BOYS TRACK: Lake Orion wins third straight OAA-Red title
Dragons edge Clarkston for eighth crown in 14 seasons
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
Dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
ROCHESTER HILLS — Stan Ford was set to turn the big 60 on Friday. His veteran boys track and field team at Lake Orion delivered him a present Thursday night instead of a Gatorade shower.
The Dragons put the finishing touches on their third straight OAA Red Division title and eighth in 14 seasons under Coach Ford by winning the league meet at Rochester Adams by a narrow margin.
Lake Orion needed to win the final event, the 1,600-meter relay, and also needed Clarkston to finish no higher than third in the event. The Dragons got their wish.
Even with several performers out of the lineup with injuries, the foursome of David Diaz, Tanner Fraser, Sheldon Drake and Kirk Hansen won the 1,600 relay with a season-best effort of 3:25.07 to clinch the meet, with Clarkston eight seconds behind and in third.
The Dragons finished with 153.5 total points, just 1.5 points ahead of Clarkston (152). Lake Orion was 5-0-0 in league duals and Clarkston 4-1-0, giving the Dragons the title outright.
“We knew that even with Ian Eriksen out for them, that this would be a great meet,” said Ford. “When I scored it on paper, I had Clarkston winning because of all of the field events points they could get. But our guys stepped up big-time. We scored points all over the place. They wanted to win this.”
From 1957 through 2000, Lake Orion captured only seven league titles. Now they have won eight in the past decade-and-a-half.
“What a credit to the seniors, winning three straight titles in this league,” said Ford. “We’ve won quite a few in recent years.”
Lake Orion won seven of the 16 events and placed in the top six in 14 of them, missing out in only the 110 hurdles and shot put.
The foursome of Michael Bonnici, Jacob Arenz, Hansen and Diaz set the tone with an 8:10.78 clocking to win the 3,200 relay, its first win of the day.
Jacob Hatcher, a transfer from Maryland, outleaned Rochester’s Nash Popovic to win the 100 meters (11.48) and joined Diaz, Sheldon Drake and Zach Arnold for a victory in the 800 relay (1:30.54).
Arnold, Drake and Hatcher joined Kevon Woodward for a win in the 400 relay (43.96), as the Dragons swept firsts in all four relays. Drake broke the tape in the 200 (22.93), while Hansen pulled away to win the 800 (1:57.03).
“This is one of our goals every year. It means a lot to win three in a row,” said Hansen, who has committed to Notre Dame.
Clarkston won four events on the day, led by sophomore Grant Henley. A blistering kick allowed him to win the 1,600 (4:24.69) and 3,200 (9:38.35) runs. Senior Mike Nicholson, who recently singed for basketball with Lake Superior State, won the high jump (6-4), while Merrick Canada prevailed in the long jump (21-2.5).
Rochester Adams’ Jordan Shive captured the 100 hurdles (15.21) and 300 hurdles (39.76), while Oxford sophomore Connor Bandel was the victor in the shot put (53-4) for the second straight year while he added a win in the discus (157-10) to his resume.
Brant Santana of Adams won the 400 (50.70) to round out the winners.
Boys Track
OAA RED DIVISION LEAGUE MEET
(May 8 at Rochester Adams)
TEAM SCORES — 1. Lake Orion, 153.5; 2. Clarkston, 152; 3. Rochester Adams, 72.5; 4. Oxford, 59; 5. Rochester Stoney Creek, 30; 6. Rochester, 29.
DUAL MEET STANDINGS — 1. Lake Orion (5-0-0); 2. Clarkston (4-1-0); 3. Oxford (3-2-0); 4. Rochester Adams (2-3-0); 5. Rochester (1-4-0); 6. Rochester Stoney Creek (0-5-0).
FINAL STANDINGS — 1. Lake Orion, 12 points; 2. Clarkston, 10; 3. (tie) Oxford, 7; Rochester Adams, 7; 5. (tie) Rochester, 3; Rochester Stoney Creek, 3.
