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).
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.)