Freshman leads Sault Ste. Marie to Win
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 20, 2012
MUNISING — Sault Ste. Marie freshman Parker Scott had been setting school records quite regularly throughout this cross country season.
Although his 16-minute, 50.5-second clocking on the 3.1-mile course at Pictured Rocks Golf & Country Club during Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Cross Country Finals wasn’t a school record, it was good enough to earn the Division 1 title.
“The weather was great, but the course was a little wet” said Scott, this year’s Straits Conference champ who also won the Rudyard Invitational in a school-record 16:12 on Oct. 13. “The slippery footing slowed everyone down. I felt good in the beginning, then I tweaked my hip and it disrupted my rhythm. Although, I think it will be all right. I’m good at adapting to changes. It really didn’t affect me that much.”
The victory enabled Scott to finish this season undefeated.
“Winning any race is awesome,” said Scott, who also won on the Pictured Rocks course in 16:15 on Sept. 25. “The win at Rudyard was definitely a good achievement. That course is flat and fast, similar to this one.”
Scott’s effort also helped the Blue Devils gain their first U.P. title in 11 years with 65 points. Runner-up Escanaba scored 72 and Kingsford took third with 101.
Kingsford senior Dan Kulas took second (16:58.6), edging Houghton sophomore Jacob Colling by a step on this sunny and seasonably cool day.
“I really wanted to at least get runner-up,” said Kulas, who’s considering going out for cross country at Michigan Tech next year. “Parker is a great runner. I’m pleased I could stay that close (within 8.1 seconds) to him. There were lot of potholes and they slowed us up a little. The footing wasn’t the best (due to the recent rainfall).”
Kulas became two-time Great Northern Conference champ on Oct. 11, and Colling was crowned West-Pac Conference champion for the first time on the same day.
“Dan and I were going at it the last quarter-mile,” Colling said. “I was kind of shooting for the top three or top five, somewhere in that range. It was close. This was a real good race for me. I’m very excited about what I did here today. This is a great way to end the season. All the potholes made it a little interesting, but we had beautiful weather. I think running in the first race today may have been a good thing because the course probably got more chewed up as the day went on.”
Division 2
Stephenson captured its third consecutive Division 2 title with 52 points, followed by Norway with 67 and Hancock’s 76.
The Eagles were led by sophomore Connor Cappaert, who gained his first U.P. championship in 17:25.7. He was followed by Ironwood sophomore Jared Joki (17:43.4) and Manistique senior and Tyler Pomeroy (18:13.2). Joki was crowned Indianhead Conference champion last week and Pomeroy was two-time Mid-Peninsula Conference champ.
“Winning here was definitely a goal,” said Cappaert. “It was a dream come true. I’m also so happy our team came away as U.P. champion. All of our runners gave it their all today. Goals were set for all of us and we met those. We peaked at the best time possible. This has been a fun year for us.”
Division 3
Munising retained its Division 3 title with 55 points, followed by Cedarville with 72 and St. Ignace with 90.
Freshman Brett Hannah won on his home course in 17:55, followed by Cedarville’s Josh Hester (18:00.3) and Munising’s Izaak Mahoski (18:00.8).
“I’m pretty happy to win it here with all the hometown support,” said Hannah, who also earned the Central U.P./Skyline Conference title on Oct. 10. “We ran this course a couple times this year and were comfortable with it. We knew there were quite a few potholes, and we knew where they were at. I’m glad I could contribute to us keeping the trophy at home. I think this gives us a little confidence going into next year.”
Sophomore Zack Mazurek became the first Bessemer athlete to medal in the U.P. Cross Country Finals, placing fourth in Division 3 (18:09.2).
“It took me a little while to learn the pacing and where I needed to be,” Mazurek said. “I ran against some of these guys in my freshman year (in track) and felt I could be in contention. But I think their experience probably paid off in the end.”
PHOTO: Runners work to lead a pack at the Division 1 race at Saturday's Upper Peninsula Finals at Munising (Photo courtesy of RunMichigan.com/Paul Gerard).
SAC Sound-off: It's not the Win, But the Race
February 8, 2012
All I ever wanted from my high school athletic career was to be an all-state runner in cross country.
My sophomore year, our cross country team won the MHSAA Division 3 title at Michigan International Speedway, but we didn’t have any all-state runners! I was so excited because our top five consisted of four seniors and me. I was our number three runner, and placed 44th overall. It seemed like just the start of big things.
Track season was a blast that year, even though I didn’t qualify for the MHSAA Finals in any events. But when I got back into cross country in fall 2010, I really wanted to be all-state. (The top 30 individuals in each race receive the honor.)
I trained really hard, but I couldn’t get any faster than when I was a sophomore. In fact, I was running slower than I did the year before. I ended up placing 47th in my division at the MHSAA Finals. I was extremely disappointed. But, the season was over. I decided it was time to focus on track.
I ran all winter and attended a few indoor meets. The training paid off when the season started. I was running as fast as I did the year before, and I was able to make our 3200-meter relay team. I qualified for the MHSAA Division 3 Final only with my relay team, but we placed third – and I finally was all-state.
But I wanted more. I wanted to earn the honor by myself.
I ran nearly 500 miles over the summer to prepare for the 2011 cross country season. I ran faster than I ever had before. I thought I had all-state in the bag this year.
And again, I fell short. Again, I placed 47th at MIS.
Yes, I was very disappointed in myself again. But I learned that getting the all-state medal is not what is important. Having fun is what really matters. And throughout my career, I’ve had plenty.
That doesn’t mean I’m not going to try to get all-state this spring. It just means that I am going to have more fun trying!
Travis Clous, Benzie Central senior
- Sports: Cross country, track and field, basketball
- Non-sports activities: Student section, pep band, marching band, concessions worker
- Favorite classes: Band and AP biology
- Must-see TV: "How I Met Your Mother"
- One shining moment: My sophomore year of cross country when we won the MHSAA Finals even though we did not have a single all-state runner.
- What’s next: I plan to attend either Hope College or Michigan State University to enter the pre-med field, but as of now. I am still undecided. I plan to run wherever I go, though.
- My favorite part of game day is: ... before the race, I listen to my Ipod. I usually listen to older music to get pumped. I also like to listen to Disney soundtracks; my favorite is the music from "Mulan." The songs usually get stuck in my head, and I end up singing them on the run. I feel like the music helps move me along.
PHOTO courtesy of Travis Clous (front), running at the MHSAA Division 3 Cross Country Final.
