LSSU Yooper Invite

Saturday the Sault High Boys and Girls Track Teams competed at the 4th Annual Yooper Invite at Lake Superior State University. In a field of 19 teams from all over both the Upper and Lower Peninsulas, the girls tied for first with a score of 60 points, and the boys came in fourth with 56 points. A number of Blue Devils placed in the top eight for their events, scoring points for their respective teams. Several Blue Devils earned personal records (PR) throughout the day.

In the 4×800 relay, the girls team placed third. Runners Regan Sporte, Elise Proulx, Izzy McCord, and Stephanie Jones finished with a time of 11:26.57. The boys team of Eli Hills, Beau Litzner, Easton Hills and Evan Huyck finished seventh with a time of 9:36.76.

Five Blue Devils placed in the 55m hurdles. Annabelle Fazzari (9.86-PR) was runner up, Ava Mayer (10:68-PR) placed sixth and Raelene Corbiere (10.92-PR) finished seventh. For the boys, Isaac Niebuhr (8.56-PR) was runner up, and Wyatt Peabody (9.44-PR) placed eighth. Bella Smith (7.96-PR) took fourth for the girls in the 55m dash and Javonte Bellamy (7.10-PR) placed fifth for the boys.

Gabe Litzner (4:36.47) won the 1600m run for the boys, and Ryan O’Connor (5:06.44-PR) came in seventh. Regan Sporte (6:11.70) finished sixth for the girls. Grace Mayer (1:08.04) placed first in the girls 400m dash. Eli Hills (2:16.18-PR) finished fourth for the boys, and Chase Aldridge (2:22.74-PR) was seventh in the 800m run. Smith (28.48) was runner up in the girls 200m dash and G. Mayer (29.86) placed eighth. Johnny Osborn (48.86) placed first in the 200m adaptive race. G. Litzner (9:51.10) won the 3200m run. In the 4x400m relay, A. Mayer, Claire Chambers, Jones, and G. Mayer placed seventh, with a time of 4:48.86.

In the field events, five Blue Devils placed at the invite. Brady Ditmyer (42’6.5”) won the boys shot put, and Osborn (19’4.75”-PR) won the adaptive event. For the girls shot put, Fazzari (33’0) was runner up, and Thelma Osumili (29’6.5”) placed fifth. Peabody had a seventh place finish in the boys long jump (17’4.5”-PR).

Girls Head Coach Scott Menard was pleased with the outcome. “Well, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by our effort and extremely happy with the results. We lost a lot from last year, so I didn’t know what to expect for this meet, but considering it was the first time for our kids on a real track, we did very well.” Boys Head Coach Jim Martin was equally as pleased with his athletes. “The boys had a fine showing finishing 4th out of 18 teams. The boys were led by Gabe Litzner who won the mile and the two mile. Also doing a great job was Braden Ditmeyer who won the shot put, Isaac Niebuhr who finished 2nd in the 55 meter hurdles, Eli Hills who placed 4th in the 800 run and Javante Bellamy who placed 5th in the 55 meter dash. Johnny Osborn had a great day with a PR in the 200. Also running very good races and scoring were Wyatt Peabody in the 55 hurdles and the long jump, Chase Aldridge in the 800, and the 2 mile relay team of Eli and Easton Hills, Beau Litzner and Evan Huyck. Congrats to the entire team on a job well done.” Menard and Martin have Becky Arbic, Tony McLain, Michael Rand and Rick Stupak joining them as coaches for the 2025 season.

Photo credit: River Brey