Kaneland High School is the site of Saturday’s 3A regional final. Yet the visiting Benet Academy baseball is the number two seed and bats second as they try to eliminate the Kaneland Knights from the regional for a second straight year. Gino Zagorac is on the mound for the Redwings, facing Hayden Foster on the side of Kaneland. The winner faces Burlington Central, who knocked out Benet last season. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.

Both pitchers go to work in the opening frames

Gino Zagorac gets to work quick, two outs and two runners on, he strikes out the shortstop Thomas Thill in just three pitches to end the inning.

Both pitchers were sharp in the first, here is Hayden Foster striking out Josh Gugora with a runner on second.

In the top of the second, a ball gets past Dom Tomala, and Austin Preuss makes a run to third. The tag by Merrick Sullivan is not in time, and Kaneland has a runner on third with one out.

The Knights get on the board first.

Villanueva is the next batter, and he can’t beat the throw to first, but the damage is done as Preuss scoots across home. Kaneland leads 1-0 after the top of the second.

In the bottom of the second Tomala bunts, Foster’s throw to first is too high and the bases are loaded with no outs and Jonny Rossi up next.

With all the pressure behind him, Foster gets Rossi swinging for out number one.

Here is a 2-2 pitch, and Foster gets Glimco out on the foul tip. Two outs, no damage.

Foster pitches the 1-2, and Nate Cerocke grounds into a forceout at second base. Despite three men on and no outs, Benet still trails 1-0.

In the top of the third, Zagorac has two runners on already and hits the DH Ian Whildin with a pitch to load the bases.

The passed ball woes continue for Benet, this one gets away and Preston Popovich scores for Kaneland. Knights lead 2-0 after the top of the third.

On to the bottom of the fourth, with one out and Mendez on second, Rossi takes a hack. Kanon Baxley scoops it up, steps on second and beats Rossi to first with his throw. The big double play gets the Knights into the fifth still in control.

Benet breaks through in the fifth inning

In the bottom of the fifth, after a Cerocke lead off single, Sullivan hits one off the glove of Foster and it sneaks through the infield to get runners on first and second with one out.

After a walk juices the bags, Gugora hits a ground ball towards third and Popovich’s throw turns into an error. Cerocke scores and Sullivan comes around as well to tie the game at two.

On the next at-bat, Quinn Rooney steps up and delivers a deep fly ball. The right fielder loses it in the sky, but it doesn’t matter as it’s about 30 feet over his head and the fence. Rooney’s 3 run shot blows the doors open for Benet. They take a 5-2 lead into the sixth inning. Big time celebrations for the Redwings.

Luke Kohlmeyer takes over for Zagorac in the 6^th, and he strikes out his first batter of the day.

Yet he doesn’t escape the jam too easily, as Villanueva’s hit trickles down in the infield, allowing him to beat the throw to first. Bases loaded with two outs.

The wild pitch woes continue for Benet, as this one gets away and allows Brady Alstott to score. 5-3 Redwings.

Kohlmeyer looks to avoid any more damage, and this pitch is right on the bottom of the umpire’s zone and punches out the Kaneland hitter without even a swing.

The Redwings hang on to win the regional championship

Onto the top of the seventh, still 5-3, Baxley lines one hard towards the first basemen, and Rooney dives for an athletic play. The first out of the inning is secured and the sophomore makes another massive play for Benet, just two outs away from a regional title.

After a Popovich groundout, the DH Whildin refuses to go down quietly. His double skips off the wall and gives Kaneland some hope with the tying run coming to the plate.

Alstott sees a 1-2 and makes contact, the ball gets past Cerocke and into the outfield. Wildin comes around home, and Kaneland stays alive with 2 outs on the board. Benet leads 5-4.

A 2-1 pitch to Thill, who pops it up into right. One catch stands in the way of a regional title and Luke Wildes calmly makes the play. Benet baseball wins the regional 5-4 over Kaneland in a hard-fought battle, scoring all their runs in the 5^th. The win goes to Zagorac and his six strikeouts, with Kohlmeyer nabbing the save. Benet will face Burlington Central on Wednesday in the sectional semifinals.

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.”

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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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.”

