KINGSFORD — Jimmy Carter was president the last time a Rudyard girls track and field team was crowned an Upper Peninsula finals champion.

The year was 1977 when the Bulldogs were competing in Class C, and gasoline was selling for less than a dollar a gallon.

But there were signs Rudyard’s history was about to change just two weeks ago on May 15 when the Bulldogs won their MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 2 regional at Bark River-Harris.

And the improvement came to fruition on Saturday in Kingsford, when the Bulldogs claimed the Division 2 MHSAA U.P. Finals title, scoring 87 points to runner-up Bark River-Harris’ 78.

Ewen-Trout Creek was third with 71, then came West Iron County with 66, Pickford 63, Hancock 56 and Norway 30.

Gwinn came in eighth with 25, while Munising was next with 22, followed by Ironwood with 13, Iron Mountain 10 and Jeffers 6.

“We were dealing with a lot of little things, but the girls kept battling,” Rudyard coach Mike Kirschner said. “They love to compete, and the warm weather helped.

“We knew what to expect from Pickford and Bark River-Harris, but we didn’t see (E-TC) coming because West Iron County won that (Gwinn) regional. They’re young, but (E-TC has) some good athletes. No doubt, they’re tough.”

While the two area teams at the meet, Gwinn and Munising, didn’t get a winner at the finals, each had at least one runner-up.

For Gwinn, the Modeltowners’ 800-meter relay of Alexa Jakubowski, Paula Cadina Padilla, Makayla Delmont and Alayna Soyring finished in second place in 1 minutes, 55.15 seconds.

The school’s 400 relay was also third with Delmont, Adeline Derwin, Cadina Padilla and Soyring, while Soyring was third in the 400 dash in 1:06.46.

Derwin added a fifth place in the long jump, Delmont a fifth in the 100 and Jakubowski sixth in the 100 hurdles.

Without as many high finishers, what Munising had was quality in Addie Bowerman. She was twice a runner-up, in the 100 hurdles in 17.38 seconds and also in the shot put with a toss of 30 feet, 2 3/4 inches.

And she placed third in the 300 hurdles in 50.34 seconds, which was a personal best.

Rudyard freshman Melissa Kirschner soared over the bar at a personal-best 9 feet, 1 inch in the pole vault, enough to match the U.P. Division 2 Finals record she now shares with Kali Jo Marshall of St. Ignace from 2010.

Bulldogs sophomore Amelia Fountain won the 100 in 13.22 seconds and 400 in 1:02.27, then added a runner-up finish in the 200 in 27.4.

“This is a great way to go into the summer, that’s for sure,” Coach Kirschner said. “We’re still young. I’m hoping we’ll continue to get more girls to come out.”

BR-H swept the sprint relays and junior Emma Zawada, who was a part of each of those relays, added a win in the long jump at 14-11½.

E-TC crossed the finish first in the 3,200 relay and senior Irelynd McGeshick took the discus with 101-1.

Sophomore Bristol Shamion was West Iron’s leader with victories in the 100 hurdles in 16.81 and 300 hurdles in 48.49, both personal bests.

Pickford senior Talya Schreiber, who will continue her running career at Bowling Green State in Ohio, captured the 800 in 2:29.58, the 1,600 in 5:08.2 and 3,200 in 11:14.28. She won a combined eight individual championships over her final three seasons.

Also among individual champions were Norway’s Lauren Adams in the 200 and Hancock’s Tatum Sporalski in the shot put.

John Vrancic is a sports writer affiliated with the Daily Press of Escanaba who was reporting for the Michigan High School Athletic Association website, mhsaa.com.