Jacobs, Corunna Finish Title Quests
November 5, 2016
Second Half reports
BROOKLYN – Noah Jacobs’ race was done, but the job wasn’t finished.
Not by a long shot.
So, he took zero time to soak in the moment after he won the MHSAA Division 2 individual cross country championship Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
Instead, he turned around and kept a close eye on the runners finishing behind him, hoping to see the white Corunna singlets not too far back.
The first teammate he greeted was his sophomore brother, Ben, who finished eighth in 16:01.8.
Before long, he would be reunited with the rest of his teammates. When the places were added up, not only did Jacobs win an individual championship, but he led his school to the team title.
Corunna beat reigning champion Fremont, 92-99, for its first MHSAA championship since 1997.
With his time of 15:28.0, Jacobs joined 1998 winner Jared Aldrich as the only Corunna boys to win the individual title. He won by 12 seconds over Pontiac Notre Dame Prep senior Brendan Fraser.
“I came into the stadium, and the wind was in my face,” said Jacobs, who recently committed to run for the University of Wisconsin. “It was a battle that last mile, it really was. It was one of the harder races I ever ran. The course was a little bit soft; it wasn’t exactly ideal. I’m proud. I gave it everything I had, and my team gave it everything they had. That’s all you can ask for. What I take away from it is it’s a great last race in my Corunna jersey.”
The cross country championship has eluded Jacobs, who has two MHSAA Division 2 track and field titles in the 3,200-meter run on his resume. He was 56th as a freshman, fifth as a sophomore and second to two-time champion Morgan Beadlescomb of Algonac as a junior.
Jacobs has a personal best of 15:00 in cross country and 8:55.57 in the 3,200, so he had hoped to put his name among the all-time greats who have ever run at MIS. That plan changed when he saw that rain from earlier in the week turned portions of the course into slop.
“Originally, I wanted to run in the 14s,” Jacobs said. “But running the warmup on the course and figuring everything out, it wasn’t worth my time to go out and only think about time. It wasn’t going to be beneficial. It was just going to end in a day I felt I could do more.”
Even with the graduation of Jacobs, Corunna should be well-positioned to repeat next year.
The Cavaliers ran only two seniors Saturday, the other No. 5 man Kyle Mesh. There might even be a future individual champion in the Jacobs household.
Ben Jacobs was fourth among non-seniors and the second sophomore in Division 2. His time was only 5.2 seconds slower than Noah ran as a sophomore at MIS.
“He was one of two guys who PR’d today,” Noah said. “He ran awesome. A lot of people in Michigan don’t know Ben that well. Ben’s a sophomore this year. He has a lot of big things coming. He’s faster in the mile (as a sophomore), but in the 5K he’s a little behind me, but we’re close.”
With junior Dakota Hundley placing 25th in 16:24.5, Corunna had three all-staters. The top 30 make all-state.
Sophomore Charlie Bruckman was 50th in 16:44.2 and Mesh was 52nd in 16:46.4 to round out Corunna’s scoring.
Fremont has won eight MHSAA championships, but was trying to repeat for the first time. Grand Rapids Christian finished third with 139 points.
The MHSAA Cross Country Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Corunna’s Noah Jacobs charges toward the finish for his first MHSAA cross country title. (Middle) Ben Jacobs (296), Noah’s brother, finished eighth to help the Cavaliers to their first team title since 1997, while Otsego's Alex Comerford (392) also posted a top-10 finish. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Benzie Central's Jones, St Louis Pull Away
November 7, 2020
By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half
BROOKLYN – Never one to refuse a challenge, Benzie Central’s Hunter Jones certainly accepted the challenge presented to him Saturday at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Boys Cross Country Finals.
The sophomore successfully repeated as Division 3 individual champion, finishing the course at Michigan International Speedway in a time of 15:28.96. And part of the challenge was that he had to run by himself — nearly 30 seconds ahead of his next-nearest competitor and in the first of two races in his division. Due to COVID-19 safety measures, each division was separated into two races.
“He was chasing the times from yesterday,” said his coach, Asa Kelly, referring to a pair of sub-15 minute performances by Hartland’s Riley Hough and Ann Arbor Skyline’s Hobbs Kessler in the Division 1 Finals. “That’s definitely where he sees himself, running up there with guys like that. It’s so hard to go out there by yourself. It’s tough, but it is what it is, running in separate divisions like that.”
Jones said he had to change up his strategy a bit due to the unusual circumstances.
“I usually look at my times and gauge myself out on the course, but I really didn’t have that today,” said Jones, who beat his time on the same course from a year ago by 17 seconds. “I just have to remember to keep pushing through, and it worked out for me today. It felt great to get back here (and win), and I can’t wait for the next two years.”
Kelly sees the work Jones puts in each and every single day yet is still impressed every time his sophomore adds to his list of accomplishments.
“Back to back state champ and you’re only a sophomore, only the second kid that’s done that so far,” Kelly said. “He has a really high bar set for himself, and every single day he works his tail off to get to this race. He definitely deserves everything he gets out there.”
Cass City senior Nick McArdle finished second overall in a time of 15:58.9. New Lothrop senior Carson Hersch was third, followed by Memphis senior Tyler Carlson and Manton junior Noah Morrow in the top five.
St. Louis captured the team title, finishing with a team score of 103 points to beat out Hart (116), the pre-race favorite. The Sharks had four runners finish among the top 23 overall, led by junior Aaron Bowerman, who crossed the line ninth in a time of 16:26.66. Also scoring for the team were senior Keegan Honig, junior Nate March, freshman Ben March and senior Joe Erickson.
“We knew there were five or six really good teams that could really make a run for it, and we wanted to put ourselves in a position to have that opportunity,” St. Louis coach Jay Puffpaff said after the race. “In a year like this, with all this adversity all around us, just being out here with an opportunity to bring home a state championship to our community, it means everything. The kids embraced that opportunity all year long and ran for each other the whole way.”
It was the first Finals championship for the Sharks since 2005, when they took home a Division 4 crown.
Senior Alex Enns paced Hart with his fourth-place finish. He crossed the line in a time of 16:21.59.
Traverse City St. Francis was third with 182 points, while Grandville Calvin Christian (186) and Hanover-Horton (205) rounded out the top five teams.
PHOTOS: (Top) Benzie Central’s Hunter Jones approaches the finish line at MIS during the Division 3 Finals on Saturday. (Middle) St. Louis’ Keegan Honig (173) and Nate March (175) push through the final stretch with Ithaca’s Espen Lehnst. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)