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KINGSFORD -- The Upper Peninsula Division 2 Track & Field Finals turned out to be a historical event for the Bark River-Harris girls here Saturday as they were crowned champions for the first time in school history by scoring 107 points.
The Broncos were followed by defending champion West Iron County 74 and Ishpeming 71.
"This is a very big moment," said BR-H coach Jason Lockwood. "This is something our upperclassmen started talking about at the end of last season. Last year we came here with a small team and got third. The bigger numbers we had this year were a major factor. We're very strong in the sprints and sprint relays. Having that depth really helps."
The Broncos won the 800-meter relay in a school-record one minute, 50.95 seconds and freshman Julia Olson set a school record (1:01.25) while placing third in the 400.
Sophomore Mckenzie Hoffmeyer won long jump (16-1 3/4) for the second straight year and placed second in the 100 (13.04) and 200 (27.14). Senior Alaska Peterson added a third in long jump (14-5 1/2).
Junior Carley Varoni added a first in pole vault (8-0), and senior Aspen Fredrick gained her first 300 hurdles title at 53.57.
"I had confidence in my ability to jump over the hurdles," said Fredrick. "This is only my sixth time doing this, also my first individual title. That's what I was thinking (during the race), and that's what kept me going."
Iron Mountain won the 400 relay (53.68), and the Broncos were runners-up (53.86).
"The girls didn't shy away from a challenge," said Lockwood. "They stepped up and did all the extras. It's so exciting having Alaska and Aspen with us as seniors. We also have some strong athletes coming up."
Manistique won the 1600 relay (4:23.84), less than a second ahead of BR-H.
"Today we had little bit of a rough handoff for three and four but found a way to overcome that," said junior Kelsey Muth. "We're just .3 second away from our school record in the 1600 relay, which I think will give us motivation for next year. This is the first time all year we've won both the 1600 and 3200 relays. This is a real good way to wrap up the season."
The Emeralds also took the 3200 relay (10:43.63).
Manistique sophomore Danielle Lund took shot put (33-2) and was runner-up in discus (95-0).
West Iron's Danica Shamion set a U.P. record in the 400 (58.77), shaving .41 second off the previous best by former Wykon Emmy Kinner in 2017.
The BR-H boys also set a school record while taking runner-up honors in the 400 relay (45.34), just .03 second behind Iron Mountain.
"Nick (Anderson) started real well and got us in a good spot," said junior Vincent Martin, who ran the second leg. "We were seeded fourth and knew the other teams were good in the first and anchor legs. We mixed up our lineup a little and were in first going into the third leg."
Ishpeming won with 116 points, marking the fourth straight time it gained at least a share of the crown. The Hematites were followed by Iron Mountain 102, St. Ignace 63 and Manistique 54.
The Hematites shared the title with Norway last year and either tied or won it outright in seven of the past eight seasons. Their run was interrupted in 2017 when they were runners-up to Newberry and again in 2020 due to Covid.
Manistique won the 1600 relay (3:43.99), and junior Grant Mason was runner-up by less than a second in the 400 (54.35) to Ishpeming senior Jon Matson.