OHS boys place 4th; Brethren boys
12th, girls 13th
By DYLAN SAVELA
Manistee News Advocate Sports Writer
Published:
Sunday, May 22, 2011 11:55 PM EDT
BRETHREN — Overcast skies seemed
threatening all Saturday long.
But Mother Nature was only teasing, remaining kind to athletes,
coaches and spectators at the Division 4 regional track meet in
Brethren.
For the most part, everyone stayed dry — everyone but Onekama girls
coach Bonnie Brown.
Brown wasn’t showered by a rain cloud, however. By meet’s end, she
was doused by a water cooler in celebration of her team's newly
acquired regional title. "It was a little chilly," an ecstatic Brown
said, "And a little unexpected too."
Surprises sure can be sweet,
especially when they come in the form of a first-place trophy. The
Portager girls team hoisted exactly that after gathering 105 points
Saturday to edge McBain Northern Michigan Christian (96.5) and
Traverse City St. Francis (89) in the 14-team regional.
“We scored it out (by the seedings beforehand) and we had us coming
in third,” Brown said. “I knew we had to go after NMC and we had a
big talk with the team last night and just let them know how the
meet’s scored and who to go after, and they took it to heart. They
ran their hearts out today. They went above and beyond what I ever
expected.”
Onekama’s victory earns them an invitation to this Saturday’s
Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association’s Division 4 team
state meet at Gobles High School, and the Portagers plan to attend.
“They’re excited,” Brown said.
“They came up to me and asked if they could go. So if they want to
go, I’m taking them.”
Individually, seven members of the girls team qualified to the
Michigan High School Athletic Association’s state meet, to be held
on June 4 in Jenison. Onekama’s Yumi Babinec finished the day as a
two-time regional champion, winning and qualifying for state in both
the 100- and 300-meter hurdles events, while junior Jaylee Brown
will make a third trip to the state meet in the pole vault by
notching a regional championship in the event and freshman Nisha
Collins continued her dominance in the long jump by winning with a
leap of 15-11.
Qualifying for state with runner-up finishes were senior Tobi
Schoedel in the 1,600-meter run, and the 400-meter relay team of
Brown, Danielle Ward, Babinec and Breanna Fink. The 1,600-meter
relay team of Babinec, Schoedel, Ward and Taylor Anderson will also
be headed to Jenison for a qualifying time of 4:22.33 as they took
third in the event.
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Though Babinec will compete in four
state events (the most on her team), she seemed more excited about the
team’s accomplishments. “I never thought we’d do so well,” she said
after taking a victory lap with the regional trophy. “I’m just so
impressed with our team and really happy. It feels amazing. Now we can
all go down and have one more meet as a team next weekend.”
Collins echoed those sentiments. “That’s what we were gunning for,” she
said. “Basically the coaches put it out there to us at the beginning of
the season that we want first place at regionals.”
The Onekama boys finished the day in fourth place with 56 points while
West Michigan D League foe Big Rapids Crossroads Charter Academy won
with 111.
Portager junior Tyler Fogarty paced his team with a championship
performance in the pole vault, which earns him a third straight trip to
the state finals, while senior Raul Torres qualified for the first time
with a second-place finish in the shot put, and the 3,200-meter relay
team of Tyler Groenwald, Ryan Pienta, Shane Peterson and Fogarty
extended their post season with a runner-up spot in the time of 8:46.76.
“The kids ran hard, with a lots of PRs today, so I was happy with that,”
said first-year Onekama boys coach Anthony Torres. “They did a very good
job. It’s a lot better when you get that group going down (to state).
Your practices are a lot more filled with kids, instead of just one or
two kids. I was very happy with today.”
Despite not qualifying anyone to the state meet, regional host
Brethren’s young boys and girls teams picked up solid points on the day
as the boys finished 12th with 18 and the girls tied for 13th with five.
The Bobcats’ Blaine Peck took a team-best fourth place in pole vault
with a vault of 10-2 while senior Nathan Hobart finished fifth in the
400-meter dash (54.22), the 1,600-meter relay team of Rory Russell,
Aaron Hillsamer, John Cullar and Hobart took fifth (3:49.89) and Cullar
(fifth, 18-9 3/4) and Russell (eighth, 18-3 1/2) scored points in the
long jump.
“Peck taking fourth in the pole vault is great,” Bobcats coach Travis
Walker said. “It’s his freshman year, first season pole vaulting, so for
him to be behind two juniors and a senior is exceptional.
“And both (Cullar and Russell) just started jumping two weeks ago, so
obviously both did outstanding,” he added. “Nathan Hobart scored points
in the 400, which we were expecting out of him, and everyone of those
kids (in the relay) ran the best split they have all year, so that was
great to see. Had they run what they’ve been running, we may not of
placed.”
For the Brethren girls, points were put up by a pair of relay teams and
Ashleigh Maier in the 100-meter hurdles (eighth, 18.74). The team of
Karen Lewis, Hayley Wade, Maier and Maribel Acosta finished seventh in
the 400 while Lewis, Wade, Breana Underwood and Acosta placed seventh in
the 800. |
