TRACK: Holly repeats as FML champion; Fenton girls win first title in 10 years
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
Dan.Stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
ORTONVILLE — Holly had to overcome plenty of adversity this season around the grand oval. The Bronchos’ veteran head coach resigned mid-season and Holly competed without a couple of key athletes due to injuries.
That didn’t seem to deter Holly all that much.
The Bronchos captured their fifth league title in six seasons Wednesday, rolling up an impressive 153 points to win the Flint Metro League meet and overall title. Holly finished 8-0-0 in duals this season to complete the puzzle.
“We had to overcome some adversity, but we pushed through it and had a great season,” offered Holly interim coach Richie Brinker. “I thought we stepped up with a great team effort.”
PACK LEADERS: Holly’s Dilon Lemond (left) and Vince Cantu lead the 1,600 meters after the first lap at Wednesday’s Flint Metro League meet. Holly took four of the top five slots in the race. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
Holly picked up four of the top five places in the 1,600 and four of the top six spots in the 800. Plus the Bronchos recorded three victories and three runner-up showings over 17 events to pull away from the pack.
Meanwhile, Fenton’s girls put the finishing touches on its first league championship season since 2004 in similar fashion, putting up its perfect 8-0-0 dual record with 191.5 points.
“I thought we had some great balance and we scored a lot of points in the sprints,” said Fenton coach Todd Mills. “The last time we won was 2004 and I was the coach back then. It’s been too long.”
Fenton racked up seven first-place finishes, had five runners-up and eight more third-place finishers to dominate the meet. Ortonville Brandon was a distant second with 136 points, while Linden (102), Holly (70) and Swartz Creek (51.5) rounded out the top five in the nine-school field.
Fenton swept the top three places in both the 100 and 400 dashes and had the top two finishers in the 200. The Tigers also won three of the four relays.
Ellen Sage broke the tape in the 100 (12.68), 400 (1:00.95) and 200 (26.33) and joined Kayla Stiles, Hannah Sage and Emily Kinser for a win in the 800 relay (1:48.45).
Stiles also won the long jump (17-4)¸ while the foursome of Emily Bemis, Emily Battaglia, Torrey Christopher and Jenna Keiser won the 3,200 relay (10:29.8) and 1,600 relay (4:17.98).
“We scored in just about everything, but when you can take the top three places in the 100 and 400 and win (seven) events like we did., we’re tough to beat,” said Mills. “This was a total team effort, though. We had a lot of girls stepped up. We have five seniors that are point scorers and this was their last shot at a league title.”
For runner-up Ortonville Brandon, Madison Pierce won the pole vault (11-0 and finished second in the long jumpo, while Taylor Rieves crossed first in the 100 hurdles (15.53) and 300 hurdles (49.04) for the Blackhawks.
Holly dominated the throws, taking four of the top five slots in the discus and three of the top four in the shot put. Alyssa Copley won the shot out (38-0.5), Emily Alvaredo the discus (109-10) and Maggie Schneider the 1,600 (5:18.67) for the Bronchos.
Linden won three events, as Sydney Elmer took the crown in the 800 (2:28.44) and
Savannah Ferrara the 3,200 (12:10.86). The Eagles’ foursome of Jordanah Martinsen, Samantha Greene, Miranda Greene and Bella Blank joined forces for a win in the 400 relay (51.90).
Lapeer East’s sole win came from Angela Ciaravino in the high jump (5-0).
In the boys meet, Flint Kearsley was second with 97 points, some 56 points behind Holly. Linden (93), Swartz Creek (92.5) and Clio (84) followed in a close race for the runner-up slot.
Holly’s Javon Barr won the 100 (11.28) and 200 (23.14), while teammate Nate Frasier had the best effort in the 1,600 (4:31.90) and was second in the 3,200.
“It feels great to win because I didn’t have the best day at the regional,” said Frasier. “Our goal was to win (the meet) today and be league champs. We k new we could score a lot of [points with the team we have.”
Brinker said his distance group helped separate the Bronchos from the rest of the pack.
“These guys put in the miles over the winter. They came in her with the base (training) and have been key for us all season,” he said. “We scored a lot of points in the distance races with those guys.”
Swartz Creek’s Kevin Weiler continued to shine as one of the state’s top throwers, winning the shot put (57-5) and discus (170-2), both efforts amongst the best in the state regardless of division. Jackson Maxwell captured the high jump (6-5) and Brett Pero the long jump (21-11), as the Dragons dominated the field events.
Swartz Creek’s unit of Steve Tran, Maxwell, Nick Chargo and Paul Geren were also victorious in the 400 relay (45.15). Linden’s Justin McKenzie cleared 15-0 in the pole vault, joining the state leaders in his specialty event.
Ortonville Brandon’s foursome of Sam Toward, Colin Hooker, Taras Thronson and Kyle Doyon set an FML meet record in the 3,.200 relay (8:04.43), while Toward came back to win the 800 (2:00.81).
Clio’s Brandon Davis, Devon Bartholomew, Shawn Stewart and Luke Wesolowski combined for a win in the 800 relay (1:32.85), while the same group also captured the league crown in the 1,600 relay (3:27.19), one of four units to break 3:30 in the race.
Stewart also won the 400 (50.37).
Flint Kearsley’s Matt Weine won the 110 hurdles (15.32) and 300 hurdles (40.55), while Fenton’s sole win came from Jacob Lee in the 3,200 (9:42.58).
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