Warm and sunny was the recipe for the start of the MHSAA Division 1 Track and Field state finals at East Kentwood HS.  Isabel German took advantage of this weather which did have a bit of a cross wind as she vaulted clean throughout the day in route to a runner up finish in the pole vault.  Isabel’s 12’6” jump is 3” below her PR jump and matched the efforts by fellow OK White member Aubree Bowers (FHC)  but German’s clean jumping earned the spot-on misses.  The event, won by Brooke Bowers of FHC going 12’9” highlighted the OK White by capturing the top three positions.  Bowers missed three attempts at 13’8” which would have set a new state meet record breaking Greenville’s and OK White Landon Kemp’s record of 13’7”.

The weather on the track was not like the morning weather as the winds increased and the clouds eventually brought drizzle for the two races that Lowell had runners in.  Isabel German was up first seeded 11^th in the 400m coming off a PR of 58.33 at the regional meet two weeks ago.  German mustered her energy to throw down a 59.36 which was her second fastest time ever to finish 5^th in her heat and 16^th overall.  The overall finish was pretty good considering that all nine runners in the last heat (fast heat) ran PRs on the wet track.

Christopher Wigger followed in the 300 hurdles which was the following event.  Wigger was seeded 26^th of all entries and ended up 20^th by winning his heat in a 40.79.  Getting a great time is hard when you are running by yourself as Wigger won his heat by over 10 meters.  The learning experience will pay dividends just as German’s 2023 state meet experience helper her this year.

Seventeen LMS athletes joined one thousand of their peers in participating in the All-Weather Seal Megastar Track Invitational held at Red Arrow Stadium this past Wednesday.  It was one of the largest track meets in the state as there were 84 schools represented as well as 20 unattached athletes (not affiliated with a school).  Lowell competed in the “Large” school division and saw some PR performances as well as school records get established on a near perfect evening.  Competing in the meet itself is an accomplishment as the athletes needed to hit a qualifying mark to be entered.  Getting the best of the best is the goal of the meet.

Seventh grader Avi Elabed had a big day as he medaled in both the 1600m and 3200m finishing in 5^th and 2^nd respectively.  Avi’s 1600m time of 4:56 was a PR while his 3200m time of 10:34.24 was a new school record.   The pole vault saw the other school record as McKoye Yaw went 10’ which was good for 3^rd place.  Other medalists for the boys were Braam Maatman finishing 5^th in the 400 (56.02PR) and  Ty Malach finishing 6^th in the 200H (28.80PR).

Seven girls represented LMS at the meet with four athletes setting new personal records.  Lily Dyer set two of those PR’s as she medaled in the two hurdle events as she took 3^rd in the 55H (9.48) and 6^th in the 200H (32.00).  The two other PR’s were set by Maddyn Johnston in the 100m (13.67) and Emma Putnam in the 1600m (5:45.72).

Other Lowell athletes involved in the meet were

Ty Malach                            400m, 1600mR

Jacob Flickenger               800m, 3200mR

Tyler Bromley                    1600m, 3200mR

Zaden Perfitt                      1600mR

Lyle O’Boyle                       PV

Vaughn Gage                     3200mR

Jaeger Smith                      HJ

Ellery Bieneman               SP

Grace Walz                          1600mR

Kendall Schmuker            400m / 1600mR

Eleanor Pastor                   55H

Christopher Wigger ran a gutsy 300m hurdle race to close the gap on Caledonia’s Owen Harper and was able to out lean him at the finish to earn the second qualifying spot for the MHSAA D1 state meet.  The difference between going to state and not was .01 seconds with Wigger running 41.23.  Wigger also joined in some magic on the track as he was a member of two relay teams that moved up to number two on the LHS record board.  The 800m relay team of Xavier Young, Wigger, Jacob Ort, and Mason Butler laid down a time of 1:32.43 which earned them 7^th place in the meet and #2 on the record board, just .09 behind the team from 2000.  Thirty minutes later, the 400m relay team of Young, Wigger, Christ Fitzpatrick, and Butler got the baton around the track in near perfection to finish in 44.98 which moved the team to the number two spot right behind the 1990 team.

Next up for the Arrows is the Metro Health Scholarship meet on Tuesday @ Byron Center HS.

The State Meet is on June 1^st at East Kentwood HS.

Matching your seed is one the biggest challenge in championship meets and that is what Chris Wigger did as he grabbed the  gold medal and Al Conference honors in winning the 300m hurdles at the OK White Conference meet.  Wigger went from the start and crossed the finish line in a PR time of 40.10 which easily distanced himself from runner up finish Blake Schmitt of Greenville.  Chris’s time moves him to #3 on the LHS record board.  The race followed up a 4^th place finish in the 110HH in 15.63 which was just off his PR 15.61 set in the prelims on Wednesday.   

