Houghton High School to host inaugural Community Track Night on Wednesday

HOUGHTON, Mich. (WLUC) - Who wants to race? That is the question the organizers of Wednesday’s Community Track Night in Houghton want to know.

The upcoming event is being held at the Houghton High School track. Races will include a youth 400-meter dash, as well as 800 and 1600-meter runs open to any participants.

The event is sponsored by MTU, UP Health System - Portage, and the Copper Country Running Company. Organizers are encouraging everyone who can to either participate or watch.

“It will be organized based off of how many sign-ups we have,” said Race Director Clayton Sayen. “Likely there will be just one heat of each event. Pending how many entries we have, we’ll break it up between men’s and women’s, and maybe even age groups.”

Sayen has been working with the Houghton High School (HHS) Athletic Department to make this possible.

“Several months ago, Clayton and I started having a conversation about this idea,” said HHS Athletic Director John Sanregret. “And it just seemed to be a perfect idea to promote not only his success and his career as a track athlete but at the same time bringing awareness to a great sport.”

The event also serves another purpose. After all races are completed, Sayen will be attempting to break the U.P. 1-mile record. The time to beat is 4 minutes, 12 seconds. A Houghton alumnus, Sayen is eager to attempt this on his home turf.

“To do it on my home track, in my hometown, there’s not much more I could want out of this,” continued Sayen.

All proceeds from the event will go to the athletic department to be used for training equipment.

“Track and field is a pretty equipment-intensive sport,” added Sanregret. “There’s a lot of events that require everything from port-o-pits to hurdles to shot and discuss. We have a lot of ways to use the money to enhance our program.”

You must register online or at the track ticket booth to participate. To register online, check out the event’s Facebook page by clicking here. The entry and admission fee is $5.

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