By Rich Winter

605 Sports

KIMBALL — When Kimball/White Lake junior Lincoln Kranig wants to relax the sprinter takes it up a notch. 

Kranig took up the guitar several years ago and often takes a spin into hard rock and heavy metal during his down time.

“I like a lot of old rock like Van Halen, Megadeth and Metallica,” Kranig said. 

Just a few weeks into the track and field season, Kranig has emerged as a contender for Class B sprint titles in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. 

Kranig says minor success during the 2024 season inspired him to work harder in the offseason. 

“Last year I looked around and I was winning a little bit so I trained a little more over the summer,” Kranig said. 

Entering the 2025 season, Kranig had personal bests of :11.70 in the 100-meter dash, :23.58 in the 200-meter dash and :56.28 in the 400-meter dash. 

Kranig’s times have dropped drastically this season and Kranig attributes those improvements to the extra time spent in the weight room. 

At the Bill Pistulka Invitational on Saturday, April 12, Kranig won the 100-meter dash (:11.35), a time that is currently third fastest in Class B. It was an eye-popping :22.64 in the 200-meter dash at the South Central Conference meet on April 8 that turned heads in Class B. 

Not surprisingly Kranig says the 200-meter dash is his favorite event. 

“I just keep my top speed pretty well in that event,” he said. “I start going with the fastest guy and keep going at a nice strong pace. I hit my top speed around the curve and I keep it for a long time until the finish.”

Kranig currently has the top time in Class B, well ahead of Timber Lake’s Gavin Farlee who has a :23.17 best this season. 

For a newcomer to the elite of Class B sprinters, Kranig has some big goals. 

“When I’m winning I feel really good and when I’m losing I just want to get better,” he said. “My goals this year are to break the Kimball/White Lake school record (:22.58) and win a state title.” 

Class B competitors might want to keep an eye out for Kranig in the 400-meter dash. 

At the Bill Pistulka meet on April 12, Kranig ran the 400-meter leg on the winning sprint medley relay. Kranig got the baton on his exchange just ahead of the field and opened up a 50-meter gap by the time he handed off to Park Sinclair. 

“I am not a fan of the 400-meter dash,” he said. “It was a relay so my thoughts were I have to give my all in  the race. I thought they were right behind me the whole time so I just sprinted until I handed the baton to Park.” 

Kimball/White Lake's Lincoln Kranig gets ready to hand the baton to Park Sinclair in the sprint medley relay at the Bill Pistulka Invitational - Rodney Haas / 605 Sports