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Coach Scott Long had envisioned the possibility of 2007 being a great season.

"It was pretty exciting for the kids. They're proud of their accomplishments," said Long. He added, "This was something, with this senior group, that we've always talked about, especially after their freshman year when we saw their potential."

At the Division 4 Regional Saturday, the Eagles piled up 160 points, finishing well-ahead of second place Saginaw Valley Lutheran with 123.

"I was nervous about Valley Lutheran, they have a pretty good team," said Long, "but I think our depth did it."

Deckerville had five firsts in the Regional, including two by Seth McVittie. The Eagle senior won the 100 high hurdles (15.26) and the 300 intermediate hurdles (41.58) and was also second in the long jump (19-11.5).

Bryan Shagena, a senior, was the Regional champion in the shot put with his toss of 50'5" while Wes Messing won the 200 meter dash (23.57) and tied for second in the high jump (5-10).

The other first came from the 400 meter relay team (47.22) of Jayce Barr, Joe Fisher, Brett Ross and Scott Ross.

Barr, Messing and both Rosses combined to qualify for State in the 800 relay (1:37.54) with a second place finish.

Seven more Eagles will also be moving on to the Div. 4 State Finals at Forest Hills East on June 2 with their qualifying efforts: Chris Burgess, Sean Hornby, Steve Foster, and Justin Stankiewicz combined to break the school record in the 3200 relay with a third place time of 8:38.84; in the shot put, Billy Howard had a toss of 46'2.5" and Cory Sweet was right behind with a throw of 45'11"; Mike Bragg met the extra qualifying standard in the pole vault with his effort of 11'9".

The only other area State qualifier in Division 4 was CPS's Shane Albrecht. The Tiger senior captured first place in the pole vault with a school-record performance of 13'9".

GTC East champs

The Eagles finished with 168.5 points to stop Marlette's bid for the title. The Raiders were runners-up with 145.

McVittie (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles) and Messing (long jump) were league champions.

Lady Eagles send six to State

Led by regional champions Dana Stolicker and Cheyenne Sampson, plus the record-breaking 3200 relay team, the Lady Eagles of Deckerville will have six girls going on to the Div. 4 State Finals at Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern on June 2.

Stolicker, a sophomore, turned in a personal-best in winning the 800 meter run in 2:23.74. Sampson, a freshmen, did the same with her first place effort of 12:22.3. Those two also joined Malorie Machart and Shelby McVittie in smashing their own school record in the 3200 relay with a second place time of 9:47.97.

Tasha Trowhill placed second in the shot put for Deckerville with a personal-best throw of 34'1".

Additional State qualifiers because of their times were: Sampson in the 1600 (5:35); McVittie, Machart, Stolicker, and Nicole Oswald, in the 1600 relay (4:20.86); and, McVittie in the 300 hurdles (50.9).

Ubly, the defending state champion in Div. 4, won the Regional title at Deckerville with 165 points while Valley Lutheran was next with 132 and Deckerville was third with 77. To show how tough the Deckerville Regional was, McVittie's time in the 300 hurdles was good for eighth place, but still bettered the additional qualifying time to advance to State.

Randee Kirkpatrick, the Lady Eagles coach, has been excited about her team all season and was even prouder after Saturday's showing.

"Their performance on Saturday impressed me so much. They were also very encouraging to each other and other teams as well," noted Kirkpatrick. "There were two girls my heart broke for - Malorie Machart missed qualifying for the 1600 by two seconds and Katelyn Stutterheim missed the 100 dash by .1 second. Through it all, though, they kept a great attitude and supported others on the team. I couldn't be prouder of my team than I am right now."