Greene second at state finals in two events

Kyle Greene finished his high school career with a smile, according to his coach Stacey Malocha. ?Kyle set a high standard for discus right from the start,? Malocha said of Greene?s season. ?He had a great throwing day and finished his senior track season smiling!? Greene hurled the discus 161? for his second place showing at the Division IV state finals in Grand Rapids. Greene also broke a Rogers City High School shot put record held by none other than his older brother Ryan Greene (52?). Kyle upped the ante at 52? 10 1/2? for another second place finish.

?IN SHOT Kyle was ninth out of nine going into the finals with a 49? 11 1/2? throw,? Malocha said. ?In the finals he gave it his all and broke the school record.? Randy Hoffmeyer of Onaway High School threw 51? 1? in the shot event. ?I watched Randy Hoffmeyer in the shot,? Malocha said. ?He broke Onaway?s school record!?

Kristyn Blackmer was also in the top 10 in the high jump event. ?She cleared 4? 11? with no prior misses

at any height,? Malocha said. ?They moved it up to 5? 1? and she just couldn?t do it?maybe next year.?

AARON SMUDA placed 10th in the top 15 in the 3200-meter run (10:44.53). ?For Aaron, the weather couldn?t have been worse. The 85 degree heat was just too warm for him,? Malocha said. ?He runs better in cooler weather.? Stephan Shay of Central Lake dominated the event, taking first place in a new Division IV record (9:22.07). ?I missed Posen?s Amanda Pieczynski in the prelims for the 100 and 200 dashes,? Malocha said. ?but I did see her in the 400 event. She ran a great time, but the competition was too tough.?

AMANDA, a sophomore at Posen High School, ran in three events, the 100-dash (12.95) in the semifinals for fifth place. ?She needed to be in the top four to advance to the finals,? said her coach, Chuck Wozniak. In the 200-event Amanda also ran in fifth place (27.40) and again needed to place in the top four to advance to the finals. In the 400-dash Amanda ran 13th in the final heat in 1:02.80. ?Lots of athletes from our region got top eight in the state. It showed me we had a great trip, and I was happy to see Kyle finish his senior year with two state honors,? Malocha added.