Portagers produce
four regional champs, qualify 12 for state
By DYLAN SAVELA
Manistee News Advocate Sports Writer
Published: Sunday, May 22, 2011 11:55 PM EDT
BRETHREN — Raul Torres has never
competed in a state meet, and heading into Saturday’s Division 4
regional at Brethren, the Onekama senior knew he’d have just one
more chance to qualify. He sure picked a good day to throw a
personal-best 41-feet-5 inches in the shot put, because the
second-place finish stamped his ticket to the June 4 finals in
Jenison.
Or maybe, the day picked him.
“I don’t know, it just felt like the day was right — the
temperature, everything,” he explained. “Last year I wanted to get
past regionals, so I guess this year I made up for it. Today was the
first time for me throwing over 40 (feet) all year. It just felt
like a good day.” The day was good to a lot of Portagers as
Onekama had four regional champions crowned Saturday, and 12 total
athletes qualify for the state meet.
The girls team, as a whole, not
only won a regional title, but did so with the help of taking first
in four events.
Yumi Babinec, who as a senior has been dominating the hurdles
circuit this year, emerged as a two-time regional champ Saturday.
Babinec won the 100- and 300-meter hurdles with the times of 16.33
and 47.71, respectively. She already held Onekama school records in
each event, but her time Saturday in the 300 was a personal best,
thus a new school mark. “I felt pretty good,” Babinec said. “I
guess I ran faster than I did last time, so now I’m hoping to run
faster at state too.”
Nisha Collins didn’t take too long to notch a career-first regional
title. The freshman qualified with a first-place finish in the long
jump with a leap of 15-11. “I’m feeling pretty confident. I’m
just a little nervous,” Collins said. “I’m hoping I can get the
runway down because that’s what’s been the hardest thing for me. But
other than that, I’m pumped.”
Onekama junior Jaylee Brown secured her third straight trip to state
in the pole vault, but this time qualified with her first regional
championship in the event. Despite battling an injured back for the
past two seasons, Brown vaulted 9-6 — exactly two feet higher than
Frankfort’s Sierra Willsey in the runner-up spot.
“I’m not really sure (what to expect at state),” Brown said of her
third consecutive trip. “I have a bad back again this year and today
I just pulled it off. My back felt really good for that. I’m really
happy with it, and hopefully I can hold up for state.”
A top-two finish in a regional event secures a trip to state, and
Onekama’s Tobi Schoedel did just that with a runner-up performance
in the 1,600-meter run (5:30.40) as did the 400-meter relay team of
Brown, Danielle Ward, Babinec and Breanna Fink (53.67).
An individual or relay team outside the top two slots can go to the
finals by reaching a specified qualifying mark at their regional.
The Portagers’ 1,600-meter relay team of Babinec, Schoedel, Ward and
Taylor Anderson secured their spot with a third-place finish and
qualifying time of 4:22.33.
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The Portagers’ Jaylee Brown
won the regional title in pole vault. She will make her third
straight trip to the state finals in the event. (Dylan Savela/News
Advocate)
“We’re just so excited,” Onekama
girls coach Bonnie Brown said. “I couldn’t be more proud of these girls.
I mean, Jaylee’s been injured the whole season, just like last year, and
she vaulted like she’s never vaulted before, today. Yumi, I just can’t
say enough about Yumi. Tobi ran her heart out, and Nisha in the long
jump. I mean, she’s just a freshman.
“All of them just went above and
beyond today.”
While the girls qualified seven athletes Saturday, their male
counterparts qualified five.
Aside from Torres, the 3,200-meter relay team of Tyler Groenwald, Ryan
Pienta, Shane Peterson and Tyler Fogarty will go to state after their
second-place finish in the time of 8:46.76.
Fogarty will also make his third straight trip in the pole vault, and
despite winning the regional with a vault of 11-8, he said there’s
certainly room for improvement.
“I haven’t been doing as well this year, so I’m going to have to work a
lot harder,” he said. “This is the time I usually pick it up though — in
that little time off before the state meet. I just have to start working
on that form.”
Onekama boys coach Anthony Torres reiterated the work that will have to
be done in the time off.
“Now it’s just focusing on the one event they made it in,” he said of
all the state qualifiers. “It kind of makes it easier to hone in on one
thing. We can always drop more time off. Like I told these guys this
morning, seedings don’t mean much coming in. It depends on what you do
at the event.”
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