The St. Ignace Saints 400 and 800 meter relay foursome of (from left) Evan Everson, Rob Robinson, Anthony Lester, and Caleb Litzner set two LaSalle High School records, one Upper Peninsula mark, and tied a U.P. record at the state finals in Kingsford Saturday, May 30. The St. Ignace Saints boys foursome of Evan Everson, Anthony Lester, Rob Robinson, and Caleb Litzner shattered three relay records and tied another to lead the LaSalle High School team to a third place finish, one point from the runner-up spot, during the Upper Peninsula track and field state championships at Flivver Field in Kingsford Saturday, May 30.

The group set a school and Upper Peninsula record in the 400 meter event with a time of 45.11. The previous school time of 45.30 was held by Jo Jo Visnaw, Brad Ledy, David Brown, and Shawn McLafferty in 1993, and the U.P. mark of 45.35 was set by Derek Marshall, Jesse Becker, Anthony Lester, and Kyle Smock in 2008. The team recorded a time of 1:33.18 in the 800 meter relay to tie a U.P. mark that is held by Norway, and established a new school record of 1:34.06, a record that was previously held by Paul Davis, Derrick Clark, Jesse Becker, and Zach Pierson in 2006.

The Saints' Austin St. Louis won the high jump with a mark of 6'2". "Everything has to be perfect with the starts and handoffs and today we were almost perfect," said the Saints' Anthony Lester. "Our handoffs were crisp and the times proved to pay off."

Team Totals

Ironwood won the team title with 81 points, followed by Munising with 72, St. Ignace 71, Rudyard 57, Stephenson 49, Ishpeming 43, Newberry 40, Norway 39, Hancock 24, West Iron County 23, Westwood 20, Chassell 6, and L'Anse 2.

St. Ignace: Evan Everson was part of four winning events after finishing first in the 200 meter dash (23.56), and the two record setting 400 and 800 relays. The 1600 meter relay team of Kevin Guillard, Anthony Lester, and Rob Robinson placed first in 3:37.92. Austin St. Louis, first in high jump (6'2"); Rob Robinson, second in low hurdles; Anthony Lester, third in high jump; Frank Beaudoin, fifth in discus; Landon Marshall, fifth in pole vault; Caleb Litzner, fifth in low hurdles; Kevin Guillard, fifth in 800.

Brady Burby of Rudyard won the discus throw for the Bulldogs. Rudyard: Brady Burby, first in discus at (126'5"), second in shot put; Karl DeWitt, second in 400, fifth in high jump; Andrew Otten, second in 800; Ben Gable, sixth in shot put; Arik Hesselink, sixth in high jump; Jacob Bywater, sixth in long jump.

St. Ignace Girls Third

at U.P. Track Finals

The St. Ignace girls track team was one the top three squads in Division 2 coming into the Upper Peninsula track finals at Kingsford Saturday, May 30, and the Saints finished third, three points out of the runner-up position.

"I was pleased with our overall results, but it was a disappointing day after dropping the baton in the 800 meter relay, and [we] had a false start in the 400 relay," said Saints coach Diane Huskey. "We have a young team and I feel this was a huge learning experience for everyone."

The Saints 1600 meter relay team includes (from left) Taylor Becker, Nicole Elmblad, Kristen Olsen, and Heather Beaudoin. Team Results: Munising won the team championship with 81 points, followed by Westwood with 71, St. Ignace 68, West Iron County 60, Ishpeming 50, Norway 48, Chassell 32, Stephenson 29, L'Anse 28, Hancock 23, Ironwood 23, Rudyard 10, and Newberry one.

Individual Results

St. Ignace: Samantha Radecki, first in long jump (14'9"), fifth in 200 dash; Kali Jo Marshall, first in pole vault (8'6"); Christi Therrian, second in shot put; Nicole Elmblad, third in pole vault and low hurdles; Kristen Olsen, third in high jump; Anna St. Andrew, third in long jump; Heather Beaudoin, fourth in high hurdles; Grace Wheeler, sixth in high jump. The Saints 1600 relay team of Taylor Becker, Kristen Olsen, Heather Beaudoin, and Nicole Elmblad and the 3200 foursome of Chelsea Swope, Anna St. Andrew, Kristen Olsen, and Nicole Elmblad finished fourth.

Rudyard: Hunter Perry, fourth in discus; Rebecca Malaski, sixth in long jump; Caitlyn Mudroch, sixth in high hurdles. The Bulldogs 800 relay team of Meghan Mitchell, Emily Markstrom, Rebecca Malaski, and Caitlyn Mudroch and the 1600 relay foursome of Brittany Hoolsema, Rebecca Malaski, Caitlyn Mudroch, and Emily Markstrom placed fifth.

Kali Jo Marshall (left) placed first in the pole vault and Samantha Radecki finished first in the long jump for the Saints. Division 1 Team Results

Marquette won the Division 1 girl's team title with 92 points, followed by Calumet with 83, Negaunee with 64, Iron Mountain 56, Sault Ste. Marie 53, Gladstone 51, Kingsford 40, Menominee 29, Escanaba 22, Houghton 19, and Gwinn 18.

The Gladstone boys won the team crown with 101 points, followed by Marquette with 88, Iron Mountain 53, Negaunee 46, Manistique 46, Kingsford 44, Escanaba 38, Calumet 35, Sault Ste. Marie 32, Gwinn and Menominee 18, and Houghton 8.

St. Ignace and Rudyard high jumpers include (from left) Anthony Lester, Karl DeWitt, Arik Hesselink, and Austin St. Louis. Frank Beaudoin of St. Ignace finished fifth in the discus. The Saints' Kristen Olsen (left) placed third in the high jump and Christi Therrian second in the shot put. The Saints' Anthony Lester hands off to Kevin Guillard during the 1600 meter relay. Guillard finished fifth in the 800 meter run. Andrew Otten of Rudyard finished second in the 800 meter run. Anna St. Andrew of St. Ignace placed third in the long jump.