Berkley High Trio Ready for State Track and Field Competition

After competing two years for the track and field team, Shelby Allen decided to take the sport more seriously.

The summer going into her freshman year at , Allen decided to increase her training and joined an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) track team.

Her decision – and efforts – paid off for the Bears.

In her first season of competitive high school track and field, Allen has qualified for the state’s top meet as the lone Berkley representative from the girls team.

Allen is slated to compete in the long jump in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 Finals on Saturday at Rockford High School.

“It means a lot,” Allen said of qualifying for the state’s premier meet as a freshman. “Because I’m young and I made it at such a high level, makes me feel really good.”

Allen made it to the state finals with a jump of 16 feet, 5 inches, but she has  jumped 17-1 at an indoor meet.

“I think she’ll do better at states,” said Berkley head track and field coach Les Hale. “She was nervous.”

Representing the Berkley boys team are senior Justin Peguese in the high jump and junior Kyle Braun in the 800-meter run.

“(Three qualifiers) is going in the right direction,” Hale said. “But we would prefer to have more. … We are steadily moving forward and I’m proud of all of these kids because they didn’t quit. They didn’t look back. They kept working.”

Boys team sends two representatives

This marks the second-straight trip to the state finals in the high jump for Peguese, who also played on the BHS basketball team. He’s aiming to finish in the top eight for all-state honors and break Berkley’s school record of 6'8". The mark was set by Larry Presser in 1969, according to the team website.

Peguese’s regional winning jump was 6-foot-3. Not bad considering he was trying to catch up on sleep after attending prom two days before the state-qualifying meet.

“It feels good,” Peguese said of his return trip to states. “That’s what I’ve been waiting for, to make it back.”

Peguese was the lone boys team representative last season. He welcomes the opportunity to see familiar faces at the day-long track showcase.

“I’m happy that I’m not going by myself because it makes it easier for me,” Peguese said. “I’ll have some of my teammates there to cheer me on.”

Peguese, who posted a 6-foot-3 mark in the high jump at the Division 1 regional meet in May, was close to making another solo journey to the finals.

Braun injured his back during gym class the week of regionals and was unsure if he was even going to be ready to compete. Coach Hale said Braun was in so much pain that he walked into one practice “humped over.”

A combination of rest and treatments from the school’s athletic trainer helped Braun not only get ready to compete, but finish high enough to advance.

“He’s just a hard worker,” Hale said of Braun. “He will not quit.”

Braun is a member of the varsity football, basketball and soccer teams at Berkley.

While Braun is trained in a variety of sports, football and track have become his favorites.

“It’s exciting,” Braun said of making his first state track appearance. “I worked hard this season with this team. Ever since not being able to go to regionals last year because of a (travel) soccer game, I just had a goal to make it to the state meet.”

Braun was prevented from competing in the Berkley track regionals in 2010 because he was committed to playing in a quarterfinal playoff match for his travel soccer team.

Everything worked out this time around, even though he had to fight through the back pain that was caused by a classmate tripping him in gym class.

“I knew if I didn’t get hurt, I’d have a great chance of (qualifying),” Braun said. “Then when I got hurt, I thought I wasn’t going to be able to do it. Then Jessica (Johnson) the trainer was like, ‘You can do it. I know you can do it. You’ve worked hard this season.’ ”

'That is really special to me'

Allen’s work toward the state meet began about a year ago.

During the summer preceeding her freshman year at Berkley, she decided to join an AAU track and field team with Hale through the Motor City Striders.

“I’ve really been hard-core running since last summer,” Allen said. “It’s really just to get better and hopefully get a college scholarship one day. I’m hoping to do that so I want to get faster and better.”

Her drive to improve shows.

Allen ran 12.34 seconds in the 100 dash this spring to set the school record. She also ran  25.9 in the 200 dash to match Brandee Hart’s mark that was set in 2010, according to the team website.

In addition to sprint work and long jump, Allen is one of Berkley’s top hurdlers.

For the last 12 years Allen has been involved in competitive gymnastics. The 15-year-old currently works out of AGT Flip City in Warren. She is classified as a Level 10 gymnast in artistic events and is at the Junior Elite level in tumbling.

She decided to add track and field to her extracurricular activities in the seventh grade while attending Anderson.

Allen’s increased dedication to the oval has paid off. She is thrilled to be the lone female competitor from Berkley who will be headed to the west side of the state this weekend.

“That is really special to me,” Allen said. “It makes me feel very proud of myself. I’m really extremely excited to go.”