* Kellen Kimes discusses his sweep of the boys discus and weight throw on day one of the MITS Indoor State Championships.
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Michigan athletes didn't mess around on the first day of competition at the MITS Indoor State Championships as numerous performers earned multiple titles and others set themselves up well for Sunday finals.
Field event athletes, along with SMR, DMR and 4x200m relay squads took center stage at the L.A.B. in Ypsilanti and produced nationally-ranked performances.
Begin with Kellen Kimes, who kickstarted competition on a high note in the Saturday morning throws events, sweeping both the boys discus and weight throw with marks of 168-2 and 77-11.25.
In the discus -- which is not commonly a contested event indoors -- Kimes now ranks at the top of the national leaderboards, and his weight throw effort ranks at No. 2 all-time in Michigan state history.
Kimes also ranks third in the country in 2023 with his winning weight throw mark.
Moving to the distance events, stealing the show had to be Hunter Jones representing Up North Elite, anchoring the squad's DMR team to an easy win in 10:17.72 and also capturing an individual 3,200m title in 8:59.02 a couple hours later.
Jones will bounce back tomorrow hoping to get a sub-4:00 mile equivalent in the boys 1,600m.
But on the girls side, it was Motor City Track Club that made quite the impression on day one, winning the SMR and advancing three athletes in Nonah Waldron, Morgan Roundtree and Carrie Vannoy to the 60mH finals and another in the 200m in eighth-grader Nevaeh Burns.
Waldron clocked the fastest time of the day in the 60mH semifinals of 8.48.
In the SMR, a 2:12 800m anchor from mid-distance star Kylee King propelled Motor City to the win on the final lap in 4:01.04. That came in as the top-ranked performance of the day for the team, propelling the squad to the top spot on the national girls SMR leaderboard.
The boys winners -- the Blazer "B" team from the second-to-last section -- also recorded a top time nationally in 3:35.87.
Women's 1600m SMR (High School) Finals ================================================= Pl Team Sq Time Ht. (Pl) ================================================= 1 Motor City Track Clu A 4:01.04 5 (1) 2 Track Life Universit A 4:05.33 5 (2) 3 All About Speed Trac A 4:10.48 5 (3) 4 LAB TC A 4:10.88 5 (4) 5 Track Life Universit B 4:12.85 5 (5)
Perhaps the icing on the cake for day one action, though, came in the 4x200m as both the Track Life University girls and 16 Ways TC boys recorded top-10 times in the nation in the day's concluding events.
Track Life University dominated the girls 4x200m to win in a season's best 1:38.94 for the fifth-best time in the country this season, while Michigan sprint stud Shamar Heard anchored the 16 Ways TC boys to a 1:28.09, which ranks at US No. 6.
Other meet highlights included Annika Sandman, who clocked a significant PR of 10:46.21 to win the girls 3,200m, and the girls of the Purple Track Club, who won the DMR in 12:03.19, which is just off their season best of 11:58.56.
The second and final day of competition begins tomorrow with field events at 9 a.m. EST, and running finals will kick off at noon. Be sure to stay up-to-date with MileSplit's comprehensive meet coverage on day two, which includes live results, interviews, articles, photos and more.
Related Links:
Here's Your MITS Indoor State Championship Hub
Top Seven Athletes To Watch At MITS Indoor State Champs