High School Notebook: Harper, Lakeview stay hot as track season reaches the final stretch
The high school track season is reaching the final stretch as some postseason events are right around the corner.
Regionals for all teams are just two weeks away, scheduled for May 19-20.
In the city, Lakeview and Battle Creek Central need to get ready for the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference Championships this Friday at Portage Central.
Harper Creek and Pennfield will run in the Interstate 8 Conference Championships at Albion College on May 23. St. Philip will compete in the SCAA Championships on May 23 at Hillsdale College..
The Beavers boys team is hoping to keep its momentum going after winning three invitationals in April. In the first Friday of May, Harper Creek hosted the Spirit of the Wild Relays, a co-ed event, as the Beavers fell short, with Olivet winning the mixed varsity portion of the meet.
The Beavers' Mason Oaks had a big day with a first place in the 300 hurdles with a season best time of 41.25 and won the long jump at 20-0.75. Harper Creek's Kaden Watson was first in the high jump.
In the co-ed relay events, Harper Creek took first in the 400 relay with the team of Adam Torres, Gabe Sayao, Aubree Newman and Taylor Vandenberg. The DMR relay was first with Emma Moore, Preston Welsh, Julie Faber and Dominic Lowrie. The pole vault relay won with the team of Audrey Anthony, Carmen Felton, Mason Korn and Seamus Murray. And the meet special Long Dam Relay won with the eight-member team of Vandenberg, Sayao, Bronson Carpenter, Torres, Newman, Cassidy Prately, Madison Berning and Ryan Wallace.
The Lakeview boys track team stayed hot, winning the JT Long Invitational at Kalamazoo Central on Friday. The Spartans raced to an easy win with 123 team points with second place going to host Kalamazoo Central with 82.
Lakeview was paced once again by its middle distance and distance runners. Senior Caleb Bost won the 400 in 51.12 with teammate Austin Lee taking second at 51.76. Bost was also second in the 800. Lakeview won two relay events as Bost was part of the winning 1,600 relay team along with Lee, Ethan Rizor and Davis Barr. The 3,200 relay also took first with Bost, Aiden Moore, Jonah Bills and Lee.
The Spartans' Moore won the 1,600 with a season best time of 4:26.90 and was fourth in the 3,200.
In the field events, Lakeview came up with points with defending state champ Andrew Berryhill taking first in the shot put at 59-0 and Barr won the long jump at 21-9.
Battle Creek Central's Vitor Colodino continues to impress in his first year in the event, taking first place in the high jump.
Homefield Advantage
Harper Creek took care of business on its home field, winning the Harper Creek Invitational in baseball on Saturday. The Beavers swept a Buchanan team that was coming in as defending state champs in Division 3.
Harper Creek opened with a 3-0 win as Brayden Bess was dominant, striking out 11 and scattering five hits over six innings. In he second game, Harper Creek won, 12-3, with Ryan Buller getting the win, giving up five hits over four innings. Tyler Wieseler went 3-for-4 to lead the offense.
Milestone Win
The rebuilding Battle Creek Central softball team came up with a milestone win over the weekend at the Liz Jenson Tournament. The Bearcats earned their first win since 2019 before sports were interrupted due to the COVID pandemic. BCC beat Kelloggsville, 20-14, on Saturday. BCC pitcher Kaylynn Jones had four strikeouts in the win.
All-City
The All-City baseball and softball tournaments are scheduled for Saturday at Bailey Park, each starting at 10 a.m.
Lakeview defeated Harper Creek in the finals last year to win the boys title. The Spartans won the All-City title in softball a year ago for the third straight time.
Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter @billbroderick.
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: High School Notebook: Track season reaches the final stretch
