Lady Hornets Race to Second in Division

The Saline Lady Hornets track team had high expectations when the season began, hoping to duplicate their previous year’s League and Regional Championships.  The goal fell short, due to an amazing Ann Arbor Huron team that finished second in the state, but the girls still put together a strong season for head coach Mike Smith.

“We knew Huron would be good, but we didn’t realize they would be second place in the state.  We were close to them all year – both in the dual meet and in invitationals, and the Regional,” said Smith.

The Hornets won four of their five dual meets, crushing Bedford (114-23) and Skyline (119-18) and beating Monroe (89-48) and Pioneer (84-53) by a comfortable margin.  Their only dual meet loss came to the River Rats, where Huron edged Saline 72-65.

Saline also fared well at the invitationals they attended.  The Hornets won the Milford and Jackson Invitationals, and they came in second at the indoor Huron Relays and the Huron River Rat Invitational.  The Junior Varsity also took first at the Holly Invitational.

“I'm proud of how they competed.  I think they did just about as well as they possibly could have in each of our meets, and that's all any coach can ask for.  I'm proud of what kind of team they were.  They really supported each other, they were smart, and they were responsible.  Simply put, they are good people,” said Smith.

The team ended the season with ten All-Conference and five All-State athletes.  Emily Everett (discus), Randi Bennett (discus/shot put), Sam Richard (High Jump/400m), Amy Creutz (1600m, 3200m), Elianna Shwayder (1600m, 3200m), Natalie Wysocki (100m hurdles), Alina Luurtsema (100m), Rachel Paxton (High Jump), Wendy Szuminski (Pole Vault) and Sam Szuminski (Pole Vault) were all honored by the SEC Conference for their performances during the season.  Everett (discus) and the team of Creutz, Kristin Green, Shwayder and Emily Reyst (3200m relay) earned All-State honors for the Hornets.

Fourteen girls ran for Saline in the State meet.  Bennett threw in the shot put and discus, Everett threw in the discus (and placed fifth overall with a distance of 122’22”), the Szuminski sisters both went in the pole vault, Alina Luurtsema ran in the 100m, Green ran the 800m and Shwayder and Creutz both ran in the 1600m and 3200m.  The Hornets had three relays in the State meet as well; the 400m relay team of Alina Luurtsema, Amanda Luurtsema, Alexa Ross and Katrina Ezienyi ran a 49.6, the 1600m relay team of Green Reyst, Wysocki and Sam Richart ran a 4:11.6, and the 3200m team of Creutz, Shwayder, Reyst and Green ran a 9:27, a time good enough for seventh.

Saline’s Lady Hornet track team had 110 athletes in 2011, and keeping them organized was crucial, according to Coach Smith.  He attributed the success he had in this regard to three different factors: his assistant coaches (he had seven official coaches and a number of volunteers during the year), his captains (Sam Cannell, Everett, Alina Luurtsema, Abby VanHise and Brenna Stow), and his athletes.

“[The team was] very good at following directions and staying tuned in to what was going on and taking care of each other,” said Smith.