Top Moments of 2025: Celebrating a Year of Success

As 2025 wraps up and we finish another incredible year of local athletics, take a moment to look back on the highlights and achievements of the Blue Water Area and how local athletes have shown us what it means to push limits, break barriers, and strive for greatness.  We'll be shining the spotlight on the standout performances, record-breaking moments, and inspiring stories from cross country and track and field in our community this year. 

So, lace up your shoes, get ready to sprint into the new year, and join me as we celebrate the best of Blue Water Running from 2025!  You can also listen to this article as a podcast with clips from featured athletes' interviews.

Pictures from all the year's coverage can be found at https://bluewaterrunning.zenfoliosite.com/home.  

Kierra Taube (Yale): Taube won her first state title in the high jump at the indoor championships, clearing 5’-6” on her first attempt.  She was the only jumper to get above 5’-4” and made several attempts at 5’-8”.  After an injury ended her regular outdoor season, she went on to compete in mid-summer at the Nike National meet in Eugene, Oregon, taking 24th in 5-3.25.

Cameron Gramzow (Anchor Bay): Gramzow threw the discus 148’-7” for seventh place in the boys’ indoor state meet division, his best by over a foot, which earned him a trip to the podium for an all-state medal.  He also set a new outdoor school record in the discus, breaking a 47-year-old mark held by Scott Gostovich at 156’-6” from 1977, and met the EQ mark.  Gramzow threw 170-7 to take fifth place at the D1 finals and earn his first All-State honors.  He later went on to compete at New Balance Nationals in June, throwing a new PR of 176-10 to finish 19th. Gramzow has already thrown his indoor PR in his first attempt this season at 168’-4”.

Thomas Kann of NB.

Thomas Kann (North Branch): Finishing fifth in the 800 meters at regionals last year and missing the AQ by fractions of a second, this race was Thomas Kann’s senior year redemption story.  Comfortably running a strategic race and sprinting to an inside-lane finish in Cole Hocker style, Kann claimed his first individual regional title in a season-best of 2:02.2.  Earlier in the season, he achieved the EQ in the 400-meter dash and reset North Branch High School’s record in 49.82. He won the BWAC, the Hatchet Invitational, and the Thumb Meet in the event.  The North Branch boys dramatically won the BWAC league team title in the final event of the day, with Kann anchoring the 4x400 relay to a last-second lean at the line to give the Broncos a three-point lead over Yale.  

Colin Boullard (St. Clair): Boullard won both the 110 and 300-meter hurdles at the Blue Water Meet of Champions.  At the Anchor Bay Invitational, Colin ran his best of 15.12 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles, a PR by close to half a second, and met the Division 2 state early qualifying mark of 15.3 seconds. 

Jonah Konarz (Anchor Bay): Konarz put the exclamation point on a stellar senior season by running a PR in the 110-meter hurdles (14.32) and taking sixth place, climbing the D1 All-State podium for the first time. He was one of a handful of local athletes in the spring to hit an EQ mark in his event.

Eli Bickel (North Branch): It was all North Branch’s Eli Bickel in the area shot put ring: at regionals, he outdistanced his nearest competitor by close to seven feet.  He threw 53’-3.5 and then went on to another regional title in the discus, throwing 162’-05.” Eli earned All-State in the discus by finishing as the runner-up at the D2 state finals on May 31 with a new personal best of 180'-9" and also finished tenth in the shot put in 52’-2.25”.  His shot put best stands at 56’-2” after this season.  Eli now holds North Branch school records in both the shot and disc, as well as the Blue Water Area Conference records. He went on to compete at New Balance Nationals in June and threw a new personal best of 186'-1" to place ninth.  Bickel is signed to play football for Michigan State this upcoming year, so he is not slated to return for a high school senior throws season.

Kieran Whitlam (MLN): Whitlam repeated as regional champ for the second year in a row at 13’ and saw a few indoor vaults at 14’.  He also claimed the Macomb County Championship title for the second straight year.  At the AAU Junior Olympic Games in Houston at the end of the summer, Whitlam threw the javelin (35.69 meters/117 feet) to take 32nd, while his pole vault of 3.95m/13’ was good for 12th in his age category.  Whitlam previously vaulted a new PR of 14 feet outdoors at the regional qualifier.

