East Kentwood has been finished second each of the past two seasons in Division 1 state track and field action. But Falcon coach David Emeott figures he might have the talent this season to finally go all the way.
“We return quite a few guys from our state runner-up finish at the state finals last season,” Emeott said. “I think we'll be a fairly strong team.”
Flint Carman-Ainsworth edged East Kentwood 56-55 for the state crown last spring.
“We're competitive in all areas,” Emeott said. “I think we have quite a few areas where we could win the title.”
Key athletes in East Kentwood's title drive include Deonte Hurst, who was third in the 300-meter hurdles in 38.42 at the state finals last season.
Hurdler Christian Jessie is also back after running on the state championship 4x100-meter relay team that clocked a 42.25 for first place last season.
Hurst and Jessie were also on the 1,600-meter relay team that won the state title in 3:20.56, nipping second-place Ainsworth in 3:21.16.
“They're outstanding athletes,” Emeott said. “They're committed in what they're doing, football, basketball and track. Our basketball team was district basketball champions led by those two guys.”
No wonder Emeott is confident this Falcon team can be kings of the state's top track division.
“We've been second the last two years. But we think this is the squad that can do it,” Emeott said. “It's still early. Who knows who's out there? You can try to see what people have.”
Distance runners Fasika Aklilu and Isaac Cox are also expected to score points for the Falcons. Cox was first and Aklilu second last fall in the O-K Red Conference country finals.
More Track
Pat Murray figures that his East Lansing boys track team, currently ranked high in the state polls, will be decent this season. But he's cautious.
“We're going to be strong although not quite as strong as I had hoped,” Murray said. “We lost to injury one of our top sprinters (Will Slanger-Grant). So we went to what I thought was going to be a great high school track team to being a very good team.”
East Lansing boasts an outstanding hurdler in Keyante Saxon, who was third in the state last year and hopes to bid for a state title in the high hurdles and finish well in the low hurdles. Ali Philman is also a state contender.
“We believe he has a shot in the 400, 4x200 and the 4x400 this year,” Murray said. “He's an interesting story. He's also an all-state soccer player. He's a great athlete.”
Blake Treadwell is a Michigan State football recruit who could contribute points in the shot and discus. Matt Hoshal is another potential scorer in 800, 1,600 and 3,200.
Girls Track
Waterford Mott hopes to be among the schools in Division 1 to challenge for the state track championship this season. Mott was led last season by Shannon Osika, who won the 3,200-meter title with a 10:42.08 and was second in the 1,600-meter run in 4:52.72.
Her sister, Alyssa Osika won the 1,600 (5 minutes, 41.96 seconds) and was on two winning relay teams when her team defeated Walled Lake Western, 81-52 last week.
Mott won the 3,200 relay (10:27.03) and the 1,600 relay (4:43.02) at a recent dual meet.
Ryan Chute and Alyssa Osika will run track and cross country for Ferris State, Kelsey Chapman is headed to Oakland University for track and cross country and Sydney Norton will play college softball in Pennsylvania.
Last season Rawls, Osika and Chapman, who competed for coach Amy Coughlin, helped key a resurgence of girls track and field at Mott. All three were members of the 3,200-meter relay team which smashed the school record and placed second at the Division 1 state championships. Their time of 9:15.44 was third all-time best of any Oakland County team, as Mott placed third at the state finals, its highest finish ever at the state meet. Rawls last year placed fourth at state in the 400-meter dash. She is a three-time state qualifier and also a quality long jumper.
Baseball
Early in the season, several state baseball players are batting over .500. That includes Lansing-area player Bryce Traverse of Carson City-Crystal.
“I just want to go 4-for-4 with four singles rather than 1-for-4 with a home run,” Traverse said. “With our teams, we need to get those singles and doubles vs. home runs. That's our key to victory. It's got to be base hits over home runs.”
Scott Hutson of Blanchard Montabella, another Lansing-area school, is coming off a .555 batting average from 2008.
“Seeing the ball well and hitting line drives was the key for me,” Hutson said. “I played summer ball. I've improved.”
Softball Notes
* Detroit-area softball teams have been exploding for runs in recent days. Detroit Denby beat Detroit Pershing 20-0 in three innings. Lanaee Young fanned eight of nine batters she faced while Tyesha Thomas had three hits and two RBIs.
* Dearborn Fordson went four innings to beat Oak Park 19-4. Rene Garcia and Rawan Dawich were both 3-for-4 to lead the winners.
* Detroit Renaissance beat Detroit Mumford 22-1 in three innings. Tya Everett had five RBIs for the winners.
* Sterling Heights Parkway Christian beat Novi Franklin 16-6 in five innings. Sarah Lombardo was 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs, and Tressa Guido also was 4-for-4 with two runs scored for Parkway Christian.