Speedboys, Ontonagon girls runner-up at first Copper Mountain Conference meet

BESSEMER - The team results played out much like last week's Division 3 regional track-and-field meet with the Bessemer boys and Ontonagon girls both coming in second behind Lake Linden-Hubbell at Tuesday's Copper Mountain Conference meet.

There were some differences in the individual events, though.

Bessemer sophomore Isaiah Aili finished five seconds behind Wakefield-Marenisco senior Sam Dean in the 1,600-meter run at the regional, but Aili came back on the final lap to beat Dean Tuesday.

Ontonagon's Paige Blake lost by three inches in the long jump last week, but she beat Lake Linden's Laura Lyons by eight inches Tuesday.

It was the first ever Copper Mountain track meet as the Copper Country and Porcupine Mountain conferences merged for this school year.

"As young as we are, we did very, very well," Bessemer coach Mark Mazzon said. "Good things are to come. We're very excited for that."

Ontonagon coach Brian Amos said the Gladiators had some good performances from the boys and girls.

"I'm proud of the kids," he said. "The kids are doing great and I'm happy to be associated with them."

It was an exciting finish in the 1,600 run as Aili tracked Dean down on the final stretch. Aili watched Dean and Zack Mazurek dominate the distance races and hoped he could race Dean this year, Aili's first on the team.

"I've looked up to Sam Dean," Aili said. "He pushed me. That's probably the best I can do.

"I just tried sticking with him until the end and if I could stick with him, I might have a chance at the end. I never thought I could do it. I remember at the beginning of the year, I never even thought I'd break the five-minute mark. When I started doing it, I realized I could push myself more mentally. Oh my gosh, I'm so glad I'm in track."

Mazzon said it was all determination, which coaches started seeing in the first meet of the year when he would start sprinting every time someone would attempt to pass.

"You could see it on his face, his determination. I've never seen a kid with his will not to lose," Mazzon said. "Today was the first race he actually had a pace and he just followed Sam Dean and he saw him get behind a little bit each lap. Last lap he started gaining on him and he out-sprinted him. It's just that determination. You could see it on his face."

Blake's day didn't start out as well as it finished. She false started in the 100 dash and she wasn't happy with her jumps in the prelims. But by the end of the day, she had the 15-5 jump and a win in the 200 and 400 dashes.

"That's the first time I ever false-started in my entire life," Blake said. "I guess I got it out now before U.P.'s (Finals). I started to feel better - I got 15-5 in long jump, that's one of my better jumps. I've only cleared 15 feet four times in my life. "

Lyons finished second in all four of her events. She was .01 second behind Blake in the 200 and .64 behind Blake in the 400.

"My 400, I felt pretty good, and the same with the 200," Blake said. "Those Lake Linden girls were right on my butt every single meet and they were again today. I'm happy to have them pushing me."

Blake has one more chance to get the school record in the 400 dash. Last week, she ran 1:02.3; the school record is 1:02.29.

"I'm a senior and I have one more chance to break it," she said. "I'm feeling pretty good, I'm confident in my training system and I have about a week and a half to prepare here. Hopefully I can get the job done; it'd be a great way to end my career."

Teammate Lori Wardynski won four events, both hurdle races, the high jump and the 100. She won the 100 dash over runner-up Lyons.

She didn't like her time in the 300 hurdles on Bessemer's square track.

"You have to run three curves instead of one big one and it messes up the timing," Wardynski said. "I'm happy with how I ran in everything and I was happy with how I high jumped."

She's happy to be done competing on asphalt, the U.P. Finals are on Kingsford's rubberized track. She expects a tight race with two other athletes in the hurdles and she figures to be in the mix in the 100 dash and high jump at the Finals.

"There's going to be some fast girls there from the other end of the U.P., so I'm excited to race against them," Wardynski said.

Bessemer's Lily Wieringa won the 1,600 and 3,200 runs. Bessemer's 3,200 relay team was first. Watermeet's Bethany Baldwin won the shot put.

