EAST KEN TWOOD — Keyanna O’Tey of Sturgis has been one of, if not the fastest high school female runner in the state of Michigan all season. And once again, the junior has the hardware to go with that title.
With a time of 12.08 seconds, the fastest first-place time in any division in Saturday’s state track and field finals action, O’Tey was crowned a state champion for the second consecutive year in the 100 meters in the Division I finals at East Kentwood High School. It is also her third state title in total, having previously won a 200-meter state title last year.
O’Tey was one of three Sturgis student-athletes to be crowned an individual state champion in Saturday’s action. In the boy’s Division I finals, junior Brock Fergison was the high jump champion, with a jump of 6 feet, 10 inches, winning a tiebreaker against Zeeland East’s Andrew Kraft. Both surpassed 6 feet, 10 inches with their jumps, but neither could hit 6 feet, 11.5 inches in three attempts. Because Fergison missed fewer attempts than Kraft throughout the day, he won the tiebreaker. His jump also set a new school record, which was previously held by Brad Miller (6 feet, 7.25 inches).
In the adaptive shot put competition, Sturgis’ Vivian Massey, a freshman, won the competition with a throw of 12 feet, seven inches, which tied her career best.
As a team, Sturgis finished in 14th place overall out of the 55 teams competing in the girls’ competition with 13 points, while Sturgis finished tied for 24th in the boys’ competition with 10 points.
In the girls’ 4×100 relay, Sturgis’ team of Tenley Banaszak, Angela Cary, Hannah Garbine and Keyanna O’Tey finished sixth with a time of 48.66 seconds, a new school record. The 4×200 relay of Banaszak, Garbine, Adison Nettleman and Keyanna O’Tey finished 10th with a time of 1:43.68, also a school record. The 4×800 relay of Sydney Bir, Tessa Hatt, Kenzie Eicher and Emma Garbine finished 21st with a time of 9:47.18. Eleena Kelley finished 23rd in the discus with a throw of 113 feet, 10 inches.
In the boys’ competition, the only other competitors for the Trojans were the 4×200 relay of Rasean O’Tey, Dalton Tisdel, Zachary Green and Brenden Myers, who finished 15th with a time of 1:29.72.
Division 2
HAMILTON — Three Rivers and Vicksburg both had student-athletes compete in Saturday’s Division 2 state track and field finals at Hamilton High School, with one top-ten performance for each school.
For Three Rivers, junior Sulley Zietlow finished in ninth place in the boys’ 800 meters with a time of 1:57.27, missing out on all-state honors by one spot. His time was a personal best.
In the girls’ competition, Vicksburg senior Megan Zahnow ended her career on a high note, finishing fourth in the 300-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 46.68 seconds and earning all-state honors.
Rounding out the field in the boys’ finals for Three Rivers, junior Lamonta Stone finished 20th in the 100-meter prelims with a time of 11.50 seconds and did not make it to the finals, the 4×100 relay of freshman Elijah Craig, junior Kyler Copenhaver, sophomore Blake Stewart and Stone finished 30th with a time of 44.53 seconds, and Maxwell Burg finished 18th in the shot put with a personal-best throw of 48 feet, 9.5 inches.
For Vicksburg, in the boys’ competition, freshman Travis Hostetler finished 26th in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 44.16 seconds and senior Colin Ellis finished 16th in the pole vault with a time of 12 feet, 4 inches. In the girls’ competition, senior Emma Steele finished 21st in the prelims of the 200 meters with a time of 26.38, but rebounded to take 12th place in the finals of the 800 meters with a time of 2:20.81. The 4×100 relay of Zahnow, junior Frankie Loriso, senior Sidney Jones and Steele finished 11th with a time of 50.65.
Division 3
KENT CITY — Schoolcraft and Constantine competed in Saturday’s Division 3 state finals in Kent City, with both team’s boys’ and girls’ squads placing individuals in the top 10.
