Shrine Track Team Wins Regional Meet

Royal Oak Shrine’s track team knew it needed to get an all-around effort if the Knights were to be successful at their regional meet on Saturday.

They did just that. Shrine won medals in every event, qualified 19 athletes for the state finals, and won the girls’ team title at the MHSAA Division 4 Regional meet hosted by Lutheran Westland.

Shrine’s girls scored 173 ½ points to rank ahead of Lutheran Westland (141 ½) and Plymouth Christian (79). The Knight boys placed third with 102, behind the host school (146) and Detroit Loyola (136).

“It was tremendous,” Coach Wright Wilson said. “Everyone was focused because they knew it could be a special day. Lutheran Westland’s girls are always tough, and to get past them, we had to piece it together event-by-event. The boys are also satisfied because they were at the top of their game too.”

Taylor Kilgore (4-11 in high jump) was the only individual winner, but also helped the Shrine girls win two sprint relays. Qianna Parham, Melanie Shaw, Irene Peaslee and Kilgore finished first in the 4x200 relay (1:51.82), while Parham, Kilgore, Tori Allen and Julia Liggett led the 4x100 relay (:52.43) start-to-finish.

Shrine girls added second-place finishes in six other events, and as a result, will have 12 participants in the Division 4 state finals June 2 at Jenison High School.

Clare Romano was second in both high jump (4-11) and high hurdles (17.77); Kilgore finished second in the 200 dash (:27.46) and Gabby Schmidt was runner-up in the 3200 run (15:15). Two other Shrine relays were second, as well. Maddie Roty, Teresa Wiencko, Erin Butler and Caitlin Snyder ran 11:29.39 in the 4x800, and Parham, Peaslee, Romano and Snyder were second in the 4x400 (4:42.52).

Shrine’s distance runners blitzed the field in the boys’ competition. Matt Sutton (4:50.48) and Ben Kendell (4:52.31) finished in the top two spots in the 1600, while Kendell (10:55.45) and Sutton (11:16.00) were 1-2 in the 3200 run. Connor Lockman won the 800 (2:07.79), and Sutton, Kendell, Matt Arce and Lockman won the 4x800 relay (8:37.69).

The Knights’ 4x200 relay also qualified for state. John Lee, Matt Nadai, Dan Tresnak and Lockman were second with a season’s-best time of 1:35.71.

Elliott Free, Kenny Miller, LaMaurice Gardner, Noah Groth, Arielle Tolbert, Joanie Bowker, Stephanie Anderson, N’Tia Laird, Betelhem Ashame and Carolyn Chase also earned medals for finishing among the top eight of their events.