10 individuals, 4 relays from Bronson, Constantine qualify for state track and field finals
HILLSDALE ― Both Bronson and Constantine track and field teams have student-athletes advancing to the state finals.
At the MHSAA Region 25-3 meet, held at Hillsdale High School on Friday, Constantine's Bennett VandenBerg continued his assault in the throwing events, bringing home championships in both.
In the MHSAA, athletes that finish in the top two spots in an event qualify with qualifying times and marks for each event as well.
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Hillsdale won the boys team title with 111 points, Jonesville was second with 79 and Constantine placed third with 77. Bronson finished 12th (22.5). For the girls, Jackson Lumen Christi won the regional title with 90 points, finishing ahead of Grass Lake (80.33) and Hillsdale (60.33). Constantine finished 10th (34) and Bronson was 14th (14).
VandenBerg won the shot put event at 51 feet, 10.5 inches. He also threw the discus 171-4 to claim that event title.
Brody Jones finished second in the pole vault, clearing 13-0. Rushawn James qualified for the state finals in a pair of individual events. He was second in the 300 hurdles (40.27 seconds) and third in the long jump at 20-1.
In the 800, both Robbie King (fifth, 2:00.52) and Bronson's Boston Bucklin (seventh, 2:03.05) qualified for the finals. Michael Featherstone of the Falcons also qualified with James in the 300 hurdles, posting a time of 41.91 for fifth overall.
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Constantine's 800 relay team ran a time of 1:34.30 to qualify. They finished eighth, but Isaac Moore, Jones, Logan Patmalnieks and James met the time needed. The mile relay also qualified. There, the team of Moore, Jones, King and James posted 1:34.30, which was good for sixth.
Canon Manley of Constantine also qualified in both throwing events. He was third in the shot put at 46-5 and fourth at 132-9 in the discus.
Kam Brackett of Bronson met the height in the high jump, clearing 6-2 for third place.
For the Constantine girls, Kailee Jones ran to third place in the 800. Her time of 2:23.25 met the qualifying mark.
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Both Jaedyn Herlein of Constantine (fourth, 48.92) and Jaiden Hayes of Bronson (fifth, 49.78) qualified for state in the 300 hurdles.
A pair of Constantine girls relays also qualified for the state finals. The 800 relay team of Abigail Flores, Kaitlyn Jones, Cassidy Walker and Herlein finished second at 1:51.16. The 1,600 relay team of Herlein, Flores, Kailee Jones and Kaitlyn Jones finished third, but qualified with a time of 4:14.60.
The Division 3 state finals will be held at Kent City on Saturday, June 1.
Contact Sports Editor Brandon Watson at bwatson@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @BwatsonSJ.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Bronson, Constantine qualifiers for Michigan Division 3 state track finals
