HART – Chase Lorenz and Joselyn Flores punched their tickets to Kent City for Hart’s track and field teams, Saturday, April 12.
The Pirates hosted their annual Hart & Sole Music Invite, adding an important twist. With recent changes to the standards to qualify for the MHSAA state finals, certain pre-approved meets now give athletes the chance to reserve their spot during the regular season.
Flores got it done in the high jump event, posting a personal record (PR) after clearing the bar at five feet, two inches – hitting the exact height needed to qualify for the state finals. Lorenz used his speed to claim first in the 400-meter run, posting a PR time of 50.22 to qualify.
Apart from those very important pair of individual accomplishments, Hart also showed plenty of promise as a team. A young boys roster took fourth on the day, while the girls came in second.
Lorenz earned the boys team plenty of placement points, adding a first place finish in the 200 (23.19) to his state-qualifying finish in the 400. Lorenz was also a member of the 800 relay team, alongside Lyric Fielder, Pablo Ortega-Rubio and Tyler Larios-Mendez, that placed second (1:37.76).
Fielder came close to qualifying for the state finals in the 300 hurdles, claiming third place (44.24). Fielder also joined Ortega-Rubio, Larios-Mendez and Ramseyer for a third place finish in the 1600 relay (3:42.75).
Ramseyer is new to the boys team this year after spending previous springs on the baseball diamond. Ramseyer showed plenty of promise, taking second in the high jump with a mark of 5’10” and claiming second in the 200 (23.90).
Several other athletes earned top five finishes for Hart’s boys team. Jack Slotman took fourth in the 400 (56.16), Cole Slotman placed third in pole vault (9’6”) and Alex Hicks came in fifth with a discus toss of 117’1”. Rounding out top finishes for the relay teams were Elon Babbin, Ortega-Rubio, Eman Hertzler and Fielder with a fourth place finish in the 400 relay (47.09) and a fifth place finish in the 3200 relay by Grant Ackley, Mason Opalewski, Trevor VanderKodde and Noah Wolff.
On the women’s side, there were plenty of contributors that led to a total of 105 points as a team.
Addi Hovey claimed second in the 100 (12.96) and third in the 200 (27.73), also joining Lilly Hopkins, LexieBeth Nienhuis and Addison Hain for a first place finish in the 400 relay (51.50) and Joselyn Flores, Hopkins and Hain for a first place finish in the 800 relay (1:49.44).
Hain, often hot on the heels of Hovey in the sprinting events, placed fifth in the 100 at 13.68. Hain added another first place relay finish to her day, joining Hopkins, Flores and Nienhuis for a 4:21.84 finish in the 1600 relay.
Hopkins – a state qualifier for pole vault in 2024 – placed second in that same event with a vault of 8’6”. Nienhuis came in right behind, with a vault of 8’0”, while Lilly Hopkins placed fifth at 5’6”.
Nienhuis also had a second place finish in the 400 with a time of 1:03.02, with teammate and dual-sport athlete Natalie Rosema placing sixth (1:05.44). Rosema claimed a top five placement in the 800, taking fourth with a time of 2:42.08. Emery Velat also finished top five in the 800, claiming fifth with a 2:42.98 mark.
Alaina Schaner did some nice work for the Pirates in the distance events, placing fifth in the 1600 at 12:48.28. Schaner also joined Harriet Kidder, Bryn Riley and Luisa Vander Zwaag for a third place finish in the 3200 relay (11:05.13).
Shelbie Choponis – another state qualifier in 2024 – was a force to be reckoned with in the throwing events. Choponis claimed fifth in shot put with a throw of 29’4” before taking third in discus at 101’2”.
Between the boys and girls teams, Hart boasted an eye-popping 54 PR marks. That recipe could spell even more success as the Pirates continue to improve with their eyes set on another appearance at the D3 state finals in June.