As a team Lowell finished in 7^th place which matched their regular season finish. 

Other OK White medalists.

Mason Butler                  100m                  6^th

Benjamin Homolka       110HH               8^th

Avery Elmhirst                Shot Put             6^th

Brady Swift                      Discus                8^th

Lowell is at Portage Central next Friday for the MHSAA regional meet.

Lowell was able to catch a preview of next weeks conference meet as they competed against league leading Byron Center on a dual meet at BC.  The two highlights in the meet were the performance of Christopher Wigger in the hurdles as well as the 800m relay team that continues to move up the LHS record board.  Wigger won both events setting a PR in the 110HH with a time of 15.64 which was .02 faster than his PR of 15.66 he ran last Saturday.  Wigger completed the hurdle sweep with a win in the 300H with a time of 42.28.  The 800m Relay team of Xavier Young, Wigger, Jacob Ort, and Mason Butler ran 1:33.26 which is #3 on the LHS record board moving past the 1977 team. 

Team Score        LHS   22           Byron Center 115

Placing for the Arrows were…

1^st place

Christopher Wigger         110HH /300H    15.64PR/42.28

2^nd place

Mason Butler                     100m                     11.34PR #3 LHS

Avery Elmhirst                 Shot Put               43-02

Nicholas Williams             HJ                           5-06

3^rd Place

Cooper Byrne                   800                        2:14.59

Marshal Huhn                  3200                     11:16

Lowell is at Greenville HS next Wednesday and Thursday for the OK White Conference Meet.

The Red Arrow 800m Relay team of Xavier Young, Christopher Wigger, Jacob Ort, and Jake Schmidt jumped up the record board with 1:33.89 FAT performance.  The time was good enough to move them to the #5 spot on the LHS record board and probably equally significant was the fastest FAT time ever for the event as the top three marks are converted from hand times.  Considering the windy conditions, it is safe to say that the gents have a good shot of hitting the school record of 1:32.34 which was set in 2000.  Earlier in the day Chris Wigger ran a PR 15.66 in the Elite 110HH which was good for fourth place.

The Lowell distance runners kicked off the day as there were some GIANT PR’s in the 1600m as Marshall Huhn went 4:45, Drew Swayze went 4:52, Ben Atkins went 5:17, and Cody Bromley went 5:21.  Later in the day teammate Cooper Byrne would improve his PR by 2 secs going 10:25 in the Elite 3200m.  The highlight of the field events was Brady Smith’s 115’11 toss in the discus which was a 20’ PR.  Teammate Avery Elmhirst also PR ’ed in the event going 107’7” while Brady Swift hit a PR 36’11.5” in the shot put.

Lowell will travel to Byron Center on Wednesday to go against the Bulldogs.

Lowell faced two challenges on Wednesday as they had the opportunity to match up against two of the strongest D2 teams in the state on one day’s rest with a meet this past Monday.   Both EGR and Christian used their long sprints and distance runners to jump to a lead and never really looked back.  Lowell relied on both the throws and the hurdles to stay in the hunt as Chris Wigger had an exceptional day in the hurdles winning the 300H and taking second in the 110HH, while Avery Elmhirst and Brady Swift led the throwers in the Shot Put and Discus.  Overall, as a team it was a very good day as the boys hit 42 PR performances on the day. 

Team Score        LHS   42.50           GRC  94.50

                                LHS  53                EGR  84

Placing for the Arrows were…

1^st place

Christopher Wigger         300H                      41.59

2^nd place

Christopher Wigger         110HH                   15.83PR

Avery Elmhirst                   Shot Put               43-07.00

Brady Swift                         Discus                   115-04.00PR

3^rd Place

Xavier Young                      100                     11.87

Jacob Ort                            200                       24.26

Cooper Byrne                   3200                   10:35

Avery Elmhirst                 Discus                 99-04.00

Nicholas Williams         HJ                           5-06.00

Eyan Dial                            PV                          9-06.00PR

Lowell is at Houseman Field on Saturday for the GR Public Schools Elite Invitational

Greenville arrived early for the Monday double dual and rode their field events and relays to a 96-46 win against the Red Arrows.  Greenville left the field events with a 19-point lead and completed the win by sweeping the relay.  Highlights for the Arrows were Mason Butler’s 100m win in 11.52 which is #8 on the record board and Christopher Wigger’s 300m hurdle win in 40.29 (#4 on the record)!

