Hurons will send five athletes to state final track meet
Five athletes from Rogers City are state qualifiers in track this year after competing in last weekend?s regional meet at Central Lake. From the boys? squad, discus thrower Steve Krajnik and distance runner Derek McLennan made the cut. First place honors in the mile and two-mile races by Lacey Kreft earned her a spot. Paula Vogelheim took first in the shot put and Kristyn Blackmer took second place in the high jump to also qualify for the state finals. Placing at the Division IV Regional meet for the boys were: Tyler Gorlewski, third in shot put (40?7?) and sixth in the discus (106?9?); Krajnik, second in discus (115?7?); and, McLennan, second in the two-mile (10:36.9).
Coach Nick Rethman said the boys did a good job at the meet. ?IT GAVE SOME of our younger runners a chance to see what teams of the highest caliber look like, and it gives us something to aim for next year.? ?We had many of the boys put up their best times of the year, and hopefully it will give them some added confidence heading into the conference meet today,? he continued. The girls? team finished the day in fourth place in a field of 17 teams. Placing at the regional track meet for the girls were: Kreft, first place in the mile (5:36.75) and the two-mile (12:20.62); Vogelheim, first in the shot put (33?9?); Blackmer, second in the high jump (4?10?); Becky Bruning, fifth in the high jump (4?7?); Jessica Hempel, fifth in the discus (88?11?); Chelsea Kreft, fifth in the two-mile (13:37.13); and Kaitlin Klingshirn was sixth in the 400-meter (1:05.90). Rethman was pleased with the girls? performance at the regional meet.
?WE QUALIFIED three girls for the state finals, and the team finished in fourth place, which is a testament to the type of team we have this year,? he said. The coach noted that almost all of the girls who ran improved their best times of the year, including the relay teams. ?I was proud of both teams at the meet,? Rethman said.
?Both met the expectations of the coaching staff. I hoped to send four to six athletes to the state meet and we were able to get five qualified, so we were pretty successful. I want to be able to carry that over into the conference meet on Thursday.? The State Finals will be conducted at Grand Rapids Northview High School on June 4.