EVENT PLACERS
SHOT PUT — 1. Connor Bandel (Oxford) 53-4; 2. Nick Mattich (Clarkston) 46-4; 3. Lance Dunbar (Rochester Adams) 45-5; 4. Grant Krause (Oxford) 44-4; 5. Kenny Messina (Rochester Stoney Creek) 43-1; 6. Jacob Gozdor (Clarkston) 42-10; 7. Logan Shadaia (Lake Orion) 41-2; 8. Jonathon Markwort (Rochester) 39-7.
DISCUS — 1. Connor Bandel (Oxford) 157-10; 2. Lance Dunbar (Rochester Adams) 135-1; 3. Logan Shadaia (Lake Orion) 123-4.5; 4. Jacob Gozdor (Clarkston) 120-0; 5. Jeff Ylvisaker (Clarkston) 118-8; 6. Kenny Messina (Rochester Stoney Creek) 109-8; 7. Max Bazinski (Rochester) 109-3; 8. Tristan Lewis (Clarkston) 108-0.
HIGH JUMP — 1. Mike Nicholson (Clarkston) 6-4; Dallas Pruitt (Oxford) 5-9; 3. Allen Gray (Clarkston) 5-6; 4. (tie) Matt Everts (Lake Orion) 5-6; Andrew Swanson (Clarkston) 5-6; 6. (tie) Charlie Rittner (Rochester Adams) 5-6; Connor Schlitt (Lake Orion) 5-6; 8. (tie) Lukas Adgate (Rochester Adams) 5-3; Ryan Gibbons (Rochester Adams) 5-3; Scott Boeberitz (Rochester) 5-3; Jaylon Carey (Rochester) 5-3.
LONG JUMP — 1. Merrick Canada (Clarkston) 21-2.5; 2. Caine Watlington (Clarkston) 21-1.5; 3. Jacob Hatcher (Lake Orion) 21-0.5; 4. Dallas Pruitt (Oxford) 20-7.5; 5. Zach Arnold (Lake Orion) 20-2.5; 6. Joey Jacobs (Rochester) 19-6.5; 7. Allen Gray (Clarkston) 18-9.5; 8. Paul Moceri (Rochester Adams) 18-1.
3,200-METER RELAY — 1. Lake Orion (Michael Bonnici, Jacob Arenz, Kirk Hansen, David Diaz) 8:10.78; 2. Clarkston, 8:14.65; 3. Rochester Stoney Creek, 8:26.85; 4. Rochester Adams, 8:36.94; 5. Rochester, 8:43.64; 6. Oxford, 9:08.30.
110 HURDLES — 1. Jordan Shive (Rochester Adams) 15.21; 2. Caine Watlington (Clarkston) 15.65; 3. Jack Barrow (Rochester Stoney Creek) 15.96; 4. Mitchell McCord (Clarkston) 16.04; 5. Anson Rowley (Oxford) 16.99; 6. James Klein (Clarkston) 17.10; 7. Chandler Ellis (Rochester) 17.84; 8. Jaylon Carey (Rochester) 17.85.
100 METERS — 1. Jacob Hatcher (Lake Orion) 11.48; 2. Nash Popovic (Rochester) 11.57; 3. Nolan Eriksen (Clarkston) 11.61; 4. Brandon Jenkins (Rochester Adams) 11.94; 5. Julian McNeir-Sharp (Rochester Adams) 11.97; 6. Joseph McCarthy (Rochester Stoney Creek) 11.99; 7. Joshua Johnson (Oxford) 12.11; 8. Jacob Wolford (Clarkston) 12.31.
800-METER RELAY — 1. Lake Orion (Jacob Hatcher, David Diaz, Sheldon Drake, Zach Arnold) 1:30.54; 2. Clarkston, 1:31.16; 3. Rochester Adams, 1:31.50; 4. Rochester, 1:34.30; 5. Rochester Stoney Creek, 1:35.29; 6. Oxford, 1:36.53.
