With less than three weeks left in the high school track and field season, local teams are hitting their stride at regional meets in hopes of qualifying for the state championships. This week, standout performances from CHS athletes running for Skyline High School and Pioneer High School prove that these athletes are peaking at just the right time.
To qualify for the state championship meet, athletes must have either run an early qualifier time in their event at a past meet this season, run a state qualifier at the regional meet, or come first or second in their event at regionals.
The meet ended with the Belleville boys’ team securing first place with 111 points, and Huron winning on the girls’ side with 104 points, as well as a second-place victory for their boys’ team.
For Pioneer, Meredith Bell cleared 4 feet 11 inches in the high jump, while in the boys’ 3200 meters, Kamari Rondfeldt, only a sophomore, ran a solid time of 9:30.24, placing second behind his teammate Beckett Crooks and qualifying for states. Sam Grand got his personal best in the 400 meters as well, with a time of 53.64 seconds. The boys’ 4×800 relay team won the event, earning a new season-best time, making them third in the state of Michigan, as well as qualifying for the state championships.
Skyline High School also had some key performances, with sophomore Isla Tharp clocking a season-best in the 400 meters, finishing third with a time of 59.50, as well as running in the team’s 4×800 relay, running a season-best time and qualifying for both the state meet and New Balance Nationals. In the field events, Rowan Kim pole vaulted his way to third place, clearing 11 feet 9 inches. In the distance events, Zeke Lafferty clocked his fastest mile of the season at 4:28.65.
Skyline High School’s boys’ distance coach, Mike Kessler, believes that their team’s overall success was due to consistent mental training practices and the athletes’ acceptance of races being difficult but proceeding nonetheless.
“We’ve been physically capable for a while, but I think the mental side is the confidence and the belief starting to come into play,” Kessler said.
Kessler encourages his athletes to dig deep when running in their events and to embrace the pain of the sport, letting it push them to their goals.
“Try to get some distance between how you feel and how you can perform, and then just focus on the task, which is running,” Kessler said. “Just accept that you’re not gonna feel good, that it’s gonna be hard, that it’s gonna be scary, and live with that. Don’t try to fix it. Go run fast.”
With strong performances across the board, this year’s regional meet showcased the talent and determination of student-athletes across the Ann Arbor area. As the season comes to a close, athletes now await the MHSAA state meet, taking place on May 31, 2025, in Grand Rapids, MI.
