MUSKEGON — Whitehall senior Maelie Hope proved to be the star of stars Wednesday at the West Michigan All-Star meet, staged annually at Reeths-Puffer.
The meet brings together the top individual performers from area schools in each event. The top six finishers in each event were medalists.
Hope competed in each of her four events at the meet and took home three individual wins. She swept the throws, with marks of 40 feet, 11.5 inches in the shot put and 145-6 in the discus, and also won the 200-meter dash in a time of 26.41 seconds. She took second in the 100, in 12.75 seconds, just barely losing out to Hart's Addi Hovey in a near photo finish to keep her from a perfect 4-for-4 night.
The Viking boys also won two events Wednesday. Nate Bolley set a new personal best in long jump with a leap of 21-8 to earn the top spot, and David Conrad won the pole vault with a mark of 14-6.
Reeths-Puffer provided the area's other top finish, earning the win in the boys 400 relay. The team of Kameron Coleman, Caiden Bolduc, Jaceion Riley and Liam McHugh won the race in a time of 42.98 seconds.
Whitehall earned three runner-up finishes, including the first of three medalists in the 800. Jack Houtteman, Carter McIlroy and Andre Richmond all medaled in the race and all set personal best times. Houtteman was second (2:00.7), with McIlroy in fifth (2:02.4) and Richmond sixth (2:02.9).
Also taking second were Camden Thompson in the high jump (6-2) and Ariana Treat in the 3,200 (a personal best 11:30.1). Each of those two Vikings also medaled in other events; Treat placed third in the 1,600 with a personal best 5:17.5, and Thompson was fifth in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.96 seconds. Other Vikes to medal Wednesday were Cami Kraai in the 1,600, placing fifth (a personal best 5:19.0); Ca'Mar Ready and Micah Witham in the pole vault, taking fourth and fifth respectively (12-6 and 12-0); and Wesley Russell in the shot put, taking fifth (48-4.5).
R-P collected five total medals in the relay races. The boys, winners of the 400 relay, also took fourth in the 3,200 relay with the team of Jaxon Allen, Kye Grant, Tate Bradley and Matt Grimard (8:30.5) and sixth in the 1,600 relay with the team of Grant, Allen, Bradley and Sage Stiller-Secrest (3:48.0). The girls had two relay medalists, with the 800 team of Melana Johnson, Lainey McDaniel, Jersi Bilek and Brianna Smith taking third (1:52.1) and the 1,600 team of Johnson, Madilynn Smith, McDaniel and Brianna Smith placing fourth (52.51).
Also for the Rockets, Liam McHugh set a personal best in the 300 hurdles and placed second (39.83); Allen was fourth in the 3,200 (9:57.3); Brianna Smith took fourth in the 200 (26.95) and sixth in the 100 (13.11) with personal bests in both; and Bilek finished fifth in the 800 (a personal best 2:22.9).
Silas Jancek delivered Montague's top finish, setting a personal best in shot put and taking third place (48-7.5). DaCarri Williams was the Wildcat boys' other medalist, placing fifth in the long jump (19-11). On the girls' side Amanda Cederquist was fourth in the 100 hurdles (17.09) and Brooke Berry was fourth in discus (a personal best 102-7); Delaney Schultz took sixth in shot put (31-5) and Emma Pendell was sixth in pole vault (8-6); and the 800 relay team of Cederquist, Jenna Erickson, Lauren Smith and Britta Johnson finished sixth (1:54.9).