KINGSFORD - Recent Ontonagon boys' track and field history seems to indicate good things come in threes.
In both 2009 and 2010, Mike Schmaus won three events in Division 3 at U.P. Track and Field Finals. Saturday, Dylan Kirkley completed the Gladiator triumvirate with a trio of his own in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes at Flivver Field.
"I've waited since I was a freshman because when I was a freshman, sophomore, I was always racing against Mike and I was always losing to him. So now, it's nice to be in his shoes and see how he felt," Kirkley said.
Article Photos
Ontonagon’s Dylan Kirkley takes off from his starting spot in the first heat of the 400-meter dash Saturday at U.P. Finals in Kingsford. Though he was in the lower-seeded heat, Kirkley won the event, part of a three-win day for the Gladiator senior that included victories in the 100 and 200. (DMG photo by Brandon Veale)
Kirkley was the star of the day, both locally and peninsula-wide, as the only male to win three individual events.
"I wasn't sure about the (100). That's, to me, his hardest race because he's just getting up to speed at the end of that 100. It's hard for him to get moving in that short a time. But when I saw him win that 100, I was like, 'He's going to win everything," Ontonagon coach Brian Amos said.
He didn't win everything, as he didn't place in the high jump, but scored 30 of Ontonagon's 31 points in a fifth-place finish for the Glads, the best locally.
Fact Box
TEAM SCORING - Pickford (PIC) 89, Bark River-Harris (BRH) 58, Forest Park (FP) 57, Rapid River (RR) 52, Ontonagon (ONT) 31, Superior Central (SC) 26, Mid Peninsula (MP) 24, Chassell (CHS) 24, Munising (MUN) 21, Lake Linden-Hubbell (LLH) 21, Big Bay De Noc (BBN) 18, North Dickinson (ND) 15, Cedarville (CED) 14, Brimley (BRM) 12, Maplewood Baptist Academy (MBA) 12, Ewen-Trout Creek (ETC) 10, Wakefield-Marenisco (WM) 10, Bessemer (BES) 9, Republic-Michigamme (RM) 7, Engadine (ENG) 6, North Central (NCA) 6, DeTour (DET) 4, Dollar Bay (DB) 1.
DISCUS - 1. Brett Branstrom, MP, 154-8 (New U.P. Division 3 Final Meet Record Old Record: 149-1, Richard Poma, RR, 2003); 2. Mitch Narkooli, RR, 135-8.50; 3. Jacob Finegan, RM, 133-3; 4. Kyle Reidenga, BBN, 126-9.75; 5. Hayden Hardwick, RR, 125-7; 6. Martin Payment, CED, 121-11.50.
POLE VAULT - 1. Robert Metter, RR, 12-6; 2. Ross Michaels, CHS, 12-0; 3. Jacob Richard, PIC, 12-0; 4. Cody Londo, BRH, 11-6; 5. Art Rundell, BES, 10-6; 6. Taylor Ambuehl, LLH, 10-0.
SHOT PUT - 1. Jacob Pikka, WM, 47-5; 2. Branstrom, MP, 46-1.50; 3. Narkooli, RR, 45-11; 4. Hardwick, RR, 45-8.25; 5. Jake Pearson, RR, 43-1.50; 6. Finegan, RM, 41-6.75.
HIGH JUMP - 1. Payment, CED, 5-11; 2. Victor Guliato, PIC, 5-11; 3. Chad Branstrom, MP, 5-10; 4. Jordan LaPlant, ETC, 5-8; 5. Taylor Smith, BES, 5-8; 6. Dylan Fesnick, ND, 5-8.
LONG JUMP - 1. Jordan Lavigne, PIC, 20-8.50; 2. Jacob Kleiman, BRH, 20-7.50; 3. LaPlant, ETC, 19-7; 4. Cody Kumpula, LLH, 19-6.50; 5. Jared Hatfield, PIC, 19-6; 6. Payment, CED, 19-4.
3,200-METER RELAY - 1. Forest Park, 8:40.77 (Mark Hallmann, Jon Curtis, Derek Aberly, Jake Divine); 2. Pickford, 8:49.54; 3. Rapid River, 9:00.59; 4. Lake Linden-Hubbell, 9:00.76; 5. Superior Central, 9:14.77; 6. Ontonagon, 9:17.33.
110-METER HIGH HURDLES - 1. Trevor Cochrane, BRH, 15.90; 2. Tim Hruska, ND, 16.50; 3. Dan Steward, SC, 16.65; 4. Jarred Lavigne, PIC, 16.69; 5. Lamont Grigsby, MBA, 16.77; 6. Tyler Lovato, FP, 17.96.
100-METER DASH - 1. Dylan Kirkley, ONT, 11.45; 2. Jordan Lavigne, PIC, 11.71; 3. Grigsby, MBA, 11.84; 4. (tie) Tim Hruska, ND, 11.92; Jacob Siler, FP, 11.92; 6. Phillip Coullard, PIC, 11.95.
