North Central's Jets Blast Off in D3 Final
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 19, 2013
HARVEY — Powers North Central coach Jerry Root and Stephenson junior Connor Cappaert were overcome with emotion following Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Cross Country Finals at Gentz’s Homestead Golf Course in Marquette County.
The North Central boys earned their first Division 3 title by edging Pickford 66-68. Third-place Cedarville scored 109 points.
“The whole team stepped up,” said Root, while shedding tears of joy. “These kids worked so hard. They never had a bad attitude one day. To step up the way these kids did today is amazing.”
Cappaert, who was choked up after the meet, captured Division 3 individual honors by covering the 3.1-mile course in 17 minutes, 39 seconds. He was followed by Bessemer junior Zach Mazurek (17:57) and North Central freshman Seth Polfus (18:18) and sophomore Bryce Holle (18:23) on the sunny and seasonably cool day.
“This is so awesome,” said Cappaert, who was crowned Division 2 champion a year ago. “I’ve got to thank God and everyone who supported me. I couldn’t do it without them and our team. Zach really turned it on in this race. The North Central guys ran great, too. I felt a little cramping with a half-mile to go, but I knew I had to keep going. It’s quite an honor being a champion in two divisions.”
For Mazuerk, it was simply a case of trying to stay with the leaders.
“I wanted to stick with the frontrunners and pace myself off them as much as possible,” he said. “Connor had a great race. He went out and took it.”
Polfus admitted he wasn’t sure if the Jets had won right after the meet.
“I thought Pickford or Cedarville had won,” he said. “Then, we saw Mr. Root with a big smile on his face. We knew then we had won it. This is a great day for our team.”
Munising, which captured the title the past two years, didn’t field a complete team this time.
Also, the Mustangs’ ace, sophomore Brett Hannah, slipped to 10th (19:02) after winning a year ago.
Division 1
Marquette captured its first Division 1 title in three years with 42 points, followed by Escanaba 75 and Houghton 86.
Sophomore Lance Rambo led the Redmen by winning in 16:56, followed by senior teammate Cole Rieboldt (18:07) and Houghton junior David Jazsczak (17:22).
“The course was very slippery and the times were slow,” said Rambo. “The water at Mile 2 made it challenging. But the most challenging part was in the end (rolling hills leading into the finish). You just had to push through it.
“It feels real good to win as a team. Our team ran probably one of its best races of the year.”
Rieboldt set a course record (16:22) in his previous outing in the Great Northern Conference meet Oct. 10 on the Dale Fountain Memorial Cross Country Course at Banat (in western Menominee County).
“I went out too fast,” said Rieboldt, who also plays on the school’s soccer team. “This is a tough course, and I was feeling it on the hills. The water at Mile 2 was a hazard. The course was pretty chewed up by the time we got out there. The turns were slippery, too.”
Marquette coach Dale Phillips was impressed with the performance by the team’s leaders.
“It was a two-man race,” he said. “They really ran together. It was just a matter of who had more left in the end. In the majority of the meets we had this year, these guys were 1-2. This is a very, very young team. Five of the seven guys were newcomers to varsity.”
Division 2
St. Ignace was crowned Division 2 champion for the first time with 57 points.
Hancock edged Ishpeming 67-69 for its first runner-up trophy since 1990.
Ironwood junior Jared Joki dominated the race in 17:09, followed by St. Ignace’s Brad Gustafson (18:18) and Andrew Sjogren (18:23).
“I had a pretty good idea I’d have a decent lead,” said Joki, who was crowned Indianhead Conference champion Thursday at neighboring Hurley, Wis., “although, I was mildly surprised by the margin of victory. I tried to follow a conservative approach. I ran a moderate race at the conference meet, so it didn’t affect me too much today. I really like this course and the atmosphere of being at the Finals.”
PHOTO: Runners compete for position early in Saturday's Upper Peninsula Division 3 Final. (Photo courtesy of RunMichigan.com/Paul Gerard.)
New Champions Reign at UP Boys Finals
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2017
MUNISING — The Gogebic and Brimley boys had never been crowned Upper Peninsula cross country champions before Saturday, and Houghton won for the first time in six years.
Houghton led the Division 1 standings with 39 points. Runner-up Marquette scored 54, followed by Sault Ste. Marie with 99, Gladstone 113 and two-time reigning champ Negaunee 119.
