MIAC Senior Spotlight – Track & Field

Parkway Christian

Griffin Adams (left) – Griffin Adams is a two sport athlete (football and track) at Parkway and a lead in the high school musical “Sound of Music”. Griffin was a state qualifier in hurdles his junior year and received a MIAC conference award.

Zack Jaksa (center) – Zack Jaksa is a four sport athlete (football, basketball, track and baseball) at Parkway. Zack qualified for states and won a MIAC award for discus.

Joe Gillette (right) – Joe Gillette is a two sport athlete (football and track) at Parkway. Last year Joe also contributed to the baseball team when needed. Joe is a sprinter and as a junior received a MIAC conference award for his part in a relay.

Clarenceville

Alison Couch – Student athlete is a title that Alison took to heart. She did not allow the difficulty of something to stop her. She took that difficult task and turned it into an attainable challenge. She was a hard worker and a true leader of the Clarenceville Trojans Track and Field Team. As our only female hurdler for a couple of years, Alison rose to the occasion by being one of the team’s highest points scorers. While hurdles was Alison’s main event, she contributed to the team in relays as well. She had a heart for her teammates — cheering them on and encouraging them to strive for greatness. Alison’s athleticism, persistence and grit earned her Conference, District, and Regional honors.

Alison will be attending Central Michigan University in the fall, we are sure as one of their brightest and best. Thank you, Alison for being a positive addition to our team. We are proud of you!

Dean Harrington – Astute: having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one’s advantage. Dean is an astute athlete. His contribution to the Clarenceville Trojans Track and Field Team was immeasurable. His commitment to the team and to himself as an athlete was evident on and off the track. Dean strived to bring the best to each meet, and he expected the best from his teammates. He ran individual events as well as relays, pushing the team to numerous victories. Dean’s tenacity earned him many honors including District, Conference, and Regional honors. Setting goals and working hard to achieve them was no foreign to Dean. He successfully PR’d consistently in each meet over the seasons.

Dean will be continuing his journey in college in the fall. We truly appreciated all that Dean brought to the team athletically and as a leader. We are proud to have called him a Trojan! Thank you, Dean for never giving up and for leading us to so many victories!

Gavin Mitchell – As a distance runner, Gavin brought a competitive calm to the Clarenceville Trojans Track and Field Team. He ran with great determination and purpose. Each meet and each year that Gavin competed, he pursued and achieved his PR. He ran in individual events as well as relays, displaying his contribution to teamwork. As a postured student athlete, Gavin has made his mark as a Trojan. He has earned District, Conference, and Regional honors.

Gavin will be continuing on to the University of Michigan Dearborn to pursue Computer Engineering. It has been a pleasure to have Gavin as a part of our team and to watch him flourish. One Team, One Family! We are so proud of you Gavin. Thank you for being such an intricate part of our team!

Nathan Thomas – As a four-year member of the Clarenceville Trojans Track and Field Team, Nate aspired to be a better athlete each time he stepped on the track. Through dedicated hard work, the ascertainment of goals set, and focus, that aspiration was a reality that contributed to him being the true definition of a student athlete. He ran sprints individually and as member of relay teams. He ran the last leg for many of the relays, showing the team he could even as an anchor. Nate earned many honors during his career as a Trojan including District, Conference, and Regional honors. His athleticism and attention to the details of improving his running was a great contribution to our team.

Nate will be attending Michigan State University in the fall, where we know he will continue to shine. Thank you for doing such a Great job, Nate! We are proud of you!

William Vernier – Will has been a part of the Clarenceville Trojans Track and Field Team since his freshman year. He exemplified leadership and a great work ethic on and off the track. As a three-sportstudent athlete, Will has been a positive contributor to winning Conference, District, and Regional honors. Hard work and determination are just a couple of characteristics that made Will a wonderful teammate and an athlete that any coach would be excited to have on their team. Will excelled as a distance runner in individual events as well as relays.

He will be beginning his next chapter at Alma College. We are very proud of you, Will. Thank you for being a Trojan!