Chase Battani of Almont.

Chase Battani (Almont): Battani set his personal best and the Almont High School record in the 110-hurdles, winning regionals in 14.81. He was named BWAC MVP for winning the 110-meter hurdles (15.99), placing third in the 300 hurdles (42.52), and taking the pole vault competition in 14 feet, two and a half feet higher than the second-place vaulter. Battani was ranked in the top ten in both his events heading into the D3 state finals, and he delivered, placing sixth in both the pole vault (14-3) and in the hurdles (15.18).

Aubrey Deshetsky (North Branch): Deshetsky also dominated the area in girls’ throws: she was undefeated outdoors in the shot put until she claimed a state runner-up finish with a measurement of 42-0.  Deshetsky was also All-State in the discus, taking third in 132'-8", and was second only once the entire season in that event.  She was the league champ, regional champ, Blue Water Meet of Champions, and Thumb Champs double winner.

Malencia Price (Port Huron High): Price was the lone female athlete from the Port Huron Area to qualify out of an incredibly tough D1 regional, taking second in the long jump in 17’-1.25” and representing the Red Hawks at the state finals.  She was also the MVP of the Blue Water Meet of Champions.  She had the area’s fastest times in the 100, 200, and 400 meters.

Vasili Kasparian (PHN): Kasparian won the 100 and 200 at the Blue Water Meet of Champions and was named MVP; he also took fourth in the pole vault. At the MAC White Championship, he won that event.

Yale's Sadie Dykstra.

Sadie Dykstra (Yale): Dykstra was four-for-four at the state meet, earning a podium finish in each of her events.  She took fourth in both the 100 hurdles (in a new PR of 15.12) and the 300 hurdles (45.78).  On the field, she was fifth in the high jump, a new event for her this year (5-3), and fourth in the long jump in 17-8.  It’s an incredible accomplishment to be All-State once, so to do so in every event across a long day competing through prelims, finals, and heats is impressive, especially as she came off an extended illness that cut the first half of her season short.  Dykstra then went on to compete at Nike Nationals in Eugene, Oregon, where she finished fifth place in the girls' heptathlon to earn All-American status, with a combined point total of 4723.  Dykstra recently committed to the University of Michigan to continue her track and field pursuits.

Eva Thompson (Cros-Lex): Thompson remained unbeaten in any distance track event in conference competition and went four-for-four in BWAC races at the conference championship meet, leading her 4x800 relay team to first in 10:29, then completing the distance triple crown with wins in the 800 (2:24), 1600 (5:29), and 3200 (11:45). Thompson had the Blue Water Area Meet of Champions’ lone record-setting performance in the 3200-meter run: she finished in 11:10.35, breaking the 46-year-old mark of 11:11.6, previously held by Miriam Boyd of Port Huron High, set in 1979.  Thompson closed out a legendary career for the Pioneers, taking fifth in the 1600 in a season-best 5:03 to climb the All-State podium for a third-straight year.  She was 11th in 11:14 in the 3200. Thompson has continued to shine as a collegiate runner for Central Michigan University, dropping a 17:25 in the 5K for her indoor track debut.

Kate Bennett (Algonac): Bennett was ranked 21st in the 800 going into D3 state finals, but smashed all predictions by taking sixth place in a new personal best (and school record) of 2:22.91.  Bennett’s PR last season was a 2:34, and her highest placement at states before the season was 17th, so it was a fantastic finish to her track and field career as a Muskrat.  Kate went on to run for SC4 cross country in the fall, competing as one of the top runners for the Skippers, placing as All-Conference and taking 28th place at Nationals, earning NJCAA Coaches Association All-American honors.