In the boys’ 4×100 relay, Schoolcraft’s squad of senior Isaac Noora, sophomore Mekhi Burton, senior Jared Feller and senior Tyler Perez finished in third place with a time of 43.33 seconds, earning the bronze in the event and All-State honors. Schoolcraft had another top-10 finish in the boys’ competition, with sophomore Drew Enright finishing sixth in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 40.46 seconds.
Two Eagles girls finished in the top 10 in their respective events. In the 100-meter hurdles, junior Sophia Orton finished ninth with a time of 15.77 seconds, while in the shot put, junior Brenna McDonald finished third with a throw of 38 feet, 11 inches, a personal record.
For the Constantine boys’ squad, senior Bennett VandenBerg received All-State honors in the shot put and discus, finishing seventh in the shot put with a throw of 51 feet, 3 inches, and finishing fourth in the discus with a throw of 162 feet, 5 inches. In the girls’ competition, sophomore Kailee Jones got All-State honors finishing sixth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:19.50, a personal record. The 4×100 relay team received All-State honors as well, with sophomore Jaedyn Herlein, junior Abigail Flores, Kailee Jones and freshman Kaitlyn Jones finishing eighth with a time of 4:13.77.
Overall, Schoolcraft’s boys’ team notched nine points, finishing 24th in the standings. Constantine’s boys’ team finished tied for 33rd with seven points. Schoolcraft’s girls’ team notched six points, tied for 28th, and Constantine’s girls’ team received four points, tied for 42nd.
Other competitors for the Schoolcraft boys included Noora, who finished 21st in the 100-meter prelims with a time of 11.34 seconds, Enright, who finished 18th in the 110-meter hurdles prelims with a time of 15.72 seconds, and the 4×200 relay of Noora, Burton, Feller and Perez, who finished 26th with a time of 1:33.44.
The Schoolcraft girls’ squad was also represented by sophomore Carley Couk, who finished 24th in the preliminaries of the 200 meters with a time of 27.12, junior Ariana Pillot, who finished 18th in the 1,600 meters with a time of 5:46.80, the 4×100 relay of junior Sydney Drenth, Orton, freshman Klaire Pillot, and Ariana Pillot, who finished 15th with a time of 51.93 seconds, the 4×800 relay of senior Jenna VanDussen, senior Natalie Glerum, Kalire Pillot and Ariana Pillot, who finished 27th with a time of 11:51.44, McDonald, who finished 11th in discus with a throw of 108 feet, 11 inches, freshman Brooklyn Brown, who finished 19th in the high jump with a jump of 4 feet, 10 inches, and junior Hannah Willoughby, who finished 33rd in the pole vault with a jump of 7 feet, 9 inches.
The Constantine boys’ team was represented as well by junior Robbie King, who finished 22nd in the 800 meters with a time of 2:04.31, junior Rushawn James and senior Michael Featherstone, who finished 20th (41.97 seconds) and 34th (45.09 seconds) respectively in the 300-meter hurdles, the 4×400 relay of junior Logan Patmalnieks, junior Brody Jones, senior Isaac Moore and James, who finished 16th with a time of 3:31.49, Canon Manley, who finished 18th in the shot put (46 feet, 6 inches) and 16th in the discus (133 feet, 1 inch), Brody Jones, who finished 17th in the pole vault (12 feet, 9 inches), and Rushawn James in the long jump, who finished 20th with a jump of 18 feet, 8.75 inches.
For the Constantine girls, sophomore Jaedyn Herlein finished 17th in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 49.19 seconds, and the 4×200 relay of Flores, Kaitlyn Jones, freshman Cassidy Walker, and Jaedyn Herlein finished 16th with a time of 1:51.52.
Division 4
HUDSONVILLE — Five local schools competed in the Division 4 state track and field finals at Baldwin Middle School in Hudsonville: White Pigeon, Centreville, Marcellus, Colon and Mendon.
