KENTWOOD, Mich. — It was a day of fast times and broken records at East Kentwood High School on Saturday as the best boys track and field athletes across Michigan competed in the Division 1 MHSAA state finals.
The most impressive record of the day came from Belleville senior Will Jaiden Smith — and he only started hurdling last season.
Smith’s time of 13.35 broke the all-time state record in the event, besting the previous record of 13.48 set by Thomas Wilcher back in 1982.
“It feels great,” Smith said. “I worked for this since last year. Last year, I got fourth and that was my first year hurdling. I called it last night. I said 13.35. You see the board right now? 13.35 right there, so it’s well deserved. I want to thank my coach and I want to thank all my teammates. They pushed me to this.”
Despite the fast time, Smith’s victory was in question at the finish line because he battled teammate Schmar Gamble, a junior, all the way to the end as he finished with a time of 13.36.
On top of that, senior teammate Timothy Pinard finished fourth with another sub-14 time of 13.82. It was Rochester Adams senior Michael Wilkerson who broke up a Belleville sweep with a time of 13.78 in third.
“I love all of it,” Smith said. “All my teammates going 13. My coach (is) the first coach ever in Michigan history to coach three in the same race all go under 14 seconds. I love it. It’s great.”
The dominance by Belleville in the 110 hurdles was a microcosim of the meet as a whole as Belleville claimed its first track and field state championship in school history with 57 points.
Belleville coach Candice Price knew she could count on her star hurdlers to come through.
“No pun intended, Will was willing to go out there and show out (and) Shamar, who’s loved this sport forever.” Belleville coach Candice Price said. “The real star was somebody like Timothy Pinard, who sat out his junior year and had never been to a state meet. His PR was 15 seconds (before this year) and he ran 13.82 today.
“I knew my big guys wanted to perform. They want scholarships, they want follow backs from from LSU and all those big things. But today, I saw them executing and I didn’t see the times until people started texting me… For them to come out here and perform, it was magical.”
After finishing third last year but just three points behind first place, Belleville left no doubt this season by being 12 points clear of the 35 points for runner-up Northville.
In just her third season as Belleville’s coach, Price also became the first woman head coach to win a boys track and field state championship.
“I was a champion and I was bred to be a champion,” Price said. “But I knew I had to make them believe they could be champions.”
Along with Smith’s record-setting win in the 110 hurdles, he also won the 300-meter hurdles in 37.79 and placed fifth in the 200 with a time of 21.65.
Smith and Gamble were also part of the champion 4×100 team as they joined Ray-mond Smith and Peyton Trammer to run 41.85. Gamble claimed another title in the 4×200 with Pinard, Trammer and JeVon Martin with a time of 1:26.50.
Price was a three-time individual state champion in the 100-meter hurdles from 2001-2003 to as a member of two state championship teams for Ann Arbor Pioneer. Known as Candice Davis back then, she held the 100-meter hurdle state record time of 13.66 for 14 years before it was first broken in 2017.
Although she initially wanted to coach for Pioneer or Ann Arbor Huron in some capacity, the opportunity eventually presented itself at Belleville. She joined the football staff and took the head position with the boys track team. The rest is history.
Price said she is grateful for the belief and support the Belleville community has given her. While Price was ready to coach the sport she thrived in, she had to learn the personal sacrifices of opening weight rooms at 5 a.m., making sure she had snacks for her athletes who were hungry at practice.
Meanwhile, people were watching her children so Price could have a chance to build a culture of her own at Belleville.
“I was like, if I can just get these football guys to understand that explosion and speed that’s going to take them to college — guys like Elija Dotson (a University of Michigan football freshman) believed in me… it’s magical.”
Detroit Catholic Central’s Samson Gash wins the 100m at the MHSAA D1 track and field state finals at East Kentwood High School on Saturday, May 31, 2025.(Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)
GASH CLAIMS 100-METER TITLE IN FIRST SEASON
Samson Gash said he had heard so many people tell him how fast he was on a football field. Because of hip injuries during his freshman and sophomore track seasons, Gash never had a chance to prove how fast he was.
Gash proved he was fast, indeed, on Saturday. In fact, he proved he was faster than everyone else.
Gash, a junior, capped his first full track season with Detroit Catholic Central by winning the 100-meter dash in a time of 10.41, which set a new all-division MHSAA state finals record.
Gash surpassed the old record of 10.44 set by Clint Allen of Muskegon Orchard View in 2006. While a time of 10.4 still exists in the MHSAA finals record books — set by Jackson’s Corey Pryor in 1987 — that time was recorded by electronic timing.
