ROCKFORD — Zacchaeus Brocks leaned across the finish line, slowed to a jog around the curve, and pointed to the heavens.
“I just want to thank God for allowing me to do what I am able to do,” he said. “This feels amazing. It‘s one of the things I dreamed about last year when I wasn’t able to run on the track.”
The Detroit Catholic Central senior had an incredible day at the MHSAA Division 1 track and field championships May 30, finishing first in three events and setting a state record in one. Brocks blazed to a time of 13.29 seconds in the qualifying heat of the 100-meter high hurdles — best in Michigan history.
Although his clocking of “only” 13.40 seconds in the championship heat wasn’t as fast, he still placed a full second ahead of the rest of the field.
“It was a great race,” he said. “I wasn’t able to get the record (in the final round), but I was happy just to take what God gives me and move on to the next thing.”
For the Ohio State University signee, the “next thing” was the 4x100-meter relay. Brocks capped off the Shamrocks’ one-lap trip around the Rockford High School oval — with Dylan Gamnje, Gideon Gash, Brayden Holzen running the first three legs — in 41.50 seconds, the second-fastest performance in that event at a state final.
Brocks wasn’t done, though. He came back an hour later to win the 300-meter hurdles in 36.33.
It was quite a fulfilling way for Brocks to cap his senior season. He placed in both hurdle races at the state meet as a sophomore but missed the competition last year due to injuries. He also came back from another injury that sidelined him for the first half of his senior year.
“I had a stress fracture in my toe and it happened in April,” he said. “It took me out of almost all the outdoor season. It was one of those nagging injuries, so I had to treat it. I didn’t know what was going on at the time, but looking at it now, God set me down for a bigger purpose.”
Although it was tough to watch from the sideline, Brocks knew he would get his chance.
“I was a little anxious, but I was never defeated, though,” he said. “I knew I had it in me. I had to put the pieces together and do it. I knew I could come out here and do what I needed to do. It gave me more confidence; it gave me more grit to try to go get it.”
That grit enabled Brocks to conclude his prep career on a high note.
“This was something I was dreaming about for a long time,” he said. “God kind of set me down last year, kind of humbled me a little bit. I was able to get recovered and feel better. This was one of my goals; to come out here and leave a legacy for the state of Michigan.”
Not only did Brocks power the Shamrocks with three victories, teammates Malachi Clayton won the long jump (24’ 5”) and Paxton Heitsch won the shot put (58’ 6”) — each were personal bests — as CC’s five event wins marked them as the team to beat.
But Catholic Central faced some adversity when Samson Gash — the defending champion in the 100-meter dash — tweaked a hamstring in the preliminary heat of the 200. Although he had already qualified for the finals in the 100, Gash did not get into the starting block and walked the race, finishing 8th for one team point.
When it was all said and done, the Shamrocks were runners up with 62 points, behind East Kentwood (63), which won its ninth team title since 2009. Third-place Kalamazoo Christian (25) was well back of the two teams.
“East Kentwood, my hat’s off to them, they did a fantastic job,” Catholic Central coach Tiberia Patterson said. “They had an answer for everything we did. Their long jumpers did great; the sprinters did great; they were all over the place. We fought a good fight, but they were the better team today.”
The final outcome was bittersweet for the new head coach.
“We won both hurdles, state record, that was a very, very positive thing for us, and overall our guys competed and fought hard,” he said. “This second-place trophy, this is the first state trophy that CC’s ever had here (in track and field), and we’re pretty happy about that. We wanted to win the whole thing, but it didn’t happen.”
Division 4: Cerone’s record day keeps Shrine in the hunt
Catholic Central wasn’t the only CHSL team falling just short of a team title. Royal Oak Shrine’s boys, competing in the Division 4 final at Hudsonville, led for a brief period late in the meet only to ultimately finish third.
The Knights were powered by Abenezer Cerone, who won the 1600 (4:14.29) and the 800 (1:52.94), establishing new state records in each. His 1600 time was 1/100th of a second faster than the old mark, set by Marine City Cardinal Mooney’s Tyler Lenn in 2024.
Shrine’s quartet of Nick Shrake, Jack Tisko, Josh Zboril and Jack Rice placed third in both the 4x100 and 4x200 relays (44.15, 1:32.43), while Owen Wisniewski tied for second in the high jump (6’ 1”).
“All you can ask for is the kids to hit their PRs or season’s best, and we accomplished that on every front,” head coach Tracy Dawson said. “The kids stepped up, I know they were dialed in and they were focused coming into the state meet. There wasn’t a whole lot we had to say, but they performed. They were dialed in and it showed in their times.”
Dawson said the meet was “exciting” all day with “memorable moments” throughout, and he thought a third-place finish was a fair assessment.
“We knew it was going to be tough; we knew it was going to be a meet where we needed some help to actually win it,” he said. “I said if we just come away with all state and we get some state champions, we’d be happy. First or second would have been the cherry on the top, but realistically, I think we finished right where the team should have finished.”
Division 2: Divine Child’s Wilson at the forefront again
At Hamilton High School, Dearborn Divine Child’s sprinting sensation Aubrey Wilson picked up right where she left off last year.
After winning the 100- and 200-meter dashes in 2025, Wilson repeated her titles in both races, clocking state records of 11.50 and 24.10 seconds, respectively. She also placed eighth in the 400 (59.45).
Together with freshman Jordane Falvey, who was second in the long jump and eighth in the 200, the Falcons scored 30 team points, which placed them fourth behind Spring Lake (42), Holland Christian (35) and Ludington (31).
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s won the 4x200 relay (1:42.85) with a team made up of Carina Ogle, Victoria Andrzejczak, Josie Andzrejczak and Vonessa Gonzales.
Division 3: Monroe SMCC emerges to capture state title
At the regional meet two weeks prior, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central could place no higher than fifth as a team. But the Falcon boys put it all together to win their first Division 3 state title, totaling 39 points ahead of Elk Rapids (32), Reed City and Ann Arbor Greenhills (31 apiece) and Lansing Catholic (30) also among the top five.
SMCC’s Cole Reinhardt, Gavin Swartout, Vince Harris and Brady Reinhardt set a state record in winning the 4x100 relay (42.2), finishing a full second ahead of the old mark.
Sophomore Christian Craanen piled on more points by finishing second in the 3200 (9:29.35), third in the 1600 (4:21.53) and sixth in the 800 (1:59.55).
Swartout also placed third individually in the 100 (10.82), while SMCC’s 4x200 team of Brady Reinhardt, Carson Welker, Easton Kwiatkowski and Harris matched that finish (1:30.27).
Greenhills was paced by a trio of second-place finishes: Henry Beck was runner-up in the 800 (1:97.91); he joined Royan Bryer, Royal Seale and Sebastian Dickinson to claim second in the 4x400 (3:24.94) while the Gryphons were also runner-up in the 4x800 with Seale, Jonah Kaplan, Naveen Kulkarni and Beck (8:03.02). Dickinson was third in the 400 (49.19).
For the SMCC girls, Olivia Beaudrie won a state title in high jump (5’ 4”).