Overall, White Pigeon’s boys’ team finished tied for seventh with 23 points, Centreville’s boys’ team finished tied for 38th with five points, and Colon’s girls’ team finished tied for 34th with six points.
White Pigeon’s boys’ team had four top-five individual finishes on the day. The 4×400 relay of junior Josh Davidson, senior Drew Kobryn, junior Jordan Pisco and junior Mekhi Singleton finished second with a time of 3:31.33, while the 4×200 relay of Davidson, Kobryn, Pisco and Singleton finished fourth with a time of 1:31.56. Pisco finished fifth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.47, while senior Seth Miller finished fifth in the shot put with a throw of 48 feet, 7.5 inches.
Centreville’s boys’ team also had a few top-10 finishes. The 4×100 relay of junior Carter Cartier, senior Declan Kane, sophomore Brendan Sre and sophomore Deandre Stout finished fifth with a time of 44.69, the 4×200 relay of Cartier, Kane, senior Cohen Longacre, and Stout finished 10th with a time of 1:34.07, sophomore Matthew Bates finished eighth in the shot put with a throw of 46 feet, 1.25 inches, and junior Max Yoder finished ninth in the pole vault with a jump of 11 feet.
On the girls’ side, Colon’s Macey Burgess finished third in the high jump with a jump of 5 feet, 1 inch to earn All-State honors.
Rounding out the Division 4 field locally, participating for Marcellus was sophomore Marvin Jones, Jr. in the boys’ shot put, finishing 13th with a throw of 43 feet, 9.25, and junior Madisyn Harrison, who finished 16th in pole vault with a jump of 8 feet, 3 inches.
For the Mendon boys, sophomore Owen Gorham finished 13th in the 400 meters with a time of 52.50 seconds, the 4×400 relay of sophomore Ryder Gorham, senior Dylan Cupp, senior Jack McCaw and Owen Gorham finished 12th with a time of 3:37.64, the 4×800 relay of freshman Zak Iobe, Ryder Gorham, freshman Xavior Zinsmaster and junior Ben Iobe finished 24th with a time of 9:03.22, and McCaw finished 18th in the long jump with a jump of 18 feet, 8.5 inches.
For the Mendon girls, junior Presley Allen finished 26th in the 3,200 meters with a time of 12:39.86, the 4×200 relay of sophomore McKenzie Bakeman, freshman Michelle Gomez-Sanchez, freshman Karyssa Holtz and sophomore Taylor Zinsmaster finished 32nd with a time of 1:56.88, junior Brianna Heitkamp finished 11th in shot put with a throw of 32 feet, 7.5 inches, and senior Alicyn Arevalo finished 13th in high jump with a leap of 4 feet, 9 inches.
For White Pigeon’s boys’ team, Davidson finished 11th in the 400 meters with a time of 52.43 and Wes Roberts finished 12th in shot put (43 feet, 10.25 inches) and 20th in discus (117 feet, 5 inches).
For Centreville’s boys’ team, Stout finished 12th in the prelims of the 200 meters with a time of 23.52, Longacre finished 21st in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 44.24, and the 4×400 relay of Kane, freshman Oliver Mildenberg, Longacre and Stout finished 17th with a time of 3:40.34.
For the Centreville girls’ team, senior Ellie Miller finished 23rd in the prelims of the 200 meters with a time of 28.13, sophomore Berkley Shingledecker finished 14th in the 800 meters with a time of 2:30.73, the 4×200 relay of freshman Nevaeh Prichard, Shingledecker, sophomore Leah Roberts and Miller finished 20th with a time of 1:54.28, the 4×400 relay of sophomores Ninon Gontier, Arianna Six, Shingledecker and Ellie Reed finished 16th with a time of 4:26.53, Roberts finished 19th in the high jump with a jump of 4 feet, 7 inches, and Miller finished 12th in the long jump with a leap of 15 feet, 6.25 inches.
Colon was also represented by their 4×200 relay team, which finished 27th with a time of 1:56.02.
