RC Track boasts several state qualifiers for June 3 final
The Rogers City High School track teams traveled to Bellaire Saturday to battle out the regional competition between 14 schools in Division Four. Both teams traveled back home to Rogers City celebrating the victories of three individuals, and one relay team?s state qualifying finishes. Overall, the girls team finished third out of 14 teams, and according to coach Nick Rethman, there were ?many great performances? across the board.
?THE GIRLS did a great job?and I am really proud of them,? said Rethman. ?We had three girls finish in third place, barely missing the state meet.? Although several girls just missed state competition, Kaylee Kreft and Lacey Kreft qualified with flying colors. Kaylee Kreft placed first in the 1600-meter run with her time of 5:31.27. Lacey Kreft offered the only competition to Kaylee, following up with a second place finish in the same event with her time of 5:34.73. Kaylee Kreft also placed first in the 3200-meter run, with her time of 12:04.42. Lacey Kreft, who took second with her time of 12:05.02, again followed her close behind. These top finishes qualified the Kreft duo for state in the 1600- and 3200-meter events. ?Kaylee and Lacey were dominant in the mile and two mile runs,? said Rethman. ?Their only competition came from each other.?
KAYLEE KREFT also qualified for state in the 800-meter run with her blazing first place finish in a time of 2:27.35. Paula Vogelheim barely missed state competition with her third place finish in the shot put event with a distance of 32?08?. Vogelheim also placed fifth in the discus competition with 85?08?. Jessica Hempel had an impressive third place finish in discus, with her distance of 88?11?. Kaitlin Klingshirn was seconds away from state competition with her third place finish in the 400-meter dash (1:06.84). She also placed sixth in the pole-vaulting competition with 6?6?. Coach Rethman said there were many personal records broke throughout the day. Morgan Schuiteman set personal records and medaled in both hurdle events. She placed sixth in the 100-meter hurdles (19.08 seconds), and fifth in the 300-meter hurdles (55.39 seconds). Cynthia Belusar rounded out the competition with her sixth place finish in the long jump event with her distance of 13?04?. ?It was a great day overall, and again, I am super proud of all the girls,? said Rethman.
IN THE BOYS competition, the team placed seventh overall. Mark Grulke led the pack with his state qualifying second place finish in the discus competition (131?05?). Although Grulke did not qualify for state in the pole-vaulting competition, he proved his drive to succeed during the event. ?Mark did a great job and he even knocked out a front tooth while pole vaulting,? said Rethman. ?He toughed it out and finished anyway.? Grulke finished fourth in the event with a height of 10?09?. The 3200-meter relay team also proved their drive to succeed, and cut 17 seconds off of their best time to nab a second place state-
Zak McLennan also had a fifth place finish in the 1600-meter run with his time of 5:06.01. Derek McLennan finished fourth in the 3200-meter run with his time of 11:01.85. Andy Tulgestke rounded out the boys competition with his fourth place finish in the high jump (5?7?). ?All the boys did a wonderful job, and it was great to qualify a relay team for next Saturday,? said Rethman.
The RC track teams have the Straits Area Conference Championship meet in St. Ignace on Thursday. Division Four state competition is set for Saturday, June 3 in Grand Rapids at Forest Hills Eastern High School. Competition begins at 9 a.m.