Imlay City’s Dakota Sandzik passes the baton to 400 relay teammate Lance Wolford in a meet this season.
TRI-CITY AREA — From the first meet until the last, these competitors let their respective performances speak for itself.
Here is look at the 2021 edition of The Tri-City Times All-Area boys’ track squad and the accomplishments those athletes amassed en route to those accolades:
Name: Nate Schenkel
School: Dryden
Year: Senior
Event: High jump
Best effort: Schenkel cleared 6 feet en route to a first at a North Central Thumb League quad hosted by Dryden on Tuesday, May 4.
Top finishes: He took first among small school entrants at the Caro-based Shake Off the Rust Invitational and Caro Tiger Invitational; provided a second at the North Central Thumb League Meet hosted by North Huron High School; pulled up third at a Flint Beecher-based Division 4 regional; obtained fourths at the Forrest Dowling Invitational in Peck and Marysville-based Blue Water Area Meet of Champions; claimed a sixth at the Deckerville Invitational; plus added a 15th at the Hudsonville-based Division 4 state finals.
Name: Thomas Dyer
School: Almont
Year: Junior
Event: Pole vault
Best effort: Dyer registered a clearance of 12 feet 6 inches for first among small school entries Thursday, May 13 at the Davison Twilight Classic.
Top finishes: He claimed a first among small school entries at the Davison Twilight Classic; notched a second at the Blue Devil Invitational in Richmond; registered fourths at the North Branch-based Blue Water Area Conference League Meet and a Division 2 regional in Marysville; garnered a fourth at the Lapeer Lightning Invitational; plus provided a fifth at the Marysville-based Blue Water Area Meet of Champions.
Name: Nate Schenkel
School: Dryden
Year: Senior
Event: Long jump
Best effort: Schenkel registered a performance of 19 feet 8 1/4 inches en route to a third at the Caro Tigers Invitational on Friday, April 30.
Top finishes: He generated a third at the Caro Tigers Invitational; furnished a fifth at the North Central Thumb League Meet hosted by North Huron High School; pulled up eighth at a Flint Beecher-based Division 4 regional; took 10th at the Forrest Dowling Invitational in Peck; plus added an 11th at the Marysville-based Blue Water Area Meet of Champions.
Name: Chris Cezik
School: Imlay City
Year: Senior
Event: Shot put
Best effort: Cezik threw 38 feet 8 inches for 19th Friday, May 21 at a Division 2 regional hosted by Marysville High School.
Top finishes: He obtained a sixth at the North Branch-based Blue Water Area Conference League Meet; plus furnished a 19th at a Division 2 regional in Marysville.
Name: Bryce Tank
School: Capac
Year: Senior
Event: Discus
Best effort: Tank unleashed a throw measuring 138 feet 11 inches en route to a first at a quad hosted by Marlette High School on Tuesday, May 4.
Top finishes: He notched firsts at the Capac-based Greater Thumb Conference East League Meet, Green Devil Invitational in Brown City and Caro-based Division 3 regional; took seconds at the Blue Devil Invitational in Richmond and Brown City Invitational; provided a third at the Thumb Meet of Champions in Caro; plus furnished a sixth (good enough to secure All-State accolades) at the Division 3 state finals hosted by Jenison High School.
Name: Zack Dingwell
School: Imlay City
Year: Senior
Event:100-meter dash
Best effort: Dingwell supplied a clocking of 11.32 seconds for second Friday, May 21 at a Division 2 regional hosted by Marysville High School.
Top finishes: He obtained a first at the North Branch-based Blue Water Area Conference League Meet; took seconds at a Division 2 regional hosted by Marysville and the Marysville-based Blue Water Area Meet of Champions; pulled up third at the Thumb Meet of Champions in Caro; registered a sixth at the Goodrich Invitational; plus added the 16th quickest preliminary time at the Division 2 state finals in Zeeland.
Name: Adam Bryan
School: Almont
Year: Junior
Event: 100-meter hurdles
Best effort: Bryan logged a time of 19.56 seconds for sixth at the Blue Water Area Conference League Meet on Tuesday, May 18.
Top finishes: He furnished a fourth at the Richmond-based Blue Devil Invitational; obtained a fifth among small school entries at the Davison Twilight Classic; notched a sixth at the Blue Water Area Conference League Meet hosted by North Branch High School; placed seventh at the Carman Ainsworth-based Badar Meet; garnered an eighth at the North Branch-based Lapeer County Press Invitational; furnished a 12th at the Blue Water Area Meet of Champions hosted by Marysville High School; plus wound up 21st at a Division 2 regional in Marysville.
