Pickford Girls Win Division 3 Title;
Ledy Wins Long Jump; 1600-Meter Relay Clinches Second Straight Title
By David Latva

The Pickford Panthers girls team won the Division III championship at the Upper Peninsula Finals in Kingsford Saturday, June 2. Team members include (front, from left) Kaylynn Portice, Jessie Ledy, Caitlin Mortinsen, Veronica Gough; (middle) Callie Smith, Jaimi Rifenberg, Megan Arbic, Courtney Bruni, Jasmine Ledy, Jenna Ledy; (back) Assistant Coach Dan Barry, Savannah Sterling, Katie Jenkins, Veronica Morrison, Amanda Felty, and Head Coach Sam Lightfoot. (Photograph by Jerry Moringstar)

The Pickford girls defended their Division 3 Upper Peninsula Track and Field championship with a strong effort at Kingford Saturday, June 2.

The Panthers tallied 73 points to post the victory, followed by Rapid River with 67.3, North Central 66, Big Bay de Noc 53, Bark River Harris 38, North Dickinson 32, Engadine 30.3, L'Anse 30, Forest Park 29, Brimley 24, Dollar Bay 23, Bessemer 18, Mid Peninsula 15, Lake Linden-Hubbell, DeTour 6, Baraga 4.3, Superior Central 4, Cedarville 3, and Carney-Nadeau, Jeffers, and Ontonagon 1.

At one point, Pickford trailed by one-third of a point and needed to place in the 1600-meter relay to capture the title.

Senior Grayson Hood of Engadine completed his standout career by qualifying in four events at the U.P. Finals, in the high and low hurdles, 100-meter dash, and the 400-meter relay.

Pickford Clinches Title During 1600-Meter Relay The Panthers 1600-meter relay team of Courtney Bruni, Jasmine Ledy, Veronica Gough, and Caitlin Mortinsen finished third in the 1600-meter relay event to clinch the championship after Rapid River failed to place.

Jessie Ledy won the long jump with a leap of 15'11.75" and set a new meet record in the pole vault, along with a Lauren Marshall of Rapid River, with a height of 10'0." Marshall took first place with fewer misses, and Ledy placed second.

Katie Jenkins finished second in the shot and third in the discus, Renae Reich fourth in the high jump, Veronica Gough fourth in the high hurdles, Jasmine Ledy fifth in the 1600, and Jaimi Rifenburg sixth in the high hurdles.

The relay teams played a factor. Placing second were the 400 foursome of Veronica Morrison, Veronica Gough, Jessie Ledy, and Renae Reich and the 800 team of Caitlin Mortinsen, Veronica Gough, Veronica Morrison, and Jessie Ledy. The 3200 group of Savanah Sterling, Jenna Ledy, Callie Smith, and Jasmine Ledy took fourth.

The Panthers 800-meter relay team included (from left) Veronica Gough, Veronica Morrison, Caitlin Mortinsen, and Jessie Ledy.

Engadine: The Eagles 3200- relay team of Brenda Albrecht, Kayla Miller, Elicia Derusha, and Shannon Browning finished second. Elicia Derusha took third in the 800- and 1600-meter runs, Shauni Rutledge third in the shot put, and Lauren MacArthur fourth in the long lump and sixth in the high jump.

Brimley: The Bays 1600-relay team of Rachel Carruther, Miranda Rousseau, Amber Aikens, and Miranda Reattoir placed second. Kelly Graham took fourth in the 1600- and 3200-meter runs, Rachel Carruthers fifth in the 200, and Courtney Amble fifth in the shot put.

DeTour: Nicole Melcer finished third in the high jump for the Raiders.

Cedarville: Emily Feldhake placed fifth in the discus and Ashley Sweeney sixth in the 1600 run for the Trojans.

Grayson Hood Wins

Three Events

Mid Peninsula won the title with 81 points, followed by North Dickinson with 74, Engadine 64, Rapid River 58.6, North Central 44, Ontonagon 25, Cedarville 22, Pickford 21, Painesdale-Jeffers 19, Brimley 18, Superior Central 17, Carney-Nadeau 16, Bessemer 14.3, Wakefield-Marenisco 12, Ewen- Trout Creek and Watersmeet 10, Forest Park and Bark River-Harris 7, Big Bay de Noc 5, and Lake Linden 2.

Engadine: Senior Grayson Hood posted victories in the 100- meter dash in 11.87, the high hurdles in 15.21, the low hurdles in 40.63, and was a member of the 400-meter relay team, which includes Stefen Albright, Chris Keller, and Phillip Hood to finish second for Engadine. John Troyer placed second in the shot put and discus, and Phillip Hood took second in the 800 run and fifth in the 400.

Cedarville: Justin Baker placed second in the low hurdles. The 3200-relay team of Jordan Sweeney, Aaron Sherlund, Sheldon Tassier, and Clayton Meyers took second, Kevin Thompson placed fourth in the pole vault, and the 1600-relay foursome of Jake Wellnitz, Jordan Sweeney, Peter Treleaven, and Clayton Meyers finished fifth.

Pickford: Richard Gibson led the Panthers with a second place in the 1600 run, third in the 3200, and fifth in the 800; Scott Coullard fourth in the 400; Joe Jenkins sixth in the discus.

Brimley: Harlan Chartrand won the 400-meter dash in 51.94, Ryan Freedman finished fourth in the 200, and Jordan Dillon took fifth in the high hurdles. The Bays 800-relay team of Preston Parish, Ryan Freedman, Jordan Dillon, and Harlan Chartrand placed sixth, as did the 1600-relay foursome of Kenny Schwiderson, Ryan Freedman, Jordan Dillon, and Harlan Chartrand placed sixth.