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.)
Pioneer Closes Finals with D1 Sweep
November 4, 2017
Second Half reports
BROOKLYN — On top of the normal pressure of racing in the MHSAA Cross Country Finals, runners in the boys Division 1 meet Saturday had to wait through two weather delays before taking the course at Michigan International Speedway.
Every team and every runner had different ways of coping with the extra dose of stress.
What did Ann Arbor Pioneer do?
Sing.
“We just act like it never happened,” Pioneer junior Nick Foster said. “Our team stayed loose and tried to act like it was a normal race, a normal start. We actually did start singing Bob Marley’s ‘Don’t Worry About a Thing’ to stay loose. It’s fun. We knew this was a good opportunity for our team. We wanted to execute.”
The Pioneers brushed aside the one-hour, 10-minute delay and swept the team and individual championships in Division 1.
Pioneer edged Plymouth by a slim 107-110 margin, while Foster unleashed a fierce kick to win a three-man battle for the individual title.
Rockford senior Cole Johnson was leading with the finish line in sight, but Foster stormed from behind to take the lead with about 20 yards remaining. Foster crossed the line in 15:16.1, Johnson was second in 15:18.2 and White Lake Lakeland junior Harrison Grzymkowski was third in 15:18.4.
“I realized it was coming down to the end,” Foster said. “I saw he was fading, so I tried to catch him. There was also someone right behind me. I just gave it everything I had at the end, just to see what happened. Cole’s such a good runner. I didn’t think it was possible.”
It was the sixth team championship for Pioneer, which last won in 2008.
“That’s more important to me than winning individually,” Foster said. “I just know if I get first, that’s the best I can do for the team. We have such a strong team this season with a lot of seniors. I wanted to do it for them.”
After Foster, the Pioneers’ next four runners finished within 16.8 seconds of each other. Senior Aldo Pando-Girard was 20th among team runners in 15:59.1, junior John Florence was 25th in 16:11.5, senior Jack Wallace was 26th in 16:12.0 and senior Philip Valtadoros was 35th in 16:15.9.
By coming in second, Plymouth had the best finish in school history, eclipsing third-place finishes in Class B in 1944 and 1947. The Wildcats hadn’t finished in the top 10 since taking 10th in Class A in 1961.
Led by sophomore Carter Solomon’s fifth-place overall finish in 15:24.2 and with only one senior in the top six, Plymouth might improve upon that showing next year.
Defending champion Lakeland took third with 130 points.
PHOTOS: (Top) Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Nick Foster crosses the finish line at Saturday’s Division 1 Final. (Middle) Pioneer’s Aldo Pando-Girard (5) and New Baltimore Anchor Bay’s Michael Zedan (888) race through a stretch. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)