Fraser track and field adding to the trophy room

FRASER — Fraser High School is the title town of Macomb Area Conference track and field.

The girls team has made constant additions to the trophy room the past few seasons, winning three straight league titles (two in MAC White, one in MAC Blue), but the boys team is starting to add some of its own.

While also winning the MAC White dual meet title this season, the boys team took first in the MAC White meet at Fraser High School on May 15.

Led by senior Justin Roose and junior Tyler Donovan, Fraser earned the league title by a point over rival Utica High School. Fraser fell short to Utica in the dual meet standings last season, but an unbeaten 5-0 record and a MAC White meet win has made Fraser one of the teams to beat in the MAC.

Donovan earned first in the 800-meter and second in the 1600-meter, while Roose finished third in both events. Roose and Donovan teamed up with senior Jacob Mayowski and sophomore William Minor to earn first in the 4x400 meter relay, while Roose, senior Michael Susan, senior Connor Steepe and junior Lucas Shemansky collected first in the 4x800 meter relay.

Alongside senior Andrew Thomson, who’s been impressive in the 800, 1600, and 3200-meter this season, Fraser’s senior core has been the catalyst for their success.

Fraser coach Kevin Storai said Steepe, Thomson and Roose, who are all four-year varsity runners, have set the standard for the Fraser track and field program.

“These guys kind of became the core group, and Justin (Roose) has been the leader of that,” Storai said. “I give a lot of credit to him for helping our girls program, too, because he’s so charismatic. He’s the one that gets everyone together in cross country and in the winter. He’s the one that’s the leader that everyone really gravitates towards to push us forward.”

Senior Jason Weems tacked on a second-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles while junior Keonte Riley took third in the 110-meter hurdles, third in the long jump and second in the high jump. Junior Jacob Mead finished second in the pole vault.

On the girls side, distance running is where it all starts for the 2023 MAC White tri-champions (tied with Port Huron Northern and Utica).

While a third-place finish at the MAC White meet kept the girls side from completing the sweep, the team continued to show why it’s one of the best in the MAC.

Fraser’s reign of league titles continued this season behind a slew of young talent that coach Storai expects to keep the program’s momentum going for the next couple of seasons.

“A lot of the success on the girls’ side has been tied to distance running because Fraser notoriously, and even when I was in school, was so bad at distance running on the girls side, and I really made that a point of emphasis to develop,” Storai said.

Sophomore Grace Grupido, who broke the one- and two-mile school record as a freshman last season, took first in the 800-meter and 1600-meter at the MAC White meet to continue her dominant sophomore campaign.

Grupido, who’s currently the regional leader in the 800, headlines a formidable underclassmen group alongside sophomores Luciana Rodriguez and Katie Cairney, and freshmen Sophia Thornton, Katelyn Frazier and Olivia Cereska.

Rodriguez posted a third-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles while also teaming up with Cereska, Frazier and Grupido to take second in the 4x400 relay.

Rodriguez, Frazier and Cereska also took first in the 4x800 relay with junior Remi Flanz, who also took second in the 3200-meter.

Cereska has been the surprise of the season with her substantial impact as a freshman, especially joining a team that was already strong going into the year.

“I feel like it was a lot of pressure to uphold that standard that we had, but I feel like I’m fitting in pretty well with it,” Cereska said.

Continuing its successful season, Fraser had an impressive showing at the Michigan High School Athletic Association Region 10 meet at Dakota High School on May 19.

Fraser state qualifiers included Steepe, Susan, Roose and Donovan in the 4x800 (2nd), Riley in the high jump (2nd), Mead in the high jump (regional champion), Donovan in the 800 (2nd), and Grupido in the 800 (regional champion). The Fraser women’s 4x800 relay — including Flanz, Frazier, Grupido and Cereska — just missed the state qualifier mark (3rd) but broke the school record with a 9:56:31 time.

Fraser will compete in the Macomb County championship meet on May 25 at Warren Mott High School before ending their season at the MHSAA Division 1 state finals on June 3 at Rockford High School.