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

4, 12, Noah Sanders, 10.68a (1.4), Beverly Hills Groves

5, 12, Jason Hamilton II, 10.70a (1.4), Troy

6, 11, Brody Kelsey, 10.71a (1.4), Utica Eisenhower

7, 12, Carson Guysi, 10.71a (1.4)PR, Hudsonville

8, 10, Keiavion Korenstra, 10.72a (1.4)PR, Grand Haven

100 Meters D1 Adaptive – Finals

1, 9, Cooper Shain, 15.56a (2.6)PR, Macomb L’Anse Creuse North

2, 10, Owen Moerdyke, 16.38a (2.6)PR, South Lyon

3, 12, Luke Bowman, 19.74a (2.6)SR, New Baltimore Anchor Bay

4, 10, Liam Nolan, 1:04.25a (2.6)PR, FHN GR Forest Hills Nort…

200 Meters D1 – Finals

1, 12, Jeremy Dixon, 21.11a (1.6), Kalamazoo Central

2, 11, Chance McNeill, 21.12a (1.6), Novi

3, 11, Samson Gash, 21.36a (1.6)PR, Detroit Catholic Central

4, 12, Jason Hamilton II, 21.59a (1.6), Troy

5, 12, Will (Jaiden) Smith, 21.65a (1.6), Belleville

6, 10, Andrew Willemsen, 21.67a (1.6), Grand Haven

7, 10, Kane Morris, 21.67a (1.6)PR, Portage Northern

8, 12, Devin James, 21.79a (1.6), West Bloomfield

9, 11, Rondre Austion, 22.13a (1.6), Oak Park

200 Meters D1 Adaptive – Finals

1, 9, Cooper Shain, 34.22a (1.2), Macomb L’Anse Creuse Nor…

2, 10, Owen Moerdyke, 34.35a (1.2), South Lyon

3, 12, Luke Bowman, 36.98a (1.2)SR, New Baltimore Anchor Bay

400 Meters D1 – Finals

1, 12, Brody Leyendecker, 47.96aPR, Byron Center

2, 11, Rodney Endsley, 48.22a, Walled Lake Western

3, 11, Kinley Poole, 48.51a, Ann Arbor Huron

4, 11, Rondre Austion, 48.62a, Oak Park

5, 12, Demari Caldwell, 48.84a, Oak Park

6, 11, Nick Coleman, 49.08aPR, Saginaw Heritage

7, 10, Caleb Ross, 49.15aPR, East Lansing

8, 12, Aydan Myers, 49.16a, Detroit Cass Tech

400 Meters D1 Adaptive – Finals

1, 12, Luke Bowman, 1:15.91a, New Baltimore Anchor Bay

2, 9, Cooper Shain, 1:16.09aPR, Macomb L’Anse Creuse North

3, 10, Owen Moerdyke, 1:29.63aPR, South Lyon

800 Meters D1 – Finals

1, 10, Wendell Childs, 1:50.71aPR, Clarkston

2, 11, Greg Myers, 1:51.36aPR, Ypsilanti Lincoln

3, 12, Caden Karcher, 1:54.79aPR, Rockford

4, 12, Rece Grezak, 1:55.14aPR, Northville

5, 12, Logan Mullan, 1:55.29aPR, Northville

6, 11, Preston VanOeffelen, 1:55.30aPR, Greenville

7, 10, Maddi Duke, 1:56.16a, Temperance Bedford

8, 11, Ryan Stojov, 1:56.97a, Northville

1600 Meters D1 – Finals

1, 10, Luka Hammond, 4:09.69aPR, Grand Haven

2, 10, Caden Livermore, 4:10.17a, Grandville

3, 11, Jackson Lam, 4:14.24a, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix

4, 12, Jack Chadwick, 4:18.95a, Plymouth

5, 11, Ryan Stojov, 4:19.31a, Northville

6, 12, Ben Mussen, 4:19.62a, Plymouth

7, 9, Lucas Mullan, 4:19.89a, Northville

8, 10, Liam Wierzba, 4:21.22a, Traverse City West

3200 Meters D1 – Finals

1, 11, Beckett Crooks, 9:00.80aPR, Ann Arbor Pioneer

2, 11, Kyle O’Rourke, 9:06.54a, Highland-Milford

3, 10, Kamari Ronfeldt, 9:08.99aPR, Ann Arbor Pioneer

4, 12, Seth Conner, 9:09.72aPR, Jenison

5, 10, Jack MacGregor, 9:13.24aPR, Howell

6, 10, Brandon Cloud, 9:13.81aPR, Northville

7, 12, Taye Levenson, 9:19.41a, Bloomfield Hills

8, 12, Ethan Powell, 9:22.52aSR, Northville

110m Hurdles – 39″ D1 – Finals

1, 12, Will (Jaiden) Smith, 13.35a (2.0)PR, Belleville

2, 11, Schmar Gamble, 13.36a (2.0)PR, Belleville

3, 12, Michael Wilkerson, 13.78a (2.0)PR, Rochester Adams

4, 12, Timothy Pinard, 13.82a (2.0)PR, Belleville

5, 10, Shukuru Makechi, 14.13a (2.0)PR, East Kentwood

6, 12, Jonah Konarz, 14.32a (2.0)PR, New Baltimore Anchor Bay

7, 12, Angelo Finnie Jr., 14.42a (2.0)PR, West Bloomfield

8, 12, Michael Piggee Jr., 14.48a (2.0)SR, Muskegon

300m Hurdles – 36″ D1 – Finals

1, 12, Will (Jaiden) Smith, 37.79a, Belleville

2, 11, Caleb Washington, 37.91aPR, Detroit Catholic Central

3, 12, Phillip Burney, 38.48aPR, Oak Park

4, 12, Ashton Brann, 38.53a, Ann Arbor Huron

5, 11, Mason Darke, 38.65a, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer

6, 12, Michael Wilkerson, 38.72a, Rochester Adams

7, 10, Shukuru Makechi, 38.95aPR, East Kentwood

8, 11, William Patterson, 38.98a, Detroit Catholic Central

4×100 Relay D1 – Finals

1, 12, Ray-mond Smith, 41.85a, Belleville – A

, 12, Will (Jaiden) Smith

, 11, Peyton Trammer

, 11, Schmar Gamble

2, 10, Andrew Willemsen, 41.88a, Grand Haven – A

, 10, Keiavion Korenstra

, 12, Will Korenstra

, 12, Alex Dixon

3, 12, Kyle Mark, 42.14a, Hudsonville – A

, 12, Markel Chatman

, 12, Ty Ykema

, 12, Carson Guysi

4, 11, Ronnie Hill, 42.22a, Sterling Heights Stevens…

, 11, Landon Porter

, 12, David Keel

, 10, John Taylor

5, 10, Elijah Trombley, 42.23a, TC Central (Traverse Cit…

, 12, Asher Paul

, 11, Carter Gle

, 12, Scott Goodwin

6, 11, Reece Pippin, 42.28a, Novi – A

, 9, Trent Jackson-McGowan

, 12, Noah Munji

, 11, Chance McNeill

7, 11, Melvin Messan, 42.30a, Portage Northern – A

, 12, Vaughnzell Tyus

, 12, Ryan Mauwa

, 11, Ty Oaks

8, 11, Samson Gash, 42.31a, Detroit Catholic Central…

, 11, Dylan Gamnje

, 11, William Patterson

, 11, Caleb Washington

4×200 Relay D1 – Finals

1, 11, Schmar Gamble, 1:26.50a, Belleville – A

, 11, Peyton Trammer

, 12, JeVon Martin

, 12, Timothy Pinard

2, 10, Andrew Willemsen, 1:26.85a, Grand Haven – A

, 10, Keiavion Korenstra

, 12, Alex Dixon

, 12, Ethan Hoffmeyer

3, 12, Xavier James, 1:27.03a, Brighton – A

, 12, Sam Meriweather

, 11, Brayden Platt

, 12, Luke Bellino

4, 11, Curtis Whitfield, 1:27.10a, Kalamazoo Central – A

, 11, Jeremiah Marshall

, 12, Maurice Streeter

, 12, Jeremy Dixon

5, 12, Kyle Mark, 1:27.19a, Hudsonville – A

, 12, Markel Chatman

, 12, Carson Dykstra

, 12, Carson Guysi

6, 11, Rondre Austion, 1:27.21a, Oak Park – A

, 10, Alex Patterson

, 12, Phillip Burney

, 12, Demari Caldwell

7, 11, Cooper Mitchell, 1:27.34a, Byron Center – A

, 10, Connor Nealon

, 12, Parker Holford

, 12, Brody Leyendecker

8, 12, Kayson Legg, 1:27.52a, Walled Lake Western – A

, 10, Timon Dogan

, 12, Troy Temple

, 11, Rodney Endsley

4×400 Relay D1 – Finals

1, 12, Phillip Burney, 3:15.52a, Oak Park – A

, 12, Demari Caldwell

, 10, Alex Patterson

, 11, Rondre Austion

2, 11, Cooper Mitchell, 3:16.19a, Byron Center – A

, 12, Xavier McCallum

, 12, Blake Teunissen

, 12, Brody Leyendecker

3, 12, Ashton Brann, 3:16.85a, Ann Arbor Huron – A

, 12, Chase Lockhart

, 10, Nolan Prevost

, 11, Kinley Poole

4, 11, Ben Hartigan, 3:17.85a, Northville – A

, 11, Reece Mooradian

, 12, Haithem Al-Zoubi

, 12, Rece Grezak

5, 12, Julian Farrell, 3:20.06a, Troy Athens – A

, 12, Myles Linden

, 11, Tony Jordan

, 10, Ethan Bieniek

6, 12, Angelo Finnie Jr., 3:22.44a, West Bloomfield – A

, 12, Raymond Crawford

, 12, Julian Brenner

, 12, Devin James

7, 9, Jack Walden, 3:22.67a, Saline – A

, 10, Cruz Hanson

, 9, Wes Rogan

, 9, Chanon Palmer

8, 11, Hank Hornung, 3:22.69a, Clarkston – A

, 12, Micah Chaney

, 12, Gabe Van Goor

, 10, Wendell Childs

4×800 Relay D1 – Finals

1, 12, Rece Grezak, 7:41.24a, Northville – A

, 11, Ryan Stojov

, 12, Ethan Powell

, 11, Ben Hartigan

2, 10, Wendell Childs, 7:42.90a, Clarkston – A

, 12, Jaxson Nowik

, 12, Cayden DeGrendel

, 12, Joshua Ellingsworth