The HVL track and field team was heading into the 2020 track season with a competitive roster of athletes and high expectations. Leading the charge was a group of 3 talented and dedicated seniors. We thank and applaud these seniors for their contributions to the HVL track and field program.
Logan Schliewe – High Jump 2019 MIAC All-Conference.
Krissa Sabit – Sprints and Hurdles
Allie Prieskorn -Shot Put and Discus

 

Charyl Stockwell Prep

Jackson Munkres – School record holder and state finalist in the discus with a PR of 100’9”. Also competed in the long jump and multiple relays – always willing to fill in any holes and help the team in any way he could.

 

Tre Hill – School record holder and state finalist in pole vault, finished 13th in the finals with a PR of 10’6”. School record holder in shot put 30’10”. School record holder in the 800m and top 10 in the 400m and 1600m. Likely the best track athlete on the team, too bad we don’t have decathlon at the high school level, he would dominate that competition.

Michael Warner – Michael was one of the best cross country runners we’ve had and 2019 was his only season in track. An illness limited his output in that season but he managed the 3rd best 1600m time in school history (5:19.21) and he was part of the school record 4x800m relay.

 

Jasmine Robbins – Number 2 all time in the 400m (1:12.06) and number 3 all time in the 800. Jasmine is part of the school record relay teams in the 4x200m and 4x400m. She also gave high jump a try and came in second at a league meet.

Paige Gallentine – 2019 MIAC MVP in track and field. School record holder and state finalist in 100m (12:54 PR), high jump (4’11 PR), long jump (16’10.5” PR) and 4x100m. Four time all state (100m twice and long jump twice), she qualified for the state finals in four events both years she competed track. Paige is the ultimate competitor and raised the level of performance of everyone around her.

Charyl Stockwell Prep Academy High School is proud of our Senior Track and Field Athletes and wish them all the best as they move on from high school to college and beyond. Way to go SENTINELS !

Southfield Christian

Dubem Amene – Dubem won the 2019 400 Meter MHSAA State Championship and was a part of the 2019 MHSAA State Runner-up 1600 and 3200 Meter Relay teams. He broke the school’s 800 Meter record running a time of 1:55.95. This past winter Dubem ran the 4th fastest indoor 400 Meter time in Michigan history at the MITS State Meet in 48.59.

He will enroll at the University of Michigan in the fall and has signed to run track for the Wolverines.

 

 

 

Chris Davenport – Chris is a 4 year member of the track team and he was the 2019 MHSAA State Runner-up in the 100 Meter and in the Long Jump. He was also a member of the 2019 MHSAA State Runner-up 800 and 1600 Meter Relay teams. Chris holds the school record in the long jump having jumped 21’3.75″.

In the fall, Chris will be attending the University of Michigan.

 

 

Gabriel McFerrin – Gabe is a 4 year member of the track team and has played 4 years of football. He was a member on the varsity basketball team this past winter and he was a recipient of the 2019 track team’s Most Team Spirited Award.

Gabe will be attending the University of Michigan in the fall.

Roeper

Chris Ban and Caleb Bartes were senior captains on our track team that demonstrated incredible leadership during this spring as we converted over to virtual practices. Caleb and Chris both brought humor, sound advice, and led by example as we took on the ominous task of hosting practices on Zoom and documenting workouts on STRAVA.

Chris has been preparing the last several years to become a strong and elite 400m runner. Over the last few years he built up his strength to help compliment his mental toughness. This year would have been his to shine if given the opportunity to compete.

Chris will be attending Purdue next year and you can be sure he will change the world in some capacity with his knowledge of computer science.

 

 

 

 

 

Caleb was Roeper’s premier hurdler just missing out on his trip to the MHSAA State Finals last year and patiently awaiting one more crack at punching his ticket to the finals. He was stronger than any other year, his form had been refined, and was waiting for his chance as a senior but wasn’t given an opportunity with the cancelation of the season.

Caleb will be attending American University in Washington D.C. You can be assured at some point that he will hit the political arena.  He has been a passionate supporter and campaigner for the John James campaign over the last several years.

