EAST JACKSON — It’s been 18 years since the Jonesville varsity boys track and field team brought home a regional title, back when the team was in Division 4 tournaments.
On May 16 at East Jackson High School, Jonesville nine-year coach Pete Konieczki’s squad was able to break that drought, defeating Hillsdale in the final team score 86-77 to win the Region 25 championship.
Last year, the Comets just fell short of beating their rivals in Hillsdale for a regional title. This year, it was the Comets’ turn to bring home the title trophy.
The Comets celebrated appropriately, dousing coach Konieczki with bottles of water as they heard the news echo throughout the stadium. It’s been a culmination of a year’s long effort to make the most out of each opportunity on the track and in field events.
“When you start the season, you want to think that the regional is possible, but it’s a hard one to crack,” coach Konieczki said. “I think the last five seasons since Covid, however many seasons have been since Covid, we’ve taken second all but once up through this year. So, I was kind of wondering if it would ever happen. But they really came together today. We had some kids out injured. There’s been a lot of aversity in that sense this season.”
Several Comets battled adversity to help their team score the crucial points needed to win the event over Hillsdale. Konieczki says senior Ryan Marcavage had been dealing with a cold, but that didn’t stop him from scoring points with a sixth-place finish in the 100 dash and helping the 4×100 team of Makinlee Packer, Charlie Spencer and John Milks take sixth. He also helped the 4×200 team take fourth.
“I didn’t even know if he was going to get on the bus today because he was feeling kind of crummy, but he showed up and did the job,” Konieczki said.
To make the moment even more special, multiple Jonesville track and field athletes were able to secure their spots in the Division 3 state finals held in Kent City.
Senior boys track athlete Zander Goodwin had already qualified based on EQ times, but the senior went out and placed second in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.39 seconds. He then won a regional title in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 40.17 seconds. Teammate Reece Rundquist qualified for the state finals with his time of 42.13, taking fourth overall.
“It’s really satisfying to see (Zander Goodwin) come out and win the 300 hurdles tonight,” Koneiczki said. “Because last year, this was his first or second meet back off of a fractured pelvis. That story of him making that comeback is really inspiring to me.”
The boys 4×400 relay team of Logan Stanton, Mason Jordan, John Milks and Caleb Blonde took fifth, but their 3:32.25 time qualified them for the state finals.
Blonde was already an EQ qualifier, but he would end up putting together two individual regional title runs in the 800 and 1,600-meter runs. In the 800, he set a new PR with a winning time of 1:57.38. In the 1,600, he ran a PR time of 4:32.03. Freshman teammate Ashton Potwin was unable to qualify in his individual dash events, but his eighth (800) and seventh place (1,600) finishes helped the team in overall points.
Potwin is a part of a group several new Comets to the team, including John Milks, Logan Stanton and Mason Jordan, who Konieczki says have made the sacrifices to help the team win their regional championship.
“I really appreciate that the new kids to the roster this year are willing to buy into the culture to get the job done,” Konieczki said.
Blonde, Potwin, Zachery Childress and Collin Fucile qualified together in the 4×800 for the state finals with a time of 8:20.84. They took fourth.
Senior boys pole vaulter Makinlee Packer qualified for states with his 13-feet PR clearance to take fourth, making his return back to the finals after qualifying last year.
Senior throwers Scott Aube (third place shot) and Cooper Stevens (fifth place discus) helped their team earn a regional title with their placement scores. Aube’s throw of 45-feet, 9 inches was just a couple inches short of state qualification.
“All these little pieces from the seniors, that’s what really brought this together,” Konieczki said.
Girls Results
The Jonesville girls track team finished 10 in the team standings. Grass Lake won the event. Junior high jumper Payton Nichelson qualified for the state finals with a 5-feet clearance and a fourth-place finish. She will represent her team at the state finals.
Jonesville girls track did not have any other qualifiers, but several hit new personal best results. Junior Payton Nichelson hit a career best 27.41 time in the 200 dash to take fifth. Junior Miley Dunlap ran a PR 1:07.39 to take nineth in the 400. Freshman Brynleigh Griffiths hit a PR 2:37.35 in the 800. Sophomore Amelia Means ran a 52.91 PR in the 300 hurdles to take fifth. Senior Elaina VanBuskirk took 10th in discus but threw 90-feet, 9 inches to break her personal best throw in her final event.
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This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Jonesville boys track wins Region 25 championship, their first title since 2007
Reporting by Joseph Flaherty, Hillsdale Daily News / Hillsdale Daily News
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