June 13th, 2009
Jackson High School
Withington Stadium
Jackson, MI

A meet in which the fastest seniors
from the Midwest compete for one last
high school track and field victory.

The Midwest Meet of Champions is one of the longest running postseason high school track meets in the nation. It began in 1974 and several of its alumni have won medals at the Olympic Games or World championships. Earl Jones, Brian Diemer, Jim Spivey and Maicel Malone are some of the athletes who competed in the meet before having standout careers at the international level.

Jones, a 1982 graduate of Taylor (Mich.) Center High, and Diemer, a 1979 graduate of Grand Rapids (Mich.) South Christian High, won bronze medals in the 1984 Olympics in the men’s 800 meters and 3,000-meter steeplechase, respectively.

Spivey, who graduated from Bensenville Fenton High in Illinois in 1978, was a bronze medalist in the 1,500 in the 1987 World championships.

Malone, a 1987 graduate of Indianapolis North Central High, ran a leg on U.S. teams that won gold medals in the women’s 1,600-meter relay in the 1993 World championships and in the 1996 Olympics. She was also a member of silver-medal winning teams in the 1997 and 1999 World championships.

2009 Grand Marshal  - Paul McMullen

Paul McMullen was the top-ranked miler in the United States in 1996 and 2001. He placed 10th in the men’s 1,500 meters in the 1995 and 2001 World championships and was also a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 1996. He finished fourth in the 800 and ran a leg on Team Michigan’s winning 3,200-meter relay team in the 1990 Midwest Meet of Champions as a Cadillac High School senior. An eight-time All-American at Eastern Michigan University, McMullen capped his college career with a runner-up finish in the 1,500 in the 1995 NCAA championships.

2009 Honorary Referee Kermit Ambrose
Kermit Ambrose, 98, was a highly respected track and field and cross-country official in Michigan for more than 30 years following a noteworthy coaching tenure at Birmingham Seaholm High School. In 1995, he was presented the Distinguished Service Award by the Michigan High School Coaches Association (MHSCA).

2009 Honorary Referee Lee Averill
Track and field has been an integral part of Lee Averill’s life for more than 50 years. The 71-year old Milford High School graduate has been the head track and cross-country coach at West Bloomfield High for the past 44 years. In 2003, he was inducted into the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association (MITCA) Hall of Fame.

2009 Honorary Referee Lorenzo Croft
Lorenzo Croft, 78, helped guide Ecorse High School to three boys’ Class B state track and field championships during his 35-year career. He was also on the Michigan coaching staff for the Midwest Meet of Champions for more than 25 years, working primarily with the sprinters. He is a hall of fame inductee of the MHSCA and the MITCA.

2009 Honorary Referee Duane Raffin
Duane Raffin, 75, had a 38-year coaching career in cross-country and track and field at Holly High School during which his teams won four state titles at the Class A or B levels. He has been involved with Michigan’s participation in the Midwest Meet of Champions since the meet began in 1974. He was the head coach of the men’s team in 1978 and ’79, and head coach of the men’s and women’s teams from 1982-95.