Hundreds of people will be at St. Joseph High School’s Dickinson Stadium this Friday for the 66th annual Rotary Club of St. Joseph-Benton Harbor Track Meet.
The event was started in 1958 as a way for track teams from throughout Berrien County to compete with each other and prepare for state matches.
The Rotary’s Renee Borah tells us the atmosphere is always exciting.
“Oh, it’s energetic,” Borah said. “It’s so fun. We get a lot of support from the community to come and watch the kids. All the kids get along with everybody else, and they’re all excited to be there. I think everyone that runs track knows about the Rotary Track Meet, and it’s a big deal. So, there’s a lot of energetic people there, and we get a lot of volunteers that want to help, and we just have a lot of fun.”
The track meet is one of the biggest in Michigan. It’ll feature track teams from 17 schools. Five place medals and three $2,000 scholarships will be awarded.
This year’s track meet will also include a food drive, so everyone’s asked to bring along some canned goods.
The event will start at 4:30 p.m. at the St. Joseph High School Dickinson Stadium and run until about 9 p.m. It’s $5 for adults to get in, and $2 for students.
The 2024 Rotary Track Meet Scholarship winners are:
Ava Johnson, daughter of Matthew and Erica Johnson, who will be graduating from New Buffalo High School with a GPA of 3.972. She has participated in Track and Field (100-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash, 300-meter hurdles, 4×100 meter relay, long jump and discus) as well as volleyball, softball and basketball throughout her high school career. She is member of the Student Senate, National Honors Society, Spanish National Honors Society, class president all 4 years, Peer to Peer, Pokagon Youth Advisory Council, SADD and BCS Student Leadership Committee. She plans to attend the University of Michigan to major in Linguistics and Speech Pathology.
Ronan Marsh, son of Mason and Lora Marsh, who will be graduating from Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School with a GPA of 4.175. He has participated in Track in Field (4×800 relay, 300-meter hurdles, 4×400 relay), cross country, soccer, basketball, baseball, as well as drama throughout his high school career. He is a member of the Interact Club, National Honor Society, and DECA. He will be attending the University of Michigan to study Chemistry.
Clark Smith, son of Edward and Amber Smith, who will be graduating from Bridgman High School with a GPA of 4.28. He has participated in Track in Field (4×400 relay, 4×200 relay, 4×800 relay, 400-meter dash), football, swimming and basketball throughout his high school career. He is a member of Student Senate and National Honor Society as we as various leadership roles at his church. He plans to attend Grand Valley State University in the fall to study Mechanical Engineering.