Name: Mason Smith
School: Almont
Year: Junior
Event: 200-meter dash.
Best effort: Smith raced to a time of 23.89 seconds for third among small school entries Thursday, May 13 at the Davison Twilight Classic.
Top finishes: He collected a second at the Blue Water Area Conference League Meet hosted by North Branch High School and the North Branch-based Lapeer County Press Invitational; ranked third versus small school entries at the Davison Twilight Classic and versus small school entries at the the Shake Off the Rust Invitational in Caro; placed fourth at the Richmond-based Blue Devil Invitational; supplied a sixth at the Blue Water Area Conference League Meet hosted by North Branch High School; plus added an 18th at the Lapeer Lightning Invitational.
Name: Jager Land
School: Imlay City
Year: Senior
Event: 300-meter hurdles
Best effort: Land posted a time of 46.78 seconds en route to a second among small school entries at the Caro-based Shake off the Rust Invitational on Friday, April 16.
Top finishes: He provided a second among small school entries at the Shake Off the Rust Invitational in Caro; registered fourths at the Goodrich Invitational and North Branch-based Lapeer County Press Invitational; took ninth at the Blue Water Area Conference League Meet hosted by North Branch High School; placed 10th at the Blue Water Area Meet of Champions in Marysville; plus added a 15th at the Davison Twilight Classic.
Name: Zavier Logan
School: Imlay City
Year: Junior
Event: 400-meter dash
Best effort: Logan posted a time of 54.43 seconds for seventh Friday, May 28 at the Blue Water Area Meet of Champions hosted by Marysville High School.
Top finishes: He took fourth at the North Branch-based Lapeer County Press Invitational; registered a sixth at the Goodrich Invitational; placed seventh at the Blue Water Area Meet of Champions in Marysville; obtained an eighth among small school entries at the Shake Off the Rust Invitational in Caro and a Marysville-based Division 2 regional; wound up 10th at the North Branch-based Blue Water Area Conference League Meet; plus furnished a 17th at the Davison Twilight Classic.
Name: Aiden Fitchett
School: Dryden
Year: Freshman
Event: 800-meter hurdles
Best effort: Fitchett logged a time of 2:10.5 en route to a third at a Division 4 regional hosted by Flint Beecher High School on Friday, May 21.
Top finishes: He wound up second at the Akron-Fairgrove Invitational; placed third at the Peck-based Forrest Dowling Invitational and at a Division 4 regional hosted by Flint Beecher High School; plus added a fourth at the Caro Tiger Invitational.
Name: Reed Hall
School: Dryden
Year: Senior
Event: 1600-meter run
Best effort: Hall logged a time of 4:56.91 for second Thursday, May 20 at a Division 4 regional hosted by Flint Beecher High School.
Top finishes: He finished second at a Flint Beecher-based Division 4 regional; collected a fourth at the Caro Tiger Invitational; supplied a fifth at the Deckerville Invitational; plus provided sixths at the Caro-based Shake Off the Rust Invitational and North Central Thumb League Meet in North Huron.
Name: Ben Rodriguez
School: Capac
Year: Senior
Event: 3200-meter run
Best effort: Rodriguez registered a 10:56.39 clocking en route to a seventh at the Caro-based Thumb Meet of Champions on Tuesday, June 1.
Top finishes: He obtained a first at the Green Devil Invitational in Brown City; claimed a second at the Marlette Invitational; collected thirds at the Brown City Invitational and Greater Thumb Conference East League Meet in Capac; furnished a fifth at a Caro-based Division 3 regional; plus added a seventh at the Thumb Meet of Champions in Caro.
Names: Zack Dingwell, Raymond Liu, Dakota Sandzik and Lance Wolford
School: Imlay City
Years: Senior, senior, senior and junior
Event: 400-meter relay
Best effort: The quartet supplied a time of 44.34 seconds for first Tuesday, May 18 at the North Branch-based Blue Water Area Conference League Meet.
Top finishes: Imlay City wound up first at the Blue Water Area Conference League Meet in North Branch and Blue Water Area Meet of Champions hosted by Marysville; took second at a Division 2 regional hosted by Marysville and the Caro-based Thumb Meet of Champions; plus added a 10th at the Division 2 state finals in Zeeland.
Names: Jager Land, Will Tolley, Raymond Liu and Zavier Logan
School: Imlay City
Years: Senior, senior, senior and junior
Event:800-meter relay
Best effort: A team of Jager Land, Will Tolley, Raymond Liu and Zavier Logan registered a clocking of 1:36.29 en route to a fourth at a Division 2 regional in Marysville on Friday, May 21.
