Hey Coach, how’d Friday night go for the track boys?

     Well! I’d say it went pretty well. We had loads of PRs and set three new school records.

     Three school records? No way!

     Yes way, in the 4x800, the 3200m, and the 4x400m. We went to two meets Friday: The Saline Golden Triangle and the Stockbridge Invitational.

     We took a full crew to Stockbridge and 14 guys to Saline.

     Let’s see, Saline started at noon, so it was a bit of a longer day. It was warm too, and some of our guys got off to a sluggish start. We need to get used to bringing the energy on days like that. A bright spot of that part of the day was that Karter Knack popped off a 20’-4” in the long jump.

    But then in the 4x800m relay Isaac Fullerton, Seth Good, Edison Lopeman, and Ryan Good cranked out a 8:00.24. The guys ran smart and strong, and they’re talking about how they can keep trimming time.

    That seemed the be a common thread Friday night: the boys did well but they’re looking for ways to sharpen up for championship season. For example, Brennan Vainner threw 57’-1.5” in the shot put, beating the second-place thrower by nearly 10 feet, and afterward spent time working through some technical details that should help him get a few more feet.

    The Golden Triangle was a tough meet, too. Most of the 33 schools there were D-1 and have significantly larger enrollments than Western. We like the competition. We came in third place in the 4x8, behind teams from Northville, a Metro-Detroit distance powerhouse, and Marquette, which had come downstate in search of the competition.

     When it came time for the 3200m run, Edison Lopeman had a plan, and by sticking to it he cut ten seconds off his previous best. It was at this meet last year where he broke one of Western’s oldest school records in the same event, so it’s fitting that he ran well again. In a race that got off to a fast start, he came through the first mile at 4:36 and was in the middle of the pack. But, true to style, Edison gradually turned up the intensity until it was time to kick to the finish. With about 180 meters to go he zoomed the final opponent, a runner from Jenison, near Grand Rapids, and won the race by three full seconds. He finished in 9:06.82.

     But hold up, tell us about the 4x4.

     Where to start? Here’s the thing: the 4x400m relay always has a special energy. It’s the last race of the night, usually under the lights, with the whole stadium live and hyped.

     Seth Good had the opening leg, and had opted to use a standing start, which is unusual. Starting blocks are pretty standard, but Seth was more comfortable and knew he had to get off to a good start, which he did.

     Then Jackson Jones took over. On the back stretch we
"big wheel," which is to go fast-relaxed. Jackson looked so chill, he was placid-fast, and was able to make some moves on the home stretch.

    Third leg Michael Brant, AKA Big Mike, put the hammer down and maintained our position in the field.

    Anchor Ryan Good turned up the gas and fought hard to catch Northville and Jenison, both of whom ran faster than the meet record. At first Ryan was annoyed he hadn't caught them, but he had run a blistering fast split time and the team had destroyed the school record. 

    They finished in 3:21.85.  The previous mark of 3:24.24 was set in 2013 by Levert Franklin-Potter, Devin Cole, Payton Wheeler, and Will Knickerbocker.

     And you sent guys to Stockbridge too? 

    We sure did, and it was a great opportunity to get experience and to compete.

    The Western Panthers who went to Stockbridge had a solid showing as well, and finished in third place behind teams from Marshall and Lake Odessa-Lakewood.

    Finishing in first place for Western was the 4x100m relay team of Jayden Willis, Parker Yokom, Eli Parker, and Demarcus Hill. Willis and Hill both had strong showings in the sprints, with second place finishes in the 100m and 200m dashes, respectively. Willis in particular had a breakout evening, as he moved into the N0. 1 position on our team’s depth chart in the 100m dash.

     Another impressive second-place finish came from the underclassman 4x400m relay manned by Trevor Brandt, Michael McMurtrie, Trey Payne, and Landen McCrory.