1THE HASTINGS
Thursday, May 27, 2021Throwers, hurdlers lead DK teams in postseason
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
A few runner-up individual finishes high-
lighted the Delton Kellogg varsity track and
field teams’ day at the 14-team Southwestern
Athletic Conference Championship hosted by
Martin Tuesday.
Delton Kellogg senior Cole Pape was the
runner-up in both the boys’ shot put and the
discus and freshman Breanna Chandler ran
her fastest 300-meter low hurdles race ever to
place second in that even for the DK girls’
team.
Chandler was one of three freshmen behind
Saugatuck senior Bailey Morrow in that 300-
meter hurdles championship. Morrow fin-
ished in 51.98 seconds and Chandler in 52.09.
Chandler cut nearly a second off of her
fourth-place regional time from last week at
Kent City.
Pape was a foot shy of the top throw in the
discus and about two feet short of the best
mark in the shot put. Pape fired off a best
throw of 133 feet 8.5 inches to place second
in the discus behind Martin senior Mitchell
Jager who earned a mark of 134-8.5.
Schoolcraft senior James Downs came into
the meet with a personal record of 46.9 in the
shot put. Pape met that mark to place second,
but Downs extended his furthest put ever to
48-8.5 to win it.
Downs was a two-time champ, also taking
the long jump with a personal record leap of
21-9.
The DK boys’ team had two of the top scor-
ers in the discus, with junior Caden Ferris
improving his personal record in the event to
122-5.5 to place fifth.
Pape won a regional championship in both
of the throwing events at Kent City High
School last Thursday, earning a spot in the
Division 3 State Finals. The DK boys’ team
had four state qualifying performances at the
regional, with freshman Torren Mapes win-
ning the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in
43.35 seconds and senior Hunter Marshall
placing second in the 110-meter high hurdles
with a time of 17.36.
Mapes was third in the 300 hurdles at the
SAC Championship Tuesday with a time of
44.53 and Marshall placed fifth in the 110-
meter high hurdles with a time of 17.68. DK
had two guys in 110-meter hurdle finals
Tuesday, with junior Corey Moore placing
seventh in the race in a personal record time
of 18.02.
Junior distance runner Halena Phillips had
two individual top eight finishes for the DK
girls Tuesday in Martin. She was seventh in
the 1600-meter run with a time of 6:10.16 and
eighth in the 800-meter run in 2:50.77. Phillips
was also a part of the DK girls’ top relay fin-
ish of the day, placing fourth in the 1600-
meter relay with the team of Chandler, Hope
Vanderwall and Joelle White that earned a
time of 4:42.41.
The Delton Kellogg girls finished in a tie
for eighth and the boys in tenth at the SAC
Championship.
Lawton beat out the Saugatuck girls for the
championship 105-91, ahead of Gobles 74,
Parchment 68, Constantine 61, Kalamazoo
Christian 50, Martin 43, Delton Kellogg 36,
Coloma 36, Schoolcraft 35, Hackett Catholic
Prep 19, Galesburg-Augusta 18, Fennville 17
and Watervliet 9.
The DK girls managed points in the throws
too, with junior Caitlin McManus fifth in the
shot put at 29-4.5 and sixth in the discus at
88-5. Fellow junior Glori Stanton had an
eighth-place throw of 85-4 in the discus.
Kalamazoo Christian junior Tess VanDyk
won both throws in the girls’ meet, getting a
mark of 36-4.5 in the shot put and 101-0 in the
discus.
Lawton freshman Kendra Koster was the
only other individual two-time champ on the
girls’ side, winning the 1600 in 5:34.26 and
the 3200 in 12:21.30.
DK had two of the top eight in the pole
vault, with Amber Barton third and White
seventh, both setting a new personal record by
clearing the bar at 7-6.
The Saugatuck boys won with 101 points,
well ahead of the field. Only 8.5 points sepa-
rated second-place Schoolcraft from eighth-
place Kalamazoo Christian. The Schoolcraft
boys finished with 61 points, Constantine 60,
Parchment 57.33, Coloma 55, Lawton 53,
Hackett 53, Kalamazoo Christian 52.5, Martin
49, Delton Kellogg 45, Watervliet 37,
Fennville 23.66 and Gobles 15.5.
