Ahmon Parks entered the shot put Regional championships as the #1 seed, but a big throw from Ionia's top thrower moved him into second place for most of the competition. With the top two finishers advancing to the state championship, however, Parks' position was secure until the final round, when a thrower from Forest Hills Eastern passed him by. With only one throw remaining, Parks was on the outside looking in. On what could have been his final throw as an Eagle, however, Parks launched a huge PR that moved him from third to first, claiming the Regional crown and advancing him to the State Championship with his put of 46'7".

Meanwhile, Hans Pruis was having a huge day of his own. In the long jump, Pruis won not by a matter of inches, but by a fraction of an inch, taking the Regional crown by 1/4" over second place with his leap of 19'9.75". Pruis then blazed to a sterling victory in the 100-meter dash, earning the title of the region's fastest athlete with a PR time of 11.06. He earned his third Regional crown by teaming up with Jaden Overvoorde, Ja'Martae Hogan, and Gregory Richardson to win the 4 x 100-meter relay in 43.78. Pruis completed his day with a third-place mark in the 200-meter dash that was fast enough to qualify him for the State Championship.

The 4 x 100 wasn't the Eagle's only relay success: the team of Reuben Wiering, Simon Triezenberg, Tinsae Nelson, and Alex Busscher gutted out a thrilling victory in the 4 x 800, outleaning Forest Hills Eastern by a quarter-second to take the win.

Powered by these Regional Champions, as well as a host of other regional medalists, the boys team earned runners-up honors, defeating eleven schools and falling only to Forest Hills Eastern, 134.5-124.

Reuben Wiering's strong race in the 1600-meter run was one of these key performances, as he finished second in 4:29, good for a trip to States. Tinsae Nelson took fifth in the same race to earn regional medalist honors.

Also medaling for the Eagles were Armaan Irving in the long jump (third in 18'9.25"), Jaylin Garcia in the discus (eighth with a PR of 115'4"), Simon Vanderbroek in the high jump (3rd in 6'0") and Eli Klunder in the high jump (7th with a PR of 5'7"), Jaden Overvoorde in the 300 hurdles (third in 42.75), Dewayne Goree in the 110-meter hurdles (third in a PR of 15.82), Simon Triezenberg in the 3200 (5th in 10:04) and Joe Waalkes in the 3200 (6th in 10:07), Tinsae Nelson in the 800 (5th in 2:02), Tayvarie Heard in the 100 (6th in 11.60) and Gregory Richardson in the 100 (3rd with a 11.42) and 200 (6th in 24.12). 

Regional qualifiers will advance to the State Championship, which will be held on Saturday, June 4th at Forest Hills Eastern. Come on out and support Eagle Athletics!