Boys Track & Field: Skyline’s Kessler and Huron’s Gardette finish careers in impressive fashion  

Hobbs Kessler crossed the finish line on his high school career in fitting fashion.

Kessler, the outstanding distance runner and Skyline senior, was a two-time state champion and helped lead the Eagles to fourth place at Saturday’s Division 1 Track & Field State Championship at East Kentwood High School. Fenton and Rockford tied for first with 34 points followed by Zeeland West (30), Skyline (28) and Pinckney and Novi (25 each). Dexter and Macomb Dakota tied for seventh with 24 points.

Kessler won both the 800m (1:54.13) and 1600m (4:16.68) races at the state finals.

He also anchored the 4x800m team which narrowly lost to Novi by 0.03 of a second. The relay team of Sanjay Rao, Ian Steele, Nico Fry and Kessler placed second in states and cut 5 seconds off of their season best.

The Pioneer relay team of Brady Cunningham, Matt Ruud, Henry MonteSano and Fred Wallace was sixth in 8:04.35.

Steele, a senior, came in 10^th in the 800 meters with a time of 1:58.59.

Rudd, a junior, placed 16^th in the 1600 meters in 4:38.32.

Huron also had a great day on the track.

Senior Trey Gardette sprinted his way to an impressive final showing in high school track. He placed third in the 100 meters in 11.09, was sixth in the 100 meters in 11.05 and placed 11^th in the 200 meters in 22.56.

Also competing for the River Rats were junior Tyler Bivens (16^th in the 100 in 11.39) and sophomore Braxton Brann (14^th in the 200 meters in 22.68 and 10^th in the 300 hurdles in 41.21).