Leslie Dual with Gavin Horky and Cade Sayer taking 1st and 2nd in the 800m. Photo courtesy of Michael Coltre.

submitted by Michael Coltre

We didn’t have any school records on Saturday, April 19, in Hillsdale, but we got to run on a mondo track and the performances were outstanding. The Jump Crews were really leveling up with their efforts. It appears just about everyone on the team had a PR in something at this meet, so we will do our best to highlight them all. Up first, the girls’ Hillsdale Gina Relay Recap!

The girls finished 4th with 71 points out of 8 teams. Some of the biggest highlights of the day was the women’s 4×200 relay team running a season best time of 1:57.14 and taking first place! The team consisted of Elle Woods, Audrina Lauer, Valorie Hieber, and Siera Jedele. This team is now ranked 13th in all of D4.

Some of the other big highlights that scored points and medaled (top 3):

• Olivia Woods tied for 2nd place in high jump with a new PR jump of 4’10! This ranks her 16th in the state in D4!
• Faith Branner set a season best throw in discus to take a 3rd-place medal.
• Audrina Lauer took home a 3rd-place medal in the long jump with a leap of 14’7.5 feet. This ranks her 18th in the state!
• Siera Jedele set a season best time in the 100m hurdles for a 3rd-place medal, which ranks her 6th in the state in D4!
• The girls 4×400 relay team cut 13 seconds off their previous best time and took the 3rd-place medal in 4:37.80. This team consisted of Audrina Lauer, Caroline Mason, Valorie Hieber, and Siera Jedele. This ranks them with the 17th best time in the state.

Some other great efforts that scored points:

• Audrina Lauer — PR and 4th place in the 200m
• Valorie Hieber — PR and 7th place in the 200m
• Elle Woods — PR and 6th place in the 800m
• Caroline Mason — PR and 8th place in the 800m and 5th place in the 1600m
• Teagan Clarke — 6th place in PV and 7th place in the 3200m
• Siera Jedele — 4th place in the 300 hurdles
• 4×100 relay team of Memphis Conklin, Natasha Seaman, Amanda Hieber, and Elle Woods finished in 4th

Our Personal Record Shout-Outs:

• Memphis Conklin — 100m, 200m, and long jump
• Teagan Clarke and Lucy Baran — 100m
• Amanda Hieber — 400m
• Maya Freeman — discus
• Natasha Seaman — pole vault and long jump

On the boys’ side, they battled both D3 Hillsdale and D4 power Hillsdale Academy on their home track and went back and forth with the lead all day. The Dutch eventually finished 1 point out of 2nd but totaled 127 points on the day. The boys got contributions from every group on the team.

The biggest moment came in the last event as the 4×400 relay team of Brennan Woods, Sawyer Lutton, Gavin Horky, and Grant Johnson not only took 1st place, they improved their time by 6 seconds and now rank 3rd in the entire state for D4 in a time of 3:36.62!

Some of the other big highlights that scored points and medaled (top 3):

• Grant Johnson with a PR in long jump of 19’5 for 2nd as well as a 2nd in both the 110m and 300m hurdles
• Nathan Fletcher improved his best discus throw to 137’7 and a 2nd-place finish. He almost qualified for states with that effort
• Alec Dodak continued his strong start in the 1600m with a 2nd-place and PR of 5:06.03
• Brennan Woods took 2nd place in the 400m in a new PR of 56.01
• Jayden Johnson almost hit his PR in the 100m for a 3rd-place finish
• Jesse Sangster tied his PR in pole vault and tied for 3rd place
• Gavin Horky took 3rd in the high jump

Some other great efforts that scored points:

• Gavin Horky with 4th place in the 400m and PR
• Gavin Lindeman with 4thplace and PR in long jump (18’9.5) and 6th place in the 400m and PR
• Cade Sayer with a season-best time in the 800m and a 4th-place finish
• Alec Dodak with a 4th-place finish in the 3200m
• Sawyer Lutton with a 6th-place finish in the 110m hurdles and 8th place in the 300m hurdles
• 4×100 relay team improved their time for a 4th-place finish and the team consisted of Walter Ahrens, Ethan Hittle, Gavin Lindeman, and Jayden Johnson
• 4×200 relay team consisting of Walter Ahrens, Sawyer Lutton, Brennan Woods, and Jayden Johnson took 4th
• 4×800 relay team of Justin Gale, Eli Finnegan, Liam Pierce, and Elton Roane took 4th
• Nathan Fletcher took 4th in shot put
• Brennan Woods took 4th in high jump

