel, 11:52.00.
  • Pole vault — 1, Brown, OHS, 9-0; 2, Hagen, OHS, 7-6.1; 4, Bolthouse, OHS, 7-0.
  • Long jump — 2, Maier, BHS, 13-2 1/2; 6, Slater, OHS, 12-2.
  • High jump — 1, Rupert, OHS, 4-11; 4, Buckner, OHS, 4-1; 5, Autumn Beebe, BHS, 3-0.
  • Discus — 3, Megan Paskell, BHS, 79-5; 6, Rupert, OHS, 71-2 1/2.

Onekama’s Tyler Groenwald (right) takes the baton from Tyler Fogarty in the 1,600-meter relay Tuesday at Mason County Eastern in Custer. The Portagers took first in the event. Onekama, which co-ops with Bear Lake, won the West Michigan D League track and field title in both boys and girls. (Dylan Savela/News Advocate)

Onekama’s Taylor Hagen took second place in the pole vault Tuesday at the West Michigan D League meet in Custer. (Dylan Savela/News Advocate)

Congratulations to the girls track team on their victorious 1st place finish in the WMD conference yesterday afternoon, winning the meet with 175 points followed by MCE 138 and Brethren 61. ~Coach Bonnie Brown

Girls Winning 1st Team All Conference were:

  • 4 Event Conference Champ was Tobi Schoedel, winning the 800 meter run, 3200 meter run, 3200 meter relay with teammates Anna Veverica, Elizabeth Schoedel, & Shelby Sidor, and the 1600 meter Relay with teammates Taylor Hagen, Yumi Babinec, & Anna Veverica

  • 3 Event Conference Champ was Jaylee Brown, winning the Pole Vault, 100 meter High Hurdles, 400 meter Relay with teammates, Taylor Hagen, Yumi Babinec & Danielle Ward

  • Ashley Rupert in the High Jump

  • Elizabeth Schoedel in the 1600 meter run

2nd Team All Conference went to:

  • Taylor Hagen in the Pole Vault

  • Yumi Babinec 100 meter dash

  • Shelby Sidor 1600 meter run

  • 800 meter Relay team of Nicole Slater, Ashley Rupert, Danielle Ward, & Taylor Hagen

  • May 19, 2009

  • Article & Photos (as noted) on this page by Dylan Savela. Additional photos by Bonnie

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