Team Score        Lowell 46          Greenville 96

Placing for the Arrows were…

1^st place

Mason Butler                 100m         11.52PR

Cooper Byrne                 3200m       10:28.23    

Christopher Wigger     300H          40.29PR

Nicholas Williams          HJ                5-08.00 

2^nd place

Jacob Ort                         200m          24.66PR

Dylan Polczak                 400m           54.92

Copper Byrne                 1600m         4:47.48

Marshall Huhn                3200m        10:45.24PR

Christopher Wigger      110HH         15.92PR

Drew Weber                      Shot Put      42-02.00

Nicholas Williams         LJ                   17-08.25

3^rd Place

Xavier Young                   100m             11.96

Ben Homolka                   800m             2:14.68

Marshall Huhn                1600m           4:52.74

Avery Elmhirst                 Shot Put        41-01.00

Jake Schmidt                    LJ                      16-07.50

Lowell is on the track again on Wednesday as they host EGR and GRC!

The Lowell throwers came ready for business as Lowell hosted the Kathy Talus Invitational which is held to honor long time coach and teacher Kathy Talus.  Brady Swift paired up with Drew weber to take 3^rd in the Discus relay as they threw 107-06 and 96-05 respectively and then Weber paired with the other Brady (Smith) in the shot put to take third throwing 42-06 and a PR 41-09.5.  Chris Wigger made his presence known in the hurdles as he won the 300H in a PR 41.62 and followed up in the 110HH taking 3^rd.

Medaling for Lowell were

1^st           300H                    Christopher Wigger       41.62PR

3^rd           Shot Put              (Drew Weber / Brady Smith)

                Discus                 (Drew Weber / Brady Swift)

                110HH                 Christopher Wigger       16,22

800m Relay       (Fitzpatrick, Baker, Butler, Young)          1:39.14

4^th

Distance Medley (Swayze, Marchal, Byrne, Huhn)  21:41

                HJ                           (Nick Williams / Cody Bromley)

Lowell will host two meets this week as they will compete against Greenville in a quad on Monday and the again on Wednesday against EGR and GRC.  Wednesday will be senior night.

Windy and cold were the conditions that greeted the Lowell track teams when they pulled into Northview HS.  The Arrows had some strong performances in all the disciplines and ended up splitting the double dual with a win against Northview and coming up 10 points short against FHN.  Chris Wigger and Mason Butler started the meet off in great fashion with wins in the 110HH and 100m dash, respectively.  Both joined Wyatt Baker and Xavier Young about fifteen minutes later to get the win in the 800m Relay.  Avery Elmhirst and Drew Weber lead a strong contingent of throwers as both went 1-2 in the shotput.  Cooper Byrne closed the evening with a solid win in the 3200m run.

Team Score        FHN   79              Lowell 58

                           Northview 52        Lowell 81

The Lowell boys team started to get healthy as the scored both distance and sprint relays at the Soderman Relays.  Lowell battled both weather and the “bug” the past week and as such was short handed against FHC.  Saturday things looked a bit brighter although tired as the relays were consistently in the fourth and fifth positions. In the 400m relay the team of Fitzpatrick, Wigger, Butler, and Young took 4^th place 45.78, while the DMR team of Huhn, Marchal, Swayze, and Byrne took 4^th in 1149.   In the field events Drew Weber and Avery Elmhirst came within a couple of inches of medaling but ended in 4^th place with a combined shot put of 79-01.

Lowell will travel to Northview HS on Wednesday for a double dual against the host and FHN.

Lowell relied on the hurdle events and the throws to get off to a quick start against FHC but ended up losing to the Rangers 93-43 in their first OK White meet of 2024.  Junior Chris Wigger was a double winner as he snagged the 110HH and 300H events with times of 16.30 (PR), and 42.83, respectively.  Senior Drew Weber picked up where he left off in 2023 by winning the shot put with a throw of 43-07.5, while teammate Avery Elmhirst won the discus in 101-07.  Sophomore Cooper Byrne picked up where he was in XC season by grabbing a win in the 3200m.  On the sprints side new-comer Mason Butler grabbed a 3^rd place in the 100m with a time of 11.67 which is #11 on the LHS record board. 

Placing for the Arrows were…

1^st place

Cooper Byrne                   3200                    11:12.75

Chris Wigger                    110HH / 300H    16.3 / 42.83

Drew Weber                    SP                         43-07.25

Avery Elmhirst                 Discus                 101-07

1600mRELAY (Vonderheide, Polczak, Hekman, Rathbun)  4:09.8

2^nd place

Mason Butler                   200                      24.57

Cody Bromley                  HJ                         5-02

3^rd Place

Mason Butler                   100                      11.67 (#11 LHS)

Dylan Polczak                   400                      57.39

Cooper Byrne                   1600                    4:47.60

Avery Elmhirst                 SP                         42-02.75

Lowell will host the Greenville tomorrow at Red Arrow Stadium.