The Lake Orion men’s track and field team tied Rochester Adams on April 17 to keep their undefeated streak alive in dual meets.
“A tie is rare but we managed to do it well. A lot of things occurred that contributed to the tie, and a lot of things occurred that prevented a loss,” said Head Coach Stan Ford.
Each team finished with 64 points.
Senior captain Thomas Moreman won the high jump, 110-meter hurdles and the 300m hurdles.
Junior Andrew Nolan won both the 1,600m and 3,200 runs, while senior captain Sebastian Marku won the discus and shot put, the latter with a personal best throw, Ford said.
Junior Amaru Abdul-Raheem won the long jump then ran on the winning 400m relay team.
“Our depth in the sprints played a role,” Ford said. “Senior Matt Freeman, Junior Sanai Pillot, Senior Savion McHenry and Jesus Cruz all provided much needed depth to preserve our 7-year undefeated streak.”
Despite the success on the track and in field events this season, the team has had to contend with several key injuries.
“Caleb Campbell pulled up while in the lead (of) anchoring the of the 800m relay, so instead of winning that event we lost,” Ford said. “Senior Sam Knight was unavailable due to an injury, as was junior Blaze Lauer. But we ran well to preserve our undefeated streak.”

Brandon Tri-County Invitational
The Lake Orion men’s track team and field used their depth to rack up key points in field and mid- and long-distance events, finishing in second place at the Brandon Tri-County Invitational on April 12.
Despite several injuries the Dragons were able to earn 90.5 points, just eight points behind invitational champion Oak Park.
Senior Captain Sebastian Marku and junior Jesus Cruz teamed up for a total of 23 points in the shot put and discus, said Head Coach Stan Ford, while junior Nicholas Campbell and senior Zach Dinverno scored 16 points in the Pole Vault, with Campbell winning the individual championship.
The 3,200-meter relay team won, with junior Andrew Nolan anchoring the race helped by great legs from senior Ryan Mulcahy and sophomores Xavier Nunley and Nicholas Laurent, Ford said.
Nolan also won the 3,200m individual run with a season best time.
The 400m relay team of juniors Sanai Pillot, Amaru Abdul-Raheem and senior Matthew Freeman took first place for the Dragons.
Pillot also scored key points in the high jump, as did Abdul-Raheem in the long jump.
Mitchell Duffy, Mulcahy, Nunley, Josh Akkerman, Isacc Kinne, Brandon Robinson and Laurent also garnered points for Lake Orion, Ford said.
The team’s next meet is today at home against Rochester High School and then at 10 a.m. April 27 at Oxford High School for the Elmer Ball Invitational. – J.N.