3, 12, Brady Millington, 7:49.08a, Brighton – A

, 11, Zach Wyderko

, 12, Elijah Forbord

, 10, Blake Kulesza

4, 11, Quinn Davis, 7:49.83a, Ann Arbor Pioneer – A

, 11, Beckett Crooks

, 11, Theo Sacks-Thomas

, 10, Kamari Ronfeldt

5, 11, Adrian Clarke, 7:50.74a, Plymouth – A

, 12, Ben Mussen

, 11, Lucas LaPointe

, 12, Jack Chadwick

6, 9, Oskar MacArthur, 7:51.72a, Ann Arbor Skyline – A

, 11, Adam Repp

, 11, Zeke Lafferty

, 11, Kyle Krasan

7, 9, Wes Rogan, 7:53.16a, Saline – A

, 12, Collin Eckermann

, 10, Carter Mitton

, 12, Saman Meshinchi

8, 11, Aron Gal, 7:54.03a, Grand Haven – A

, 11, Liam Schamper

, 12, Ben Eisnor

, 10, Luka Hammond

Shot Put – 12lb D1 – Finals

1, 12, Garrod Alexander, 64′ 1.25″, Walled Lake Central

2, 12, Maxwell Stoecker, 58′ 10.25″, Midland

3, 12, Dominic Weatherly, 58′ 9″PR, Harrison Twp. L’Anse Cre…

4, 12, Grayson Byam, 55′ 4.75″PR, Saginaw Heritage

5, 12, Spencer Beckeman, 54′ 3.5″, Rochester Hills Stoney C…

6, 12, Hudson Pant, 54′ 3″SR, Cedar Springs

7, 11, Christopher Brownlee, 53′ 8.25″PR, Swartz Creek

8, 12, Liam Takace, 53′ 6.75″, Portage Central

Shot Put – 12lb D1 Adaptive – Finals

1, 12, Luke Bowman, 20′ 3.25″, New Baltimore Anchor Bay

2, 9, Cooper Shain, 13′ 2″PR, Macomb L’Anse Creuse Nor…

Discus – 1.6kg D1 – Finals

1, 12, Ray Glory Ejoyokah, 179′ 3″, Beverly Hills Groves

2, 12, Maxwell Stoecker, 179′ 3″PR, Midland

3, 12, Conrad Squitieri, 172′ 0″, Grosse Pointe South

4, 12, Ty Ellis, 171′ 2″, Grand Ledge

5, 11, Cameron Gramzow, 170′ 7″, New Baltimore Anchor Bay

6, 12, Dominic Weatherly, 168′ 4″, Harrison Twp. L’Anse Cre…

7, 11, Andre Neumann, 165′ 7″, White Lake Lakeland

8, 12, Dewayne Williams III, 163′ 3″PR, Warren DeLaSalle

High Jump D1 – Finals

1, 12, Giovanni Charles, 6′ 8″, Walled Lake Central

2, 12, Zechariah Jones, 6′ 6″PR, Grand Ledge

3, 11, Drelen Lillard, 6′ 6″PR, Novi

4, 12, Deon Robertson, 6′ 6″, Woodhaven Brownstown

5, 10, Blake Jones, 6′ 6″PR, Saginaw United

6, 12, Sam Abdalla, 6′ 3″, FHN GR Forest Hills Nort…

6, 12, Liam Bell, 6′ 3″PR, Highland-Milford

8, 12, Alexander Emory, 6′ 3″, Wyandotte Roosevelt

Pole Vault D1 – Finals

1, 11, Reece Emeott, 16′ 0″PR, East Kentwood

2, 10, Grady Myers, 15′ 3″PR, FHN GR Forest Hills Nort…

3, 11, Sean Cinzori, 15′ 3″, Plymouth

4, 12, Asher Paul, 15′ 0″, TC Central (Traverse Cit…

5, 11, Ben Lievense, 14′ 9″PR, Salem

6, 12, Odin Gulledge, 14′ 6″, Novi

7, 12, Trevor Boyer, 14′ 6″PR, Greenville

8, 12, Daniel Scott, 14′ 6″PR, Greenville

Long Jump D1 – Finals

1, 12, Quincy Isaac, 24′ 11.5″ (-0.8), Canton

2, 12, Nick Henson, 22′ 8.75″ (1.4)PR, Woodhaven Brownstown

3, 11, Jhavon Alexander, 22′ 8.5″ (1.3), East Kentwood

4, 12, Trey Sloothaak, 22′ 4.75″ (-0.1), Zeeland West

5, 11, Jeremiah Armstrong, 22′ 1.75″ (1.5)PR, Ann Arbor Huron

6, 11, Michael Aimery, 22′ 0.25″ (0.3), Holt

7, 12, Carson Guysi, 21′ 11.75″ (0.8), Hudsonville

8, 10, Ryan Varner, 21′ 11.75″ (0.0), Utica Eisenhower

It was championship day for Illinois boys track and field athletes.Athletes from across the state competed Saturday in the 2025 Illinois High School Association boys track and field state finals at O’Brien Field at Eastern Illinois University.

