Charlevoix boys track captures final Lake Michigan title, ends TCSF run

EAST JORDAN — When next spring rolls around, the current teams of the Lake Michigan Conference will be competing for a different kind of championship.

Change will come for many around the LMC, as the Northern Shores Conference begins a new era for the majority of area programs.

But, why wait on change when you can just attack it now?

The Charlevoix boys’ track and field team thought that was the approach to take, as they sent the LMC packing with a bang this week by ending Traverse City St. Francis’ run of Lake Michigan track titles, capturing the final LMC title, not just of the spring, but ever.

“Really proud of this team,” Charlevoix boys coach Nick Barnum said. “We knew that we were going to get points from our top scorers, but we spoke earlier this week about everyone needing to step up and fight for every point. The kids bought in and that is exactly what they did.”

Hosted by East Jordan, Charlevoix topped St. Francis in a 151 to 143.5 finish to claim the title. East Jordan then finished third with 94, followed by Elk Rapids, 84; Kalkaska, 62.5; Grayling, 62; Harbor Springs, 35; and Boyne City, 29.

St. Francis had pulled in four straight boys titles heading into the season, but Charlevoix found a way to get back on top in the final season of the league, a spot they’ve spent a lot of time in over previous years.

“Going into the season, we talked about how this was the deepest team we had since our eight-year conference winning streak ended in 2018,” Barnum added. “We had injuries to some of our key athletes, but the team showed tremendous heart and stepped up big time.”

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On the girls side of the conference, TC St. Francis won by a wide margin of 194 to 99 over East Jordan. Elk Rapids was then third with 93, followed by Charlevoix, 72; Harbor Springs, 55; Kalkaska, 52; Grayling, 38; and Boyne City, 36.

While there were some good individual performances for the Rayder girls, numbers across the board were just too low to keep up with St. Francis.

“I am really proud of how the girl’s competed all year,” Charlevoix girls coach Mike Bush said. “Despite numbers being low, we were competitive in a lot of meets. The senior girls really helped bring along their young teammates. We have a great young core group of girls that we hope will continue to be competitive in our new conference for years to come.”

Multiple area athletes claimed individual LMC titles in events, led by Charlevoix’s Katie Rohrer with wins in the 800 and 1,600 meter runs. She was first in the 800 in 2 minutes, 26.93 seconds, then placed first in the 1,600 in 5:28.21.

East Jordan’s Madelyn Hard was also first in the 100 meter hurdles in 17.21, then claimed first in the 300 hurdles in 50.93 seconds, nearly three seconds ahead of the competition.

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Charlevoix’s Peyton Scott won the long jump in 19-feet even, then was runner-up in the 110 hurdles in 15.47 seconds and runner-up in the 300 hurdles in 43.47 seconds. He was also second in the high jump in a new PR of 5-10.

Charlevoix also had Logan Wadkins set a new PR in the 100 meter dash with a win in 11.44 seconds, while also taking third in the 200 in 23.66, a new PR. He also ran the anchor of a winning 4x200 meter relay team in 1:36.25.

A complete list of LMC first, second and third place finishers can be found below. Relay teams include wins.

LMC Boys

100 Meters: 1. Logan Wadkins, Charlevoix, 11.44; 2. Dylan Pellerito, Boyne City, 11.70.

200 Meters: 2. Logan Webb, East Jordan, 23.61; 3. Logan Wadkins, Charlevoix, 23.68.

400 Meters: 3. Anthony Atkinson, Harbor Springs, 53.89.

800 Meters: 2. Hunter Eaton, Charlevoix, 2:01.13.

1,600 Meters: 2. Hunter Eaton, Charlevoix, 4:34.51.

110 Hurdles: 2. Peyton Scott, Charlevoix, 15.47; 3. Logan Shooks, East Jordan, 15.99.

300 Hurdles: 2. Peyton Scott, Charlevoix, 43.47.

4x100 Relay: 1. Daniel Ziebarth, Isaac Black, Logan Shooks, William Webb - East Jordan, 45.93.

4x200 Relay: 1. Vitale Collins, Micah Richards, Scott Bush, Logan Wadkins - Charlevoix, 1:36.25.

Shot Put: 1. Joshua Schultz, Charlevoix, 43-feet, 10-inches; 3. Camden Carey, Charlevoix, 43-7.

Discus: 2. Andrew Glass, Charlevoix, 119-6.5; 3. Joshua Schultz, Charlevoix, 113-6.

High Jump: 1. Logan Shooks, East Jordan, 6-0; 2. Peyton Scott, Charlevoix, 5-10; 3. Coen Burks, East Jordan, 5-8.

Pole Vault: 1. Jordan Fajardo, East Jordan, 11-0.

Long Jump: 1. Peyton Scott, Charlevoix, 19-0.

LMC Girls

200 Meters: 2. June Kirkpatrick, East Jordan, 27.63.

400 Meters: 1. Paige Keiser, Harbor Springs, 1:02.92.

800 Meters: 1. Katie Rohrer, Charlevoix, 2:26.93.

1,600 Meters: 1. Katie Rohrer, Charlevoix, 5:28.21.

3,200 Meters: 1. Delaney Little, Boyne City, 12:41.24.

100 Hurdles: 1. Madelyn Hardy, East Jordan, 17.21; 3. Dana Brown, Charlevoix, 19.04.

300 Hurdles: 1. Madelyn Hardy, East Jordan, 50.93; 3. Julia Clarke, Harbor Springs, 54.18.

Shot Put: 2. Izzy Boyer, East Jordan, 35-9.5; 3. Grace Nemecek, East Jordan, 34-3.

Discus: 2. Izzy Boyer, East Jordan, 115-11; 3. Grace Nemecek, East Jordan, 109-0.

Pole Vault: 1. Annabelle Peters, Boyne City, 8-0; 3. Jasmine Joseph, East Jordan, 7-0.

Long Jump: 1. Tory Carroll, Charlevoix, 15-9; 2. Madelyn Hardy, East Jordan, 15-6.5.

Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Charlevoix boys end TCSF run as Lake Michigan track champs