Samantha Whitlam (MLN): Whitlam was the D2 regional champion in the long jump with a PR of 16’-9.5”, and topped the area list with the fastest 2025 season-time in the 800 meters, at 2:22.7.  She was named cross country runner of the year for the Blue Water Area: she was second at the Algonac Classic Run, 10th in Macomb County to place as the first D2/3/4 runner in the top ten, and was the D2 regional champion, helping lead her team to a regional championship.  She finished the season with a PR of 19:03 at the MITCA Meet of Champions, the third-fastest time in our area.

Alannah Wessel, MACH.  Wessel was at the top of many area lists, from track in the 800 and 1600 to the 5K for cross country: she was number one all season with her best of 18:41, dipping into the 18s several times during her sophomore season.

Sam Langolf of PHN.

Samantha Langolf, PHN.  Langolf was one of only two girls in our area to break 19 minutes for the cross country season, won the Algonac Invitational, was undefeated in MAC White competition, ninth in the tough D1 regional with Romeo, and she finished out her senior season with another PR of 18:45 at the state finals.  Back in the spring track season when she was a junior, Langolf also ran big PRs in the 800, 1600, and 3200.  Langolf did all this despite a diagnosis of POTS early on in her running career.

Kai Fisher (Memphis): Fisher won the 400 in the Blue Water Meet of Champions. He was ranked fourth in the state in the one-lap race heading into the D4 state meet, and just missed the eighth-place finish for the podium in the 400, running 52.74 to take ninth. In the 100-meter dash, he was 15th, running 11.45...for a high school without a track.  Fisher broke the 50-second barrier in the 400 meters over the summer, running 49.75 on July 12 at the Motor City Classic.

Leo Bearss (Yale) won the Michigan USATF Junior Olympic Championships 3000-meter racewalk and 2K steeplechase in Olivet on June 21. He also won the regional championship in both events in Louisville, Kentucky, in July, qualifying for the USATF Junior Olympics National Meet at Savannah State University in Georgia, where he finished 16th in the steeplechase and fourth in the racewalk. 

Josh Macri (MLN): Macri topped the Blue Water Area top times list all season in both cross country and the 1600/3200 meter runs.  Regional champ in the 1600, 4x800, and second in the 3200 by just milliseconds, he went to the state finals in three events.  During the fall cross country season, Macri cemented his name in the record books as the fastest boy to ever run at MLN, with a school record of 15:53 set at the D2 state finals to earn All-State honors in 19th place.  Macri also won the Algonac Classic and Autumn Classic, and was the defending Regional Champion, going 2-for-2 at Columbus Park to win again, as well as finishing third at the Macomb County Championship to earn All-County. Macri went on to compete in the postseason, finishing 13th at the Nike Cross Country Midwest regional, and just set the 16Ways Track Club indoor record in the 1600 in 4:28.

Armada's Seiler and Malburg.

Armada’s sprint relays: Football players turned first-year track rookies made up three-fourths of the Tigers’ sprint relay teams.  Jak Klee, Anthony Alvarez, Jackson Malburg, and TJ Seiler qualified for the D2 state finals and set two school records in both the 4x100 (45.14) and 4x200, which was close to a two-second improvement (1:31.88). 

Lincoln Watkins: With a throw three feet farther than last year’s best, Port Huron Northern’s Lincoln Watkins set his PR of 51’-5” to take second and earn his first trip to the state finals.  The football standout recently committed to play at the University of Kentucky.  

Saige Cole (Yale): Cole cemented herself as the fastest female freshman for Yale in the 400 meters, finishing in 61.89 seconds to qualify for a trip to the state finals in the spring.  Once cross country rolled around, she was second in the BWAC, 5th at regionals, won the Marysville Invite and the Brown City Invitational, and led Yale all season as their number one, clinching the BWAC team title and a regional team berth to the state meet for the first time in 13 years.  Cole ran her first sub-20-minute 5K at the state finals to set a PR of 19:38, the top BWAC girls' finish in D2. 

Maxwell Durham (New Haven): With a freshman PR of 26:18 to D3 All-State as a senior and ending his career at New Haven with a high-school best of 16:15, Durham is a shining example of what patience and hard work can lead to over four years.  Durham also won the MAC Blue Championship and the Marysville Invitational and earned Macomb All-County status versus much larger D1 teams.