In all, athletes from Peoria-area schools won four state championships, including athletes from Peoria Christian, Delavan, Princeton and Bureau Valley.

Here are our live updates about how athletes from around Peoria finished on the blue track — plus every state champion and every state record set on a sunny Saturday in Charleston.

Looking for interviews with all the Peoria-area winners?

The Journal Star’s Dave Eminian speaks with state champions from Peoria Christian and Delavan, along with medalists from Washington, Elmwood/Brimfield, Limestone and more with his story from the stadium in Charleston.

REQUIRED READING: Tap here to read all the coverage!

Who won team titles at IHSA boys state track meet?

Class 1A: Morrison ran away with the program’s first state title, winning four events to score 60 points overall and outdistance second-place Tuscola (45). Rockford Christian (32) was third. Top Peoria-area finisher was Elmwood/Brimfield in 13th place.

Class 2A: Sycamore won two events on the way to 71 team points and the program’s first state title. East St. Louis (62) was second, and Cahokia (37) third. Top Peoria-area finisher was Morton, in sixth place.Class 3A: Winnetka New Trier won four events en route to 45 team points, edging Homewood-Flossmoor (40), which took second. Belleville West (38) was third. New Trier won the program its third state title, but first since 1944. IHSA records: New Trier sprinter sets markWinnetka New Trier senior William Landwer won the Class 3A 200-meter dash in 20.87 seconds, breaking the second-oldest boys all-time state record on way to gold.Landwer’s time surpassed the previous mark of 20.89, set in 1997 by Anthony Moorman of Roselle Lake Park.The oldest state mark is held in the high jump, according to the IHSA. Heyworth’s Tom Smith recorded his record jump of 7 feet, 3.5 inches in the 1985 state finals. Peoria Christian hurdler runs to goldJunior Trae Brickner won the Class 1A 300-meter intermediate hurdles state championship on Saturday, edging runnerup Mason Booker of Sullivan by .04.Brickner won in a personal-best 39.08 seconds, winning PCS its first state title since Josh Kirby won this same event in 2015.

IHSA records: All-time pole vault record set at state

Isaiah Whitaker of Bloomington Central Catholic set the all-time pole vault state record with a leap of 5.35 meters on Saturday in the state finals. That equates to a clearing of 17 feet, 6.5 inches.

The junior’s leap surpassed the previous mark of 5.33 meters, set in 2018 by Zachery Bradford of Bloomington. IHSA records must be achieved at the state finals.

Whitaker’s mark of 5.45 (17-10.5) — set April 12 at the Chuck Danner Co-Ed Invitational in Metamora — is the top mark in the nation this season, according to athletic.net.

Delavan runners ends school title drought

Delavan sophomore Corie Green won the Class 1A 800-meter championship on Saturday, in a time of 1 minutes, 55.46 seconds. The title is the school’s first in more than four decades.

The last Delavan boys state track and field title was the 4×800-meter relay, won in 1982.

Princeton goes 1-2 in discus standings

The Princeton duo of senior Ian Morris and freshman Landon Hoffman finished first and second in the Class 2A discus state championships.

Morris won the title with a throw of 53.58 meters, while Hoffman was second with a 52.39.