Oakland Christian

Clint Sumner ran track for his first three years of high school and was looking forward to his senior year. As a freshman, he ran the sprints, and as a sophomore began to focus on the 400 meters, with an occasional attempt at the high jump. His junior year, he continued to improve at the 400 meters, posting a personal best of 56.96, and also spent time in the 800 meters and throwing the discus. Clint contributed to both the 4x200m and 4x400m relay squads. Clint also ran one season of cross-country during his senior year.

 

 

Luke Messing was looking forward this spring to his third year on the track team. His main event was the 800 meters, with a personal best of 2:12.93 set during his junior year. Along with Tim Dupree and 2019 graduates Noah Camaj and Lucas Brattinga, Luke was a member of the school record-setting 4×800 relay with a best time of 8:36.90. He also occasionally ran the 400 meters and the 4x400m relay, and spent two years on the OCS cross-country team.

 

 

 

 

Preston McFarland has been on the OCS track team since his sophomore year. In 10th grade, he ran in the sprints and in the 1600 m and as a junior, was able to break his goal of 6:30 for the 1600 meters, finishing the year with his best time of 6:10.3. This year, he looked for continued improvement in the mile as well as contributing to the 4×800 relay and the long jump. He was a 4-year cross-country runner at OCS, earning 2 varsity letters. Preston plans to attend OCC for a semester and is then considering Cornerstone University or Michigan State.

 

 

 

Mackenzie Wander had planned to compete on the track team this season for the first time. She had successfully completed one season of cross-country this past fall, with a 5k best time of 23:47. In prior years, Mackenzie’s schedule had been busy with competitive gymnastics. She will attend High Point University this fall.

 

 

 

 

 

Tim Dupree has run track at OCS since his sophomore year and has also been involved in three seasons of indoor track with club teams. His primary distance is the 800 meters, while also contributing in the 4×400 and 4×800 meter relays, and at the 400 m and 1600 meter distances. With a personal best of 2:05:12 in the 800, which qualified him for the state finals, he had his eyes set on breaking the school record of 2:01 (set in 1982) and even getting under the 2:00 mark. Tim was part of the school record-breaking 4×800 relay team in his junior year, when their 8:36.90 also qualified for the state finals. He plans to attend High Point University this fall. Tim was also a four-year varsity cross-country runner, earning two regional medals.

 Three of NCA’s graduating seniors will be a large loss to the NCA Track and Field team. Ava and Noelle competed all through high school and have had great success in their track careers. Geoffrey started running his Junior year and proved to be a great runner. They were all truly a pleasure to their school, coaches and teammates.

 Ava Abramowicz

Ava vastly improved her track skills in her years at NCA. She ends her career as one of the hardest working athletes in practice (ex. 5-minute planks), always pushing the team to keep up with her core workouts. She started as a sprinter and worked her way up to the mid-distances. She even set the school’s 800m record. She always supported the relays running great times. 

Ava also participated on the NCA cheerleading team during the winter seasons.  She graduates with Distinguished Honors and is NCA’s Class of 2020’s Salutatorian.  Ava plans to attend UofM Dearborn’s College of Arts, Letters, & Science as part of the Honor’s program.

 

 

Noelle Bartlett

Noelle has had one of the greatest careers as a sprinter at NCA. Over her HS years, Noelle received 9 Regional medals.  She was All-Regional in 4 individual sprinting events (1 in the 100m and 3 in the 200m). She was also the anchor in all of our sprinting relays during her freshman through junior years, winning 5 All-Regional medals (3 in 400m and 2 in 800m relays) and setting school records in both.  She was exemplary in her training efforts. 

This past winter, Noelle participated on the cheerleading team as a proficient tumbler (a skill she honed from her many years in gymnastics).  Noelle graduates with High Honors.  She will continue her studies at Michigan State, majoring in Engineering.

In Geoffrey’s short career at NCA, he has proven to be the greatest mid-distance runner (probably the greatest runner as he could be very competitive in any distance!). He set a school record in the 800m and broke the 400m record at Regionals, even while injured. He won the All-Regional in the 400m as well as the 4x400m relays. This year, he would have qualified for states in the 400m and would have likely won All State. Geoffrey is graduating from NCA with High Honors and will continue his studies at Concordia University, majoring in Computer Science. Geoffrey has received Concordia scholarships for both Track and Cross Country.