Luke Bowman (Anchor Bay): Bowman was the adaptive state champion in the 400 meters (1:15.91) and shot put (20-3.25), and third in the 100 and 200-meter adaptive events (19.74/36.98). Luke currently attends U of M, where he is an adaptive athlete in basketball and track and field.

Claire Albrecht (Armada): Albrecht was undefeated in all three Blue Water Area Conference cross country jamborees and was named the BWAC MVP, along with earning Macomb-All County status in a PR of 19:46, the second-fastest frosh.  At regionals, Albrecht finished as the runner-up and was the Tigers’ top runner the entire season, finishing 2025 as the second-fastest freshman to ever come out of Armada behind All-Stater Rachel Durbin, who currently still holds the school record at 18:17.  

Cassidy Bowers (Austin Catholic): Bowers ran a 19:49 PR this fall as a sophomore, was the D4 regional runner-up, finished 19th at the D4 state finals to earn All-State, and also won the James Cleverly Invite, Cardinal Mooney/Austin Catholic Invite, and CHSL Cardinal Division.

Cara Prusakiewicz, Dryden: Prusakiewicz ran a PR of 19:36, earned D4 All-State by finishing 12th at MIS, and won the Dryden Classic/and Fox and Hounds meet.  She ends her cross country career for Dryden as the school record holder.

Collegiate Recognition

SC4 Women’s Cross Country: The women placed 11th out of 44 teams at NJCAA Nationals. Freshman Brynn Hurley placed 15th overall in a time of 19:45.3, earning her All-American honors by the NJCAA, USTFCCCA, and NJCAA Coaches Association. 

MCC Cross Country: Jacob Kosidlo finished in first place individually at the MCCAA Eastern Conference Championship, and Kosidlo was named MCCAA Eastern Conference Runner of the Year for his efforts.  Emma Dell won the women’s race as well and was named Runner of the Year.  Kosidlo later went on to finish 20th at nationals and earn NJCAA Second Team and NJCAA Coaches Association All-American honors. Grace Wessel led the Monarch women with an 18th-place finish to earn NJCAA Second Team All-American honors.

Glen Davis of WSU.

Glen Davis, Wayne State (PHN): Davis led the Wayne State men’s team in his inaugural season, winning the Warrior Challenge and placing 29th in his first 10K race at the D2 Midwest Regional.  

Camden Khon, Spring Arbor University (Armada):  Khon won the Crossroads League Conference Championship for cross country, setting the course record.  He then went on to earn NAIA All-American status, finishing 29th at the national meet.  Khon was also All-American in his track seasons, placing fourth in the mile and third in the DMR indoors during the winter, then in May took fifth in the 1500 and sixth in the 4x800 outdoors.

*Thomas Westphal, MSU (Anchor Bay): Westphal was the Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice and helped MSU place second in the Big Ten Championships (their best finish since 2016), with an 8K PR of 23:25 to finish third overall and the highest-placing freshman.  Thomas was later named to the Great Lakes All-Region team in his first attempt at the 10K distance, taking 12th in 30:06, then dropped that PR to a 29:19 at the NCAA Championships to finish 59th as the top runner for MSU on the Gans Creek course in Missouri.  He was voted the Big Ten Freshman of the Year by Big Ten Coaches, the first Spartan man to do so since 2011 and only the fifth overall.  

Jack Pennewell (St. Clair) was also a scoring Spartan on this year’s squad.

*Westphal is now the fastest high school runner to ever come out of the Blue Water Area in every single distance event: 800, 1500, 1600, mile, 3000, 3200, and 5K, topping even Morgan Beadlescomb from Algonac, also a former Spartan and Olympic Trials qualifier.

It has been an extreme joy and privilege to be a part of such amazing accomplishments across our area this year.

A very special thank you to this year’s sponsors, Elite Feet of Port Huron and Verlinde Insurance, who have helped make coverage possible.

Thank you also to each one of YOU for listening, reading, and subscribing: you are the reason Blue Water Running exists. I wish you a Happy New Year and look forward to seeing what 2026 brings!