MICHIGAN STATE MEET

Nonah Waldron Finds Redemption In Record-Breaking 300m Hurdles Performance; Northville Boys Run 4x800 Record; Benne Anderson Runs Impressive 1,600m; Oak Park Girls, St. Joseph Boys Win D1 Crowns

Story and Photos by Steve Underwood for DyeStat

Nonah Waldron, Benne Anderson, Rachel Forsyth, Braxton Brann, Milena Chevallier and the Northville boys 4x800 created most of the biggest highlights on a sweltering day at the Michigan Lower Peninsula D1 meet at Rockford, while the Oak Park girls and St. Joseph boys captured team titles in distinctly different fashions.

In her fifth and final race of the day, a motivated Waldron found something extra to win the 300m hurdles in a stellar 40.37 – not only smashing the state meet record but her own all-time Michigan mark in a US#2 performance. The USC-bound senior led teammates junior Morgan Roundtree and soph Carrie VanNoy to a 1-2-4 finish to put the icing on the cake of Oak Park’s team triumph as the Knights scored 80 points to the 58 by defending champ Detroit Renaissance.

INTERVIEWS | PHOTOS

Earlier, Waldron (13.56, just .02 off her PR), Roundtree and Vannoy went 1-3-4 in the 100m hurdles and the trio also made up three-quarters of the 4x100 and 4x200 relays that finished runner-up to Renaissance. But the 300H was extra special to Waldron. Her father passed away in July of 2021 and last spring at these D1 finals, she fell at the fifth hurdle and didn’t finish the race.

After her final effort, an emotional Waldron credited God, her coach Brandon Jiles, a lot of hard work and “teammates Morgan and Carrie pushing me every day in practice and that the field of competition was so elite. I’m about to cry, I’m so happy.” 

“It’s been a journey,” she continued, “going from falling on this exact track last year, and coming back and breaking the record, it means so much to me. I just know my dad would be so happy right now.”

Oak Park won its seventh D1 girls state title in nine years.

“I think this may be the most resilient group I've had,” Jiles said. “We've dealt with some adversity all season, but in athletics, just like life, adversity is a part of the game and our mantra is, ‘Never fold!’”

In the boys’ 1,600 meters, Anderson was trying to make some history of his own, with a sub-4:00 mile on his mind.  An additional timing camera was set up past the standard finish line so the Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills senior and others could run through and have a chance to record a mile performance in addition to the 1,600.  Anderson had already run 4:03.04 for a full mile in a similar setup at an invitational last month.

Unfortunately, the Syracuse signee didn’t have that kind of pace in his legs on Saturday. After early splits of 61 and 2:02, the tempo lagged to 64 for the third lap as runner-up Thomas Westphal of Anchor Bay briefly mounted a challenge. But Anderson dug deep on the final go-round to come home in 59 and finish at 4:05.44 for 1600 – the No. 2 performance in state meet history behind Grant Fisher’s 4:00.28 from 2015.

“It felt really hot,” he said. “I was hurting a little bit, especially the first lap. Then I started hurting mentally a little bit when I realized I was a few seconds short of where I wanted to be. But it’s ok; it happens sometimes. 

“Thomas Westphal (2nd place, 4:11.50) came through on the third lap and kind of pushed me a little bit. I was almost giving up, but when he came through I was like, ‘I gotta go. I gotta work for it and … remember why I’m here.’”

Forsyth, who joined Anderson in running state-leading 3200s at the Shepard Invite earlier in the spring and who has been coming back all year from an illness in 2022, returned to nearly 100 percent of her previous form.

She first anchored Ann Arbor Pioneer’s 9:01.19 4x800 triumph, then produced an impressive 2:25-2:19 negative split in the 1600, pulling away from previous state leader Anna Delgado of East Lansing for a 4:44.22 victory.

“That’s crazy, I didn’t know that,” said Forsyth when she learned she had finished under 2:20. “I’ve been running the 400 like every meet, so I guess (the closing speed) comes naturally now … It’s so much more exciting to PR now, or come really close, than before (her illness).” 

Later, the junior finished off an outstanding triple by capturing the 800 in a near-PR 2:09.96.  