The race for the individual Division 1 title boiled down to a sprint between Houghton senior Clayton Sayen and Marquette senior Garrett Rudden over the final 150 yards, mostly uphill at Pictured Rocks Golf Club.
Sayen prevailed, covering the 3.1-mile course in 16 minutes, 25.7 seconds. Rudden was clocked at 16:25.8.
Marquette senior Luke Rambo placed third (16:28.9), followed by Gladstone junior Adam Bruce (16:39) and Houghton senior Seth Helman (16:56.8).
“This is just an unbelievable feeling,” said Sayen. “It was a great race. Garrett and Luke (Rambo) are amazing runners. Adam Bruce of Gladstone is also an awesome runner. I don’t know if I would have won if I didn’t have them pushing me. I knew it was going to be a battle and I gave it every ounce I could. Seth is also an excellent runner. It’s great to have people like this to run with everyday.
“I can’t explain how well our team did today. This is almost like a dream come true. I love the pain. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Rudden led after the final turn before Sayen caught him shortly before the finish.
“Clayton’s finish was awesome,” said Houghton coach Traci Welch. “He had me worried going around the last turn and up the hill. But I knew he could do it. He doesn’t like to lose.
“We have such a great group of kids. Most of them I’ve coach for 4-6 years. I think our depth made a difference. We had big races from some of the guys.”
Click for full Division 1 results.
Division 2
Bessemer-based Gogebic, which also includes athletes from Wakefield-Marenisco, captured the Division 2 crown with 22 points, followed by three-time reigning champ Ishpeming at 36 and Ironwood at 99.
“It’s nice that everybody was healthy and did what they set out to do,” said Gogebic coach Lauren Korpi. “The guys have been working so hard. I think the West-PAC (Western Peninsula Athletic Conference) is one of the best out there. Running against Houghton all year really helped us, and we’ve become friends with them.
“We’re losing four seniors, but we’re hoping our program continues to grow. We have some strong underclassmen coming up. The future looks pretty good.”
Ishpeming junior Spencer Giroux earned his first U.P. Finals title at 17:03.1. He was followed by Gogebic senior Isaiah Aili (17:45) and juniors Uriah Aili (17:48.3) and Devon Byers (17:49.7).
“I didn’t really have a strategy,” said Giroux. “I just tried to run as hard as I could. I’m happy with how I ran. I think this is a confidence builder going forward. As a team, we’re a little disappointed. But it was a good day overall.”
Sophomore Jonah Broberg came in fifth (17:52.7), and senior Kyle Pruett led another pack of five straight Ishpeming finishers in ninth (18:19.3).
“This wasn’t our best performance this year,” said Ishpeming coach P.J. Pruett. “We ran against Gogebic twice this year, and we beat them twice. Spencer ran real well, and we had a great season. We were missing our three seniors from last year, although we placed among the top two or three teams all year. Spencer is the number nine champion for Ishpeming cross country, plus we are losing only one senior.”
Click for full Division 2 results.
Division 3
Brimley edged Chassell on a tie-breaker for the Division 3 championship. Each team scored 60 points, and third-place Rudyard had 118.
“We’re so excited about that,” said Brimley coach Scout Hester. “We had some good competition over here, and it was fun watching the boys compete. We’ve had good athletic programs, only we couldn’t seem to get over that hump. This is an exciting day for our program. All seven of our runners put it out there.”
Brimley sophomore Austin Plotkin retained his individual title in 17:08, followed by Cedarville sophomore Thomas Bohn (17:16.2) and Chassell junior Ben Tuomi (17:38.3).
“I ran the first mile in 5:20,” said Plotkin, who was clocked at 11:04.9 after two. “I don’t know what happened in the third. It felt like it was fast, only my time didn’t show it. Tom and I wanted to pace with each other. I set the pace for both of us and took off in the last 400 (meters). The first mile was right where we wanted it.”
Click for full Division 3 results.
PHOTOS: (Top) Houghton’s Clayton Sayen (127) works to stay just ahead of Marquette’s Luke Rambo (209) and Garrett Rudden (210) during the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final. (Middle) Isaiah Aili leads a pack of Gogebic racers on their way to winning the Division 2 title. (Below) Brimley’s Austin Plotkin, right, and Cedarville’s Thomas Bohn pace each other at the front of the Division 3 race. (Photos by Cara Kamps; click for more at RunMichigan.com.)