Top finishes: Imlay City’s lineup took third at the North Branch-based Lapeer County Press Invitational and Blue Water Area Conference League Meet in North Branch; pulled up fourth at a Marysville-based Division 2 regional; claimed sixth at the Blue Water Area Meet of Champions in Marysville; a squad consisting of Holden Redd, Land, Liu and Logan were sixth at the Goodrich Invitational; plus their usual lineup wound up 10th at the Davison Twilight Classic.
Names: Jager Land, Josh Hayes, Mason Wildie and Zavier Logan.
School: Imlay City
Years: Senior, junior, senior and junior.
Event: 1600-meter relay
Best effort: A team consisting of Jager Land, Josh Hayes, Mason Wildie and Zavier Logan City managed a time of 3:51.51 for third Tuesday, May 18 at the North Branch-based Blue Water Area Conference League Meet,.
Top finishes: Imlay City’s lineup of Land, Hayes, Wildie and Logan took third at the North Branch-based Blue Water Area Conference League Meet; a team of Holden Redd, Land, Wildie and Logan were fifth at the Shake Off the Rust Invitational in Caro; their usual lineup obtained a sixth at the Goodrich Invitational; a team of Will Tolley, Land, Wildie and Logan were seventh at the Lapeer County Press Invitational in North Branch; plus their usual lineup added a 13th at the Davison Twilight Classic.
Names: Kyle Torres, Conner Wildie, Vojtech Jasek, Mason Wildie and Dean Aune.
School: Imlay City
Years: Freshman, freshman, senior, senior and junior.
Event: 3200-meter relay
Best effort: An Imlay City lineup of Kyle Torres, Mason Wildie, Dean Aune and Conner Wildie pulled up fifth with a 9:38.76 clocking at the North Branch-based Blue Water Area Conference League Meet on Tuesday, May 18.
Top finishes: Though the squad Imlay City sent to the starting-line varied from time to time, the one constant was success for whatever group Spartan Coach Steve Lestage opted to utilize.
A team of Torres, Aune, Jasek and Mason Wildie garnered a fourth at the Goodrich Invitational; Aune, Torres, Conner Wildie and Mason Wildie registered a fifth at the Shake Off the Rust Invitational in Caro; a team of Conner Wildie, Mason Wildie, Jasek and Torres ranked sixth among small school entries at the Shake Off the Rust Invitational in Caro; Mason Wildie, Jasek, Torres and Aune placed ninth at a Division 2 regional in Marysville; plus a lineup of Mason Wildie, Conner Wildie, Aune and Torres provided a 10th at the Davison Twilight Classic.
Second team- Dorian Lewis, Imlay City, high jump; Jager Land, Imlay City, long jump; Bryce Tank, Capac, shot put; Mason Smith, Almont, 100-meter dash; Zavier Logan, Imlay City, 200-meter dash; Aiden Fitchett, Dryden, 400 dash; Mason Wildie, Imlay City, 800-meter run; Ben Rodriguez, Capac, 1600 run; Max Frangedakis, Capac, 3200-meter run; Almont’s 400 relay of Eli Bankston, Sam Bussone, Nick Shiner and Mason Smith; plus Capac’s 3200 relay of Max Frangedakis, Nathan Schocke, John Schoen and Bryce Tank.
Honorable mention- Eli Bankston, Almont, shot put; Will Tolley, Imlay City, long jump; Dakota Sandzik, Imlay City, 100 dash; Raymond, Liu, Imlay City, 100 dash; Steven Butler, Almont, 3200 run; Dryden’s 1600-meter relay of Aiden Fitchett, Hunter Hughes, Reed Hall and Nate Schenkel; plus Almont’s 3200 relay of Wade Sydlowski, Dominic Pirrone, Alex Heiden and Steven Butler.
Coach of the Year- For directing Imlay City to a fourth at the Blue Water Area Conference League Meet plus sevenths at a Division 2 regional in Marysville and the Goodrich Invitational, Spartan Coach Steve Lestage claims Tri-City Times All-Area Coach of the Year honors.
It marks the second time this spring Lestage has earned Tri-City Times All-Area Coach of the Year accolades, earning that distinction with the girls’ track squad as well a few weeks ago.
Kevin Kissane
Kevin Kissane has been covering high school sports for the Tri-City Times since 1985. When not standing on a field or court with his camera and notepad, he enjoys golf, travel and family. Kevin is a 1980 graduate of Capac High School, and is also a grad of St. Clair Community College and earned a degree in journalism from Central Michigan University.