The Northville boys’ 4x800 crew began the day in stunning fashion, ripping a US#1 7:35.32 – like Waldron’s performance, a state meet record as well as an all-time Michigan mark. The Mustangs came into the day with a state-leading 7:44.71 under their belts and designs on sub-7:40, but topping Milford’s 7:36 from 2012 was a special treat.

Brandon Latta and Brock Malaikal set the table with legs of 1:55.58 and 1:57.29, David Whitaker made a state record possible with a breakthrough 1:51.75 and junior star Brendan Herger finished it off with a PR 1:50.71

“I have a bad headache,” Herger joked when asking what it was like to be on this stage with record-smashing possibilities. “I don’t do well with pressure … but the support of my boys always gets me through. Every ounce of effort was for them.”

Herger later finished runner-up in the 800 final at 1:52.19.

Another historic performances came from Ann Arbor Huron senior Braxton Brann, who did something no one had done at a state meet since 1895 in Michigan: Capture titles in both the 110 hurdles and the 200-meter dash. 

Brann pointed toward the rare double from early in the year and while considered a strong contender to pull it off, by no means had it easy.  In the hurdles, he blasted a PR 13.77 to edge Kayenn Mabin (Kalamazoo Central) 13.87 and Joshua Hurt (East Kentwood) 13.92. Then in the 200, he needed almost all of a PR 21.12 to hold off Tre McGinnis (St. Joseph) at 21.28. 

“After New Balance Nationals, where I was All-American in the 60 hurdles and the 200, I decided to make those events my focus,” said Brann, an Ohio State recruit. “It was always part of the plan for this year. Going to the next level, this makes me a good overall sprinter-hurdler and really helps my own versatility moving forward.” 

The most spectacular sprint-only double of the meet, on the other hand, came from West Bloomfield freshman Kamryn Tatum, who swept the 400 (55.74) and 200 (24.10). 

On the field, the best performances of the meet came in the girls high jump, where Milena Chevallier (Farmington Mercy junior) soared to a state-leading and US#5 5-11, outlasting the 5-10 PR from Salem junior Madison Morson. It was the first time in Michigan history that two girls had cleared 5-10 or better in the same meet. 

“It was so fun competing with Maddy and other jumpers,” said Chevallier. “Usually in the other meets I’m jumping by myself.” 

Having recently jumped 6-2 in practice and facing such an elite field, the bars didn’t come easy for the winner as she needed all three attempts at both 5-10 and 5-11. “It was a lot of pressure,” she said, “but I’m starting to show what I can do at the meets.”

In the boys’ team race, the manner in which St. Joseph pulled out its first team title since 1997 was much more dramatic than Oak Park's win. A fourth-place finish in the 4x400 finally clinched the victory when Clinton Twp-Chippewa Valley and Rockford still had a chance to win. 

The four-section 4x400 relay had its own built-in drama since the elite Clinton Twp team had run “only” 3:34 in its regional performance to get relegated to the slowest section. There, they ran 3:20.52 to set the bar high for the other three races. St. Joseph needed to scorch the track in the second section and, thanks to the 46.48 anchor by the aforementioned 200m runner-up McGinnis (fastest of the meet), they clocked 3:21.50.

After the final section saw Oak Park and Rochester Adams run 3:18.90 and 3:19.41, St. Joseph had the necessary points in fourth to win – scoring 40.75 to Clinton Twp’s 38 and Rockford’s 36 (eighth in 4x400). 

McGinnis also shone with runner-up finishes in both the 100 (10.79) and 200 (21.28), while St. Joes also got key points from thrower Gerald Capaccio – who won the discus (167-2) and was second in the shot 56-11.25.

Meanwhile, in its 58-point runner-up finish, defending girls champ Detroit Renaissance was crowned in both the 4x100 (46.53 to Oak Park’s 47.71) and 4x200 (1:38.15 to Oak Park’s 1:38.21) – the 4x100 title being its fifth straight. 

Sophomore Jayla Dace was a key in both relays while also winning the 100 (11.90) and taking third in the 200 (24.56).

Benzie Central Breaks Through With D3 Boys Title

Hunter Jones, who won three Nike Indoor Nationals individual distance titles the past two years, ended his storied career at Benzie Central in the best possible way: Leading the Huskies to their first LP D3 team state title.  