Ontonagon freshmen Noah Lukkari and Elijah Dupie were 1-2 in the 800 run. Teammate Jaden Weisinger won the high jump.

Dean recovered to win the 3,200 run.

Besssemer's Brayden Tomes won the 300 hurdles.

The Speedboys' 1,600 and 3,200 relay teams took first, as did W-M's 800 team.

Many of these athletes will get another chance to settle things at the U.P. Finals on June 4 in Kingsford.

Results

Girls

Team: 1. Lake Linden-Hubbell 179.5, 2. Ontonagon 114, 3. Dollar Bay 52, 4. Bessemer 50, 5. Chassell 37, 6. Wakefield-Marenisco 30.5, 7. Baraga 27, 8. Watersmeet 13, 9. Ewen-Trout Creek 1.

100 dash: 1. Lori Wardynski, Ontonagon, 13.79; 2. Laura Lyons, LLH, 13.92; 3. Rachel Holzberger, LLH, 14.16; 4. Hannah Plemons, W-M, 14.19; 5. Paige Isaacson, Dollar Bay, 14.34; 6. Lily Kumpula, LLH, 14.36.

200 dash: 1. Paige Blake, Ontonagon, 28.39; 2. Laura Lyons, LLH, 28.40; 3. Erin Seppala, LLH, 29.95; 4. Jenny Labyak, Ontonagon, 29.99; 5. Abby Sutherland, LLH, 30.25; 6. Jana Hendrickson, LLH, 30.34.

400 dash: 1. Paige Blake, Ontonagon, 1:03.67; 2. Laura Lyons, LLH, 1:04.31; 3. Jana Hendrickson, LLH, 1:08.61; 4. Evelyn Hokans, W-M, 1:09.48; 5. Martina Jahfetson, Baraga, 1:12.77; 6. Elizabeth Makela, W-M, 1:13.93.

800 run: 1. Carli Ongie, LLH, 2:30.51; 2. Lily Wieringa, Bessemer, 2:32.10; 3. Cami Daavettila, Dollar Bay, 2:41.28; 4. Jenna Pietila, Chassell, 2:43.14; 5. Mariah Wilmer, LLH, 2:47.57; 6. Melissa Wanink, W-M, 2:50.04.

1,600 run: 1. Lily Wieringa, Bessemer, 5:55.20; 2. Carli Daavettila, Dollar Bay, 6:13.17; 3. Melissa Wanink, W-M, 6:15.19; 4. Kate Nyquist, Bessemer, 6:25.90; 5. Karli Weiner, Ontonagon, 6:55.66; 6. Katie Huhta, Chassell, 7:12.72.

3,200 run: 1. Lily Wieringa, Bessemer, 13:51.60; 2. Cami Daavettila, Dollar Bay, 14:09.06.

100 hurdles: Lori Wardynski, Ontonagon, 17.33; 2. Milly Allen, Chassell, 19.03; 3. Brooklyn Fish, Baraga, 19.80; 4. Lily Kumpula, LLH, 20.09.

300 hurdles: 1. Lori Wardynski, Ontonagon, 50.68; 2. Erin Seppala, LLH, 57.25; 3. Milly Allen, Chassell, 59.06; 4. Stephanie Harry, LLH, 1:00.52; 5. Lily Kumpula, LLH, 1:02.79.

400 relay: 1. LLH 56.25, 2. Ontonagon 56.88, 3. Chassell 58.48, 4. Bessemer 1:00.31, 5. W-M 1:00.95, 6. Dollar Bay 1:01.98.

800 relay: 1. LLH 1:57.84, 2. Ontonagon 2:00.85, 3. W-M 2:02.25, 4. Chassell 2:07.51, 5. Bessemer 2:09.75, 6. Baraga 2:09.87.

