Barrier down, can Falcons remain relevant in track picture
ON THE FAST TRACK: Rochester's Teanna Murray is one of the state's top sprinters and should keep the defending state champion Falcons in the top 10 at the state meet this season. File Photo | Dan Stickradt
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
ROCHESTER HILLS — It may seem kind of odd, but Rochester accomplished a feat last season in girls track and field that had never been done before.
The Falcons became the first Class A /Division 1 girls track and field team from talent-laden Oakland County to win a state crown. There have been several teams that teams have finished second, third, fourth and fifth at the state meet dating back to the early 1970s, but Rochester broke down a barrier last season.
Oakland County has won numerous state titles in all sports across the board, but had a void in girls track and field. Oak Park had won in Class B and Birmingham Detroit Country Day in Class C, both in the 1980s, but Class A/Division 1 had always seen the titles go elsewhere.
Ann Arbor Pioneer has won 16 of the past 25 titles, with Detroit Cass Tech winning four, Rockford and Detroit Mumford two apiece and Romulus one in that stretch. Prior to 1985, Flint Northern (four) and Cass Tech (two) have combined for six titles, while Detroit Chadsey, Detroit Mackenzie, Flint Central and Benton Harbor one apiece — all schools from outside Oakland County’s borders.
So, will Rochester be a one-year wonder? And will any other Oakland County school make a serious run at the Division 1 girls track and field state crown this spring or in the near future?
Rochester has over half of that team back, and veteran coach Larry Adams feels his team could be a top five team in the state again, if not better.
“I think we can be top three,” he said. “If we stay healthy, and the kids do what they are capable of, then it’s possible.”
Rochester suffered big blow over Spring Break last month, when versatile senior Erin Leppek left the team to concentrate on volleyball. Leppek, who will play volleyball at Iowa, placed in four events last season at the state finals — long jump, 800 relay, 1,600 relay and 3,200 relay. She ran the third leg on the 3,200 relay that clocked 9:05.47, which is the new all-division state-meet record. Her absence will also be felt in dual meets.
Lead-off leg from the 3,200 relay, Megan Goethals, who also won the 1,600 and 3,200 runs at the state meet, also departed and is running at the University of Washington. Goethals was Miss Cross Country and Miss Track her senior year with the Falcons and set multiple state records.
The Falcons also lost sprinter Ashley Keyes, who won the 100 and anchored the state champion 400 relay unit last season and is now competing for Syracuse. Keyes also placed sixth in the state in the long jump and ran on the 800 relay unit that placed seventh at state. She owns four school records.
The duo of Goethals and Keyes are the top-two point scorers in program history and will not be replaced in a Falcons uniform this season. So, can the Falcons contend or make it three straight top-five state-met finishes? Rochester had not finished in the top five before the 2009 season, when they claimed fourth.
“I do have high expectations,” said Adams. “We return five (point scorers) from our state champion team last year. I see some kids who have been in the program who can step in and fill some of the holes. I think we have a chance to do well, if we stay healthy and everything falls into place.”
Rochester must focus this season on what it still has the cannon against what has departed. There’s a core of athletes that will help them stay in the top 10 with an outside shot at another moment in state glory.
GOING THE DISTANCE: Rochester senior Brook Handler (front), along with freshman Jessica Goethals and sophomore Erica Munyan, give the Falcons depth in the distance races.
There will be several teams this year in a wide open race fighting for position in the top 10 at the state meet, including favorite Grosse Pointe South, Rockford, last year’s state runner-up, Ann Arbor Pioneer, Ann Arbor Huron, East Kentwood, Detroit Cass Tech, Detroit Mumford, Waterford Mott, Rochester Adams, Grand Blanc, Grand Haven, Saline and West Bloomfield — all with big-meet performers that will likely chalk up points in bunches.
Rochester’s 3,200 relay and 1,600 relay returns some key legs, with Brook Handler, the 2010 recipient of the Miss Cross Country award, back and even better than last season. She was state runner-up in the 800 last June and will add the 1,600 to her resume this year. She ran 4:50 indoors this past winter. Handler anchored both the 3,200 relay and 1,600 relay (eighth at state) last season that set school records.
In all, Rochester set school records in 10 of 17 events last season.
Senior Cady Pozolo, who ran on both distance relays, is another 2:20 half miler and 60-second quarter miler that will provide points. Junior Emily Leppek, who ran on the 1,600, 800 and 400 relays and also long jumped at the state meet last season, is also back in the fold. Leppek will also experiment with the 300 hurdles and middle distance relays this season, as the competitive cheerleader shows great versatility.
“Even though we lost a few girls, (myself) and Brook (Handler) keep getting better,” said Leppek. “We’re filling some shoes, a lot more than last year.”
The key is senior sprinter Teanna Murray, who ran on the 400 and 800 relays last season but was disqualified at the regional in the 200. She holds the school record for the 200 and will rotate between the 100, 200, 400 relay, 800 relay and 1,600 relay this season and is one of Michigan’s top sprinters after transferring over from Pontiac Northern two years ago. She placed on some relays as a freshman at Northern, but did not compete as a sophomore.
“We don’t have someone like Megan or Ashley, but we have some girls I think that will score well at the big meets,” added Adams.
Rochester has a young core of newcomers, both freshmen and sophomores, that will fill in nicely. While Rochester is not expected to win individual events this year at the state meet, the Falcons do have some athletes that will fill in the relays. Sophomores Monjoa Likine, Thea Terry, Jessica Smith and Erica Munyan, along with freshmen Jessica Goethals, Morgan Saunders, Devon Bolden and Maira VanDyke, all have potential.
Adams believes his team can score points again in all four relays, along with Handler in the 800 and 1,600, Murray in either the 100 and 200, and perhaps Leppek in the 300 hurdles and long jump. Will that be enough?
“With the athletes we have for the state meet, can we scored 65 points again? I don’t think so. That was a pretty big day and a lot of things fell our way,” said Adams. “I think we have the ability, if we are healthy, to run well at the end of the year.”
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Category: High School, Prep Wraps, Rochester
