It has been a long time since Alpena High School had a state track champion.

This year, the school made up for that drought with two state champions: Eli Winter for discus, and Gabe Bullis for pole vault.

The two were exceptional at the state Division 1 finals track meet in Kentwood last Saturday. Winter broke his own school record with his winning throw of 180 feet, 1 inch. As good as that was, he also added an all-state finish for the shot put, where he finished seventh at the meet.

For Bullis, Saturday’s meet was familiar territory, as, last year, he finished third at the event. This year, he cleared 15 feet, 3 inches, and left the other competitors far behind.

The last time Alpena had a state champion was all the way back to 1997, when Melissa Brousseau received that honor in shot put.

While Winter and Bullis excelled last weekend at the meet, other Alpena track members had outstanding days of their own.

Aden Smith just barely missed champion status, finishing second in the 3,200-meter run, which gave him all-state designation. Likewise, his brother, Josh, received that same designation by finishing eighth in the 1,600-meter run. The top eight finishers in an event receive all-state recognition.

Faith Weide also received all-state recognition for finishing sixth in the shot put.

And the Alpena boys track team finished third overall in the state.

At the same time Alpena students were excelling in Division 1 competition, other area schools from the region had students competing in Division 4 competition held in Hudsonville. Alcona students Lily Bilbey and John Sharboneau received all-state status. Bilbey finished second in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash, while Sharboneau finished seventh in the discus. Rogers City’s Luke Augsburger earned all-state in the high jump for finishing seventh.

Congratulations to all these winners for these noteworthy accomplishments.

(THE ALPENA NEWS)