“I mean, it feels good,” Gash said. “Just all credit to my coaches and stuff like that. They’re just pouring into me every single day and my teammates are pushing me and really supporting me.”
The win was also against one of the fastest fields in state history as Novi’s Chance McNeill narrowly lost to Gash with a time of 10.42. Jeremy Dixon, the defending state champion, was third in 10.45.
“I was talking with those guys and they’re great dudes,” Gash said of his competition. “They were congratulating me and wishing me luck. They’re great runners, for sure.”
Beverly Hills Groves’ Ray Glory Ejoyokah throws a discus the MHSAA D1 track and field state finals at East Kentwood High School on Saturday, May 31, 2025.(Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM
Beverly Hills Groves senior Ray Glory Ejoyokah couldn’t have cut it any closer.
With one throw left in the opening round of the discus event, Glory Ejoyokah had yet to land a disc within the throwing boundaries and was at risk of leaving states as a senior without a measurable distance.
As the top seed entering competition, Glory Ejoyokah managed to chuck a mark of 179-feet-3 on his final throw of the opening round to advance to the finals.
The only issue with that was Midland senior Maxwell Stoecker also threw exactly 179-feet-3 and it came down to who had the next-best throw. That turned out to Glory Ejoyokah as his first throw of the final round was 170-6. Stoecker gave a strong effort in the final round but he couldn’t match his opponent with a mark of 168-feet-7.
After fouling on his first two throws at states last year, its clear Glory Ejoyokah has found a way to thrive among drama.
“I’m happy to end this way,” Glory Ejoyokah said. “I was on my toes. My mind was all over the place. It was really just straight work. I’m really just blessed to be in this position.”
After winning his state title, Glory Ejoyokah had one message he wanted to share:
“Happy birthday to my mom,” he said.
Left to right: The Northville boys 4×800 team of Rece Grezak, Ryan Stojov, Ethan Powell and Ben Hartigan won the 2025 Division 1 state finals with a time of 7:41.24.Jared Purcell | japurcell@mlive.com
NORTHVILLE MAKES HISTORY IN 4×800
Northville became the first time in D1 finals history to win four consecutive championships in the 4×800-meter relay. The team of senior Rece Grezak, junior Ryan Stojov, senior Ethan Powell and junior Ben Hartigan battled with Clarkston throughout the entirety of the race.
After Clarkston’s sophomore stud Wendell Childs opened the race with the lead and a split of 1:53.25, Stojov closed the gap for Northville and even took the lead by the end of his leg by splitting 1:53.94.
“My job was to try and get the baton and stick near him in eyesight as close as I can and not go out too fast and burn all of my energy,” Stojov said. “Just slowly chip away at it.”
Powell ran a 1:56.60 on the third leg but held a narrow deficit after Clarkston’s Cayden DeGrendel ran a 1:56.27 going into the final exchange.
That’s when Hartigan took over and closed in 1:53.53 to edge Clarkston with a winning time of 7:41.24 while Clarkston was close behind in 7:42.90.
“I lost my leg but I was able to keep it close,” Powell said. “Ben was just able to bring it home.”
SOPHOMORES BATTLE IN DRAMATIC 1600
The 1600-meter run came down to a battle of sophomores who are familiar foes as Luka Hammond of Grand Haven clocked a time of 4:09.69 to edge Caden Livermore of Grandville, who finished second in 4:10.17.
Livermore had beaten Hammond at the region championships and again at the Distance Night Under the Lights at Houseman Field meet a week prior to states.
This time, however, Hammond got the win when it mattered most.
“Last hundred, I just ran as hard as I could,” said Hammond, who also recorded a new personal-best time in the process.
Kalamazoo Central’s Jeremy Dixon reacts after winning the 100m race with a time of 10.72 during the Division 1 Lower Peninsula track and field state championships at East Kentwood High School on Saturday, June 1, 2024.Julian Leshay Guadalupe | MLive.com
DIXON GETS REDEMPTION IN 200
Despite setting a new personal-best of 10.45 seconds in the 100-meter dash, Kalamazoo Central’s Jeremy Dixon failed to defend his title in the event with a third-place finish.
Yet, Dixon made up for the disappointment by winning the 200-meter in 21.11. Novi’s Chance McNeill was only a hundredth of a second behind in second with a 21.12.
“I was really running with determination,” Dixon said. “I felt like I had it, but it was super close though. I just wanted to be sure and look at the scoreboard, but it was super close… It feels great. Nothing like it.”
Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Beckett Crooks runs during the Division 1 boys race at the MHSAA Cross Country Championships at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024.Devin Anderson-Torrez | danderson-torrez@mlive.com
CROOKS STEALS A TITLE
Ann Arbor Pioneer junior Beckett Crooks could hardly believe it when he crossed the finish line as the state champion in the 3200-meter run. Not many others could believe it too.
After all, Crooks had never qualified for the state championships as a freshman or sophomore. Despite it being his first state championship experience, Crooks shocked everyone with massive personal best of 9:00.80 to win the title with a furious kick in the final 200 meters.
“I did not think it was going to happen,” Crooks said. “I was just going to stay third with my seed time and I did not think I was going to win it.”
His previous best before the race was 9:11.25. However, he has never broken 9:26 in all of his other races.
Crooks kicked past Milford junior Kyle O’Rourke, who finished in 9:06.54. Crooks’ sophomore teammate, Kamari Ronfeldt, was third in 9:08.99.
“It felt awful,” Crooks said of his final 200 meters. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it was definitely worth it.”
Belleville’s Will (Jaiden) Smith wins the MHSAA D1 track and field state finals at East Kentwood High School on Saturday, May 31, 2025. Smith set a state record with the win. His teammate, Belleville’s Schmar Gamble placed second.(Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive.com)
DIVISION 1 ALL-STATE
100 Meters D1 – Finals
Place, Name, Result (Wind), School
1, 11, Samson Gash, 10.41a (1.4)PR, Detroit Catholic Central
2, 11, Chance McNeill, 10.42a (1.4), Novi
3, 12, Jeremy Dixon, 10.45a (1.4)PR, Kalamazoo Central
We’ve got Thursday night football to kick off Week 1 around the Garden State as JSZ brings you three games from the gridiron. Princeton and Allentown meet in a Mercer County thriller, Demarest looks to start strong against Bergen Tech plus Washington Township tries to reach 2-0 against Pennsauken in the WJFL. Check back as the highlights are posted throughout the night!
Down 6-0, senior Ellinton Hinds who already had an interception on the first drive of the game, made one of the best catches in all of New Jersey high school football so far this season to keep Princeton (2-0) undefeated in 2025. Hinds had two leaping catches from QB Quinton deFaria, who threw for 109 yards and a TD. The Tigers beat Allentown (0-2) for the first time since 2005 and look to keep their win streak alive with a Week 2 matchup against Ewing.
JSZ’s Tyler Mroz has the highlights + reaction from Allentown:
Jersey Sports Zone’s coverage of Princeton and Allentown is brought to you by Princeton Orthopaedic Associates.
The Minutemen took care of business in their home opener by racing out to a 35-0 halftime lead and cruising the rest of the way. Colin Beeler scored a pair of touchdowns to lead a bruising rushing attack in the victory. Paris Pratt hauled in a touchdown and added a fumble return touchdown for Washington Township (2-0). Pennsauken (1-1) will look to bounce back next Thursday against Highland.
JSZ’s James Mooney has the highlights from Sewell:
Jersey Sports Zone’s coverage of Washington Township is made possible by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.
With lead running back Reed Kauderer unavailable for the majority of the game, the Norsemen needed their other playmakers to step up. They ultimately answered the bell. Quarterback Joseph Yun accounted for three total touchdowns as Demarest (1-0) begins their 2025 season with a bang. Daejuan Joseph caught a pair of touchdown passes in the win. Bergen Tech (0-1) will now turn their focus to a game against Ferris next week.
JSZ’s Sean Dugan has the highlights from Little Ferry:
Five games dotted the high school football schedule Thursday night.
In Class AA, Butte stormed past Billings Skyview 33-13 on the road while Missoula Sentinel knocked off No. 3 Great Falls CMR 6-0. A big showdown in 8-Man lived up to its billing as No. 3 Fort Benton beat No. 2 Belt 24-22.
Check out the highlights and details below:
CLASS AA
Missoula Sentinel 6, No. 3 Great Falls CMR 0
After a scoreless first half, Sentinel struck with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Rudy Hess to Kyler Haslam. That ended up being the game’s only score, as the Spartans’ defense kept Great Falls CMR off the scoreboard entirely.
WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS:
Missoula Sentinel knocks off No. 3 Great Falls CMR in defensive slugfest
Sentinel held CMR to six first downs, and 0-for-9 showing on third down and 132 total offensive yards. The Spartans’ Jake Boggust recovered a fumble on a promising CMR drive in the fourth quarter that helped preserve the shutout.
