By Staff
NILES – Niles wasted no time shutting up the critics, as the field events crew jumped all over the competition in Friday's Division II Regional Track and Field Tournament.
Undefeated and defending regional champion Kurt Poehlman showed why he may be the best in the state in any class by winning his second regional title in the high jump with a leap of 6'6.
Junior David Davis stunned the field by winning the pole vault with a jump of 12'4.
Kenyon Ellison and Paul Depoy combined for 13 big points in the shot put with a second and fourth place finish. Adding nine more points were Damion Bryant and Davis in the long jump with a fourth and sixth place finish. Bryant also placed third in the high jump.
After the field events were over, the Vikings had already built a firm lead surpassing any expectations of Coach Tony Todd, and put the ball firmly in the runners' court.
"Wow did that ever run with it too," Todd said. Three-time defending regional champion senior Isaiah Glaze ripped apart the competition winning both the 100 and 200 for the second year in a row.
Craig Rumpf placed second in the 400 qualifying for state. Also qualifying were Dan Geiger in the 1,600 with a personal best of 4:31 and Nick Shuck in the 800 meter also with a personal best of 1:59.
By the time the last event was up, Niles had already won the meet, but Coach Todd has a real soft spot for the mile relay, his personal favorite. Scraped, bruised, battered and sore, the team of Glaze, Shuck, Geiger and Rumpf somehow managed to place second, qualifying them for the state championships and giving Niles its largest margin of victory ever winning by 20 points with a score of 102. South Haven took second place with a score of 82. Benton Harbor finished third, Sturgis fourth and Three Rivers fifth.
"Niles had no shortage of critics and nay sayers this year. It was said we were washed up and I read online we would be lucky to finish in the top five. This really angered my guys and a mad Viking is a dangerous beast," Todd continued. "I will admit, winning our first regional two years ago was special. It had been 20 years since Niles had won one in track and field title, and to repeat last year was amazing, but this, 'The Three Peat,' was the best because nearly everyone had written us off and the only ones who truly believed we could win this was us and really that's the only people who count."
Todd continued, saying that this crop of seniors have had a four-year run that is nothing short of incredible.
"In their four years, they are 20-1 in dual meets, three time West Division champs, three time Regional champs, multiple All-Conference, multiple Regional champions and multiple All-State. Niles track andfield class 2007 – the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be," Todd ended.
Division 2 Regional
(top two individuals advance to state finals, plus additional qualifiers by time, height of distance)
Denotes additional qualifier
At St. Joseph
Boys Team Results
Niles 102, South Haven 82, Benton Harbor 65.50, Sturgis 55.5, Three Rivers 54.5, Lakeshore 41.5, Gull Lake 40, St. Joseph 37, Edwardsburg 27, Mattawan 24, Dowagiac 23, Otsego 22.5, Plainwell 22, Allegan 20, Vicksburg 17, Delton Kellogg 15.5, Comstock 14
Individual Results
