(Good luck) Keeping up with the O'Teys, Sturgis' sprinting duo

STURGIS — Keyanna and Rasean O'Tey are used to having all eyes on them at the track. Well, at least the eyes that are taking the time to watch the blurs around the track.

It might be a little uncomfortable for the siblings, but they let their feet do most of the talking. As the success for Sturgis track and field has continued to rise in recent years, the O'Teys have been a big part of the surge.

Now, both eye a strong showing on Friday. Sturgis will play host to the Wolverine Conference Championships Friday and all eyes in the crowd will be checking in on the speedy O'Teys. Keyanna will be looking to defend her conference title in the 100 meter dash, but this year will be a little more special for Rasean.

"Very excited for Friday. Last year, I didn't get a chance to run at conference before of my hamstring injury," he said. "Now I'm back this year and I'm faster. I'm ready to show what I can do."

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There are seven school records between the two for Sturgis. Each time they take to the track, the possibility of another record — more specifically a record they've already set — has a chance to get broken again. Keyanna said one of the better parts of competing on the track is having the ability to continue to improve upon her previous runs.

The duo are comfortable when they're at the track as well. The option of being able to showcase their talents, based off a lot of hard work and dedication, helps fuel the O'Teys.

"The track is like a second home for all of us, it's a great environment," Keyanna said.

Sturgis track coach J.B. Starkey feels very blessed to have a pair of athletes like the O'Teys. Whether or not they are once in a generation type talents, they still put in the extra work and strive to help make their teammates better along the way as well.

"Without a doubt, these are two of the most gifted kids to have come through this program. They have worked really hard, they're good students and disciplined to things we have instructed of them in terms of track and field," he said. "They're wonderful young people as well. They've been through a lot and have really shown their strengths as teammates."

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Sturgis girl's track coach Lesley Starkey said Keyanna does a great job of helping make the team better.

"Keyanna is someone who not only competes for herself but is able to elevate her team in a way that others are not able to do so," she said. "The way in which she trains forces the rest of our team to do better as well, which is evident in the times of our entire sprint crew this season."

Both Keyanna and Rasean compete in the individual sprint races, but also are big parts of relays for the Trojans. And they're very willing to set aside personal achievements in those sprint races to help Sturgis succeed in the relays.

"I love relays," Keyanna said with a smile. "I feel like in relays, you give it even more because of your teammates."

Rasean currently holds the school record in the 100 at 10.86 seconds. He teamed up with Dalton Tisdel, Zach Green and Brenden Myers to set the 800 relay time at 1:30.18. Rasean also is a part of the 400 relay, which holds a school's best time. Keyanna holds four records — setting the school mark in the 100 (11.84) and 200 (24.61) at the MHSAA Division 2 state finals last year.

She won the state championship in both races. Her time in the 100 was the fastest in recorded history at the D2 state finals. At last year's Wolverine Championships, she ran to first place in the 100 dash at 12.40 seconds and the 200 dash at 26.01 seconds. O'Tey was voted as the Wolverine Conference performer of the meet as both the 400 and 800 relays finished first as well.

"I love to prove people wrong. I don't like when people doubt me," she said. "It pushes me to get better."

Keyanna teamed up with Tenley Banaszak, Hannah Garbine and Angela Cary to set the record in the 400 relay (49.93). She also set the school record with Banaszak, Garbine and Adison Nettleman in the 800 relay (1:45.65). And while she's big into being a part of those relays and helping her teammates also succeed, Keyanna does have high aspirations for herself as well.

"I need to defend my title," she said. "Finishing second is not winning and I wanna win. I'm just really competitive."

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Lesley Starkey said Keyanna should have a great opportunity in front of her to defend her crowns.

"As she has grown as an athlete, she has grown more confident in her ability to perform at a high level, even in D1, and that is reflected in her training," she added. "I can't wait for everyone else to see what we see on a daily basis; her drive should make everyone else afraid to toe the line with her."

This year, the Sturgis track team will compete at regionals in Grand Ledge in a couple of weeks. The Division 1 state finals will be held June 1 at East Kentwood High School.

Rasean said his favorite race is probably the 200 meter dash. It might not be his best race, but he really enjoys running the curves and picking up speed. Last year, he teamed up with Brandin Kelley, Kaicee Kyle and Brenden Myers to run a school-record time of 43.73 in the 400 relay at the D2 state meet.

There will be a step up in competition for the O'Teys, and Sturgis track and field, later this month as well. Sturgis is jumping up from Division 2 to Division 1 this year because of enrollment standards. This obviously means the competition will be, or should be, more difficult. For what it's worth, Keyanna's time in winning the D2 100 last year would have won at the D1 level as well.

"Just lock in. Put my headphones on and lock in and get ready to go," she said about preparations before races.

Recently, the Trojans competed in Jackson against some stiff competition in Division 1 schools at the Charlie Janke Invitational. The Trojans fared pretty well there. Both Rasean (10.82) and Keyanna (12.02) won the 100 dash races and the 400 relays finished in a close second as well.

"It showed we can compete with those D1 schools," Rasean said. "When you have people running next to you and pushing you, it makes you faster. It makes you better. Because of that, you have to ramp it up in practice too. Everyone just thinks I was born fast, but I had to train for this and get better."

Both O'Teys went out of their way to thank J.B. and Lesley Starkey, the track and field coaches at Sturgis, for their continued support of the team. They spoke of dedication and each of them pushing the Trojans to continue to get better as key marks for the team's successes.

They hope that hard work and dedication pays off on Friday at the Wolverine Championships.

"I love them. They're not demanding and they want you to succeed," Keyanna said of her coaches. "They want you to get better and they'll do whatever it takes for that to happen."

Field events on Friday are scheduled to start at 11 a.m. at Sturgis High School. Running events have a 1:30 p.m. scheduled start time for preliminaries in a handful of races.

If you plan to attend, don't get caught daydreaming while the O'Teys are running in their events. You might just miss them.

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: Sturgis track and field teams prepared for Wolverine Championships