Titles for Mendon, Colon jumpers lead local Division 4 state track and field qualifiers
HILLSDALE - Colon and Mendon will be represented at the state track and field finals.
Both the Magi and Hornets competed in the Region 35-4 at Hillsdale Academy on Friday. The host Colts won both team titles, posting 180 points for the boys and 194 for the girls. Reading was second for the boys (111) and Athens was third (61). Mendon claimed fifth (55) and Colon was 14th (two). The Pittsford girls finished second (91) and Addison was third (84). Colon was ninth with 30.5 points and Mendon came in 10th (28).
By MHSAA rules, any athletes finishing in the top two spots in an event qualify. There are also qualifying times and marks for each event as well.
Mendon's boys 3,200-meter relay team is heading to the state finals. Zak Iobe, Ryder Gorham, Xavior Zinsmaster and Ben Iobe ran to fourth place in 8 minutes, 52.51 seconds.
Colon's 800 relay team for the girls also qualified. The team of Ruby Bower, Reese Williams, Megann Mullins and Macey Burgess finished sixth, but qualified with a time of 1:55.96.
Jack McCaw was the regional champion for Mendon in the long jump after a leap of 21 feet, five inches. McCaw also qualified for the state finals in the 100 (third, 11.46 seconds) and 200 (third, 23.76).
Macey Burgess won the high jump for Colon, she cleared 5-0 to earn the title. Mendon's Alicyn Arevalo came in second at 4-10.
Owen Gorham of Mendon finished second in the 400 run at 52.43 seconds.
Mendon's mile relay team also qualified. Ryder Gorham, Dylan Cupp, McCaw and Owen Gorham came in third place, but met the state cut time at 3:37.29.
Presley Allen will also be heading to the finals for Mendon. She placed fifth overall in the two-mile run, but met the qualifying time with a run of 12:44.14.
Mendon will also be sending the 800 relay to the finals. The team of McKenzie Bakeman, Michelle Gomez-Sanchez, Karyssa Holtz and Taylor Zinsmaster came in ninth with a time of 1:56.61, but beat the qualifier time of 1:56.90.
Brianna Heitkamp finished second overall in the shot put at 31-0.
The Division 4 state finals will be held on Saturday, June 1 at Baldwin Middle School in Hudsonville.
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: Mendon, Colon qualifiers for Michigan Division 4 state track and field meet