1,600 relay: 1. LLH 4:34.48, 2. Ontonagon 4:36.76, 3. W-M 4:58.57, 4. Dollar Bay 5:08.11.

3,200 relay: 1. Bessemer 11:35.89, 2. Dollar Bay 11:38.37, 3. Chassell 11:58.29, 4. LLH 13:18.83.

High jump: 1. Lori Wardynski, Ontonagon, 5-0; 2. Jeri-ann Tervo, Baraga, 4-10; 3. Brooklyn Fish, Baraga, 4-10; 4. Alexa Destrampe, LLH, 4-8; 5. Meg Hokenson, Chassell, 4-8; 6. MacKenzie LePage, LLH, 4-6; 6. Martina Anderson, W-M, 4-6.

Pole vault: 1. Stephanie Harry, LLH, 8-0; 2. Rachel Holzberger, LLH, 7-6; 3. Holly Wardynski, Ontonagon, 7-0; 4. MacKenzie LePage, LLH, 6-0.

Long jump: 1. Paige Blake, Ontonagon, 15-5; 2. Laura Lyons, LLH, 14-9.5; 3. MacKenzie LePage, LLH, 13-4; 4. Mariah Wilmer, LLH, 13-2; 5. Bethany Baldwin, Watersmeet, 13-0; 6. Emily Driesenga, E-TC, 12-10.

Shot put: 1. Bethany Baldwin, Watersmeet, 31-11.25; 2. Alexa Destrampe, LLH, 29-6.5; 3. Sophie Codere, LLH, 28-10.75; 4. Vivica Nelson, Dollar Bay, 28-1.5; 5. Peyton Gast, LLH, 28-0; 6. Bobbi Jo Casey, Dollar Bay, 26-8.

Discus: 1. Vivica Nelson, Dollar Bay, 98-8; 2. Holly Wardynski, Ontonagon, 95-2; 3. Peyton Gast, LLH, 82-9; 4. Jeri-ann Tervo, Baraga, 79-11; 5. Sophie Codere, LLH, 78-5; 6. Rebecca Caron, Watersmeet, 72-8.

Boys

Team: 1. Lake Linden-Hubbell 151, 2. Bessemer 140, 3. Wakefield-Marenisco 66, 4. Ontonagon 65, 5. Dollar Bay 56, 6. Baraga 22, 7. Chassell 19, 8. Republic-Michigamme 4, 9. Ewen-Trout Creek 1.

100 dash: 1. Brendan Middleton, LLH, 11.82; 2. Caleb Greenough, W-M, 12.20; 3. Aaron Hainault, LLH, 12.28; 4. Arthur Lyons, LLH, 12.50; 5. Ethan Chopp, LLH, 12.88; 6. Michael Hatfield, Bessemer, 13.01.

200 dash: 1. Brendan Middleton, LLH, 24.36; 2. Brayden Tomes, Bessemer, 24.37; 3. Jacob Suzik, W-M, 25.25; 4. Aaron Hainault, LLH, 25.65; 5. Matt Strauch, Ontonagon, 27.21; 6. Colton Lindemann, Baraga, 27.32.

400 dash: 1. Kyle LeClaire, Dollar Bay, 55.41; 2. Tim Rowe, Bessemer, 55.56; 3. Arthur Lyons, LLH, 55.88; 4. Tyler Dean, Ontonagon, 55.92; 5. Ian Beaudoin, LLH, 57.41; 6. Cade Mazzon, Bessemer, 57.60.

800 run: 1. Noah Lukkari, Ontonagon, 2:11.78; 2. Elijah Dupie, Ontonagon, 2:13.68; 4. Isaiah Aili, Bessemer, 2:17.53; 5. Kyle LeClaire, Dollar Bay, 2:18.60; 6. Ryan Liimaitainen, LLH, 2:21.18.

