Track & Field: Jayden Johnson is State Champion, boys take 4th at MHSAA State Finals
Jayden Johnson – State Champion in the 200m poses on the podium. Photo courtesy of Michael Coltre.
submitted by Michael Coltre, Coach, Manchester Track and Field
Hudsonville, Mi – Where do we start?! There were so many good things that happened Saturday May 30. It may go down as one of the best days in Manchester Track and Field history! The Boys team scored a school record 37 points at the State Meet to take fourth place overall and were only nine points away from the MHSAA State Championship. The previous record was 25 points in 2006 with a fifth place finish in D3. The Girls would score six points to place 30th, which is the most in a State Finals since 2021.
Jayden Johnson ran blistering PR’s in the 100m (11.03) and 200m (22.03) prelims to take the top seedings heading into the finals. He would take third in the 100m (11.06) and then follow that up with a 22.34 to win the 200m and be crowned State Champion! Jayden is Manchester’s third boy to achieve this rare accomplishment. Jeremy Davis in the 100m in 1993 and Jarod Sawyer in the High Jump in 2008 are the Boys other two State Champions in Track and Field. Kari Agin in 1982 (200m Hurdles) and 1983 (300m Hurdles) are our Girl’s State Champion. That was not the only thing Jayden did on the day. He would anchor our Boys 4x200m Relay team that would run a time of 1:31.82 which was good for 2nd place and the 2nd best time in School History. This team was also comprised of Ethan Hittle, Grant Johnson, and Gavin Lindeman. This team was also Metrics, Regional and Conference Champions this year so they were fast wherever they ran!
Our Hurdle Turtles had a great showing as well as we placed in both the 110m/100m Hurdles and 300m Hurdles on both the Boys and Girls side. Grant Johnson equaled his PR time of 14.75 to take 2nd in the 110m Hurdles and was neck and neck in that race until the end. Siera Jedele was 8th after the prelim round but moved up to 4th place in the 100m Hurdles, in her 2nd best time of the season in 16.46. Last year, she had narrowly missed out on All-State in this event so it made it extra special today to make it to the Finals. In the 300m Hurdles, Grant would improve from his seeding to take 4th place in a time of 40.30. He improved his placing in both hurdles this year and times from a season ago. Siera would equal her 8th place in the 300m Hurdles from a year ago, but ran faster as she would run the 2nd best time of her career in 48.17.
Our Boys 4x800m Relay team of Cade Sayer, Justin Gale, Alec Dodak, and Gavin Horky would cut five seconds off their season best time (8:37.25) and move from 19th place in the seedings, all the way up to 11th overall which included a win in the 1st heat! They just missed the podium but ran really well! Their time is currently the 8th best time in school history. Our Girls 4x200m Relay team would cut off nearly a second and half to move up from 17th place to 11th place and just miss the podium by less than .9 seconds. They would win their heat by nearly 20 meters! The team of Elle Woods, Audrina Lauer, Valorie Hieber, and Siera Jedele would run a 1:52.21. The Boys 4x100m Relay team of Wesley Earhart, Ethan Hittle, Gavin Lindeman, and Jayden Johnson would move up from their 16th place seeding all the way to 12th. They would equal their season best time of 45.11 and only miss the podium and All-State Honors by .2 seconds.
Our Girls 4x400m Relay team of Elle Woods, Caroline Mason, Valorie Hieber, and Siera Jedele would run their second best time of the year in 4:24.95 and take their seeding place of 16th in a very competitive field. Valorie Hieber would run the 2nd best time of her career in the 300m Hurdles (50.91) for 22nd place. She would also run 17.82 in the 100m hurdles after only doing the event for a month to take 19th place. Teagan Clarke would vault 7’3 in PV despite dealing with a tricky wind. She had a great season and elevated her vaulting skills this year hitting her PR of 8’0 eight times!
ALL-STATE HONORS:
Jayden Johnson – State Champ 200m, 2nd place 4x200m Relay, 3rd Place 100m
Grant Johnson – 2nd place 110m Hurdles, 2nd place 4x200m Relay, 4th place 300m Hurdles
Siera Jedele – 4th place 100m Hurdles, 8th place 300m Hurdles
Ethan Hittle – 2nd place 4x200m Relay
Gavin Lindeman – 2nd place 4x200m Relay
NEW SCHOOL RECORD – 200m – Jayden Johnson – 22.03 – OLD RECORD – Nick Davis – 22.24 – 1997.
It has been a great season, and our Manchester Athletes have made the coaches and Manchester community very proud! It’s a GREAT day to be a Flying Dutchman! Thank you for all the support this season. There is still time to sign-up and join the Manchester Track Family for Track Camp! Dates are Monday June 15, Wednesday June 17, and Thursday June 18. More information can be found on our social media on Facebook (MHS Track and Field) and on Revtrak on the school’s website. Go Dutch!
State Qualifiers and Coaches pose before their final practice before States. Photo courtesy of Michael Coltre.
4x200m Relay poses on the podium after their 2nd place finish. Relay members are Grant Johnson, Gavin Lindeman, Ethan Hittle, and Jayden Johnson. Photo courtesy of Michael Coltre.
Siera Jedele in the 100m Hurdle Finals where she took 4th place. Photo courtesy of Michael Coltre.
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