Rockford / 4 x 800m Relay Team
Exciting track and field action took place this past Friday at the MHSAA Region Meet, which was hosted by Grand Haven.
Coverage:
On the girls side, Rockford's Ericka Vanderlende continued her excellent season by collecting a pair of event wins. The junior recorded a Michigan No. 1 / US No. 6 time of 4:45.85 to secure the 1600m victory and she finished first in the 3200m due to her 10:29.10 effort.
Hudsonville's Melanie Helder placed first in the 800m race with her time of 2:14.09 and Grand Haven's McKenna Keefe claimed the pole vault event win due to her Michigan tie for No. 25 vault of 10-6.
Rockford took an emphatic win in the 4x800m relay competition. Their 9:23.32 clocking represents a Michigan No. 4 time for the 2018 outdoor season and it was twenty-one seconds ahead of the runner-up team from Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern. Rockford's squad consisted of: Camryn Gabriel, Caleigh Dunn, Karlie Gardner and Ericka Vanderlende.
In boys action, Cole Johnson of Rockford won the 800m and 1600m races with his times of 1:55.59 and 4:20.02, respectively. Johnson is ranked second in the state in the 800 and the 1600 from previous outings this season (1:53.87 and 4:11.73).
The throwing events saw Gavin McIntyre and Anthony Bradford pick up first place results. Rockford's McIntyre recorded a throw of 157-1 in the dicus competition and Bradford of Muskegon set a new pr in the shot put event with his throw of 52-10.75. This performance stands for a Michigan No. 15 for the 2018 outdoor campaign.
Ryan Talbot had a strong showing in the pole vault event, as the junior from Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central captured the win due to his Michigan tie for No. 9 vault of 14-6.
In team relay competition, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer earned the 4x100m victory due to their 42.66 effort. Team members include: Jalen Ware, Parker Aerts, Drey Riley and Rylee Bonjernoor. This is the fastest time posted by a Michigan team this season. The aforementioned Ware also performed admirably in the 100m individual finals, as the senior took first place via his 10.85 (Michigan No. 7) clocking.