Bureau Valley wins discus state goldBureau Valley senior Landon Hulsing won the Class 1A discus state championship on Saturday, with a throw of 57.19 meters. It is the program’s third state championship and first since Adam Weidner won the shot put title in 2012. Elmwood/Brimfield keeps alive incredible streakElmwood/Brimfield won its eighth consecutive medal in the Class 1A 4×800-meter relay, tying its best finish with second place, in a season-best 8 minutes, 02.94 seconds.Elmwood now has 20 medals overall in the 4×800 or 2-mile relay, dating back to 1976.“Tried to get a lead and see if I could work with it a little bit,” said lead leg Reed Florey, who was followed by Aiden Faulkner, Kam Stevenson and Darwin Herman. Washington thrower makes school historyWashington senior Joe Atkins finished second in the Class 3A shot put with a throw of 19.39 meters — the highest finish by a Panthers boys athlete at the track and field state finals.“Not quite what I wanted,” Atkins said. “I just gotta work harder next year and maybe get a little better luck.”The 3A shot put title was won by Michael Kpomassy of East Moline with a throw of 20.70 meters. IHSA records: Another race, another recordDowners Grove North set the all-time state record in the 4×800 meter relay Saturday, winning the Class 3A race in a time of 7 minutes, 36.40 seconds.The team of Will Surratt, John Courtney, Grant Schroder and Philip Cupial bettered the mark of 7:37.36, set by Orland Park Sandburg in 2016. IHSA records: Chicago Payton sets new Class 2A recordThe 4×800 relay team from Chicago Payton won the Class 2A 4×800-meter relay in 7 minutes, 38.95 seconds — setting a new class standard. The team of Vaughn Collier, Declan Slavin, Tra’Monti Williams and Preston Ellis bettered their own state mark. 2025 IHSA boys track and field state championsHere is a list of the teams and athletes to win state championships. * — denotes class record. ** — denotes overall record. 2025 team state championsClass 1A: MorrisonClass 2A: SycamoreClass 3A: Winnetka New Trier 2025 discus state champions1A: Landon Hulsing, Bureau Valley, 57.19 meters2A: Ian Morris, Princeton, 53.58 meters3A: Logan Farrell, Arlington Heights Hersey, 60.01 metersWheelchair: Noah Odum, Seneca, 8.62 meters 2025 high jump state champions1A: Will Nohren, Shelbyville, 2.00 meters2A: Matt Pluff, Freeburg, 2.05 meters3A: Machi Nelson, Hillside Proviso West, 2.05 meters 2025 long jump state champions1A: Will Nohren, Shelbyville, 6.96 meters2A: Chris Nelson, Herrin, 7.45 meters3A: Zoelen Terry, Naperville Central, 7.07 meters 2025 pole vault state champions1A: Isaiah Whitaker, Bloomington Central Catholic, 5.35 meters**2A: Kyle Quaid-Bowman, Glen Ellyn Glenbard South, 4.70 meters3A: Lukas Brauc, Oak Park-River Forest, 5.18 meters 2025 shot put state champions1A: Graham Meister, Dwight, 17.81 meters2A: Andrew Kinsman, Benton, 18.12 meters3A: Michael Kpomassy, East Moline, 20.70 metersWheelchair: Noah Odum, Seneca, 4.34 meters 2025 triple jump state champions1A: Ben Roedl, Altamont, 13.98 meters2A: Shamond McClain, East St. Louis, 14.23 meters3A: Dylan Benjamin, Winnetka New Trier, 14.70 meters 2025 100-meter dash state champions1A: Brady Anderson, Morrison, 10.742A: Tyjaire Kellum, Murphysboro, 10.473A: William Landwer, Winnetka New Trier, 10.24Wheelchair: Luke Soukup, Mascoutah, 23.61 2025 200-meter dash state champions1A: Levi Milder, Morrison, 21.442A: Aidan Wyzard, Sycamore, 21.363A: William Landwer, Winnetka New Trier, 20.87**Wheelchair: Luke Soukup, Mascoutah, 51.82 2025 400-meter dash state champions1A: Brian E. Smith II, Winnetka North Shore Country Day, 48.472A: Dylan Hodges, Sycamore, 49.183A: Troy Mclean, Belleville West, 47.98 2025 800-meter run state champions1A: Corie Green, Delavan, 1:55.462A: Tra’Monti Williams, Chicago Payton, 1:53.773A: Nolan Lamoureux, Lockport, 1:51.92 2025 1600-meter run state champions1A: Nicolai Martino, Winnebago, 4:14.482A: Vaughn Collier, Chicago Payton, 4:22.863A: Tommy Nitz, Huntley, 4:16.24 2025 3200-meter run state champions1A: Nicolai Martino, Winnebago, 9:33.862A: Simon Lane, Chicago University, 9:12.793A: Ben Crane, Winnetka New Trier, 8:57.13 2025 110-meter hurdles state champions1A: Landyn Mitchell, Centralia Christ Our Rock Lutheran, 14.372A: Louis Yohannes, Troy Triad, 14.113A: Jalyn Cole, Belleville West, 13.82 2025 300-meter hurdles state champions1A: Trae Brickner, Peoria Christian, 39.082A: Amauree Williams, Richton Park Southland College Prep Charter, 37.773A: Amari Williams, Wheaton Warrenville South, 36.94 2025 4×100 relay state champions1A: Morrison, 42.16 (Rylan Alvarado, Levi Milder, Zach Milder, Brady Anderson)2A: East St. Louis, 41.57 (Durand Sain, Jayden McCallum, Shamond McClain, Melvin Sledge)3A: Homewood-Flossmoor, 41.00 (Joaquin Jordan, Charles Dees, Myles Ellis, Zion Morrison) 2025 4×200 relay state champions1A: Morrison, 1:26.92* (Rylan Alvarado, Levi Milder, Zach Milder, Brady Anderson)2A: East St. Louis, 1:27.03 (Shamond McClain, Jayden McCallum, Zavion Brownlee, Melvin Sledge)3A: Northbrook Glenbrook North, 1:26.63 (Ebin Fladeland, Aiden Fladeland, Fletcher Geake, Eli Kahn) 2025 4×400 relay state champions1A: Auburn, 3:22.05 (Hunter Piper, James Baisden, Carter Hunley, Jacob Barth)2A: East St. Louis, 3:17.80 (Durand Sain, Melvin Sledge, Jayden McCallum, Darius Ivy)3A: Evanston, 3:17.73 (Deshawn Preister, Amani Christian, Anthony Honore, Dallas Amos) 2025 4×800 relay state champions1A: Rockford Christian, 7:57.61 (Joel White, Andrew Kurien, Blake Lindberg, Evan White)2A: Chicago Payton, 7:38.95* (Vaughn Collier, Declan Slavin, Tra’Monti Williams, Preston Ellis)3A: Downers Grove North, 7:36.40** (Will Surratt, John Courtney, Grant Schroder, Philip Cupial) IHSA girls state finals: Recap of last week’s state meet