800-METER RELAY - 1. Pickford, 1:36.69 (Jacob Richard, Coullard, Jarred Lavigne, Jordan Lavigne); 2. Bark River-Harris, 1:37.10; 3. Forest Park, 1:37.86; 4. Lake Linden-Hubbell, 1:39.96; 5. Rapid River, 1:40.49; 6. Bessemer, 1:40.70.
1,600-METER RUN - 1. Andrew Kelto, MUN, 4:51.14; 2. Jared Jarvi, CHS, 4:57.39; 3. Jeffery Dishaw, ENG, 4:57.88; 4. Cole Potvin, BBN, 4:59.08; 5. Jayson Aikens, BRM, 4:59.66; 6. Hallmann, FP, 5:04.79.
400-METER RELAY - 1. Bark River-Harris, 47.01 (Kleiman, Hunter Messersmith, Dane Messersmith, Scott Jorasz); 2. Forest Park, 47.31; 3. Pickford, 47.32; 4. Lake Linden-Hubbell, 47.78; 5. Bessemer, 48.08; 6. Rapid River, 48.32.
400-METER DASH - 1. Kirkley, ONT, 52.73; 2. Potvin, BBN, 52.95; 3. Brett Bryant, RR, 53.27; 4. Alex Takala, FP, 53.39; 5. Tom Aikens, BRM, 54.33; 6. Derek Wagner, ND, 54.66.
300-METER INTERMEDIATE HURDLES - 1. Cochrane, BRH, 41.28; 2. Steward, SC, 42.22; 3. Jarred Lavigne, PIC, 43.25; 4. Grigsby, MBA, 44.21; 5. Smith, BES, 44.98; 6. Tim Hruska, ND, 45.26.
800-METER RUN - 1. Tyler Keinitz, SC, 2:06.56; 2. Divine, FP, 2:06.94; 3. Josh Granquist, NCA, 2:10.35; 4. Austin Brunning, PIC, 2:10.38; 5. Alec Firack, PIC, 2:10.54; 6. Andrew Kelto, MUN, 2:10.99.
200-METER DASH - 1. Kirkley, ONT, 23.50; 2. Jordan Lavigne, PIC, 24.16; 3. Takala, FP, 24.17; 4. Sathya Wiltse, DET, 24.30; 5. Potvin, BBN, 24.40; 6. Bryant, RR, 24.41.
3,200-METER RUN - 1. Kelto, MUN, 10:36.29; 2. Jarvi, CHS, 10:49.14; 3. J. Aikens, BRM, 11:02.76; 4. Donald Maynard, LLH, 11:06.26; 5. Teddy Bowlby, CED, 11:08.70; 6. Brett Houle, DB, 11:09.69.
1,600 METER RELAY - 1. Forest Park, 3:36.32 (Takala, Hallmann, Divine, Aberly) (New U.P. Division 3 Final Meet Record Old Record: 3:37.51, Mid Peninsula, 2007); 2. Bark River-Harris, 3:37.66; 3. Pickford, 3:39.44; 4. Rapid River, 3:43.19; 5. Brimley, 3:50.72; 6. North Dickinson, 3:51.66.
Pickford strolled to the victory with 89 points to 58 for runner-up Bark River-Harris. Chassell (24) tied for seventh, Lake Linden-Hubbell (21) tied for ninth, Ewen-Trout Creek (10) was 16th and Dollar Bay notched a single point for 23rd.
Kirkley's first conquest was the 100, where he was good from the starting gun.
"My start was really good. Usually that's my downfall in the 100, my start, and I've been working on those most of the time, and to make sure I always have my long
strides because I've got long legs, so I'd better use them."
His winning time was 11.45, enough to beat Pickford's Jordan Lavigne by a step.
He didn't have the same level of competition in the 400. With entrants from four regions, the Division 3 400 is run in two heats. Because of a low competition level at the regionals, Kirkley ended up as the No. 11 seed, in the "slow" heat. Slow, that is, for everyone but Kirkley.
"I saw what he did in his heat and I had a time on him, and then the second heat ran, and I was like, 'Holy cow, he won. He won it all,'" Amos said.
Kirkley's 52.73 outdid a 52.95 from second-heat winner Cole Potvin of Big Bay de Noc.
Back in the top echelon for the 200, Kirkley finished his collection, running a 23.50.
"I didn't think I was going to do this good, but I'm pretty happy right now," he said.
Chassell had a trio of its own, but of runner-up finishes. Jared Jarvi was second to Munising's Andrew Kelto in both the 1,600 and 3,200, while Ross Michaels took second in the pole vault, topping out at 12 feet.
For the Lakes, the number of the day was four. Three Lakes relay teams (400, 800 and 3,200) ended up in fourth place, as did Donald Maynard in the 3,200 and Cody Kumpula in the long jump. Taylor Ambuehl completed the LL-H total with a sixth in pole vault.
Jordan LaPlant was responsible for E-TC's total by taking third in long jump and fourth in high jump. Brett Houle had a sixth in the 3,200 to get Dollar Bay on the board.