Our Personal Record Shout-Outs:

• Gavin Lindeman — 100m
• Walter Ahrens — 100m
• Gavin Horky — 200m
• Ethan Hittle — 200m
• Elton Roane — Long jump and 400m
• Justin Gale — 800m and 1600m
• Liam Pierce — 800m and 1600m
• Eli Finnegan — 1600m
• Jesse Sangster — 300m hurdles
• Brett Brothers — Shot put and discus
• Lucas Brothers — Discus
• Rocco Guido — Shot put and discus
• Anthony Helwig — Discus

Leslie Dual – Tuesday, April, 22

Big night in Manchester Track and Field! We start off with Nathan Fletcher who threw a personal best discus throw of 147’1, which sets a NEW SCHOOL RECORD! This was a record from 2008 held by Nick Ross of 143’. This throw ranks Nathan 4th in the state in D4! Congrats, Fletch!

In what has been our most complete team effort of the season, both the girls’ and boys’ team found points from unlikely sources and overcame adversity to grab a double victory tonight on the road at Leslie in a conference dual. The boys needed to win the 4×400 relay to take a 71–65 victory! The girls secured their victory a couple of events before in winning 69–65. Both meets had plenty of excellent performances! Both teams improve to 2–1 in the Dual Meet season.

On the boys’ side:

• Nathan Fletcher’s school record throw set the tone and he also took a 2nd in shot
• Gavin Horky PR’ed by 6 inches in HJ to 5’10, ran a 3.5 second PR in winning the 800, and ran two winning legs of the 4×2 and 4×4 relay
• Alec Dodak had two gutsy performances in taking a pair of 2nds in the 1600 (4:59.54) and 3200 (10:57.64), both of which are PRs that put him sub 5 and sub 11, which are great milestones!
• Cade Sayer taking care of business in the 800m in a 1–2 finish with his teammate that swung the meet. He also ran a great opening leg on the 4×4 relay
• Gavin Lindeman picked up two pivotal 2nd places in the long jump and 200m
• Jesse Sangster PR’ed in the PV with a vault of 11’, which ranks him top in our region. He followed that up with a winning leg and great split on the deciding 4×4 relay!
• Jayden Johnson took home a 1st in the 100m and ran a winning leg of the 4×2 relay
• Brennan Woods picked up a trio of 3rds (HJ, 400m, 200m) in a meet where every point mattered
• Sawyer Lutton ran two winning legs of our 4×2 and 4×4 relays as well as a T-2nd in the 300H and 3rd in the 110H
• And our workhorse Grant Johnson took care of business in winning the 110H, 400m, 300H, and anchoring the winning 4×2 relay

On the girls’ side:

• Siera Jedele set the tone in winning the 100H, 100m, and 300H
• Caroline Mason did it all in taking 1st in HJ, 2nd in the 100H, 2nd in the 800, and getting a 3rd in the 3200
• Natasha Seaman PR’ed in the PV up to 7’, 2nd in long jump, 3rd in the 100m, and ran a winning leg of the 4×1 relay
• Valorie Hieber took a trio of 2nds in the shot put, 300H, and 200m
• Memphis Conklin won the long jump with a PR, and ran a winning leg of the 4×1 relay
• Olivia Woods took 2nd in HJ, ran a winning leg of the 4×1 relay, and ran a gutsy 400m to take a vital 3rd place
• Teagan Clarke was equally dynamic as Caroline in taking 2nd in PV, 3rd in the 1600m with a PR, and then taking 3rd in the 300H
• Faith Branner threw a season-best discus and took 2nd
• Elle Woods took a 3rd in the 800 and ran the anchor leg of the winning 4×1 relay
• Amanda Hieber took 3rd in the long jump, which was a big part of the girls’ team taking the win

Next week you can read about how the Dutch did at the Blackhawk Invitational on Friday, April 25, and their Conference Dual at Michigan Center on Tuesday, April 29. Go, Dutch!

Siera Jedele hurdling at the Hillsdale Gina Relays. Photo courtesy of Michael Coltre.

1st-place girls’ 4×2 relay at the Hillsdale Gina Relay: Elle Woods, Audrina Lauer, Valorie Hieber, and Siera Jedele. Photo courtesy of Michael Coltre.

1st-place boys 4×4 relay at the Hillsdale Gina Relays: Grant Johnson, Gavin Horky, Sawyer Lutton, and Brennan Woods. Photo courtesy of Michael Coltre.