Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
U.P. Track-and-Field Finals take place in Kingford today
WAKEFIELD-MARENISCO celebrates its Porcupine Mountain Conference titles at Cardinal Field in Wakefield last week. W-M and other area athletes head to the U.P. Finals today in Kingsford at 9 a.m.
KINGSFORD - The Upper Peninsula's best track-and-field athletes will bein Kingsford today for the U.P. Finals.
The Bessemer boys hope to bring home a trophy in Division 3, while Ironwood has several athletes looking to win in Division 2.
Division 2
Ironwood's Jared Joki looks to repeat as U.P. Division 2 champion in the 1,600 -and -3,200-meter runs.
Joki is the top seed in the 3,200 run, 1:02 faster than Iron Mountain's Nate Carey. Carey is seeded first in the 1,600 run with Joki fifth. But Joki's regional winning time, 5:17.84, which was used to seed him, was slower than his Indianhead Conference winning mark 4:49.04. That's faster than Carey's seed time of 4:55.68.
Ironwood's Rachel Hudacek seeks her second U.P. championship. She won the high jump as a freshman two years ago, was third last year and is the top seed this year.
Ironwood's Noah Terzano is seeded second in the high jump.
Isaac Aukee is the top seed in the pole vault. He's one of four vaulters who cleared at least 11-0 at regionals.
The Devils' Vanessa Nasi is tied for the second best time in the 100 dash.
Ironwood's 1,600 relay team is seeded third.
Division 3
Munising is considered the favorite to win the boys team title, while Bessemer looks to get one of the trophies, which are awarded to the first -and -second-place teams.
Bessemer's Valerie Rowe is seeded in the top four in all four of her events. She's the top seed in the 300 hurdles and 200 dash, tied for second in the pole vault and fourth in the 100 hurdles.
Ontonagon's Paige Blake looks to give Rowe a run in the 200 dash; Blake is seeded second. Munising's Amanda Marinoff is the top seed in the 100 hurdles. Ontonagon's Lori Wardynski, the defending U.P. champion in the 300s, is seeded fourth in that race and fifth in the 100 hurdles. Newberry's Taylor Bryant is second in the 300 hurdles and third in the 100s.
Blake is the top seed in the 400 dash and the third seed in the long jump.
Bessemer distance king Zack Mazurek is seeded first in the 3,200 run as is the Speedboys' 1,600 relay team.
Bessemer's Lance Berwald is seeded third in the 300 hurdles.
Wardynski is third in the high jump. Wakefield-Marenisco's Jordan Cox is the third seed in the pole vault.
The weather looks dry and cool.
