ROMEO — It was unquestionably the greatest day of high school track and field in Livingston County history.
There’s no disputing that assertion following the successful onslaught on the record books made by four county runners at The Barnyard Invitational Friday, April 24 in Romeo.
The meet is set up for fast distance and middle-distance times, attracting many of the fastest runners in Michigan who get to run later in the day when temperatures are cooler.
Pinckney junior Jaelyn Ray, Hartland senior Elliana Neuer, Howell junior Jack MacGregor and Brighton senior Juliet Lewis took advantage of the opportunity to turn in record-setting performances.
Where do we begin?
The most historic achievement occurred in the Diamond Showcase Elite Mile, a race in which Ray and Neuer broke the county 1,600-meter record and became the first girls from the area to break five minutes in the same race.
Ray was fourth in 4 minutes, 49.22 seconds, followed closely by Neuer in fifth place at 4:50.27. The previous county record of 4:54.6 was set by Hartland’s Avery Evenson in a regional meet at Milford on May 21, 2010.
Until this year, the only county girls to break five minutes in the 1,600 were Evenson and Pinckney’s Noelle Adriaens (4:59.66 in 2019). Ray and Neuer doubled that exclusive club four days apart in early April.
“I don’t like looking at rankings, but when I did glance at it earlier this week I saw a lot of girls, including Natasza (Dudek of Ann Arbor Pioneer) were going to be there,” Ray said. “I knew if I went out and raced, it was going to be a (personal record), because it was a really stacked field. I definitely knew there was a potential.”
Being from Hartland, Neuer was aware of Evenson’s place in the history of county distance running. Now Neuer is the fastest 1,600 runner from Hartland.
“Honestly, it feels surreal,” Neuer said. “I was very surprised when I saw the time, so I’m very happy right now.
“In my head, I was telling myself to stick with them almost the entire race. I probably wouldn’t have been able to do it without the fast heat.”
Ray and Neuer don’t race one another often because they are in different leagues and MHSAA divisions, but they enjoyed the opportunity to be on the same track together.
“She had a great race, too,” Ray said. “It was good to see her. We definitely know of each other. We’ll say, ‘Hi’ before or after. I’ve seen her at other meets, more at invites. She’s very nice, so it’s good to see someone I know once I go to these meets.”
Ludington freshman Eliza Schwass won the race in 4:40.34, with Dudek taking second in 4:42.77.
Ray already met the early-qualifying standard of 5:03.50 for the Division 2 state finals. Neuer met the Division 1 early-qualifying time of 4:54.0.
“Now that have the mile early qualifier, I’m going to focus on the 800 and maybe the two mile, which I’ve never done,” Neuer said. “It should be really fun. It’s definitely a relief. My coach thinks I’m going to become a two-miler in the future. It’ll be nice to have the stress of the mile gone and now I can focus on that.”
Lewis was already one of the top 800 runners in county history, running five of the top 13 times and ranking fourth going into the meet. Her second-place time of 2:14.09 broke the county mark of 2:14.59 set by Brighton’s Maddie Brown in the Division 1 finals on June 1, 2019.
Collette Wierks of Holland West Ottawa won in 2:13.73.
“Oh, my gosh, it means so much,” Lewis said. “I’ve worked so hard the last four years. I’ve wanted it for so long. It’s a lot of setbacks and hard work. I’m super excited to get it. I talk to Maddie a lot, so it’s cool. She’s been so happy for me.”
Lewis didn’t originally plan to run the meet, which didn’t include Brighton’s full team.
“It was kind of a last-minute race that my teammate Ella (Lorenz) was going to do, so I just decided it would be good competition,” Lewis said. “I really wanted to run fast. I knew who I was running against.”
While a mere school record might pale by comparison, it shouldn’t in MacGregor’s case. The record he took down has stood for 55 years and was run before the days of metric track.
MacGregor was third in the Platinum Showcase Elite Mile with a time of 4:16.69. He broke Brian Williams’ 1971 record of 4:17.0, which was converted from a mile time of 4:18.6 set in the 1971 Kalamazoo Meet of Champions.
“I feel like it’s pretty long overdue,” MacGregor said. “I’ve been struggling with my mile since my freshman year, so I’m glad my leg speed is finally coming in. It means a lot. I’ve been looking at that record since middle school. It’s big, but I think there’s a lot more. It’s a milestone, but I’m ready to go faster.”
MacGregor set Howell’s cross country record with a time of 15:04.1 last Oct. 16, eclipsing a mark set in 1974 converted from three miles. His next goal is to break the school 3,200 record of 9:09.96 set by David Mitter in the 2017 Division 1 finals. He will make that record attempt Friday, May 1 in Shepherd.
Brighton senior Zach Wyderko placed 11th in a personal-best 4:22.17.
Brighton’s Blake Kulesza was fourth in the elite 800 in 1:56.17 and Lorenz was fifth in the Platinum Showcase Mile in 5:05.94.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: 2 Livingston County track records, an old Howell mark broken in Romeo
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
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