Hematite boys edge Miners; NHS girls first
By KURT MENSCHING, Journal Sports WriterArticle Photos
“We kind of had the adversity talk, saying hey, we’re facing a little bit of adversity, we’re shorthanded,” Syrjala said after the Hematites edged Negaunee, 95-93, in a meet that came down to the final race.
One of Ishpeming’s top sprinters, Casey Hares, was unable to compete with a lingering hamstring injury, leaving Syrjala to rely on his younger athletes to pick up the slack.
“Kids like Kenny Peterson, Lonnie Hess, they’ve never been in a varsity relay before,” Syrjala said. “But that 3,200 relay, we still took first, and in that 3,200 relay, we had two freshman in there, the kids did great.”
“So I’m really, really proud of the kids,” he added.
Norway placed third with 49 points and Gwinn came in fourth with 19.
Negaunee’s Dillon Menard was the meet’s lone four-event winner.
He took home victories in the 110 and 300 hurdles, as well as the high jump and long jump.
The 1,600 relay gave Ishpeming the victory.
“I went up to the kids and said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to win it for us to have a shot here. This is what competition is all about. And competition breeds success, guys.’ And I’m really happy for them. The kids went out and ran their butts off.”
David Bertucci, Jake Dault, Mitch Korpi and Cody Prisk combined for a 3 minutes, 52.56 seconds mile.
Ishpeming also took the two-mile (3,200) relay (9:22.83) and the 800 relay (no time available).
Hematite Brad Waters won the 800 (2:12.67) and two-mile (10:43). Teammate Mike Carriere also took two individual victories, winning the 100 (11.59) and the 200 (24.03). Trevor Doren took the top 400 time (56.74).
“I think we’re starting to (come together),” Syrjala said. “We’re not peaking yet though. We’re still on the upswing, hopefully. Our times are starting to come down with our distance people.”
The Hematites did not win any field events, but earned second and third place finishes in both the pole vault and shot put.
They also took second in the long jump and high jump, behind Menard.
The Negaunee junior leapt 18 feet, 2 inches in the long jump and 5-10 in the high jump.
He also won the 110 hurdles in 16.19 300 hurdles in 43.07.
“I’ve always had a natural thing for just jumping,” Menard said. “But I’ve been training at Advantedge (Sports Training). It’s been helping me out. It comes pretty easy.”
Menard said his goal for high jump is 6-4, as he hopes to break at least one record this season. While he fell 6 inches short Thursday, he did come within two inches on Tuesday at the WIN meet.
Negaunee’s Joel Revord won the pole vault, as he cleared the 12-0 mark.
Gwinn’s Kyle Robertson won the discus with a 119 toss.
Negaunee wins girls meet
Negaunee’s girls track and field team may have broken a sweat, but it was not challenged greatly.
The Miners more than doubled their nearest competition by scoring 156 points for the victory. Gwinn (56), Ishpeming (28) and Norway (25) followed.
“Again, I’m so proud of my girls,” Negaunee coach Vickie Paupore said. “They’ve just been on a roll. They just come out here with so much guts and determination and I couldn’t ask for a more coachable team.”
Jessica Kangas led the day for the Miners with victories in the 100 hurdles (17.96 seconds), the high jump (5 feet, 0 inches) and the long jump (13-8).
Negaunee’s Laura Nurmi added victories in the mile (5:52.25) and the two-mile (12:36.6).
Miners Gabby Martin won the shot put with a 29-11 toss, Ciara O’Dovero the pole vault (7-6) and Heather Moore the 200 (28.63).
Negaunee showed its strength in multiple events with a sweep of all five places in the two-mile and the top four spots in the 200.
“I think we have a lot of athletes on our team and they push each other every night in practice,” Paupore said. “That’s been such a benefit for us.
“I don’t have to go out there and push them because they’re pushing each other. We have such a large number of girls on our team, it really makes a difference.”
Gwinn’s Megan Atkins took home a pair of first-place finishes.
She topped the 100 in 13.51 and the 400 in 1:03.57.
Ishpeming’s Kymber Beltrame won the 300 hurdles in 52.70, and Veronica Slone tossed the discus 100-4 for a victory.
