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Panthers show speed at Jackson JV Invitational, earn 'McDoubles for PRs' for bus ride home
Posted on 05/15/2025
Posted on 05/15/2025
Western traveled to the Withington Community Stadium Wednesday to compete in the Jackson JV Invitational.
"It was a great night! We got the chance to go and compete and get better," senior La'Zay'vair Akines said. "It was fun. This track is nice, and we just locked in and did our best."
Akines' best resulted in a win at the high jump and, along with senior Sukhman Singh, junior Tyler Gilbert, and junior Logan Flores, a strong finish in the 4x400m relay. "I used to think a 400m was too much, but it's not bad once you get moving," he said.
Intended for athletes not on their teams' Regionals rosters (each team gets just two entries per event, unless all the entrants have met the qualifying standard), most of the contestants were from the larger Lansing area schools. The meet awarded medals to the top three in each event.
Gilbert also finished in first-place for Western, in the 300m hurdles. Silver medalists included junior Ty Wielenga in the 800m run and freshman Parker Yokom in the 100m dash. Junior Drew Gillett won bronze in the 110m hurdles, while sophomore Max Harris took third in the shot put and junior Noah Davis placed third in the discus. Also earning the bronze was the 4xs100m relay team of Yokom, freshmen Juan Guillen-Guillen and Trey Payne, and junior Eyan Seger.
The boys were given cheese burgers and chicken sandwiches for the bus ride back to Western High School. Despite fast food not being the most fitness-oriented meal choice, the McDoubles for PRs tradition dates back about 15 years and is good for team bonding and to celebrate what for many was their last competition of the season.
Some of the guys who competed last night will be on the roster for next week's I-8 Finals and Team State Championship. The rest will not be required to attend practice, but should wash their jerseys and prepare to turn them in at the team banquet, which is 7:30pm on May 29 in the high school cafeteria.