Whitehall capped its season Saturday at the Division 2 state meet in Hamilton by earning medals in four events, nearly adding a fifth, and bidding farewell to one of the school's best-ever performers.
The Vikings' Ayden Mendoza finished third in the high jump, recording his second-highest outdoor jump of the season at 6-7. The junior star ended up just one inch behind the top two finishers - Edwardsburg's Zachary Overmyer and Stevensville Lakeshore's Declin Doroh.
Mendoza and Camden Thompson, who co-held the school record in the event before Mendoza broke it earlier this year at the Grand Valley State indoor meet, provided a remarkable one-two punch all season. Thompson placed fifth in high jump with a 6-3.
"To have two school record holders on the same team is highly
unusual and extremely convenient for their coach," Whitehall coach Kirk Mikkelson said. "I could count on
going first and second every meet in the high jump. They work very hard
and have benefitted from the knowledge and experience of (jumping) coach (Harold) Schneider...We are looking forward to watching Ayden next year, as he has
some lofty goals for himself."
Thompson's fifth-place was his highest finish of the day but just one of three medals he earned in his final competition at Whitehall. He also finished seventh in discus, incredibly beating his previous personal best by 10 feet with a throw of 157-4, and placed seventh in the 110-meter hurdles as well with a time of 14.86 seconds. All six runners to finish ahead of him recorded personal bests to do it.
"I searched a little for
another athlete who has achieved all-state honors in high jump, discus,
and the 110 hurdles. I found none," Mikkelson said. "The skill required to achieve that
high of honor in those events is a testament to Cam's diverse talent.
"He is one of the most gifted, talented, and
giving athletes I have seen in my career.
We wish him the best at Western (Michigan)."
The Vikings' Kal Koehler took a tough beat to say the least in long jump, losing out on all-state status in his final competition by tiebreaker. Koehler jumped 21-1.5, a season best, and tied Berrien Springs' Braelin Hurst for eighth place, but Hurst was awarded the all-state spot because his next-longest jump was longer than Koehler's. On top of that, Niles' Andre Wells, who took seventh, leapt only half an inch longer than both of them.Several other Vikings competed at state as well. Senior Mason Mulnix, who qualified in all three sprint events, took a scratch in the 100-meter dash to focus his energies on the 200 and 400, and fell just short of medaling in each. He was 11th in the 400 with a time of 50.59 seconds and 13th in the 200 in a time of 22.54 seconds. Both were just short of personal bests.
"We are extremely
proud of his effort in his first season," Mikkelson said of Mulnix. "He completed our team as the
one piece of our puzzle we were missing after last season."
Caden Bowyer placed 22nd in discus for Whitehall, with a throw of 145-10, and Corde Anderson was 27th in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.57 seconds.
In the girls' meet, Cami Kraai placed 13th for the Vikings in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:23.5, her second-best time of the season.
