Hackett's Butkiewicz Runs to Record, Hillsdale Academy Runs to Repeat
November 2, 2024
BROOKLYN — After a hard-fought race, juniors Marek Butkiewicz of Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep and Abenezer Cerone of Royal Oak Shrine Catholic parked themselves on the ground at a fence near the finish line, clasped hands and exchanged congratulations with one another.
They looked like two old friends who have known each other forever but, truth is, they’ve met only a few times.
But in the Michigan high school running community, two runners from different parts of the state can form a bond that isn’t common among competitors in other sports.
Butkiewicz said he hasn’t raced against Cerone in cross country this year, but did during track & field season.
“It’s great,” Butkiewicz said after shattering the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals record with a time of 15 minutes, 9.7 seconds Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
“We all love communicating with each other and talking with each other. We’re just a super-close community. Every meet where we’re at and we’re all together, we’re all talking, we’re all having fun. It’s just a blast.”
It’s moments like the one the top two finishers shared while still exhausted after the race that make cross country special for Cerone.
“The running community is like no other,” he said after finishing second in 15:40.6. “I played a lot of sports, and there is no community like this one. We haven’t raced a lot, but for some reason I feel like we’re really good friends or we would be really good friends. That’s what I love about this sport.”
Butkiewicz broke the Division 4 Finals record of 15:22.4 set by Tec Adams of Harbor Springs in 2008.
Although Butkiewicz won by a comfortable margin, he was very much uncomfortable after crossing the line, falling to the ground and needing help to get over to the fence where he would eventually connect with Cerone.
“I was just trying to put everything else I had into that finish, and I did,” Butkiewicz said. “I was on the ground at the end.”
Butkiewicz finished sixth at the Division 4 Cross Country Final last year before winning the 3,200-meter run in 9:25.52 and taking second in the 1,600 in 4:19.38 at the MHSAA Division 4 track meet.
“It means a lot, it really does,” he said. “I’ve worked so, so hard for this all season. Even from the end of track I knew I had a chance, so I wanted to do everything I could in the offseason and in season to get it done.
“It takes so much. It has to be your life. You have to dedicate every ounce of energy you have to doing this. I did that, and I made it possible and I won.”
Hillsdale Academy came into the meet ranked second in Division 4, but repeated as Finals team champion by winning for the third time in four years. The Colts scored 113 points to win by 40 over Holland Calvary.
Junior Grayson Rorick was fourth in 15:57.1 and senior Reece Poole eighth in 16:13.4 to lead Hillsdale Academy. Rorick has been in the lineup for all three of the Colts’ MHSAA championships, finishing as the fifth man as an eighth-grader in 2021.
Rounding out Hillsdale Academy’s scoring were junior James Rahe (37th in 16:55.9), junior Henry Lindley (47th in 17:05.4) and junior Luke Molenkamp (52nd in 17:12.8).
PHOTOS (Top) Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep’s Marek Butkiewicz takes the final strides of his record-setting run Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. (Middle) Hillsdale Academy’s Grayson Rorick (1238) and Dansville’s Theodore Davis sprint for position on the way to the finish line. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)
Runners-up Become Champions in D4
November 7, 2015
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
BROOKLYN — Zachary Pettinga of Saugatuck lost the race, but didn't lose his sense of humor.
Explaining the decisive move made by Evart's Santana Scott, Pettinga said, "The top of his head blinded me. I lost my footing and everything."
Scott was rocking a look that made him look more like a senior citizen than a high school senior, with the top of his head shaved completely while keeping the hair on the sides and back.
The things high school kids will do in the name of team bonding.
"It's a team thing," Scott said. "We do it every year. I was a senior, so I got to decide, me and a couple other seniors. We thought this would look cool."
Despite the crazy look, Scott was all business when the gun went off.
He separated himself from Pettinga in the second mile to win in 16:05.7 in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 championship race Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. Pettinga's second-place finish in 16:22.2 led Saugatuck to the team championship by a 51-92 margin over Bear Lake/Onekama. Harbor Springs was third with 179 points.
Scott became only the second MHSAA cross country champion for Evart, the first coming in 1952 when Gaylord Denslow was the Class C-D champion with a two-mile time of 11:02.1. Scott has talked with Denslow, who still lives in Evart.
"He's pretty cool," Scott said. "He gives me lots of running advice. He says just be one with your team and run for your team, not for yourself. That made a big impact this year."
Scott moved up the ranks each year at the MHSAA Finals, placing 36th (16:54.1) in 2012, 20th (17:02.2) in 2013 and second (15:54.7) last year. He was ecstatic with his second-place finish last season, realizing that nobody was going to catch three-time champion Jesse Hersha of Concord.
"Last year I just ran my heart out," Scott said. "Today it was to win. I didn't get the time I wanted, but races happen. I think it's actually windier than last year."
Saugatuck will probably be favored to repeat after winning Division 4 for the second time in three years. The Indians had five juniors, a sophomore and a freshman in a lineup that put five runners in the top 15. Pettinga and fellow juniors Nick Butch and Orlando Carrion were on Saugatuck's 2013 championship team and 2014 runner-up squad.
The addition of freshman Corey Gorgas helped put Saugatuck back on top. He was the Indians' No. 2 runner, placing 11th in 16:41.4. The rest of Saugatuck's pack included Butch (13th, 16:46.1), Carrion (14th, 16:49.7) and sophomore Keegan Seifert (15th, 16:51.8).
Bear Lake/Onekama had three runners across before Saugatuck, but didn't have the Indians' strength at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots. Bear Lake/Onekama has been creeping closer to the top, placing ninth in 2012, fourth in 2013, third in 2014 and second in 2015.
The MHSAA Cross Country Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Saugatuck’s Orlando Carrion (919) pushes toward the finish with teammate Keegan Seifert following close behind; they finished 14th and 15th for the team champion. (Middle) Evart’s Santana Scott improved from runner-up in 2014 to claim the individual title. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)