WHITEHALL — Track and field records fall over time; that is a given. However, longtime Whitehall boys coach Kirk Mikkelson, a Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association Hall of Famer, has been around long enough to know that 2026, when four records went down in a single year, was a special one.
That's why he invited Bobby Jazwinski, Caden Bowyer, Javi LeBlanc, Rex Pumford and Jevon Hilliard to the school Tuesday morning to watch as athletic director Christian Subdon scaled a new ladder the district recently purchased to add their names to the school's record board, which is on the walls of the Whitehall High School gym. The group then posed for a photo to celebrate their accomplishments.
Jazwinski spearheaded the remarkable year of records, breaking both long-distance running event records at Whitehall and also teaming with LeBlanc, Pumford and Hilliard to break the 3,200-meter relay record at the MHSAA state finals in May. Jazwinski and Bowyer in particular unseated Whitehall heavyweights from the board. Jazwinski's new 3,200-meter record of 9:00.5, set at the New Balance Nationals in June, surpassed Viking all-timer Martin Schulist, whose record stood for nearly 50 years and who ran at Michigan State University. Jazwinski set the 1,600 record of 4:11.7 last December at an indoor meet at Grand Valley State University.
Bowyer's discus record of 166-4 overtook the mark of Ryan VanBergen, who held the top spot for 20 years.
Jazwinski said he's spoken with the runners whose records he broke, Schulist included. Since he transferred from Hart and began competing for Whitehall last fall, he's rewritten the Vikings' record book; he also set the school's 5K record in his very first race for the school last August and proceeded to lower it several times, bringing home state titles in cross-country and in the 3,200 meters this year.
"They're just some amazing guys, and they went on later in their running career to do great things," Jazwinski said of the past Vikings. "It's great to see my name etched in the history books here. I just love the community here. They welcomed me in when I came in last year. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
Jazwinski, whose parents Robert and Katie run Jazz Running Club, own the Jazz Blueberry Farm in Shelby and recently bought the fitness side of Lakeside Rehab in Hart, is fully devoted to running like his siblings. His older sister, Jessie, was a star for Hart and now runs at ACC power North Carolina State University, and his younger siblings Sammi and Johnny are stars in the making.
Not that Bobby had to prove his affinity for the sport, but he certainly did in June, not by his performance at the New Balance Nationals, but by what he did after. He flew back from that meet and said he got "about four hours of sleep" before traveling over to the Run-A-Muck race at Scholl Farms in Montague June 21 and winning the 10K race there. The Jazwinskis and Scholls, Bobby said, are friends, so he wanted to show his support by competing in the race.
"It was just a great experience," Jazwinski said. "I don't love anything more than running. Running is my passion, so I might as well do it all the time and get as good as I can at it."
The soon-to-be senior star has sky-high goals for this year, some he wanted to keep to himself because, as he put it, talking about them won't help him achieve them. He did share, though, that he wants to win a national title and take a shot at the MHSAA record at the state cross-country finals. He'll also likely at some point make a college decision, as his resume suggests he'll have his pick of many offers to run at the next level.
Despite the individual nature of running, Jazwinski said he was very thankful to get to share the celebration of the Viking records of the past year with his teammates.
"Being here by myself wouldn't be nearly as fun," Jazwinski said. "I get to share it with the team I was on. I couldn't do that by myself. You've got to have a team to be great as a school. This is a great environment, the best school environment I've been around for athletics. Everyone wants to be up there on the record books."