Micah Martin had the top finish for a DK
guy in a running race, placing eighth in the
3200-meter run with a time of 11:43.52.
The DK team of Mapes, Ferris, Cameron
Spaulding and Micah Ordway scored a fourth-
place finish in the 1600-meter relay with a
time of 3:49.36.
Saugatuck junior Benny Diaz was the con-
ference’s top sprinter and hurdler Tuesday,
winning the 100-meter dash in 11.56 and the
200-meter dash in 22.84. He won the 110-
meter high hurdles in 16.00 and the 300-meter
hurdles in 40.58. His senior teammate Nik
Pettinga was the boys’ best distance runner,
winning the 3200 in 10:08.56 and the 1600 in
4:30.30.
The DK boys’ and girls’ teams were both
sixth at their Division 3 Regional hosted by
Ravenna at Kent City last Thursday, getting
the four state qualifying performances on the
boys’ side.
Pape won the shot put with a personal
record put of 47-11 and had a winning throw
of 139-7.5 in the discus. Ferris scored in both
throws too, placing eighth in the shot put at
37-8 and third in the discus at 120-8.
Those were the lone points the DK boys
earned in the field. On the track the hurdlers
led the way. Mapes won the 300-meter low
hurdles in a personal record time of 43.35 and
Marshall was fourth behind him in a personal
record run of 46.74.
Marshall was the regional runner-up in the
110-meter high hurdles in a personal record
run of 17.36, with Moore seventh in that race
in 18.71.
DK had two guys run their fastest 400 ever
at the regional. Spaulding placed sixth in
56.53 and Ferris eighth in 56.98. Those two
guys nearly earned a state spot at the end of
the day, joining Mapes and Kiran Vazquez to
place third in the 1600-meter relay with a time
of 3:45.7. They were just over half a second
behind the runner-up team from Calvin
Christian in that final relay.Teammate Gage Vincent added a scoring
performance in the 800-meter run for the DK
boys, placing eighth in 2:17.10.
The top two finishers in each event as well
as others that met the pre-set state qualifying
times, distances and heights earned spots in
the June 5 Division 3 State Finals.
Teammate Gage Vincent added a scoring
performance in the 800-meter run for the DK
boys, placing eighth in 2:17.10.
Phillips had two scoring performances for
the DK girls with personal record runs. She
was eighth in the 800 in 2:44.47 and eighth in
the 1600 in 5:55.03.
Chandler had a time fo 52.95 to earn her
fourth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles.
McManus and Stanton scored in both
throws. McManus was third in the shot put at
30-9 and fourth in the discus at 89-5. Stanton
was fifth in the shot put with a personal record
mark of 28-2.5 and placed fifth in the discus
at 88-2.
DK had two girls score in the pole vault at
the regional too, with Barton fifth at 7-0 andWhite seventh at 6-6.
The Calvin Christian boys in the 1600-
meter relay capped off a regional champion-
ship for their team. The Squires finished the
day with 116.5 points. Western Michigan
Christian was second with 77 points, ahead of
Montage 76.5, Saranac 75.5, Kent City 73,
Delton Kellogg 70, NorthPointe Christian 38,
North Muskegon 37, Holland Black River 35,
Ravenna 28, Fennville 22.5 and Wellspring
Prep 13.
Montague beat out Kent City for the girls’
championship, 143-133.5. Calvin Christian
was third in the girls’ meet with 86 points,
ahead of Saranac 65.5, Black River 63, Delton
Kellogg 43.5, Ravenna 41.5, North Muskegon
29, Western Michigan Christian 29 and
Fennville 18.
It was a big day for Black River junior
Kylee Poulton who won three regional titles
in the girls’ meet, taking the 100-meter dash
in 12.18, the 200 in 26.13 and the 400-meter
run in 59.07.Delton Kellogg senior Gavin Houtkooper
closes in on the finish line in his heat of
the 100-meter dash prelim’s Tuesday at
the SAC Championship hosted by Martin
High School. (Photo by Brett Bremer)
DK junior Caitlin McManus unleashes a
throw in the discus during the
Southwestern Athletic Conference
Championship hosted by Martin High
School Tuesday. (Photo by Brett Bremer)Delton Kellogg junior Emily Dake makes her way past the stands during a preliminary
heat of the 100-meter hurdles Tuesday at the SAC Championship in Martin. (Photo by
Brett Bremer)DK senior Cole Pape takes his final attempt in the shot put during the SAC
Championship Meet Tuesday at Martin High School. Pape won a regional championship
in the event last week and followed up with a runner-up performance at the conference
meet Tuesday. (Photo by Brett Bremer)Wilkes one of top four
over 5-2 in D3 high jump
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
Maple Valley senior Ashlyn Wilkes and
Byron senior Allison Glass both cleared the
high jump bar set at 5 feet 2 inches Friday at
the Division 3 Track and Field Regional host-
ed by Bath High School.
