The Chelsea High School boys track and field team hosted the division 2 region 16 final track meet on Friday, May 17th. The regional final meet is the only meet where athletes can qualify for the MHSAA finals. The top 2 athletes and relays for each event qualify for the meet along with any relays or individuals that make the additional qualification standard for their event.
The boys put forth a solid performance and placed 2nd out of 15 teams, scoring 67.5 points behind the champion Adrian, who scored 79 points.
The following athletes either placed top two in their event or hit the additional qualifying
standard for their event and will compete at the MHSAA Finals on Saturday, June 1st at
Hamilton High School:
- The 4×800 team of Jackie Dell, Beckett Boos, Miles Dell, and Connell Alford took 3rd place and met the AQ standard of 8:19. They ran 8:18.41 and just made it! It was a great race in a competitive field!
- Connell Alford took 2nd in the 1600 with a time of 4:22.38, a season best. He also won the 3200 in a stunning finish with a time of 9:32.31. This will be Connell’s 4th year in a row competing at the state meet, an impressive feat.
- Jacob Nelson competed in the adaptive 100, 200, and 400 and will be racing at the state meet in all 3 events. Jacob has been spearheading the movement in our state for the inclusion of wheelchair and ambulatory athletes to compete in our regional and state finals.
- Nolan Fleszar jumped 12” in the pole vault and took second place behind the defending state champion from Grosse Ile. Nolan will be vaulting at the state meet for the first time and continues a long tradition of Chelsea vaulters competing at the state finals.
- JJ Turnbow jumped a lifetime best 20’ 10.5” in the long jump and placed 2nd in the event. JJ is now #9 all time for Chelsea in the long jump and is the first long jumper for Chelsea to compete at the state meet since Jeremy Policht in 2015.
The following Bulldogs were top 8 in the region and earned all-region honors:
- Regan Plank placed 5th in the 100 M dash with a time of 11.38.
- Indiana Hurst placed 6th in the shot put with a lifetime best throw of 42’ 7.5”.
- Mo Cugliari took 4th in the pole vault with a vault of 11’ 3”.
- Quinton Carradine tied for 4th in the high jump with a leap of 5’ 10”.
- The 4×100 team of Plank, Ethan Collins, Caden Steele, and Gibson Ichesco placed 8th with a time of 46.33.
- The 4×200 team of Ichesco, Steele, Kai Ziolkowski, and Plank ran a season best time of 1:33.66 and just missed the automatic qualifying time of 1:33. They placed 5th in the event.
- The 4×400 team of Jackie Dell, Gus Wehrly, Ziolkowski, and Boos ran a season best time of 3:33.25 and placed 5th in the event.
- Jackie Dell took 7th in the 800 with a time of 2:03.28.
“Taking second in this meet was an incredible accomplishment for our guys,” Coach David Slusser said. “These kids exceeded everyone’s expectations this year and surprised everyone, including me. We finished our season as SEC White champs and were runners-up in our region. More importantly, we did this without a ton of 1st place finishes. We had guys step up all across the board, which to me is an indication of a true team effort.”