High jump: 1. Kurt Poehlman (Niles) 6-6, 2. Brent Shuttleworth (Edwardsburg) 6-5, 3. Damien Bryant (Niles) 6-4, 4. Matt Gregory (Gull Lake) 6-2, 5. Brett Russell (Otsego) 6-2, 6. Ethan Helmer (Otsego) 6-0, 6. Peter O'Connor (Lakeshore) 6-0
Long jump: 1. Dale Norman Jr. (Sturgis) 21-6.5 2. Brandon Hurst (Benton Harbor) 21-3.5, 3. Royce Reynolds (Benton Harbor) 20-10 1/4, 4. Damien Bryant (Niles) 20-8.5, 5. Matt Gregory (Gull Lake) 20-4.5 6. David Davis (Niles) 20-1.74
Shot put: 1. Brad Wentzel (Allegan) 54-6, 2. Kenyon Ellison (Niles) 46-11.5, 3. Chris Primley (Dowagiac) 45-4.5, 4. Paul DePoy (Niles) 45-0, 5. Ryan Casey (Dowagiac) 44-9.73, 6. Gerry Moreno (Comstock) 44-3.5
Discus: 1. Brad Wentzel (Allegan) 163-6, 2. Stephen Hartfield (Mattawan 145-10, 3. Pat Bond (Gull Lake) 144-7, 4. Chris Chorney (Lakeshore) 136-10, 5. Andrew Grimes (Gull Lake) 132-5, 6. Josh DeHaan (Plainwell) 130-5
Pole vault: 1. David Davis (Niles) 12-4, 2. Chris Tiech (St. Joseph) 12-4, 2. Joe Fodo (Lakeshore) tied 12-4, 4. Jay Marshall (Sturgis) 11-10, 5. Cory Wright (Dowagiac) 11-10, 6. Andres Diaz (South Haven) 11-10
3,200 relay: 1. Sturgis 8:13.48, 2. Three Rivers 8:24.64, 3. Delton Kellogg 8:28.16, 4. Lakeshore 8:36.93, 5. Gull Lake 8:41.85, 6. St. Joseph 8:42.52
100: 1. Isaiah Glaze ( Niles) 10.96, 2. Brian Thomas (Benton Harbor) 10.99, 3. Kelip Goodwin (South Haven) 11.06, 4. Akeem Cason (Benton Harbor) 11.26, 5. Carleton Hunter (South Haven) 11.31, 6. Errol Thornton (Three Rivers) 11.47
110 hurdles: 1. Brandon Hurst (Benton Harbor) 14.57, 2. Jesse Whitman (St. Joseph) 14.66, 3. Alex Perry (Plainwell) 14.89, 4. Damien Ross (South Haven) 15.05, 5. Jerry King (Benton Harbor) 15.51. 6. Trent Hearn (Comstock) 15.62
800 relay: 1. South Haven 1:30.61, 2. Benton Harbor 1:31.97, 3. Lakeshore 1:34.28, 4. Three Rivers 1:34.46, 5. Delton Kellogg 1:34.91, 6. St. Joseph 1:35.27
1,600: 1. Nathan Martin (Three Rivers) 4:20.32, 2. Mike Fish (Mattawan) 4:27.53, 3. Dan Geiger (Niles) 4:30.32, 4. Ryan Wenrick (Edwardsburg) 4:36.14, 5. Nick Shuck (Niles) 4:40.31, 6. Benjamin Lewis (South Haven) 4:41.41
400 relay: 1. South Haven 43.84, 2. Benton Harbor 43.89, 3. Gull Lake 44.13, 4. Vicksburg 44.44, 5. St. Joseph 44.65, 6. Dowagiac 44.80
400: 1. Steve Crowell (Plainwell) 50.48, 2. Craig Rumpf (Niles) 50.51, 3. Chris Massenburg (South Haven) 50.55, 4. Ryan J. DeNeau (Three Rivers) 52.09, 5. Isaiah Frazier (South Haven) 52.23, 6. Josh Fisher (St. Joseph) 52.39
300 hurdles: 1. Justin Tabanguil (Three Rivers) 40.14, 2. Trent Hearn (Comstock) 30.20, 3. Jesse Whitman (St. Joseph) 40.30, 4. Damien Ross (South Haven) 41.30; 5. David Roberts (Delton Kellogg) 41.66, 6. Tyler Ankney (Gull Lake) 41.79
800: 1. Tommy Brinn (Otsego) 1:57.05, 2. Nathan Martin (Three Rivers) 1:57.74, 3. Austin Brown (Sturgis) 1:59.54 , 4. Nick Shuck (Niles) 1:59.78, 5. Ben Murray (Sturgis) 2:00.88, 6. Dan Geiger (Niles) 2:02.13
200: 1. Isaiah Glaze (Niles) 22.73, 2. Kelip Goodwin (South Haven) 22.75. 3 Amos Clark (Dowagiac) 23.17, 4. Kyle Poe (Edwardsburg) 23.42, 5. Carleton Hunter (South Haven) 23.49, 6. Cordell Travis (Benton Harbor) 23.57
3,200: 1. Will Dresser (Sturgis) 9:56.63, 2. Chris Ryan (Vicksburg) 9:57.26, 3. Jeff MacMillan ( Mattawan) 9:58.93, 4. Taylor Polzin (Sturgis) 10:09.37, 5. Derek Prusa (Lakeshore) 10:12.45, 6. Mike Hall (Gull Lake) 10:13.08
1,600 relay: 1. South Haven 3:27.79, 2. Niles 3:29.26, 3. Edwardsburg 3:30.03, 4. Lakeshore 3:32.80, 5. Otsego 3:34.29, 6. Gull Lake 3:34.35