Gladstone Boys, Esky Girls Win County Track Meet

ESCANABA---It was more like hockey or football weather than for a track and field event on Thursday across the Upper Peninsula. But while a track meet was cancelled in Marquette County, the annual Delta County Track Invitational went on as scheduled.

The Gladstone Braves won the boys championship for the ninth straight year, and the Escanaba Eskymos captured the girls championship as all of the county's track and field teams....big school and small...gathered at the same place for the only time of the season (other than at the U.P. Finals in Kingsford on the first Saturday in June).

In the boys action, Gladstone won with 223 points. Rapid River was second with 101, Escanaba third at 84, Bark River-Harris fourth with 60 points. Mid Pen was fifth and Big Bay deNoc was sixth in the team scoring. Hannahville finished seventh.

Gladstone's Kyle Kleiman first; Escanaba's Andrew Stenberg a close second in the 3200 relay.

Gladstone's Kyle Arvan won the 1600 (5.00.78), and Justin Pederson won the 100 (11.12), just ahead of teammates Riley Ballard (11.19) and Max Mahoney (11.21).

Rapid River's Brett Bryant won the 400 meter dash (54.06), ahead of Big Bay deNoc's Cole Potvin (55.84). Bark River-Harris's Trevor Cochrane won the 110 hurdles (15.53) over Gladstone's Ian Houle (16.16).

Cochrane also won the 300 hurdles, again edging Houle. Gladstone's Kyle Kleiman won the 800 (2.15.40) with Escanaba's Jake walker second. The Braves went 1-2 in the 200 meter dash, with Tim Ketchum winning (24.63) and teammate Mahoney close behind (24.90). Escanaba's Andrew Stenberg won the 3200 run, with Arvan second.

Rapid River's Jake Pearson was cold.

And Gladstone won the 1600 and 3200 relay races. In the field events, Mid Peninsula's Brett Branstrom won the discus (149.09), with Gladstone's Kyle Closs (140) and Jared Vuksan (135) second and third. Vuksan beat Branstrom in the shot put. Pederson won the high jump for the Braves, with Big Bay's Cole Potvin second.

Gladstone's Zach Sturdy edged BR-H's Dustin DeGrave to win the pole vault, and Pederson wrapped up his day with a win over BR-H's Jake Kleiman in the long jump.

In the girls acti0n, Escanaba was first with 228 points. Gladstone took second with 121, and Bark River-Harris was third with 59 points.

Rapid River was fourth (54). Big Bay deNoc was fifth (40 points) and Mid Peninsula was fifth (19 points). Hannahville finished sixth with no points.

Escanaba's Meredith Marlett won the 100 hurdles, the high jump, and the long jump. Rapid River's Neena Brockway won the discus, and finished second to Bark River-Harris's Sydni Petrie in the shot put. Escanaba's Holly Ettenhofer topped Gladstone's Laura Alexander to win the pole vault, and Eskymo Lynsey Collins won the 300 hurdles, beating Rapid River's Heather Sanderson by just over a full second.

Escanaba's Olivia Nash.

Escanaba's Olivia Nash won the 200 meter dash (29.97) and finished second in the high jump. Big Bay deNoc's Brittany Richard won the 800 meter run (2.40.19), with Escanaba's Aubree Peterson second. Richard also won the 1600 run (5.59.36).

Peterson won the 400 dash, and was the anchor of the Eskymos' winning girls 3200 meter relay team.

Gladstone's Marissa Leisner won the 100 (13.34), a fraction of a second better than Escanaba's Nash (13.52).

Gladstone won the 800 meter relay, while Escanaba took the 1600 meter relay.

Hannahville, competing for the first time ever in track, earned a single point in the boys event, when Seth Williams finished sixth in the 1600 meter run in 5:27.95. The Hannahville girls did not earn any points in their competition on Thursday.

See more pictures and videos from the meet by clicking the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS button at the upper-right of this page.