Butte 33, Billings Skyview 13
Hudson Luedtke caught three touchdown passes from Brooks Vincent to lead Butte to a road victory. Peyton Johnson had a scoring run and Jaeger Hansen returned an interception for a TD as the Bulldogs built a sizable first-half lead.
WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS:
Butte picks up convincing win at Billings Skyview
The Falcons got their points on two touchdown passes from Jaxon Zagata to Jackson Carter.
At halftime, Skyview celebrated the 30th anniversary of its 1995 state title team. That year, the Falcons went 11-1 under coach Rob Lebsock and won the Class AA championship with a 27-20 victory over Bozeman.
MTN Sports
The 1995 state champion Billings Skyview Falcons are honored at Daylis Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, in Billings.
8-MAN
No. 3 Fort Benton 24, No. 2 Belt 22
Truman Giese’s fourth-quarter touchdown and two-point conversion gave Fort Benton the lead and two defensive takeaways in the final minutes helped maintain it as Fort Benton knocked off Belt in a ranked matchup.
WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS:
No. 3 Fort Benton knocks off No. 2 Belt in 8-Man showdown
Blake Waldner set an early tone for the Huskies with a 29-yard touchdown run, but Giese scored from 3 yards out to help tie it 8-8 in the second quarter.
Slater Lords had a long catch and run for a touchdown, putting Belt up 16-8, but a Giese-to-David Olson TD pass tied the game again. In the third, Waldner turned a Huskies interception into another touchdown run as Belt grabbed a 22-16 advantage. But it didn’t hold up.
Australian Sam Groth has the honour of having the fastest recorded tennis serve of all time.
The 6ft 4 Australian set the record during an ATP Open Challenger match in Busan, South Korea, in 2012 against Belarusian tennis player Uladzimir Ignatik.
Groths serve clocks in at a staggering 263.4kph (163.7mph).
Frenchman Albano Olivetti holds the record for the second-fastest serve ever recorded. The French tennis pro also remains the second person to break the 160mph serve speed barrier.
Olivetti’s serve came in 2012 at the challenger level during the Internazionali Trofeo Lame Perrel–Faip.
Albano Olivetti holds the second-fastest record serve on the tour.
It would be hard not to include the American giant John Isner in this list. The 6ft 10 American is known best for his monster serves, which are delivered consistently throughout.
His monstrous serve is thanks in part to his stature. Isner clocks in as the third-tallest tennis player on the ATP behind the Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic and American young gun Reilly Opelka (both 6ft 11 inches). Ivo Karlovic currently holds the record for the fourth fastest recorded tennis serve.
Isner currently holds the third fastest serve in tennis. The Americans serve, clocking in at 253 kph (157.2 mph) during a 2016 Davis Cup tie against Bernard Tomic.
John Isner also holds the record for playing the longest match in Grand Slam history against Nicolas Mahut. During Wimbledon 2010, Isner beat Mahut in 5 sets: 6–4, 3–6, 6–7, 7–6, 70–68. The match lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes.
Isner’s serve is the fastest recorded serve in tennis, recognised by the ATP.
Spaniard Georgina Garcia Perez holds the record for the fastest recorded tennis serve by a woman.
Perez clocked a serve of 200kph (136.7 mph) during the Hungarian Ladies Open in 2018.
Georgina Garcia Perez holds the record for the fastest serve by a female.
Why is it nearly impossible to hit a 160 mph tennis serve?
A considered calculation of stature, technique, coaching, mechanics and good old practice is said to make the perfect concoction for a fast serve.
A direct correlation has been proven between the height of a player and power during a serve. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the top servers of the game are all giants by nature.
The trajectory of a serve remains ever important. Players who are 6ft 7 or above have the ability to hit the ball with a downward trajectory, whereas those who are under that height are unable to do so.
Modern technology has also greatly aided in the incremental increase of server power over time. The changeover from wooden rackets to today’s modern racket is a huge factor in determining serve power. Advancements in string technology and racket materials also play a huge part in determining a fast serve.
Other mitigating factors include court conditions. Faster serves are much more likely to happen on a hard court and during hotter temperatures, where there is less resistance to air density, translating to faster speeds.
When you compare the fastest tennis serve with other sports, you can see how fast it is.
Fastest Football shot – 114 mph by David Hirst in 1996 Fastest Baseball pitch – 105.1 mph by Aroldis Chapman in 2010 Fastest Cricket Bowling speed – 100.2 mph by Shoaib Akhtar in 2003
What is the average tennis serve speed?
The average tennis serve speed differs between both men and women, as well as between pros and amateurs. Data shows us that for professional male tennis players, the average tennis serve speed is approximately 114 mph (on their first serve) and 93 mph (on their second serve).
