Vicksburg Girls Track Has Successful Year

vix hurdles — Kacey Vanderbos stretches to win the 100 and 300 meter hurdles.

By Travis Smola

The Vicksburg girls track team stepped up the pace to become Wolverine Conference champions and pull off a second place finish in regionals.

“We had a couple issues crop up, but we came back and finished up nicely,” said head coach Sue Oesterle after the conference win. After rain delays caused most of the field events in Sturgis to be cancelled on Friday, Vicksburg ended up edging out second place Three Rivers by 16 points in make-up events in Paw Paw the next day.

Seniors Michaela Oesterle and Kacey Vanderbos were big factors in the win. Vanderbos took first in the 100 and 300 meter hurdle finals. Oesterle won first easily in the pole vault and came in third in the 300 meter hurdles. Seniors Oliva Welch and Liz Weddon contributed second and fourth place finishes respectively in the long jump. Senior Gabrielle Perrin took fifth in the 1600 meters and second in the 3200.

While the seniors made big contributions, coach Oesterle was quick to point out the contributions by some of the younger members. “The underclassmen stepped it up,” Oesterle said. Among those underclassmen contributors, sophomore Layna Steele and freshman Angie Lorios finished sixth and seventh in the 800 meters. Steele also took fourth in the 1600 meters. Oesterle also praised the efforts of sophomore Renee Debault and junior Emma Lewis.

The delay of finishing the meet ended up playing into the Lady Bulldogs’ favor as they picked up 27 points in the make-up events. “Everyone showed up to finish the meet,” Oesterle said. “Even with some injuries and things not going our way, the girls stepped it up.”

The following week, in much nicer weather conditions, Vicksburg was back at Sturgis competing in Regional competition that saw its share of highs and lows. The Lady Bulldogs took second place in an event that also saw two qualify for state with Michaela Oesterle winning regional champion in pole vault. She also came very close to breaking her own school record. Vanderbos also ended up punching a ticket to state with a second place finish in the 300 meter hurdles.

The meet was not without some difficulties for the Lady Bulldogs. In a particularly frustrating moment, the 4×100 relay team appeared to have qualified for state, but they were disqualified for an exchange that happened outside the zone. Another happened in the 3200. Senior Gabrielle Perrin ended up with third after a St. Joseph runner made a huge, late surge to overtake her in a finish that was determined by tenths of a second. The finish prevented Perrin from earning a spot at state.

The meet was also meaningful because it was one of coach Oesterle’s final big meets. She is stepping down as head women’s coach at the end of this season when daughter Michaela graduates. “She (Michaela) broke two records this year,” Oesterle said. These were family records held by Michaela’s older sisters.

While there were some disappointments, coach Oesterle was still proud of her team’s effort. “The girls ran hard,” Oesterle said. “They’re strong, competitive; they put it out there.” She also praised the team for excelling academically and for their leadership. Oesterle says the many seniors will be a big loss next year. “They’re going to be missed,” she said.

Wolverine Conference Championship 5-8-15

100 Meters

Skylar Rogenski-13.75
Grace Bailey-14.34

200 Meters

Oliva Welch-28.27

400 Meters

Kellie Goole-1:07.52
Natalie Glaes-1:08.66
Emma Lewis-1:09.12

800 Meters

Layna Steele-2:43.37
Angie Lorios-2:43.62

1600 Meters

Layna Steele-5:34.80
Gabrielle Perrin-5:35.07

3200 Meters

Gabrielle Perrin-11:54.88
Kasmyn VanMaanen-13:45.54

100 Meter Hurdles

Kacey Vanderbos-16.38
Michaela Oesterle-17.46

300 Meter Hurdles

Kacey Vanderbos-48.11
Michaela Oesterle-52.07
Desiree Gonzalez-56.26

4×100 Relay

Liz Weddon, Olivia Welch, Renee Debault, Skylar Rogenski – 53.89

4×200 Relay

Natalie Glaes, Michaela Oesterle, Kacey Vanderbos, Olivia Welch – 1:52.36

4×400 Relay

Natalie Glaes, Kacey Vanderbos, Renee Debault, Kellie Goole – 4:37.30

4×800 Relay

Gabrielle Perrin, Victoria Thamann, Layna Steele, Kellie Goole – 11:23.87

Shot Put

Rachel Baughman- 27-06.50
Kaylee McElrath-25-07.50

Discus

Grace Welch-84-00
Kaylee McElrath-75-05

High Jump

Taylor Rosenthal-4-07.03

Pole Vault

Michaela Oesterle-10-00.00
Renee Debault-6-06.00

Long Jump

Olivia Welch-14-08.25
Liz Weddon-14-06.50
Skylar Rogenski-13-05.00

MHSAA Regional- 5-15-15