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.”

Hillsdale Academy’s Grayson Rorick (1238) and Dansville’s Theodore Davis sprint for position on the way to the finish line.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).

Click for full results.

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.)

Brother Pairs Pace Kalkaska's Boys Cross Country Hopes

By Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com

September 10, 2021

Three sets of Kalkaska brothers will be running together again this weekend. And most likely Tyler Guggemos and Hayden Moore, both seniors, will be leading the Blazers.

This time, they’re running in the mud – the Charlevoix Mud Run.

The Mud Run is held every year by the Charlevoix Rayders. It’s a favorite of most teams as they overcome obstacles and challenges while getting a little dirty in the process. With multiple knee-deep mud pits, logs and other obstacles strewn throughout the course, overcoming those are at least as important as racing opponents when it comes to achieving a good finish.

Many of the teams are Kalkaska’s opponents in Lake Michigan Conference races and possible obstacles for MHSAA Finals qualification. And East Jordan, a league opponent, also is hosting the Regional.

The Mud Run will help the Blazers along in meeting the season goals.

Guggemos and Moore hope to qualify for the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. They’ve set their sights on individual qualification but have high hopes the whole team will be there, including their younger brothers Gavin Guggemos and Camden Moore, and senior twins Jake Olds and Dave Olds.

 “We would like to finish in the top half of the teams at the Lake Michigan Conference meet and take a shot at qualifying for the state finals,” said Kalkaska cross country coach Doug Brown, who has coached all the brothers since they started running middle school track. “We'd have to be in the top three finishers at Regionals to do that.

“We'd at least like to get two or more runners to the state finals.”

Kalkaska cross countryHayden Moore would love to reach the Finals with his younger brother coming along.

“I really want to get sub-17 (minutes) for the 5K and get into states,” Hayden said.  “I also really want to get our team to states.”

Tyler Guggemos, who has a shot this fall at breaking Kalkaska’s cross country school record, agreed.

“I would like to make it to the state cross country meet and be in the top five in the state,” he said. “It would be great if the team made it too!”

The Blazers are off to a good start competing in McBain, East Jordan and Benzie Invitational meets with Guggemos finishing first for Kalkaska and Moore second. Their younger brothers as sophomores round out the top four. The twin Olds brothers are also pushing them along.

There’s a little sibling rivalry helping the Blazers, the boys acknowledge, but none noted between the brothers. The six boys have been running for Kalkaska together for six years, starting on the middle school track.

“Dave and I have competed quite a lot over the years, as is natural for twins to do,” said Jake Olds.  “I wouldn’t call it a rivalry because he and I have different interests and have different goals in running.

“Having a brother on the team is a gift and a curse because, well, we are brothers and it’s fun to spend time together, to an extent.”

Gavin Guggemos hopes to match his brother’s success.

“It's nice to have someone to try to chase,” he said. “It's not a rivalry because he makes me want to be better.

“It's fun to train together,” Gavin continued. “My goals this year are to run in the 17s and make it to states.”

The younger Moore views it similarly.

“It’s not really a competition, although it is fun to compare times and say that you’ll catch them,” Camden said.  “When it comes to times it’s fun to try to beat his when he was in my grade.”

Kalkaska cross countryHayden finds motivation in his brother’s running.

“I think that it's a rivalry in that my brother races to beat my PR (personal record) at the same age and I race so that he can't beat my PR when he gets to my age,” he said. “We also have a rivalry over summer miles.”

The Guggemos and Moore brothers teamed up to run the 3,200 relay as sixth and eighth graders and then qualified for the Track & Field Finals in the 3,200 last spring as freshmen and juniors.

Brown is looking for even more success for all three pairs, but he remembers fondly the start in middle school track, especially the 3,200 relay team.

“I was very happy for them, because we thought they were a good team in middle school, and it was great to see them live up to their potential a few years later,” he said. “They were thrilled to be able to make a trip to the state meet together.”

Looking ahead, Kalkaska will host an invitational Sept. 21 after going to Elk Rapids on Sept. 16.

At Elk Rapids, the brother pairs will compete against Coach Brown’s son Seth, a sophomore. The Elks also have a brother duo – junior Caleb Kerfoot and sophomore Christian Kerfoot.

Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.

PHOTOS: (Top) From left: Tyler Guggemos, Hayden Moore, Camden Moore and Gavin Guggemos make up two thirds of a Kalkaska distance running group with Cross Country Finals aspirations this fall. (Middle) Those four also filled relay spots together during middle school track. (Below) Hayden Moore (580) rounds a bend during a race. (Photos courtesy of the Kalkaska athletic department.)