1,600 METERS — 1. Grant Henley (Clarkston) 4:24.69; 2. Andrew Lorant (Lake Orion) 4:28.13; 3. James Schuler (Rochester) 4:29.01; 4. Jonah Forystek (Lake Orion) 4:32.84; 5. Casey Neal (Rochester Stoney Creek) 4:35.46; 6. Jacob Schenten (Oxford) 4:38.38; 7. Matthew Arenz (Lake Orion) 4:39.62; 8. Adam Beck (Rochester Adams) 4:39.75.
400-METER RELAY — 1. Lake Orion (Sheldon Drake, Zach Arnold, Jacob Hatcher, KEvon Woodward) 43.96; 2. Clarkston, 44.74; 3. Rochester, 45.50; 4. Rochester Stoney Creek, 45.86; 5. Rochester Adams, 45.94; 6. Oxford, 46.02.
400 METERS — 1. Brant Santana (Rochester Adams) 50.70; 2. David Diaz (Lake Oroin) 51.78; 3. Tanner Fraser (Lake Orion) 53.01; 4. Ryan Feeley (Clarkston) 53.11; 5. Kevin Hansen (Lake Orion) 53.41; 7. Jacob Petersmark (Rochester Adams) 53.79; 8. Ben Iaderosa (Rochester Adams) 53.80.
300 HURDLES — 1. Jordan Shive (Rochester Adams) 39.76; 2. Zach Arnold (Lake Orion) 41.22; 3. Mitchell McCord (Clarkston) 41.47; 4. Caine Watlington (Clarkston) 41.98; 5. Jack Barrow (Rochester Stoney Creek) 42.56; 6. Derek VanItallie (Clarkston) 43.38; 7. Jaylon Carey (Rochester) 43.39; 8. Michael Abbott (Oxford) 43.84.
800 METERS — 1. Kirk Hansen (Lake Orion) 1:57.03; 2. Nathan Heierman (Clarkston) 2:00.55; 3. Logan Bruni (Oxford) 2:03.78; 4. Michael Bonnici (Lake Orion) 2:04.06; 5. Matt Schiller (Rochester Adams) 2:04.17; 6. Jack Lucci (Rochester Stoney Creek) 2:04.72; 7. Kyle Lawton (Rochester) 2:05.27; 8. Derek Egli (Clarkston) 2:05.82.
200 METERS — 1. Sheldon Drake (Lake Orion) 22.93; 2. Nolan Eriksen (Clarkston) 23.44; 3. Kevon Woodward (Lake Orion) 23.48; 4. JP Sutherland (Oxford) 23.86; 5. Will McDonald (Lake Orion) 24.04; 6. Nick LaLonde (Rochester Stoney Creek) 24.19; 7. Julian McNeir-Sharp (Rochester Adams) 24.23; 8. Joshua Johnson (Oxford) 24.77.
3,200 METERS — 1. Grant Henley (Clarkston) 9:38.35; 2. Andrew Lorant (Lake Orion) 9:49.00; 3. Michael Jarvis (Lake Orion) 9:51.40; 4. Jack Everts (Lake Orion) 9:51.40; 5. Gabe Hogan (Oxford) 9:54.48; 6. Casey Neal (Rochester Stoney Creek) 9:58.74; 7. Jacob Schenten (Oxford) 10:00.91; 8. Matt Schram (Rochester Adams) 10:12.74.
1,600-METER RELAY — 1. Lake Orion (David Diaz, Tanner Fraser, Sheldon Drake, Krik Hansen) 3:25.07; 2. Rochester Adams, 3:26.12; 3. Clarkston, 3:33.67; 4. Oxford, 3:37.17; 5. Rochester, 3:39.65; 6. Rochester Stoney Creek, 3:45.37.
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