D2 Champions Make Up Final Ground
November 1, 2014
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
BROOKLYN — Two years ago, Algonac's Morgan Beadlescomb wouldn't have been chosen "most likely to succeed" among cross country runners in his class.
Out of 25 freshmen, he finished 12th with a time of 16:57.4 in the 2012 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 meet, taking 138th overall.
Obviously, there was some ground to make up.
He vaulted all the way to all-state status last year, taking 12th in 16:13.8, but he was a distant 31.1 seconds out of first place and behind five other runners who also were set to return this year.
But Beadlescomb continued to improve at a more rapid rate than his peers, the payoff being the Division 2 individual championship Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
Beadlescomb finished in 15:30.7, outdueling defending champion Austin Sargent of Cedar Springs. Sargent was second in 15:42.1, with Daniel Steele of Sturgis taking third in 15:43.7.
"It was a big difference in pace and confidence," Beadlescomb said. "You have to have a lot of confidence in yourself. The one thing is I practiced really hard, and that wore me down in a lot of meets. This year, I'm a lot stronger because I'm older, and I practiced a lot smarter."
It was a three-way battle for first when Beadlescomb, Sargent and Steele entered the infield at MIS with about a half mile remaining. Beadlescomb broke away from the others at the three-mile mark, with one tenth of a mile to go.
"I thought I kicked too early," said Beadlescomb, who won 14 of 16 meets this season. "Then I lost the feeling in my legs, so I just kept going and kept pushing as hard as I could. It was desperation. I remember when I passed him, it was the greatest feeling. I heard my name and it gave me an extra kick when I heard I was in first."
On a windy day, Beadlescomb broke his personal best of 15:48 set in last year's Regional. His best time this year was 15:50 at the Portage Invitational, where he took second to St. Joseph's Skyler Arthur by six seconds and finished three seconds ahead of Sargent, who was third. Arthur took 15th on Saturday.
Grand Rapids Christian won its first MHSAA team championship, scoring 83 points to beat Fremont by 21.
Christian had five runners cross before Fremont's No. 4 runner finished.
Benny Briseno was eighth in 16:01.8 and Justin Varineau was 13th in 16:11.3 to lead the Eagles. Rounding out the scoring for Christian were Jim VanDyke (18th, 16:16.3), Leland Robertson (36th, 16:26.6) and Patrick Jonker (45th, 16:31.9).
Before Saturday, the Eagles' best finish in an MHSAA Final was second in Class B in 1978. They finished third last year.
Fremont had two runners in the top nine in Matthew Zerfas (fourth, 15:52.7) and Sam Kaastra (ninth, 16:03.5).
PHOTO: (Top) Algonac's Morgan Beadlescomb breaks away from Cedar Springs’ Austin Sargent during the final stretch of Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final. (Below) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Nathan Mylenek leads a pack toward the finish, including Benny Briseno (344), the top placer for team champion Grand Rapids Christian. Mylenek was seventh and Briseno eighth. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Northville Extends Team Title Streak, Jenison's Conner Joins All-Time Elite
November 2, 2024
BROOKLYN — Ethan Powell is grateful to be part of three team championships with Northville at MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Cross Country Finals, but sometimes he wonders if things could’ve turned out better his freshman year.
The Mustangs finished fourth that season with 204 points in a meet won by Kensington Lakes Activities Association West rival Brighton with 141.
Powell finished 94th that year in 16 minutes, 41.28 seconds after running times of 16:19.88 and 16:24.8 in the first two meets of Northville’s championship season.
“My freshman year, we had a chance to win it, too,” Powell said. “I underperformed. I was part of the reason we didn’t win it. We took fourth that year. I was just really bummed out.”
Powell never left Michigan International Speedway feeling that way the rest of his career.
He led Northville to its third consecutive Division 1 championship Saturday by a dominant 99-169 margin over Saline.
The Mustangs are the first Division 1 boys team to win three titles in a row since Milford from 2011-13. Powell is the only runner who was in the Finals lineup for all three championships.
Northville was ranked No. 1 all season, winning the KLAA championship by a 36-68 margin over a Brighton team that finished third Saturday. The Mustangs’ league included four of the top 10 teams in the Division 1 Final.
“Last year, it was honestly a tougher year, especially after Portage (Invitational) where we took sixth or seventh or whatever,” Powell said. “We came back and were able to win it last year. It was honestly an amazing feeling doing it back to back.
“This year, we’ve just been grinding. Some people don’t really understand the behind-the-scenes part of it. Every day, it’s work. It’s making sure we’re doing what we’re doing, not slacking off. We have this saying: ‘Don’t bite the bait, don’t take the cheese.’ We’re making sure not to get too boastful or too ahead of ourselves, knowing anything can happen.”
Potential trouble struck for the Mustangs when senior Ishaan Kundapur fell about 200 yards from the finish line and struggled to get going again. He finished as the team’s fifth and final scoring runner in 84th place.
“I’m really happy he ended up finishing,” Powell said. “It looked like he wasn’t going to finish. He ended up pushing through and finishing. That’s a moment where, honestly, it can be a game-changer and turn the tables.”
Northville had four runners make all-state by finishing among the top 30, including three in the top 10. Powell was seventh in 15:24.8, junior Ben Hartigan was ninth in 15:27.7, sophomore Brandon Cloud was 10th in 15:29.0, senior Nick Barretto was 25th in 15:41.7 and Kundapur was 84th in 16:14.5.
The battle for the individual championship was won by Jenison senior Seth Conner, whose time of 14:54.5 ranks 11th in the 29-year history of the Finals at MIS.
The names ahead of him include three Olympians, most notably Grand Blanc’s Grant Fisher. Like Fisher, a two-time bronze medalist at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, Conner played soccer and ran cross country early in his high school career.
Conner didn’t make it to MIS as a freshman as Fisher did, finishing 45th at Regionals, but he gave up soccer to focus on running after that.
He never envisioned becoming a Finals champion.
“Oh, no,” he said. “I was a soccer player, so freshman year I came in and didn’t really have any goals. Nobody probably would’ve seen this coming. Last year, I was like, ‘I’m gonna win state. Let’s see what happens.’”
Conner had a comfortable lead as he cruised down the final stretch at MIS, having made a decisive move about halfway through the race. Canton junior Aiden Pengelly charged from behind to nip Milford junior Kyle O’Rourke at the finish line to take second place by one second in 15:01.0.
“I was really nervous about it, especially after MI Speed Rating ranked me lower for the Regional race,” Conner said. “I just kind of gave it all to God. ‘Hey, listen, this is making me really nervous. I know you’re going to take that from me. I can just focus on my hard work.’ That’s what I did. Going into the race, I wasn’t really that nervous, just very confident and excited.”
PHOTOS (Top) Northville’s Ethan Powell powers toward the finish as his team’s top placer Saturday at MIS. (Middle) Jenison’s Seth Conner sees the finish line ahead as he leads the Division 1 Final. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)