Jones spread his energy over four events in sweltering conditions at Kent City, winning the 800 (1:57.60), 1,600 (4:17.48) and 3,200 (9:10.19) in the afternoon after anchoring his school’s 4x800 to a runner-up finish in the morning. Every performance was needed as Benzie scored 51 points and held off Pewamo-Westphalia (44 pts) and Hart (38). 

Most of Benzie’s remaining points came from Pol Molins, a foreign exchange student from Spain who has been living with the Jones family this year. He was runner-up in the 1,600, fifth in the 3,200 and seventh in the 800, while also running a leg on the 4x800.

Jones, a Wake Forest signee, won 10 state titles during his career, six in track and four in cross country.

Pewamo-Westphalia junior Gavin Nurenberg and Hart senior Kellen Kimes and traded 1-2 finishes in the throws to fuel their team’s respective second- and third-place finishes. Kimes, the New Balance Nationals Indoor champ in the weight throw and a Liberty U. signee, defended his discus title with 174-3 to Nurenberg’s 165-3. But Nurenberg then avenged the loss with a 57-9.50 to 57-9.25 upset win in the shot (Kimes had a 62-3 PR coming in). 

Hart did defend its girls LP D3 title, though, its third crown in six years. Sophomore Jessica Jazwinski – 11th in the Champs XC Nationals last fall – anchored the winning 4x800 and captured the 3,200m (10:57.99), and added 14 more points in the 1,600 (second) and 800 (third). 

Onsted sophomore Emmry Ross swept the 400 (56.48) and 800 (2:11.25) and also ran a 2:10.85 leg on her team’s fifth-place 4x800. Jackson Lumen Christi junior Madison Osterberg won the 1,600 in 4:55.02, then was a strong runner-up to Ross in the 800 (2:13.20). Almont senior Devin Johnston doubled the 100 (12.14 and 200 (24.98). 

Perhaps the most impressive performance in the LP D2 meet at Forest Hills Eastern in Ada was a record-smashing 7:39.77 4x800 by the boys from Adrian. The Maples improved their previous best in the event by almost nine seconds and not only became the first school in state history outside of D1 to break 7:40 (and ninth overall), but also the record-breaking 15th school nationally under that barrier in 2023. 

TJ Hansen of Freeland had the state’s best 3,200 mark by a sophomore at 9:11.56 for the D2 title, also running a leg on the third place 4x800. Corunna won the boys title with 41 points. 

East Grand Rapids won the girls D2 crown with 50 points, paced by victories by senior Camryn Bodine in the 800 (2:11.53) and junior Drew Muller in the 1,600 (4:56.01). Both were part of the winning 4x400 and 4x800 relays.

In the LP D4 meet at Hudsonville, the Buckley girls claimed their first state title, while the Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep boys rolled to their third straight crown and fourth in five years.

Buckley junior Aiden Harrand joined Hunter Jones from the boys D3 meet as the only athletes to capture an 800-1600-3200 triple in the four championships, as she ran 2:17.08, 4:56.54 and 11:14.90.  Freshman Brooklyn Frazee was also a major contributor with a 12.47 100 meters triumph and a runner-up finish in the 200.

Hackett’s only individual title came from senior Nathan Buckman in the discus (157-1), but senior Liam Mann was second in both the 100 and 200 and ran on the runner-up 4x100. Fruitport Calvary Christian soph Bradley Richards had the top mark of the meet, his 6-10 high jump just a half-inch off the D4 record and one of the best by a sophomore in state history.

State Champions - 

LP Division 1 - St. Joseph boys 40.75 points, Oak Park girls 80 points - RESULTS

LP Division 2 - Corunna boys 41 points, East Grand Rapids girls 50 points - RESULTS

LP Division 3 - Benzie Central boys 51 points, Hart girls 64 points - RESULTS

LP Division 4 - Kalamazoo Hackett boys 53 points, Buckley girls 52 points - RESULTS

UP Division 1 - Marquette boys 134 points, Marquette girls 130 points - RESULTS

UP Division 2 - Pickford boys 151 points, Bark River-Harris girls 100 points - RESULTS

UP Division 3 - Munising boys 131.5 points, Lake Linden-Hubbell and Stephenson girls (tie) 72 points - RESULTS