Dutch track and field update: 43rd annual Manchester Metrics and district regionals

The 3,200-meter relay (4×800) team of Nate Kippnick, Seth Beerens, Preston MacKenzie, and Caiden Kippnick (left to right) qualified for state finals with a second-place finish at regionals.

submitted by Cheryl Smith

Both Dutch men’s and women’s track and field teams have been hard at work strategically planning, training, and competing each week while up against tough competition. Through it all, they have shown deep resilience and dedication to their events and overall team. These skilled athletes may be small in numbers but make up for it by showing up with some outstanding performances that have set them apart on so many levels.

On Friday, May 6, the Dutch hosted seven teams at the 43rd Annual Manchester Metrics. The cool afternoon/evening provided the perfect conditions for many of our athletes to participate in the all-relay event; many achieved personal records and/or placed in the top three to medal. Overall, both the men’s and women’s teams were strongly represented, placing third; second overall vs. D3 schools. This event was also dedicated to our talented Dutch track and field seniors: Ashton Dalton, Seth Beerens, Morgan Lutton, Preston MacKenzie, McKenna Marsh, Bobby Stemen, and Megan Vogel. Congratulations and many thanks for all your outstanding contributions to the Dutch track and field team!

Events medaled were the following:

Dutch Men:
Shot Put: 2nd Garrett Corwin, Nathan Fletcher, Jozef Sprunk
Discus: 1st Garrett Corwin, Derek Huff, Cody Branner
High Jump: 3rd Cody Smith, Matt Miller, Carson Horkey
1,600 Meters: 3rd Nathan Kippnick
4×200 Relay: 3rd Cody Smith, Preston MacKenzie, Ashton Dalton, Maxwell Woods
4×400 Relay: 2nd Maxwell Woods, Cody Smith, Preston MacKenzie, Nate Kippnick
4×800 Relay: 2nd Caiden Kippnick, Seth Beerens, Nate Kippnick, Preston MacKenzie
4×1,600 Relay: 1st Hunter Anderson, Seth Beerens, Caiden Kippnick, Nate Kippnick
Distance Relay: 3rd Seth Beerens, Preston MacKenzie, Hunter Anderson, Caiden Kippnick

Dutch Women:
Throwers Relay: 1st Morgan Lutton, Megan Vogel, Kiera Adams, Faith Branner,
4×200 Relay: 2nd Sydney Jedele, Maggie Stewart, Allie Koch, Lydia Bennett
4×400 Relay: 2nd Allie Koch, Gianna Turek, McKenna Marsh, Lydia Bennett
4×800 Relay: 1st McKenna Marsh, Lydia Bennett, Gianna Turek, Allie Koch
Sprint Relay: 2nd Kalli VanBogelen, Maggie Stewart, Addie Gale, Lydia Bennett

High Jump: 1st Morgan Lutton, Allie Koch, Kalli VanBogelen
Long Jump: 3rd Maggie Stewart, Allie Koch, Morgan Lutton

The next high-level meet was D3 District Regionals held on Friday, May 20, in Hillsdale where 15 teams came together to fiercely compete and achieve their best by pushing their limits to potentially qualify to move on to the state level. The field events commenced at 3pm with the last race starting at nearly 9:30pm where a limited number of athletes was invited to compete due to the size of the meet. Once again, many Dutch athletes stepped up to hit personal records, with a few translating into state qualifications. Congratulations to all!

Medal/Season/Personal Records:
Caiden Kippnick: 5th 3,200 meters
McKenna Marsh: 3rd 3,200 meters, 8th 1,600 meters
Nathan Kippnick: 4th 1,600 meters
Hunter Anderson: PR 800 meters
Gianna Turek: PR 400 meters
Maxwell Woods: 5th 400 meters
Lydia Bennett: 6th 100 meters

State Qualifiers — four events encompassing 8 athletes
Morgan Lutton: 2nd High Jump
Maggie Stewart: 2nd Long Jump (PR)
4×400 Men’s Relay: 3rd Maxwell Woods, Cody Smith, Preston MacKenzie, Nathan Kippnick (PR)
4×800 Men’s Relay: 2nd Caiden Kippnick, Seth Beerens, Preston Mackenzie, Nathan Kippnick (PR)

Coach Gary Lowe shared, “There’s no greater joy for a coach [than] when a student athlete recognizes their potential and fulfills it. When they see what you see and put it all together. When they work hard, believe in themselves and achieve in the face of adversity.

“This is much bigger than our track program. The skills they learn here as student athletes will make them successful adults. These skills are commitment; commitment to self and commitment to a team. You get out of it what you put into it; nothing is given to you. You have to work for it and some days you’re the hammer, others the nail. This is all done in a team environment, while also competing as an individual. But oftentimes you must make the decision of, ‘Are my individual successes going to help out my team?‘

“High school is merely one short stop in their life. And I have no doubt these Manchester athletes will achieve great things, which is what this world needs.“

In addition, Coach Sarah McCaffrey commented, “I’m very proud of our athletes this season. We don’t have huge numbers and most of our athletes have a 4-event schedule at each meet. This can be taxing on them and often affects personal goals for specific events. Most of our athletes don’t complain because they see the big-picture goal, which is to compete as a team. The only thing I ever ask of any of our athletes is that they leave it all on the track. If they give us their best, then I know we did what we could to succeed.

“Although track and field is a team sport, we have had some amazing individual performances, which has propelled them to where they are now. These athletes have put in the work to get to the highest level of competition. It’s been a great season.“

The Dutch track and field teams are managed by Sarah McCaffrey and assisted by Gary Lowe, Stephanie Johnson, and Liam Riley. We express our genuine appreciation to these dedicated coaches for all their time and investment to make the Dutch track and field teams strong competitors. The Dutch athletes look forward to finishing their season strong with upcoming events scheduled on the following dates:
Tuesday, 5/31, Selby Invite Only — top 8 in Jackson area @ East Jackson
Saturday, 6/4, D3 State Finals — qualifiers only @ Kent City

Maggie Stewart earns her state qualification in long jump

Morgan Lutton’s state-qualifying pole vault

4×400 state qualifying team: Nate Kippnick, Preston MacKenzie, Cody Smith, and Maxwell Woods

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.