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.)
Preview: Experience Takes the Lead
October 20, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Familiar faces could dominate photo finishes at Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Boys Cross Country Finals at Pictured Rocks Golf Club in Munising.
Two reigning individual champions are back from a year ago, as is the runner-up from the race where the winner has moved on. Reigning Division 2 and 3 team champions Ishpeming and Chassell, respectively, are expected to celebrate again for the fourth straight seasons – but so too is Houghton for the first time since 2011.
Races begin Saturday with the Division 3 girls at 11 a.m. and finish with the Division 1 boys at 1:30 p.m. Check back Saturday evening for coverage of all six Upper Peninsula Finals, and see below for more teams and individuals to watch.
Division 1
Reigning champion: Negaunee
2016 runner-up: Houghton
2017 top-ranked: 1. Houghton, 2. Marquette, 3. Negaunee.
Negaunee has won the last two UPD1 championships and finished 16 points ahead of Houghton last season. The Miners have three of their top seven back for this weekend, led by reigning champion Colton Yesney; he won last year’s race by 36 seconds. But Houghton brings back five of its top six including third-place Clayton Sayen and fifth-place Seth Helman, who like Yesney have continued to dominate this fall as seniors. Marquette is in the mix with its top three and four of its top seven back from last season’s third-place team, paced by reigning Finals runner-up and current senior Garrett Rudden.
Individuals: While Yesney, Rudden, Sayen and Helman give the field four of last season’s top-five finishers, none of the rest of the top 10 returns – although Negaunee sophomore Eric Anderson and senior Elliott Prusi were 10th and 11th last year, respectively. Marquette senior Luke Rambo, who won the Great Northern Conference meet title last week, also likely will be among the leaders. Gladstone junior Adam Bruce won the Mid-Peninsula Conference meet championship (although Yesney was unable to finish) and should find the frontrunners as well.
Division 2
Reigning champion: Ishpeming
2016 runner-up: Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer
2017 top-ranked: 1. Ishpeming, 2. Ironwood, 3. Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer.
The Hematites have won three straight UPD2 championships and did so last year on the strength of five top-10 finishers, with all seven racers coming in 21st or better. Although reigning champion Grady Kerst graduated, runner-up and now-junior Spencer Giroux, ninth-place sophomore Jonah Broberg, 10th-place junior Devin Tasson and 13th-place senior Kyle Pruett fill the top of this season’s lineup. Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer finished 12 points back last year and returns its top six runners who all finished among the top 16 at last year’s Final, led by fourth-place senior Isaiah Aili, fifth-place junior Devon Byers and eighth-place junior Uriah Aili. Ironwood finished a distant fourth last season but also has broken into the picture with an experienced group – junior Nick Niemi was fifth last season as his team brings back its top three and four of the top seven from that race.
Individuals: Total, seven of last season’s individual top 10 will race again this weekend – all seven are mentioned above. Led by Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer senior Tim Rowe, six who finished between 11-20 last season also are back including Newberry juniors Chase Canfield and Evan Griffis.
Division 3
Reigning champion: Chassell
2016 runner-up: Brimley
2017 top-ranked: 1. Chassell, 2. Munising, 3. Brimley.
Chassell also has won three straight titles and got past Brimley by 23 points to win last season’s championship. The Panthers bring back two of their top four, led by third-place finisher and now-junior Ben Tuomi. Brimley is fresh off a league title but also returns two of last year’s top four – with senior Austin Plotkin the individual favorite again after winning last year’s Final by 34 seconds. Munising was sixth in Division 2 last season but brings five of the top six runners from that race to this weekend’s finale.
Individuals: Cedarville sophomore Thomas Bohn came in fourth last season and only a second behind Tuomi. Stephenson senior Ethan Brown and Pickford senior Michael Satchell came in sixth and seventh, respectively, and only seven seconds back of Tuomi in third – meaning there could be a pretty tight pack chasing Plotkin, who won by 23 seconds.
PHOTOS: Houghton's Clayton Sayen (447) leads the pack during the Harger Invitational on Sept. 26 at Pictured Rocks Golf Club. Negaunee's Colton Yesney (591) is chasing and ended up winning the race. (Middle) Ishepming's Spencer Giroux came in fourth at the Harger. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)