Saturday, May 31, 2008
By Gretchen Flemming
The Grand Rapids Press
ZEELAND -- Talking about winning doesn't happen with the Forest Hills Northern girls track and field team.
The Huskies just go out and do it.
FH Northern won the Division 2 girls state championship Saturday at Zeeland Stadium, after placing in eight events to score 54 points, easily outdistancing Ypsilanti's 40.
"We never talked about winning all year," Forest Hills Northern coach Keith Boeve said, "just do your best and have fun. That's what high school sports are about."
The Huskies' star was Marieme Mbaye, a senior who is headed to Yale in the fall and will run track. She finished her high school career by winning the 100 meters in 12.45 seconds, and running on the second-place 800 relay team (1L44,87) and fourth-place 400 relay (:50.28).
Mbaye improved on last year's second-place finish in the 100 to win her first state title.
"I wasn't as nervous today," she said. "I wanted to go out with a bang."
FHN senior Kelcie Daniels finished second in the 300 hurdles (45.78) and fourth in the 100 hurdles (15:03). She also ran on a third-place 1,600 relay team with junior Phaebre Colbert, sophomore Jace Mitcham and senior Lauren Calhoun that clocked a 4:06.56 to contribute to the Huskies' total.
The relay performances were crucial, Boeve said.
"We were concerned because all of our relays were in the slow heats," he said, "so our kids knew they had to run fast and run hard."
FHN also bested third-place Detroit Renaissance (35 points), which had won seven of the past eight state championships but was hampered with injuries this season.
Holland Christian's Brooke Eilers began the track and field season running not on a track, but in a pool. Plagued with injuries since her sophomore year, she didn't even race competitively this year until the conference meet two weeks ago.
The senior finished her career in style, however, with two state championships. Eilers won the 3,200 run and ran the first leg of the Maroons' winning 3,200 relay team.
"I feel overjoyed," Eilers said after her 3,200 race that she finished with a strong kick and a time of 10:59.65. "I've been in the pool water-running so much this year. There were very many times I wanted to quit. But I just kept thinking about this meet."
Eilers also teamed with Breanna Verkaik, a freshman, and Carissa Verkaik, a junior, and anchor leg runner Lis Potts, a senior, to set a school record in the 3,200 relay with a time of 9:28.98. The girls, who usually run other races, ran the 3,200 together for the first time at regionals.
Williamston won the boys meet with 57 points, followed by East Lansing (42 points) and Zeeland West (32 points). Zeeland West was boosted by a pair of relay championships in the 1,600 (3:21.56) and 3,200 (8:00.78), both school records.
Seniors Bobby Bassett and Derek Kingshott were members of both relays, only one of them by design. John Preiser was originally a member of the 1,600 relay, but he pulled a hamstring in the 800 relay and Kingshott took his place.
"We felt so bad for him," Kingshott said. "He was hurting. We wanted to run it for him, we didn't want to let him down."
Seniors Mike Bareman and Andy Plaska also ran on the 1,600 relay, while sophomore Chris Schulist and freshman Daniel Pung made up the rest of the 3,200 team.
Two more West Michigan athletes successfully defended state championships. Sparta's Brandon Vandriel won the 100 in 10.52 seconds, after clocking a 10.88 to win last year.
Vandriel also anchored the Sparta 800 relay team that included junior Josh Patterson and seniors Mitch and Nick Arends to a second-place finish in a school-record 1:30.01, an even more impressive feat considering they posted the time in a slower heat.
"The bull's-eye on my back got bigger," Vandriel said. "I'm pumped, so excited ... there's a big weight lifted off me."
He'll be shooting for a third consecutive title next season, which is exactly what South Christian's Katie Guikema accomplished in the long jump. She won with a jump of 18 feet, 3 3/4 inches, two inches further than last year's winning leap.
"It wasn't my furthest, but I was consistent today," she said. "It's been a long week, I started work and I'm sore."
Her new job working with a landscaping company won't keep her from training for college track, as she heads to Michigan State in the fall. She said it was a satisfying end to a track career that has seen her take part in numerous events, from the 1,600 as a freshman to the 100 last year.
"It really is different being a senior," she said. "There was a lot of pressure ... now it's the end."
Meet highlights
Boys team champ: Williamston (57 points)
Local teams: Zeeland West (third, 32 points); Sparta (seventh, 20 points); Hamilton (tied for 11th, 15 points); Catholic Central (tied for 15th, 13 points); Coopersville (tied for 20th, 11 points); Wayland (tied for 20th, 11 points); Grant (tied for 23rd, 10 points); Northview (tied for 37th, 6 points); Caledonia (tied for 37th, 6 points); FH Northern (tied for 42nd, 5 points); Zeeland East (tied for 54th, 3 points); Comstock Park (tied for 61st, 1 point); Rogers (tied for 61st, 1 point).
Top finishers: Zeeland West (first in 1,600 relay and 3,200 relay); Brandon VanDriel, Sparta (first in 100); Mitch Hausmann, Coopersville (second in 110 hurdles); Sparta (second in 800 relay); Hamilton (third in 800 relay and 1,600 relay); Austin DeWildt, Catholic Central (third in pole vault); Jason Harvey, Catholic Central (third in shot put); Nate Oppenhuizen, Zeeland West (third in long jump); T.J. VanSlooten, Northview (third in 800)
Girls team champ: FH Northern (54 points)
Local teams: Holland Christian (tied for fifth, 26 points); Zeeland West (tied for 11th, 13 points); GR Christian (tied for 15th, 12 points), FH Eastern (tied for 15th, 12 points); South Christian (tied for 19th, 11 points); Unity Christian (tied for 22nd, 10 points); Zeeland East (28th, 9.5 points); Northview (tied for 32nd, 8 points); Byron Center (tied for 43rd, 5 points); Middleville (tied for 43rd, 5 points); Wyoming Park (tied for 45th, 4 points); Cedar Springs (59th, 2.5 points); Lakewood (tied for 60th, 2 points); Catholic Central (tied for 60th, 2 points)
Top finishers: Marieme Mbaye, FH Northern (first in 100); Brooke Eilers, Holland Christian (first in 3,200); Katie Guikema, GR Christian (first in long jump); Holland Christian (first in 3,200 relay); FH Northern (second in 800 relay, third in 1,600 relay); Madison Werley, Zeeland West (second in 800); Kelcie Daniels, FH Northern (second in 300 hurdles); Carly Plank, Northview (second in 1,600); Lydia Brouwer, Zeeland East (second in shot put); FH Eastern (third in 3,200 relay); Jordan Gabrielse, Unity Christian (third in 300 hurdles); Kelly Veldkamp, GR Christian (third in pole vault)