In the girls finals last week, El Paso-Gridley won its first state championship in any girls sport, taking first in the Class 1A track and field meet. The Titans won seven medals — including three golds — to score 56 team points. It was EP-G’s first girls title and third overall by the school. The boys golf team won IHSA titles in 2013 and 2014.

Athletes from Dunlap, Eureka and Stark County also won state championships.

Who’s in line to win an IHSA championship?

Dozens of athletes from the Peoria area advanced to the finals from preliminary competition Thursday and Friday in Charleston. The full list of Peoria-area finalists is here.

2025 IHSA boys track and field state finals time schedule

All events at O’Brien Stadium, Charleston. Wheelchair finals are first in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 races, followed by Class 1A, 2A and 3A. Class 1A competes first in other events, followed by 2A and 3A.

• 9:15-9:30 a.m. — Parade of competitors
• 9:30-10 a.m. — Opening ceremonies
• 10 a.m. — Long jump, triple jump, shot put, pole vault, high jump
• 10 a.m. — 3200-meter run (Section 1)
• 11 a.m. — 4×800-meter relay
• 11:40 a.m. — 4×100-meter relay
• 12:10 p.m. — 3200-meter run (Section 2)
• 12:30 p.m. — Discus
• 1:10 p.m. — 110-meter high hurdles
• 1:35 p.m. — 100-meter dash
• 1:55 p.m. — 800-meter run
• 2:25 p.m. — 4×200-meter relay
• 2:55 p.m. — 400-meter dash
• 3:15 p.m. — 300-meter intermediate hurdles
• 3:35 p.m. — 1600-meter run
• 4:05 p.m. — 200-meter dash
• 4:20 p.m. — 4×400-meter relay
• 5 p.m. — Team awards

In what has become *** weekly tradition, the weather impacted the local high school sports schedule, but we still saw some high school lacrosse. We’ll start in Portland. The Waynefleet girls hosted Greeley. Casey Curtis sets up Skyler Harris for *** Waynefleet goal and the Flyers lead for. 2 in the second quarter, Greeley answered with 2 goals in the final minute of the first half. Kylie Lord sets up Jane Flynn in front of the net, then Audrey Ingersoll scores off the free position, and Greeley takes control for *** 7 to 4 win. The Freeport girls faced off against Freiburg Academy. Phoebe Sartori starts the scoring for Freiburg just 48 seconds into the game, but Freeport quickly responded, Lana De Russo passes over to Emma White, who takes it to the net. Then in transition, White passes ahead of Gwen Dunham, who gives the Falcons the lead. Freeport wins 18 to 9 to stay undefeated. Also undefeated Falmouth Boys. They hosted Kennybunk today. Hayden Davis sets up the goal by Evan Yale, and the Navigators get *** quick 3 goal lead. 90 seconds later, Davis keeps the ball and fires the shot past the keeper to make it 40 navigators. Just 32 seconds after that, Hudson Berry joins the fund for Foulmen. They lead from start to finish in *** 17 to 3 win to stay unbeaten. It was *** foggy afternoon in Cape Elizabeth as they hosted the the hosted Brunswick. The Dragons with *** great scoring chance in the 3rd quarter, but Cape goalie Luke Gaggney gets the save. Moments after some nice passing by Brunswick leads to *** thin white goal and the Dragons lead 4 to 3. Harry Converse then ties the game up for the Capers by splitting the defenders, and Cape wins 7 to 4. B.

The Martha’s Vineyard’s girls tennis team started their run at a state title with a opening round win.

The third ranked Vineyarders (16-1) defeated No. 30 Seekonk 4-1 on Saturday in the Division 4, Round of 32.