1,600 run: 1. Isaiah Aili, Bessemer, 4:42.07; 2. Sam Dean, W-M, 4:42.40; 3. Aaron Barnes, Chassell, 5:00.85; 4. Noah Lukkari, Ontonagon, 5:07.16; 5. Brett Kauppinen, LLH, 5:27.04; 6. Kiah Hollenbeck, Bessemer, 5:28.98.

3,200 run: 1. Sam Dean, W-M, 10:52.89; 2. Brendan LeClaire, Dollar Bay, 10:56.14; 3. Devon Byers, Bessemer, 11:30.50; 4. Ben Tuomi, Chassell, 11:30.72; 5. Brett Kauppinen, LLH, 12:24.31; 6. Cruze Holzeberger, LLH, 12:33.53.

110 hurdles: 1. Steven Suhonen, LLH, 18.55; 2. Levi Brule, Dollar Bay, 19.10; 3. Stephen Dudenas, LLH, 20.16; 4. Lincoln Klein, LLH, 20.25; 5. Ben Wilson, LLH, 21.24; 6. Gunnar Lindemann, Baraga, 21.26.

300 hurdles: 1. Brayden Tomes, Bessemer, 43.90; 2. Levi Brule, Dollar Bay, 47.69; 3. Steven Suhonen, LLH, 48.95; 4. Lance Kangas, Dollar Bay, 49.79; 5. Stephan Dudenas, LLH, 52.16; 6. Jake Holmes, Chassell, 52.69.

400 relay: 1. LLH 47.33; 2. W-M 47.72, 3. Bessemer 48.58, 4. Baraga 51.90, 5. Ontonagon 52.22, 6. Republic-Michigamme 56.28.

800 relay: 1. W-M 1:36. 2. Bessemer 1:40.53, 3. Baraga 1:45.88, 4. LLH 1:46.52, 5. Ontonagon 1:49.07, 6. R-M 2:01.87.

1,600 relay: 1. Bessemer 3:49.39, 2. W-M 3:51.94, 3. Ontonagon 3:54.02, 4. Dollar Bay 4:02.80, 5. LLH 4:35.26.

3,200 relay: 1. Bessemer 9:20.01, 2. Dollar Bay 9:31.74, 3. LLH 9:38.40, 4. Chassell 9:40.07, 5. R-M 10:16.91.

High jump: 1. Jaden Weisinger, Ontonagon, 6-0; 2. Deon Ervans, W-M 5-10; 3. Arthur Lyons, LLH, 5-6; 4. Ben Bogaczyk, Bessemer, 5-2; 5. Uriah Aili, Bessemer, 5-0.

Pole vault: 1. Blake Dupuis, LLH, 11-6; 2. Ben Bogaczyk, Bessemer, 11-0; 3. Uriah Aili, Bessemer, 10-0; 4. Brendan LeClaire, Dollar Bay, 9-6; 5. Jake Holmes, Chassell, 8-6; 6. Devon Byers, Bessemer, 8-6.

Long jump: 1. Brendan Middleton, LLH, 17-8; 2. Jaden Weisinger, Ontonagon, 17-7; 3. Eli Kalinovik, Bessemer, 16-5; 4. Kollin Kangas, Baraga, 15-9; 5. Aaron Hainault, LLH, 15-8; 6. Tanner Balcomb, Ontonagon, 15-6.5.

Shot put: 1. Luke Klein, LLH, 43-4.75; 2. Ben Bogaczyk, Bessemer, 38-3; 3. Alan Desrochers, Baraga, 35-1; 4. Luke Zielinski, Bessemer, 35-0; 5. Ben Matazel, Bessemer, 34-10.75; 6. Blake Dupuis, LLH, 33-10.

Discus: 1. Luke Klein, LLH, 123-10; 2. Micah Blake, Ontonagon, 100-6; 3. Max Samardich, Bessemer, 100-0; 4. Andrew Keller, Bessemer, 97-4; 5. Eric Olson, Chassell, 89-10; 6. Ryan Driesenga, E-TC, 83-2.