Lansing Catholic Senior 'Ties' Up Repeat
November 1, 2014
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
BROOKLYN — Keenan Rebera ticked off each item on his individual checklist.
Only the team championship eluded his grasp.
Rebera, a senior at Lansing Catholic, repeated as the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 cross country champion Saturday with a time of 15:30.2 at Michigan International Speedway.
His team finished second with 141 points, well behind Benzie Central's winning total of 87.
Before he even knew the team results, he was proud of the effort put in by his teammates throughout the season.
"No matter what the outcome is, I know these guys have put in the work and they will reap the rewards," Rebera said. "It's really good to have the atmosphere we have on the team. We have an expectation of putting in everything you have, everything you can give. We're all in, we're all very serious about it and we all love it."
As for his own race, Rebera had three goals in mind.
"Win, beat my time from last year and not have my shoes untied," he said.
At that, it was natural to glance down at Rebera's spikes — the laces were still tied.
Even without anyone to push him in the final mile, Rebera eclipsed last year's winning time of 15:31.0. Zac Benham of Scottville Mason County Central was second by 14.4 seconds.
"The conditions today were way worse than last year with the wind," Rebera said. "That's what makes it fun. That last mile was pretty lonely; that's the nature of this sport."
The Cougars couldn't topple the depth of the dynasty that has been built at Benzie Central.
Benzie repeated as the Division 3 champion, winning its eighth overall title. Benzie has been in the top four the last four years.
Benzie had three runners crack the top-30 all-state threshold, with sophomore Brayden Huddleston taking ninth in 16:09.0, senior Kyle Bailey 19th in 16:30.7 and junior Jake Williams 25th in 16:33.0. Also scoring for the Huskies were junior Noah Robotham (16:42.4) and sophomore Jeffery Crouch (17:09.8).
Benzie squeezed in four runners before Lansing Catholic crossed its No. 2 runner, sophomore Ethan Markey, who was 35th in 16:42.9.
PHOTOS: (Top) Lansing Catholic’s Keenan Rebera pushes toward the finish in repeating as Lower Peninsula Division 3 champion at Michigan International Speedway. (Middle) Burton Bendle’s Timothy Kimball (708) leads a pack that includes Benzie Central’s Kyle Bailey (534), who ran second for the eventual team winner. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Walker, Fremont Break Away for Sweep
November 6, 2020
Second Half reports
BROOKLYN — It was a dream that formulated in the mind of a young runner before he ever put on a Fremont High School cross country singlet.
“It’s something I’ve been working for the last five, six years probably,” senior Nathan Walker said after winning the MHSAA Division 2 championship Friday at Michigan International Speedway.
“It’s a dream come true. I’ve come to state meets since when I was in middle school. I was like, ‘That would be pretty cool to do.’”
Even cooler — and of more importance to Walker — was winning a second straight team championship with longtime teammates. Fremont scored 61 points to outdistance runner-up St. Johns, which had 126.
Fremont has won four Division 2 championships and finished second five times over the last 20 years.
“Fremont pulled the back-to-back,” Walker said. “I put that above the individual title for me.”
Walker led the way, cruising to an emphatic individual victory with a time of 15 minutes, 19.39 seconds on a windy afternoon with temperatures in the low 70s.
He covered the 3.1-mile MIS course alone, leading by eight seconds after a 4:51.4 opening mile and 27 seconds after reaching the two-mile mark in 9:49.0.
“I was just trying to get out there in the first mile, get comfortable, get into a rhythm,” Walker said. “In the middle part of the race, stay smooth and relaxed, try to crank it in the last mile. That didn’t go completely to play. It is what it is.”
Pinckney junior Caleb Jarema was second in 15:42.97, establishing himself as the favorite for next year.
Walker was a four-time all-stater, placing 28th as a freshman, fifth as a sophomore and fourth as a junior.
“Honestly, I did not feel the greatest,” Walker said. “It heated up. The wind kind of ate me up a little bit. I was sticking tough in the second half of the race, but it probably wasn’t my greatest showing. It’s done now. I’m happy with the placing.”
Fremont’s top five runners all made all-state by placing among the top 30. Conor Somers was fifth in 16:02.55, Ben Paige was 18th in 16:31.55, Joshua Zerfas was 26th in 16:37.39 and Adam Ward was 27th in 16:38.57 to complete Fremont’s scoring.
“It’s been an honor racing with those guys, some of them the last six, seven years,” Walker said. “It’s definitely helpful to have that culture, along with the coaches that we have.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Fremont’s Nathan Walker approaches the finish line well ahead of the Division 2 field Friday at MIS. (Middle) Fremont’s Conor Summers and St. Johns’ Ryan Brown close in on top-10 finishes. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)