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.)
Aljabaly, Chelsea Take Winning Steps
November 4, 2017
Second Half reports
BROOKLYN — They were racing to beat each other and racing to beat the weather.
When thunder was heard with the runners about to head down the stretch in the MHSAA Division 2 boys cross country race, the leaders were oblivious to the ominous conditions.
“I was too focused on where I was and where I wanted to start picking it up,” Coldwater senior Shuaib Aljabaly said.
Aljabaly ran the fastest time of the day in any division, winning Division 2 with a time of 15:12.2. Nick Foster of Ann Arbor Pioneer won Division 1 in 15:16.1.
Otsego junior Alex Comerford was second in Division 2 in 15:24.7.
“I didn’t see (lightning) at the end,” Comerford said. “I definitely could tell it was going to come on. I don’t think anybody really noticed in the last half mile.”
Runners were urged to move quickly through the chutes following the Division 2 race. Two separate lightning sightings resulted in the final race of the day, the boys Division 1 race, to be delayed by an hour and 10 minutes.
The victory capped an undefeated season for Aljabaly, who won 12 races.
“My first year here was my sophomore year,” he said. “I surprised myself; I was eighth. Coming back, I knew there were a couple kids who were just super good. I just tried reaching for them; I ended up placing third. Both of them were seniors. I was like, ‘This is my year; let’s take it.’”
Aljabaly is the first Coldwater athlete to win an MHSAA boys title since Russ Hickey in 1991.
The key move was made on a downhill right after the two-mile mark.
“I’ve been training to get him in the last half mile,” Comerford said. “I just couldn’t do it. He’s such a good competitor. I run with him all the time. He’s the best guy you could possibly lose to.”
Chelsea, which has qualified for 16 straight MHSAA Finals, won its first championship by a 96-110 margin over defending champion Corunna.
Chelsea’s best finish before Saturday was fourth place in 2008.
The Bulldogs put their five scoring runners in the top 40 among those competing for teams. Senior Tom Oates was third in the team race in 15:39.0, junior Jensen Holm was eighth in 15:51.4, junior Carson Rabbitt was 17th in 16:12.4, senior Connor Gilbreath was 28th in 16:29.1 and junior Foster Thorburn was 40th in 16:41.5.
Corunna, led by third-place overall finisher Ben Jacobs (15:35.9), had four runners in the top 21 of the team race, but also counted a 52nd-place finish.
PHOTOS: (Top) Coldwater’s Shuaib Aljabaly (915) holds off familiar foe Alex Comerford of Otsego to win the Division 2 title. (Middle) Tom Oates charges toward the finish to lead Chelsea to its first team championship in boys cross country. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)