MUSKEGON — Local athletes didn't let bad weather conditions deter
them from competing Wednesday at the annual West Michigan All-Star meet,
bringing together some of the top track stars in the area.
Cold
temperatures and a steady rain likely contributed to smaller fields in
most events - and significantly less attendance - than the meet is used
to seeing, but most qualifiers from Whitehall, Montague and
Reeths-Puffer took the track and competed, with many earning medals with
their perseverance.
Two such stars, Mason Darke of
Reeths-Puffer and Camden Thompson of Whitehall, earned the top spot in
their events. Darke swept the two hurdles events, recording times of
14.72 seconds in the 110-meter race and 38.92 seconds in the 300, and
Thompson won the high jump with a mark of 6-4.
Several other
local boys athletes finished in the top six in their events and earned
medals. Riley Mulder of Montague took second place in the 100-meter dash
in a time of 11.47 seconds, and Thompson edged out teammate Caden
Bowyer by just six inches for second place in discus, with a mark of
144-9; Bowyer took third. The Vikings' Keegan Frees placed second in
pole vault with a mark of 12-0, and Kamarion Davis of Reeths-Puffer was
second in long jump (20-6.5).
Reeths-Puffer's Kamarion Davis is unable to get off a clean jump during the long jump competition at Wednesday's West Michigan All-Star meet. Despite that miss, Davis ended up taking second place in the event.
R-P's Marvin Moore placed third
in the 200 (23.08), and Whitehall's Stewart Waters was third in the
1,600 (4:38.0). Whitehall's Hunter Parsons picked up a personal best in
the 3,200 and finished fourth (10:30.9).
Thompson was fourth
in the 110 hurdles (15.28). Three fifth-placers were London Rankin of
R-P in the 100 (11.54), Whitehall's Cole Essebaggers in the long jump
(19-1), and Wyatt Fairchild of Montague in the 400 (1:27.8); Fairchild
normally competes in the adaptive race, but with a field of five
competitors, the event was able to accommodate him in the finals.
In
the boys' relays, the Rockets' 400-meter team of Rankin, Moore, Emcee
McLaurin and Cole Piper finished second (44.83); the 800-meter team of
Rankin, Darke, Moore and Piper took fourth (1:34.9); the 1,600-meter
team of Rankin, London Carpenter, Callahan Millis and Ethan Rolewicz was
second (3:34.0); and Montague's 3,200-meter team of Gibson Sholes, Alix
Draves, Noah Raeth and Nolan Kessler was sixth (8:39.95).
Several
girls earned medals as well, with three athletes finishing third.
Montague's Amanda Cederquist took that spot in the 110-meter hurdles
(16.60), R-P's Jersi Bilek was third in the 800 (2:23.2), and
Whitehall's Evelyn Darke was third in shot put (31-10).
The
Rockets' Addison Mitchelson finished fifth in the 100 (13.14) and
Addison Smith of Montague was sixth in pole vault (8-6). Two R-P relay
teams medaled: Raquel Walker, Mitchelson, Amani Starr and Melana Johnson
finished third in the 400 (52.18) and Ivanna Kass, Mitchelson, Bilek
and Johnson were fourth in the 800 (1:50.3).
