By Travis Smola
Vicksburg’s track and field teams had an especially rough time adjusting to conditions due to Michigan’s wildly unpredictable spring weather this year.
Boys’ co-head coaches Jon Kachniewicz and Dave Smith both agreed on their weather frustrations as rain started spitting down on the Regional track meet. The teams actually had to make up the Conference meet after Regionals due to weather delays. The boys ended up tied for second with Plainwell and the girls took third once make-ups were done for the Conference meet.
In spite of the weather, Kachniewicz said “things have gone very well.” The boys’ team had a very successful year as they ran neck-and-neck all season with Otsego. Unfortunately the Bulldogs just couldn’t compete with Otsego’s talented long-distance runners. At Regionals, the team finished seventh.
Junior Casey Hall finished third in the 400 meters while senior Jacob Klimp set a new personal record (PR) in the 800, finishing third. The 4×400 relay saw Jacob Wisser, CJ Laske, Klimp and Hall also get a third place finish.
The high jump event saw junior James Kienbaum put on his best showing of the year with a new PR of 5 feet, 7 inches, landing him in sixth place.
Things went a little better on the girls’ side. The Lady Bulldogs finished third overall in the Regional meet. Junior Mia Mulhearn earned a trip to state after she won the 300-meter hurdles. Fellow junior Grace Wile also punched her ticket to state with a second-place finish in the 200 meters.
The team also had success in the relays with Amelia Ruger, Mulhearn, Riley-Ann Bierema and Hanna Flickinger taking second in the 4×400 relay and earning a trip to the state meet.
The team of Wile, Bierema, Kinsay Riddle and Mulhearn came in third and just two seconds short of qualifying for state in the 4×200 relay.
The boys’ team is especially looking forward to their incoming junior varsity athletes. The JV squad won the JV Wolverine Conference Championship in Three Rivers the week prior.
“That’s a real boost for the future that those kids can go down there and win,” Kachniewicz said.