For women, the average tennis serve speed clocks in at 98 mph (on their first serve) and 82 mph (on their second serve).
This data was recorded between 2002-2013, so bear in mind the average speeds have likely increased by a few miles per hour in the modern era, as racquet technology and athletes continue to evolve and adapt within the sport.
Check out Wired’s video, which covers the topic more in-depth.
It’s the second edition of Blue Federal Credit Union‘s Fort Collins-area Athlete of the Week for the 2025-26 high school sports season.
And this week’s honor is hitting the local tennis courts with a top singles player.
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Poudre boys tennis player Owen Addington took top honors in the Fort Collins area for the week of Aug. 25-30 after a couple of dominant sweeps.
Playing on the No. 1 singles line, the Impalas senior dropped just six games in four sets across two match wins over Windsor and Northglenn’s top players.
He beat Windsor’s Joseph Bisceglia (6-2, 6-3) and followed that up with a 6-0, 6-1 over Northglenn’s Emrah Mehidic.
Poudre’s Owen Addington bends down to hit a shot during a city rivalry boys tennis dual on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024 at Fort Collins High School in Fort Collins, Colo.
Addington, also a basketball player and tennis team captain, has helped Poudre get off to a 3-1 start this season that also included a team tournament title at the Thompson Valley Invitational.
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The senior and third-year varsity player is the first tennis player to earn Blue FCU Athlete of the Week honors in the award’s third school year. He joins Rocky Mountain’s Bode Nesbitt as the first winners in the 2025-26 prep sports season.
Poudre fans pushed Addington atop the polls, giving him the victory with 51.5% of the fan vote.
That propelled him past these other four outstanding Athlete of the Week nominees:
Brooke Pravlik, PSD flag football (runner-up at 36.7%)
Taylor Morgan, Wellington softball
Judd Nikkel, Fossil Ridge boys golf
Nora Ebel, Rocky Mountain girls cross country
The Blue Federal Credit Union Athlete of the Week series features five nominees on Mondays, with voting at Coloradoan.com until 11:59 p.m. every Wednesday.
Fans can nominate their favorite athletes (deadline: 11:59 p.m. every Sunday), and the Coloradoan Sports staff will ultimately select the nominees each week.
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If you have nominations for a future Athlete of the Week, please send them via email to ChrisAbshire@coloradoan.com for consideration.
View the full results:
Chris Abshire covers high school and community sports for the Coloradoan.
BB&N senior Sam Kelley (right) announced he will play football at Brown. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff
With sincere apologies to all the games played Thursday, here at Globe Schools it feels a lot like Christmas Eve, with a full slate of high school football arriving under the tree Friday evening.
Over the last two weeks we talked to nearly 200 football coaches and wrote more than 30,000 words previewing every team in Eastern Mass. There’s still time for a cram session!
Team-by-team previews for every Eastern Mass. program
Trevor Hass wrote about Whittier football coach Kevin Bradley, who is continuing to coach the team while battling tongue cancer. Read coach Bradley’s inspirational story.
The first three football games of the season were played Thursday night, with Pentucket topping Northeast (26-22), Waltham holding off Belmont (24-12), and Brookline beating Lexington (27-10).
1. Milestones
▪ Two golf teams made history, as Canton set a new low home score at Blue Hill Country Club, scoring a 138 as a team to best Mansfield by 15 strokes thanks to 1-under-par 33s from senior Joey Ryan and freshman Chase Thomas.
▪ Rockport set a record for most points on its home course, Rockport Country Club, posting a 168-151 win over Hamilton-Wenham behind a 38-point showing from Sam Kesterson, who shot a 1-under-par 34 with three birdies.
▪ St. John Paul II field hockey coach Leah Pierce got her first win with the program, beating Bishop Stang, 3-0. Ariana Liakos got her first win helming the Pembroke girls’ volleyball, beating Falmouth, 3-1. And Acton-Boxborough girls’ soccer coach Manny Lopes notched his first victory, 4-0, over Algonquin.
▪ On the pitch, No. 18 Medfield boys’ soccer shocked No. 10 Oliver Ames, the defending Division 2 state champions, with a 2-0 win powered by goals from Max Tillmann and Sebastian Cole.
Keene State freshman Kayla DiPasquale, a Marshfield High graduate, was named Little East Conference women’s soccer Rookie of the Week after scoring her first two collegiate goals in a 4-2 win over Rivier.
4. Commitment central
BB&N senior captain Sam Kelley, a 6-foot-2-inch, 228-pound two-way athlete from Natick, announced he will play football at Brown.
