Garber relay breaks 54 - Relays Co.,Ltd

Essexville Garber's Garrett Hayes, Brayden Tacey, Thoth Moya and Carson Madziar won the regional crown and shattered the school record in the 4x200 relay.

It was a 54-year-old record that held fast and strong.

Until somebody faster and stronger finally came along.

Garrett Hayes, Brayden Tacey, Thoth Moya and Carson Madziar made history while capturing Division 2 regional championship honors, clocking in at 1:30.81 in the 4x200 relay – the fastest performance in the Essexville Garber record books.

"Winning regionals and breaking the record were goals they set way back at the beginning of the season," Garber coach Brian Anderson said. "I could not be prouder of the relay team for earning their place in Garber history."

That was one of 10 state-qualifying efforts produced by Bay County competitors during regional action, as a handful of standouts earned a trip to the MHSAA track and field championships in two weeks.

None was more spectacular than Garber's title-winning, record-breaking relay. The fleet foursome took down a record that remarkably held true since 1969. Mark Schaefer, Mark Weber, Rick Russell and Marty Lefevre clocked in a 1:31.35 all those years ago, and nobody did it better for more than half a century.

If the new record matches the old one for longevity, it would not be eclipsed until 2077.

Hayes, Tacey, Moya and Madziar have been locked in on that standard since early in the season. They’ve won the event four times this year, including at the Bay County Championship, and finished second twice, including at the Tri-Valley Conference Red Championship.

They came within 5-hundredths of a second of the mark at the Bay City Western Invitational, setting the stage for grand things at the Shepherd regional. They came through with a flurry, punching their ticket to states and knocking out the long-standing record.

Moya and Tacey joined Elijah Theisen and Blake Wittbrodt for another memorable performance, winning the regional title in the 4x400 relay in 3:29.87 and earning a state berth. Moya is a three-event qualifier after winning the 400 in 49.92. Brady McGee is also state-bound for the Dukes, placing fourth in the discus with a qualifying mark of 145-8.5.

The Garber boys featured three other Top 8 finishers. Tacey placed fifth in the 200 (23.52), Wittbrodt was fifth in the 400 (53.90) while Victor King-Dawson took third in the long jump (20-7.5).

The Garber girls were led by a third-place finish by Haley Hunt in the high jump (4-9) and a sixth-place showing by Heather Brownlee in the 400 (1:03.27).

John Glenn also competed in the Division 2 regional at Shepherd, getting four Top 8 showings. Ryder Payne placed fifth in the 800 (2:04.30) while Seth Holsinger was seventh in the 200 (23.74) for the boys. Sydney Helmreich finished fourth in the 400 (1:01.94) and sixth in the 200 (27.52) for the Glenn girls.

Isabelle Becker of the Bay City Western girls track and field team for 2023.

D1: WESTERN QUALIFIES IN FOUR EVENTS

Bay City Western earn state finals bids in three boys events and one girls race during Division 1 regional action at Midland while Bay City Central is sending one athlete on to the championships.

Noah Selvaraj came through with flying colors, advancing to states in three events for the Warriors. He placed second in the 800 (1:55.24) and shined in two relays. He teamed with Logan Kipfmiller, Tate Dutcher and Daniel Ebel to capture the regional championship in the 4x400 relay (3:26.38) and joined Ebel, Miles Killips and Andrew Kaczmarczyk to win the regional crown in the 4x800 relay (8:04.33).

Isabelle Becker qualified for states for the Western girls while placing sixth in the 3200 in 11:19.53.

The Western girls had six additional Top 8 finishers, fronted by Shea Walli with fifth in the 400 (1:00.55) and seventh in the long jump (15-3.5) and Bailey Cottrell in sixth in the discus (101-01) and eighth in shot put (32-0). Becker also finished fourth in the 1600 (5:20.82) while Audrey Knochel claimed eighth in the 300 hurdles (51.53).

The Western boys saw Colton Whyte place third in the high jump (5-8) and Dutcher take sixth in the 300 hurdles (41.94).

Susie Schulz represents Central at the state finals after taking second in the high jump (5-0). She also finished fourth in the long jump (16-8). Rayshawn Kanous led the Central boys with a third-place finish in the 400 (50.78).

D3: PINCONNING SENDING ONE TO FINALS

Pinconning posted nine Top 8 finishes in Division 3 regional action at Clare, including one state qualifier.

Tess Gasicial is heading to states after finishing as regional runner-up with a long jump of 15-6.75. Gasicial also placed sixth in the 100 (13.68) and eighth in the 200 (29.96). Kinsie Jacques finished third for the Spartans in both the 1600 (5:46.57) and the 3200 (12:24.08).

In the boys division, Carson Parks came up big by placing third in the 100 (11.73) and the long jump (21-3.75) while finishing fifth in the 200 (24.50). Tayler Morand took sixth in the 800 (2:14.11) for Pinconning.

If you would like your local high school sports news delivered free to your inbox daily, click here and sign up for one of our local high school sports newsletters.

Love reading about local sports? Don't miss any of the excitement from the season ahead. Purchase your subscription now and get full access to every story on MLive!