Lorenz early qualifies for second state finals event
SCOTTVILLE – For the fourth year in a row, Hart’s girls track and field team are conference champs, running away with a West Michigan Conference (WMC) title Friday, May 9. This year, the girls were rejoined at the top by the boys team, marking the second time both teams have earned the top spot in the WMC Rivers in the last three seasons.
The girls decimated their opponents, earning a total of 256 points – a mark that came close to surpassing all other team’s points combined. Mason County Central (MCC) was the Pirates’ closest competition, coming in second with 88 points.
Hart’s girls had too many top six finishers to count. Lilly Hopkins had a fruitful day in the individual sprints, placing first in the 200-meter dash as well as the 400. Natalie Rosema was a star in the long distance events, posting top finishes in both the 800 and 1,600.
Rosema was also a member of the 1,600 relay team that took first, alongside teammates Rosemary Hernandez, Joselyn Flores and Emery Velat. Hopkins was a member of the first place 800 relay team with Lexie Nienhuis, Addison Hain and Addi Hovey.
Also notching top six finishes for the girls was Hain in the 100 (3rd), Nienhuis in both the 200 and 400 (2nd), Hernandez in the 400 (3rd), Flores in the 400 (5th), Schaner in the 800 (2nd) and 3,200 (1st), Harriet Kidder in the 800 (3rd), Velat in the 800 (4th), Anaya Vander Zwaag in the 800 (6th), Bryn Riley in the 1,600 and 3,200 (2nd), Brooklyn Carter in the 1,600 (6th) and Kenai Kokx in the 3,200 (5th).
Freshman Ellie Gross was the only Pirate on the girls team to place in the hurdle events. Gross took third in both the 100 and 300 hurdles.
Rounding out the relays were a pair of top finishes. Velat, Hain, Hovey and Ava Johnson snagged first in the 400 relay before Kokx, Shaner, Riley and Vander Zwaag took first in the 3,200 relay.
The Pirates also found success in the field events. Shelbie Choponis took first in both throwing events, tossing a personal record (PR) mark of 31-1.5 in shot put and a 107-4 mark in discus. Evalyn Flores placed fifth in discus at 85-2.
Joselyn Flores took first in the high jump with a mark of five feet, while German foreign exchange student Sarah Kranz took first in long jump with a PR of 14-10. Johnson took third in the long jump while Hernandez took fifth. Nienhuis and Lauren Hopkins rounded out the field events, taking the top two spots in pole vault.
Hart’s boys team returned to the top of the conference leaderboard after taking second in 2024. The Pirates totaled 181 points, beating out North Muskegon who posted 143.
Chase Lorenz did a fair amount of heavy lifting, placing second in the 100, first in the 200 and 400 and joining Carter Ramseyer, Bryce VanderKodde and Lyric Fielder for a first place finish in the 800 relay. Lorenz early qualified (EQ) for his second individual meet at the upcoming D3 State Finals, hitting the exact mark of 22.80 needed in the 200.
Ramseyer also helped out, placing fourth in the 100 and second in both the 200 and 400.
Silas Ackley had a nice day in the distance races, taking second in the 1,600 and first in the 3,200. Martin Fetterhoff (3rd), Mason Opalewski (4th), Grant Ackley (5th) also placed in the 1,600 while Opalewski (2nd) and Timothy Wolff (4th) placed in the 3,200.
Also snagging top six finishes in the individual races were VanderKodde (5th) in the 200, Jack Slotman (5th) in the 400, Trevor VanderKodde (2nd) in the 800, Noah Wolff (4th) in the 800 and Grant Ackley (5th) in the 800.
Lyric Fielder and Pablo Ortega-Rubio also earned placement points in the 300 hurdles. Fielder took second in that event while Ortega-Rubio took sixth. Fielder was .08 seconds away from hitting an EQ time, putting a 41.28 time on the board.
The relay teams had success as well. Joining the 800 relay team in first place was the 3,200 relay team of Grant Ackley, Trevor VanderKodde, Opalewski and Fetterhoff. Slotman, Ortega-Rubio, Trevor VanderKodde and Fielder took second in the 1,600 relay while Bryce VanderKodde, Elon Babbin, Eman Hertzler and Tyler Larios-Mendez took fourth in the 400 relay.
The field events had several top five finishers. Caleb Ackley took third in shot put while Alex Hicks claimed second in discus. Trevor VanderKodde was a third place finisher in high jump with Larios-Mendez taking fifth in long jump. Jagger Lenon (2nd) and Grant Ackley (5th) rounded it out in pole vault.
Both of Hart’s teams will have one final meet before Regionals in Chippewas Hills Saturday, May 17. The Pirates will run at the MOM Track & Field Invite in Ludington Monday, May 12, with one more chance to earn EQ placements.
