By: Jonathan Szczepaniak | St. Clair Shores Sentinel | Published May 31, 2024
ST. CLAIR SHORES — St. Clair Shores Lakeview’s track and field program is on the rise, and it’s taking place on both the boys and girls side.
For the first time since 2015, both Lakeview teams were crowned the Macomb Area Conference Gold dual-meet champions while the boys side also walked away with first in the divisional meet as well.
It’s been a few years for each squad since their last dual-meet league title, with the boys winning in 2019 and the girls in 2016, but senior Carl Johnson said the Huskies were determined to bring home some hardware this season.
“From us to other teams, I think we just work harder because we’re hungry for it,” Johnson said. “Every time we go into that school and be around the people looking at the trophy case, we’re thinking about how we need to put something in there. We just have the motivation of working for it and wanting it more.”
Johnson was one of 12 Lakeview athletes to punch their Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 state finals ticket at regionals on May 16 at Grosse Pointe South High School.
The Huskies veteran core on the boys side dominated regionals as Johnson teamed up with seniors Branden Harris, Donye Pratt, and Chris Williams to take second in the 4x200 relay while seniors Keonte Woolf and Logan Craft took first and second respectively in high jump and senior Corion Lattimore earned second in long jump.
Harris, the star running back on the football team, is one of the more dynamic athletes you’ll see in Macomb County alongside his football teammate Woolf, who leads the secondary on the gridiron, while Craft continues his state-filled season after qualifying for wrestling this year as well.
Pratt was predominantly a junior varsity runner last year, but really came into his own as a senior while Williams was as steady as it gets for Lakeview.
As talented as the seniors and juniors are as multi-sport athletes, Lakeview head coach Dan Cheney said it’s their chemistry that really shines.
“The juniors and seniors have been best friends since they were freshmans and sophomores, and it’s huge,” Cheney said. “It’s the team’s camaraderie. There’s a group of 12 of them that have been best friends for years now. They’re good leaders for the younger kids, and they push each other.”
On the girls side, the 4x200 relay was in full control of the Huskies after senior Morgan Dennis, senior Zion Harris, senior Camara Knighton, and senior Annabella Masching took second to qualify for states while Dennis was also the regional champion in long jump and high jump.
Senior Abigail Ressler, who was the county champion in pole vault and currently holds the school record at 11-feet, captured the regional championship in pole vault.
“I’m really getting good at my timing in pole vault,” Ressler said. “It’s all about getting everything in line at the right time, and I’m really executing that well very consistently.”
Other key contributors for Lakeview track and field were senior David Osagiede, senior Dylan Kolbicz, senior Andrew Medvedik, and junior Jensen McCutcheon on the boys side and senior Emma Dell, senior Kayla Gorman, sophomore Eden Fante, senior Ava Prasnjak and sophomore Adriana Destefano on the girls side. Freshmen Izzy Wern, Aubrey Brunell and sophomore Nick Dix are young runners to watch next season for Lakeview.
The senior-led cast will end their high school careers at the MHSAA Division 1 state finals on June 1 at East Kentwood High School, after the St. Clair Shores Sentinel went to press.
Their impact over the course of four years is impossible to describe, especially with how the program will continue to grow because of the work they put in, but it’s no surprise to Cheney how talented the group became throughout their time at Lakeview.
“When this group were freshmen, we knew, ‘Holy cow — when this group becomes seniors, they’re going to be doing something,’” Cheney said.
Lakeview is set to graduate a slew of talent, but the program hopes this is only the beginning to a dominant reign in the MAC Gold for both sides.
Compared to where they were years prior, it’s safe to say the Huskies are back on the map in Macomb County track and field.
“Hearing the past teams talk about how they were and them hearing how we’re doing now, it really shows the difference of how far we’ve went,” Osagiede said.