By John Raffel
MaxPreps.com
Recent state rankings has East Kentwood's boys No. 2 and the girls No. 3 Division 1 track and field.
Both squads wouldn't mind coming home with the state titles at Saturday's state meet at Rockford High School.
David Emeott is in his fifth year as East Kentwood boys track coach.
“This is by far our best team, probably the best one our school has fielded,” Emeott said. “We were state runners-up (to Ann Arbor Pioneer) last year. We have a chance to be competitive again. We're a real solid team across the board. Our sprinters are probably our strongest area as we go into the state finals.”
Kevin Jackson enters the state finals ranked No. 1 in the state in the 110 hurdles and is No. 2 in the 300 hurdles. East Kentwood's team will enter the state meet ranked No. 1 in the 4x100-meter relay and No. 2 in the 4x400-meter relay.
Joe Applewhite is a talented jumper for East Kentwood, which also has five strong pole vaulters. But taking the title won't be easy.
“Ann Arbor Pioneer is the defending champions and is very strong,” Emeott said. “They're ranked high in the relays. They'll be very competitive.”
Girls Track
Meanwhile, East Kentwood's girls track team has been ranked near the top in Division I all year and hopes to give Rockford a tough run for the state title this weekend.
“We have a very strong and deep team,” East Kentwood coach Stephanie Stephenson said. “We have a nice group of girls to work with. We won an invitational at Traverse City and at Jackson and Lansing Sexton.”
Leading East Kentwood's state title hopes will be senior thrower Tia Brooks.
“She's ranked nationally in the shot put and discus with a top throw of 163 feet in the discus and 47 ¼ in the shot put. She is a very gifted athlete,” Stephenson said.
So is Chanese Mendenhall, a junior sprinter and relay runner who has won conference and regional titles. Kristin Parks, a sophomore, is scoring points in the distances for the Falcons. Junior Amanda Impellizer is having an impressive season at pole vault for the Falcons.
Aubree Suor, a sophomore, has been scoring points in the high jump and long jump.
"Our goal will be to do the best we can and at least be in the top five,” Stephenson said. “First or anything close to that will be icing on the cake. There's so many variables involved.
More Boys Track
Blanchard-Montabella has established itself as one of the boys track teams to watch in Division 4 this week when the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) has its four state championship meets Saturday in the Grand Rapids area.
The Mustangs finished first in the regional earlier this month. On Saturday, they took second place in a Division 4 team state meet conducted by the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association (MITCA), although not sanctioned and recognized by the MHSAA.
At the regionals, the Mustangs were led by Jon Shaw, who threw the shot put 47 feet, 7 ½ inches for a regional title. It's the first regional team title for the Montabella track program. The Mustangs have several other athletes who have qualified for the state finals plus the 4x400-meter and 4x800-meter relay teams.
“Words can't even begin to express what this championship means to our athletes, coaches, school and community. We truly won as a team,” Montabella Coach Luke Sawyer said.
Stanton-Central Montcalm will be among the teams to watch in the Division 3 state finals. The Hornets won the Central State Activities Association title. Harrison won the Clare regionals while Central was a close second. Cody Nyp, regional champ in the 400-meter dash, will go for the state title in that same event. The 4x400-meter relay team also hopes to win a state title.
Girls Soccer
Jeremy Stacy is the first-year coach of Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and is hoping to bring home another state soccer crown to FHC this weekend.
The girls state soccer tournament has started and FHC takes a 15-1 record into the event. The Rangers beat Bloomfield Hills Lahser 4-1 in last year's title game.
“We lost a couple of key players from last year,” said Stacy, who was the former boys team assistant coach but was picked to replace Josh Shelden. “We had some good players come in and fill their roles. The key to doing well in the tournament is to finish the chances we get. We get a lot of chances.”
Clare Stachel is the team's leading scorer along with Kaely Schlosser and Eric Bollericka.
Stacy is confident of winning another state title but said it won't be easy.
“We have Lowell to contend with and there's a lot of good teams on the east side of the state,” Stacy said. “Lowell and our team have a chance to go far. By district time, it's a matter of who comes to play.”
Michigan's state girls finals will be June 6-7.