It took Glass fewer attempts to meet that
mark, but both girls will be a part of the
Division 3 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Track
and Field Finals June 5 at Jenison High
School.
Nobody in Division 3 went higher than
them at a regional meet last weekend. The top
two in each event and others who met the
predetermined times, distances and heights at
regional meets across the state earned spots
the June Finals. Of the 21 Division 3 state
qualifiers in the high jump, only four made it
over the bar at 5-2 at regionals and only seven
others cleared 5-0 and two of those were at
the Bath regional (Laingsburg junior Hailey
Bila and senior Grace Graham.)
The top eight at the state meet earn all-state
medals.
Wilkes has cleared the bar at 5-2 a few
times this season. She set her personal record
in the first two meets of the season, clearing
5-1 at a GLAC meet hosted by Olivet April 28
and then 5-2 at the Portland Invitational May
1.
The P-W girls scored 161.5 points, nearlydoubling up the runner-up team from
Laingsburg which finished with 81.5 points.
Stockbridge was third with 78.5 points, ahead
of Perry 68.5, Byron 59, Leslie 43, Potterville
33, Bath 33, Ovid-Elsie 26, Charyl Stockwell
Academy 23, Maple Valley 17, Hamady 14,
Durand 11, Springport 4 and Madison
Academy 3.
Freshman Lilly Faurot was the number two
scorer for the Lion ladies. She was sixth in the
800-meter run with a personal record time of
2 minutes 46.09 seconds and sixth in the high
jump with a personal record jump of 4-8.
Junior thrower Hannah Kinney set a new per-
sonal record in the discus, firing off a throw of
87-1 which earned her the seventh-place
points.
The Maple Valley ladies also scored an
eighth-place point in the 800-meter relay with
the team of Greanlee DePyper, Lyssa Smith,
Faurot and Liz Christopher finishing in
2:08.56.
Sophie Thelen powered the Pewamo-
Westphalia girls to the win with victories in
the 100-meter dash (12.62 seconds) and the
200 (25.89). P-W also had freshman Saige
Martin win the 100-meter hurdles in 16.
and the 300-meter low hurdles in 48.33.
Those two girls teamed with Katie Smith and
Katie Freed to win the 800-meter relay in
1:50.34. Freed, Martin, Ella Kowatch and
Amelia Smith won the 1600-meter relay forthe Pirates in 4:18.00. Kowatch, Amelia
Smith, Isabell Helman and Abby Arens took
the 3200-meter relay for the Pirates in
10:22.96.
Stockbridge junior Rylee Tolson matched
Thelen and Martin’s two individual wins, tak-
ing the 1600-meter run in 5:29.78 and the
3200-meter run in 11:55.13. Her teammate
Brooklyn Rochow was second in both of
those events. Senior thrower Sarah Marvin
from Byron won her two events too, taking
the shot put at 49-10.75 and the discus with a
mark of 151-0. Her teammate Rebecca Marvin
was the runner-up in both throws.
Pewamo-Westphalia won the team regional
championships in both the boys’ and girls’
competitions Friday. The P-W boys scored
126.33 points to beat runner-up Laingsburg
which finished with 84. Leslie was third with
66 points, ahead of Dansville 56, Perry 52,
Hamady 45, Potterville 42, Byron 34,
Stockbridge 31, Bath 30.33, Ovid-Elsie 27.33,
Springport 24, Charyl Stockwell Academy 22,
Durand 13, Maple Valley 4 and Madison
Academy 4.
Evan Brandenburg capped off his freshman
season by winning those points for the Lions.
He placed fifth in the 200-meter dash with a
time of 24.66 seconds. He also set a new PR
in the long jump on the day at 18-2.5, but was
outside of the scoring in the event.