Macomb County

County track rewind

By Jon Malavolti
C & G Sports Writer

Macomb Dakota’s girls, Utica High’s boys and Macomb Lutheran North’s boys and girls track and field teams walked away with plenty of hardware after scoring the most points in their respective county championship competitions May 24 at Warren Mott.

Mott coach Mark Urquhart described the competition as a “wonderful night.”

“This was the best attended county meet I can remember,” he said. “I estimate over 700 athletes competed. The competition was great, and all of the athletes and coaches should be proud of their performances.”

Boys team results
Following Utica (91 points) in the D-1 team competition standings are Utica Stevenson (75), Romeo High (69), Warren De La Salle (47), Fraser High (45), Anchor Bay (32), Warren Mott (30), Utica Ford II (26), Dakota (25), Warren Cousino (22), East Detroit (16), Utica Eisenhower (14), Chippewa Valley (13), L’Anse Creuse (10), L’Anse Creuse North (9), Sterling Heights High (2) and St. Clair Shores Lakeview (1).

Following Lutheran North (128) in the D-2-3-4 standings are Mount Clemens High (49), Warren Michigan Collegiate (48), Clinton Township Clintondale (41), Armada (38), Warren Woods Tower (38), Warren Lincoln (29), Richmond High (28), St. Clair Shores Lake Shore (20), Warren Fitzgerald (18), New Haven High (16), St. Clair Shores South Lake (16) and Center Line High (1).

Boys champions
County champions in the boys competition are Ford’s Jake Jurkowski (pole vault), Michigan Collegiate’s Teo Redding (high jump), Fraser’s DeAnte Williams (long jump), Fraser’s Tyler Forton (discus), Romeo’s Buddy Becker (shot put), Utica’s Freddie Crittenden (110-meter hurdles), Michigan Collegiate’s Gabe Sanders (100 dash), Utica’s Chris Scott (mile run), Anchor Bay’s Zach Joyce (400 dash), Stevenson’s Drake Watson (300 hurdles), Stevenson’s Austin Kirk (800 run), Fraser’s Semin Ibranovic (200 dash), De La Salle’s Mickey Davey (2-mile run), Utica’s 2-mile relay, Stevenson’s 400 and 800 relays, and De La Salle’s mile relay.

Girls team results
Following Dakota (121 points) in the D-1 standings are Lakeview (70), Romeo (65), L’Anse Creuse (54), Stevenson (42), Fraser (34), Eisenhower (27), Mott (25), Anchor Bay (21), Chippewa Valley (21), Utica (14), East Detroit (12), L’Anse Creuse North (10), Sterling Heights High (9), Ford II (3) and Cousino (1).
Following Lutheran North (176) in the D-2-3-4 standings are Warren Regina (95), Armada (58), Mount Clemens (36), Clintondale (30), Fitzgerald (22), Tower (17), Lake Shore (13), Center Line (10), Richmond (10), New Haven (4), Sterling Heights Parkway Christian (4) and South Lake (4).

Girls champions
Girls county champs are Dakota’s Jannah Metcalfe (pole vault), Lakeview’s Amber Koprin (high jump), Lakeview’s Ashley Koprin (long jump), L’Anse Creuse’s Jae’vyn Wortham (discus), L’Anse Creuse’s Carly D’Almedia (shot put), Lakeview’s Sarah Moen (100 and 300 hurdles), Regina’s Ashley White (100 dash), Romeo’s Shelby Jackson (mile run), Dakota’s Lauren Burnett (400 dash and 800 run), L’Anse Creuse’s Cadeisha Browning-Watter (200 dash), Armada’s Rachel Durbin (2-mile run), L’Anse Creuse’s 400 relay, and Dakota’s 2-mile, 800 and mile relays.
Burnett’s 800 time of two minutes, 16.6 seconds set a new county record. The old record of 2:17.6 was set in 1985 by Anchor Bay’s Kelly Cracchiolo.

Mustangs muster up titles
Lutheran North girls coach Tim Grotelueschen said he was proud of the program’s performance “because to win it, you have to have a complete team.”

“It was our depth in each event that allowed us to come out on top,” he said.

Boys coach Tim Davis said he was “extremely” proud of his squad.

“I was thrilled to have this team win a second consecutive county championship,” he said.

That talent and depth helped the Mustangs finish ahead of schools with much larger enrollments.

“We are very proud that our team can hold our own with the big schools in Macomb County,” Grotelueschen said. “Even though we are a small school, the coaches and the kids on our team have done a great job of recruiting the hallways of Lutheran North. We preach to them that they can be a part of an outstanding team, and that track and field is fun.”

Davis said the “tough competition brings out the best in every athlete.”

“This Mustangs’ teams prides themselves at being the best, no matter what division they compete against. For such a small school, we still had 108 athletes collectively on the boys and girls track teams.”

Going up against the big schools was also key for the Mustangs as they prepared for the June 2 state finals, which took place after press time. Check out an upcoming edition for a recap from states.

“The competition was outstanding at this meet,” Grotelueschen said after the county meet. “Certain events, like the girls distance races, were stronger than I have ever seen at the county meet. This competition will help our kids as they compete at the state meet.”

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Jon Malavolti at jmalavolti@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1040. Follow Jon on Twitter.