Big 8 Champs! Union City boys clinch share of Big 8 crown; Quincy takes 6th, Bronson 7th

CONCORD, MI. - The Chuck King Track Complex at Concord High School was host to the 2023 version of the Big 8 Track and Field Conference meet Wednesday night, with the whole of the conference making the long trip to Yellow Jacket country with the Big 8 title still very much up for grabs.

(In an effort to give each athlete the coverage they deserve the men’s and women’s Big 8 results will appear in separate stories. The following story will include the results from the men’s portion of the Big 8 tournament only. Look for the results of the women’s side of the invitational also at www.thedailyreporter.com) 

Entering Wednesday night’s contest any one of four teams were very much alive for a possible Big 8 title based on their dual meet records. Wednesday night the track belonged to the Union City Chargers who took first place in the team standings with a score of 109 points. In order to secure a share of the conference title the Chargers needed to finish at least two spots ahead of the Concord Yellow Jackets, a feat they accomplished as Concord took third place. With their invitational win, combined with their dual meet record, the Chargers wrapped up a share of the Big 8 conference along with those Concord Yellow Jackets.

Jonesville finished with runner-up honors at the meet with a score of 100.5 points, followed by Concord in third place with 92 points. Reading finished in fourth with a score of 70 points, followed by Quincy in fifth place with 65.5 points. Homer took sixth place with 44 points, followed by Bronson in seventh place with 29 points and Springport in eighth place with 16 points.

Union City Chargers 

Union City brought home the conference title thanks to three individual gold medals and one relay win, not to mention a total of 18 top six finishes.

Bringing home gold for the champions in maroon and gray was senior Alex Hull who won the pole vault with a big vault of 12 feet, 6 inches while Jason Shoop won the 3200 meter run in a time of 10 minutes, 44.76 seconds.

Down in the throwing pits it was Logan Cole bringing home two medals, winning the conference title in the discus with a throw of 144 feet, 6 inches while taking second place in the shot put with a throw of 47 feet, 9.5 inches.

Union City also had one championship relay team as the 800 relay team (4x200) of Riley Laird, Caden Hughes, Hunter Sinke and Alex Hull took first place in a time of 1 minute, 33.52 seconds.

Also putting together solid efforts on the track Wednesday night for Union City was freshman Ben Gautsche who took second place in the 1600 in a personal best time of 4 minutes, 43.53 seconds while junior Hunter Sinke took third place in the 400 in a time of 52.15 seconds.

The 400 relay team of Nathaniel Maurer, Caden Hughes, Alex Hull and Riley Laird also had a solid day, taking second place in a time of 44.96 seconds.

Rounding out the Union City effort with a top six individual finish in their respective event was Riley Laird, third place in the 100; Caden Hughes, fourth place in the 100; Alex Hull, third place in the 200; Cohen Burdick, fourth place in the 1600; Malachi Payne, fifth place in the 3200; Nathaniel Maurer, fifth place in the 110 hurdles and sixth place in the 300 hurdles; and Rick Austin, third place in the long jump.

Also finishing in the top six was the 1600 relay team of Maurer, Gautsche, Hull and Sinke, fourth place; and the 3200 relay team of Cohen Burdick, Jason Shoop, Malachi Payne, and Ben Gautsche, fourth place.

Quincy Orioles 

While the Orioles did not boast any individual champions on the day, a number of athletes did earn a spot on the podium in their chosen event. Leading the Quincy charge was senior Ethan Hollister who finished in second place in the long jump with a jump of 20 feet, 7.5 inches and second place in the 100 in a time of 11.92 seconds.

Down in the pits the Quincy throwers cleaned up, bringing home four of the top six spots in the shot put and another two medals in the discus. Leading the way for the Quincy throwers was senior Ashtyn Morris who took third place in the shot put with a throw of 44 feet, 6 inches while also taking second place in the discus with a throw of 130 feet, 4 inches.

Rounding out the Quincy throwing effort was Tre’Von Bodley, fourth place in the shot put with a throw of 43 feet, 5 inches; Caleb Kelley, fifth place with in the shot put with a throw of 42 feet, 2.5 inches; Ethan Pearson, sixth place in the shot put with a throw of 39 feet, 3 inches; and Carter McClellan, third place in the discus with a throw of 121 feet, 4 inches.

Finishing out the Quincy individual effort with a top six finish in their respective event was Clayton Benson, fourth place in the 110 hurdles, fifth place in the 300 hurdles and third place in the high jump; Rhett Reif, fifth place in the high jump; and Corey Turner, third place in the pole vault.

In the relay events the Orioles finished in the top six with three of their four relays. Bringing home medals were the 400 relay team of Bryce Bellamy, Michael Daniels, Ethan Hollister, and Corey Turner, sixth place; the 800 relay team of Cameron Barry, Jonas Beltran, Michael Daniels, and Micah Groves, sixth place; and the 1600 relay team of Corey Turner, Clayton Benson, Micah Groves, and Rhett Reif, sixth place.

Bronson Vikings 

The Bronson Vikings had one Big 8 conference champion on the day as the 3200 meter relay team of Hugo Barajas, Kam Brackett, Aden Hathaway, and Boston Bucklin won gold in a time of 8 minutes, 28.41 seconds.

Rounding out the Bronson effort with a top six finish in their respective event was Boston Bucklin, fifth place in the 400 and fourth place in the high jump; Hugo Barajas, fourth place in the 800 and fifth place in the 1600; Aden Hathaway, third place in the 1600; and Layne Knisely, sixth place in the pole vault.

Big 8 Conference Champions 

100 meter dash: Javion Taylor, Concord, 11.82 seconds

200 meter dash: Brady Wright, Jonesville, 23.53 seconds

400 meter dash: Brady Wright, Jonesville, 51.55 seconds

800 meter run: Tyler Bays, Reading, 2:00.78

1600 meter run: Gavin VanKampen, Jonesville, 4:40.52

3200 meter run: Jason Shoop, Union City, 10:44.76

110 meter hurdles: Diego Lebron, Homer, 15.78 seconds

300 meter hurdles: Elijah Dyer, Springport, 41.82 seconds

400 meter relay: Concord (Taylor, Wingfield, Allen, Brown), 44.66 seconds

800 meter relay: Union City (Laird, Hughes, Sinke, Hull), 1:33.52

1600 meter relay: Reading (Hamilton, Bays, Kling, Wiler), 3:30.23

3200 meter relay: Bronson (Barajas, Brackett, Hathaway, Bucklin), 8:28.41

Shot Put: Chandler Griffiths, Jonesville, 48’3”

Discus: Logan Cole, Union City, 144’6”

High Jump: Diego Lebron, Homer, 6’5”

Pole Vault: Alex Hull, Union City, 12’6”

Long Jump: Mekhi Wingfield, Concord, 21’0”

Full results for the Big 8 Conference Meet can be found on www.athletic.net.

While the trio of Branch County teams have seen their full track season come to an end, the three teams still have several athletes advancing to the MHSAA Division Three State Finals to be held at Kent City High School on June 3.

Moving on from Branch County are Bronson’s Boston Bucklin in the 800 meter run; Union City’s 800 meter relay team of Laird, Hughes, Sinke and Hull; Union City’s Logan Cole in both the shot put and the discus; Union City’s Alex Hull in the pole vault; and Quincy’s Corey Turner in the pole vault.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Big 8 Champs! Union City boys clinch share of Big 8 crown