Laina Dubin defeated Madison Fitzgerald in first singles (6-2, 6-2), and Charlotte Marshard beat Liana DaFonseca in second singles (6-1 ,6-3).

Leah Thomson and Zoe Treitman defeated Lyla and Grace  Baldassi in first doubles (6-1, 6-1), while Ella Moran and Clemintine Zeender beat Abigail Visnik and Chloe Machado in second doubles (6-0, 6-1).

Next up for the Vineyarders is a Round of 16 matchup with No. 14 Boston Latin Academy on June 3.

In other high school playoff action:

Baseball

Div. 5, Prelims: No. 33 West Boylston 7, No. 32 Bourne 6: The Canalmen (3-18) lost by one run for the second straight game to end their season. James Crowell went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Griffin Kelly was 2-for-3 with a double and a triple for Bourne. Bryce Young pitched five innings, gave up three earned runs, and struck out six.

Girls Lacrosse

Div. 3, Round of 32: No. 14 Cape Cod Academy 16, No. 19 Medway 3: The Seahawks (11-5) had lost three of their last four prior to the postseason, but they broke that slump as they picked up a win in their opening round playoff game.

Boys Lacrosse

Div. 1, Round of 32: No. 8 Bishop Feehan 20, No. 25 Barnstable 6: The Red Hawks (8-10) lost four of their last five games, all to playoff teams.

Courtney Jacobs is the Sports Editor for the Cape Cod Times. You can contact him at cjacobs@capecodonline.com and follow him on X: @CJ_Journalist.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans.

Over the course of this season, the first throw of the competition for Stella Kitt has typically determined how her day in the shot put is going to go.

Her first throw of the Kansas high school state track and field meet was about seven feet shorter than her season-best mark. Her second throw was three feet shorter than that.

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The Goddard Eisenhower, who entered with the season’s top mark in Class 5A, was in danger of missing finals completely with just one throw left in the preliminaries.

“I was kind of worried there because that’s nowhere close to where she usually is,” Eisenhower throwing coach William Bergkamp said. “You could tell she was a little nervous and maybe the state championship atmosphere was weighing on her. So I just pulled her aside and told her, ‘You’re here for a reason.’”

Kitt showed what that reason was by bouncing back with a throw good enough to qualify for finals, then “popped one” for a mark of 41 feet even to win the 5A title in shot put.

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“I get in my head a lot, so it’s such a mental game with me,” said Kitt, an Emporia State signee. “I’ve really had to work on myself and remember that I have proven that I can do it, so I just need to go out there and do what I’ve been doing.”

Kitt has surprised even herself with the development she has shown in the shot put.

Last season she placed fifth in the 5A field with a mark of 37-10¾, while her teammate, Leah Wilkinson, won the state title with a throw of 41-9.

Kitt never pictured herself on that level, as she looked up to Wilkinson as a role model. But this season, Kitt proved herself worthy of being a champion with her season-best mark of 42-8 standing as the second-best throw in Kansas this season.

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“Leah was a real good one for us last year and she was able to set the tone and set the standard,” Bergkamp said. “Stella was already throwing in the 37s, which was really good, but she thought 40 feet should be her benchmark. She’s improved so much and I attribute a lot of that to the work she did last year with Leah.”

After hanging the gold medal around her neck, Kitt admitted this was a scenario she never thought was possible last season.

“I never pictured myself being in this position,” Kitt said. “It’s just … really nice.”

Hesston’s Ashley Lehman takes first step in special state performance

Before it was possible to go for a 4-gold performance on Saturday, Hesston junior Ashley Lehman had win her first gold on Friday.

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Mission accomplished.

Lehman won the 3A pole vault title for the first time in her illustrious career, as she added her fifth individual state title with a personal-best clearance of 12-4 in the event on Friday.

Up next is going for gold in the 100, 200 and 400, three events she swept last season.

Lehman not only qualified for the finals in the 200 and 400 on Friday, but her 200 time of 24.64 shattered the 28-year-old 3A state meet record of 24.90 previously held by Halstead’s Stacy Keller.

Other Wichita-area state track champions

• Wichita Trinity junior Emily Hein, the 3A state cross country champion, added her first state title on the track with a winning time of 11:05.39 in the 3A 3200. Her season-best time of 10:43.19 was top-10 in Kansas this season.

• Arkansas City senior Kinzie Perdue successfully defended her 5A title in the high jump, clearing 5-2 on the first try to win a three-way tie with Andover Central’s Allison Saunders and Lansing’s Halle Laincz.

• Hutchinson Central Christian junior Jessa Losew hit a personal-best mark of 5-8 in the high jump to win the 1A title over teammate Belle Barnett, who matched her PR with a 5-6 clearance. It is the first state title for Losew, who finished runner-up in 1A high jump in 2023.