GIRLS TRACK: Rochester wins second league in four seasons
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
Dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
ROCHESTER HILLS — Even in its state championship season of 2010, one thing eluded Rochester’s girls track and field team. That was a league championship.
The Falcons have captured two league titles since the ’10 team, winning the OAA Red Division crown outright Thursday at Rochester Adams with a victory at the league meet. Rochester was also 5-0-0 in league dual meets to help secure its second crown in four years and first since 2011.
“We talked about this, that the 2010 team won a state championship and didn’t win the league,” said Rochester head coach Larry Adams. “That year we had a really bad league meet and also lost to Troy in a dual. This year I thought we had a great effort from everybody. Sure, (seniors) Devonne Bolden and Jessica Goethals and some of the other seniors led us, but it was all of the others. We had girls that stepped up and had the best (efforts) of the season today and that made the difference.”
Rochester collected 122 points at the league meet with Clarkston following with 106 points in the six school field. Clarkston needed to win the league meet to gain a share of the crown.
Oxford finished third with 81.5 points, while defending champion Rochester Adams (72.5), Lake Orion (62) and Rochester Stoney Creek (52) followed suit.
Rochester won four of 16 events on the day and had top-six placers in 14 events.
Jessica Goethals, who signed with Michigan State, won the 1,600 (5:22.12) and 3,200 (11:31.74) and ran a leg on the third-place 3,200 relay. Bolden, headed for Western Michigan, won the 400 (1:00.97), placed second in the 200 and joined Emma Fickel, Mairi Van Dyke and Morgan Saunders on the winning 800 relay (1:47.49).
VanDyke was also second in the 400 and ran on the runner-up 1,600 relay.
“We had a lot of girls contributing,” said Adams. It wasn’t just our top girls, but girls throughout our lineup. We had girls score today that we weren’t expecting to.”
Goethals echoed Coach Adams’ sentiments.
“We ran so well as a team today. A lot of girls scored for us,” she said. “One of our goals this season was to win the league. We knew it was going to be close.”
Oxford’s Briana Jackson won the 100 (12.97) and 200 (26.52), edging Bolden by two-one-hundredths of a second. Freshman Michaiah Thomas won the 100 hurdles (15.86) and Victoria Bearse the shot put (36-5) for the Wildcats, who won four events with a team of mostly underclassmen.
Heather Johnson captured the 300 hurdles (45.30) and her anchor leg in the 1,600 relay passed Rochester and gave the Highlanders a win in the event (4:08.73). Hannah Champine, Caroline Kletzien and Ciara Krasovic joined her on the meet-ending relay win. Krasovic, Champine, Hirzel and Kletzien combined for a win in the 3,200 relay (9:53.20), with Kletzien pulling away from Stoney Creek in the final lap.
Clarkston’s Kayla Russell, Madison Wilson, Jala Smith and Taylor Mullins joined forces for a win in the 400 relay (51.22). Meagan Nicholson won the high jump (5-3).
Lake Orion’s sole win came from freshman Taylor Eaton in the discus (108-6).
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