ROCKFORD — Lorelai Zielinski didn’t have time to feel sorry for herself.
The Traverse City Central star thrower rebounded from being disqualified from the discus state finals to win the shot put state championship not long after.
“You’ve got 15 minutes to mourn the loss,” Trojans girls track coach Paul Anderson told Zielinski after she didn’t advance to the discus finals because of going over the line on her final preliminary throw after her first two landed out of bounds. “She came through and got another state championship to her name.”
Anderson said all three were good throws in terms of distance for the defending state champ in both events. He didn’t notice the fault on the last throw, saw the distance and started walking to another event. Only later did he notice that Zielinski wasn’t in the finals.
Olivia Latunski of Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central won the discus with a 138’2″ personal-best heave that was still over 14 feet shy of Zielinski’s shortest throw this season.
Zielinski won the shot put by exactly two feet at 48’6.25″ over Charlotte Martin of Warren Cousino. Latunski was third.
“Failure is a part of the process,” Zielinski said in an Instagram post Saturday. “You just learn to pick yourself back up.”
TC Central sprinter Carter Gle earned all-state in two events, finishing fourth in the 200-meter dash and joining forces with Camron Choike, Caleb Keller and Connor Reb to place fourth in the 1,600 relay in 3:21.48.
Gle credits missing out on all-state in the 100-meter dash by 0.001 of a second toward his later successes.
“I ran on pure anger in the 200 after missing (all-state in) the 100,” Gle said. “I was just mad. … Super excited about my 200 prelim. I was happy just to make the final. I was happy to take it home.”
The Indiana Wesleyan commit said he’s excited with the progress he’s made to become one of the top sprinters in northern Michigan, holding TC Central records in the 100, 200, 400 relay, 800 relay and 1,600 relay, plus the Big North Conference records in the 100 and 1,600 relay.
“A few years ago, I was just happy to have my name called for the varsity bus,” Gle said.
Traverse City Central’s Annika Powis earned all-state honors in the 100 hurdles, placing fifth in 14.85. She was also on the all-state 400 relay team that came in seeded 18th and took eighth, joining Mirabella Richey, Sofia Bird and Hannah Sluis for a time of 48.84, breaking the school record the same quartet has set multiple times this season.
Trojans pole vaulter Nathan Stawski was all-state with an eighth-place and personal-best 14’6″.
Traverse City West’s 3200 relay placed fifth to earn all-state honors, as Abby Veit, Bailey Wenzlick, Tessa Mascari and Reese Smith set a new school record in 9:13.91. All but Mascari are seniors.
“They keep breaking their own (school) record, so that’s great,” West girls track coach Libby Shutler said. “And they did it in their last race.”
Reese Smith took sixth in the 800 with a season-best time of 2:13.58 and Olivia Kandow placed sixth in high jump at 5’2″, both earning all-state.
Kandow only started doing high jump last year.
“For her to do that was very impressive,” Shutler said.
West senior Emily Kelsey didn’t participate in the state finals because of a hamstring injury suffered at the Big North Conference finals. She would have competed in the 100 and 200 and likely two relays.
Mascari placed 12th in the mile and 17th in the 800.
TC West’s 3,200 relay team of Liam Wierzba, Ben Irwin, Finn Frost-Grayson and Hayden Murray had an all-state effort, taking fifth in 7:54.33.
Wierzba placed 14th in the mile (season-best 4:21.44) and Aaryn Stallworth came back from injury to take 10th in the 300 hurdles in 38.84.
Keller finished 10th in the mile for Central, with Reb 12th in the 400.
DIVISION 2
Gaylord’s Cosby 2nd in vault
Gaylord’s Calvin Cosby was runner-up in pole vault, clearing 14’4″ in the Division 2 state finals at Hamilton.
Cadillac’s 3200 relay also took second, with Brooklynn Brown, Chloe Mazza, Hailey Kuhn and Ella McInerney posting a time of 9:26.01.
Vikings junior sprinter Porter Westdorp took fourth in the 100 (11.06) and 13th in the 200 (22.11).
Cadillac’s 1600 relay of Emily Anway, Addie Main, Ruth Hanson and McInerney placed fifth in 4:04.55a.
Petoskey junior Alexandra Petok took all-state in the 200 with a fifth-place 25.55, and just missed the same honor in long jump, placing ninth at 17′, just one inch short of eighth place, which earns all-state.
Gaylord senior Ivy Roberts took seventh in high jump, clearing 5’2″.
Petoskey senior Sarah Bailey was fourth in pole vault at 11’6″, with teammate Lillian Mason 16th at 10’3″.
McInerney’s personal-best 4:56.67 in the mile placed third, and her personal-best 2:16.89 in the 800 was 7th, also good for an all-state nod, giving her three on the day. Freshman teammate Hailey Kuhn was eighth in the 800 with a personal-best 2:19.65, while Mazza placed 11th in the mile and Kuhn 14th.
Cadillac senior Ari Bryant was 19th in the 300 hurdles, with a personal-best time of 48.34.
Petoskey junior thrower Connor Berg placed 11th in shot put (50’8.75″) and 19th in discus (141′).