Onsted's Hiatt Completes Title Climb, St. Francis Repeats as Team Champ

November 2, 2024

BROOKLYN — When Brody Amthor moved to Onsted from Lawrence in 2021, it gave the Wildcats a solid No. 1 runner who had experience in two MHSAA Division 4 Finals.

For then-freshman Mitchell Hiatt, the addition of Amthor provided a role model.

Hiatt’s fastest time in ninth grade was 19 minutes, 0.7 seconds. He was a long way from even getting to Michigan International Speedway, finishing 54th at Regionals in 20:02.9.

But the process that would eventually make him an MHSAA Finals champion had begun.

“When I was a freshman, I only ran 19 minutes,” Hiatt said after winning the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final in 15:15.5 on Saturday at MIS. “I didn’t think I’d be able to be a state champ. It took a lot of running. I had so many people that helped me get to this point. It’s good to see hard work pay off.”

One of those people was Amthor, who was a junior when Hiatt was a freshman.

“I ran in middle school, but I wasn’t that fast,” Hiatt said. “There was somebody my freshman year who moved to our school. His name was Brody Amthor. He was the person who got me into running and got me to actually start training. He helped me a lot, and so did my coaches.”

Reed City senior August Rohde came into the meet with the fastest time in Division 3, winning Regionals one week earlier in 14:58.7 on a Benzie Central course known for yielding personal bests.

Riley Pattinson (970) emerges from a pack to lead St. Francis’ finishers. Rohde liked the position he was in when he and Hiatt reached the mile mark in 4:52. Separation began in the second mile, with Hiatt hitting the two-mile mark in 9:49.3 and Rohde in 9:57.9.

“It was fine until after one mile,” Rohde said. “I got out how I wanted to. I tried to have him run my race. He dropped me. He ran a great race. Our second mile was slower than the first, so I think he was just maintaining the pace better than I did.”

As he made his way down the long straightaway at MIS, Hiatt had a large lead over Rohde, but he ran like he could be caught at any moment. He wouldn’t allow himself to make the final couple hundred yards a victory lap.

“Oh, I didn’t know where he was,” Hiatt said. “I thought he was still close to me. Whenever I have races like that, to be completely honest, I get scared to lose. It just makes me try to go faster and keep pushing the pace.”

Hiatt, who was sixth in Division 3 last year, became the first Onsted runner to win the overall championship at the Finals since Eric Ramsey ran the fastest Class C time of the day in 1987 when there were team and individual races. In 1990, Michael Vischer of Onsted won the Class C team race in 16:05, but Michael Ball of Hudson ran 15:57 to win the individual race.

“I came into this race telling myself that if I put myself in a good position in the start and I don’t get boxed in, then I think I’d be able to win it,” Hiatt said. “That’s what happened.”

Traverse City St. Francis repeated as the team champion by an 86-177 margin over Saugatuck, putting four runners on the all-state podium.

Senior Riley Pattinson was 10th in 15:51.9, sophomore William Ready 11th in 15:52.2, senior Owen Read 22nd in 16:03.7, senior Robby Myler 27th in 16:13.2 and senior Josh Slocum 39th in 16:26.3.

The Gladiators had four runners across the line before Saugatuck’s first finisher.

St. Francis returned five runners from last year’s championship lineup — Pattinson, Read, Myler, Slocum and senior sixth runner Lewis Walter.

St. Francis has finished in the top six for six consecutive seasons.

Click for full results.

PHOTOS (Top) Onsted’s Mitchell Hiatt charges toward the finish Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. (Middle) Riley Pattinson (970) emerges from a pack to lead St. Francis’ finishers. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)

Challenging Courses, Modified Scoring & Evening Start Highlight UP Race Debuts

By John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com

September 17, 2024

CRYSTAL FALLS — A pair of high school cross country meets made their debuts earlier this month in the Upper Peninsula, with the Gwinn Invitational on Sept. 3 in Sawyer followed a day later by Crystal Falls Forest Park’s first meet at Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp.

Upper PeninsulaAccording to Forest Park coach D.J. Rasner, it took three months of planning to make the Trojans’ first home meet possible.

“We’re glad to get this in,” he said. “We’re hoping to find out where we need to improve. It’s exciting, and hosting this meet has generated excitement in the community. We were without a program for about 20 years. This is our third year back, and our program has been growing slowly. I’m grateful for the school and administration for taking this risk.”

Bark River-Harris senior Wes Knauf, who runs for Powers North Central as part of a cooperative program, found the course to be challenging.

“It’s a nice course with a lot of shade,” he said. “There was a large sand hill about a mile into the race, and I shortened my stride. Many guys slowed down on that hill. There were a lot of roots out there. You had to watch your footing. There was also a downhill that was nearly as long, which helped me get my second wind.”

Knauf, who won the 3.1-mile race in 19:52.2, was followed by Forest Park junior Joey Mainville (20:47.5) and senior brother Max Mainville (20:47.7) on a sunny and warm afternoon. The Trojans won their home debut with nine points in a meet featuring modified scoring with the top three finishers contributing toward their respective team scores.

The Trojans’ Ellie Zaupa crosses the finish line.“It feels great to win our first home meet,” Joey Mainville said. “Running on our home course for the first time provided us with special motivation. We just didn’t want to start out too fast.”

“Getting to practice on this course really helps,” Max Mainville added. “It’s a big boost for me to finish in the top three, and the victory is a big boost for our team. We had very good conditions for this race, and low humidity helped.”

The North Central girls were crowned champions with seven points, followed by Rock Mid Peninsula with 22 and Rapid River at 24.

BR-H senior Hope Varoni, who also runs for the Jets, won individually at 23:44.9.

“I usually try to follow people and stay with them,” she said. “Today, I decided to run at my own pace. It was a little uneven on parts of the course, although it was a nice course. I’d say my season is starting the way I want.”

At Sawyer, Munising senior Dan Goss took the Gwinn Invitational boys title at 18:32.3 in a meet which started at 6:15 p.m.

“The course was pretty sandy and there were a lot of roots,” said Goss, who trains 40 miles a week. “You had to watch your footing. My goal was to get in front of the pack, and I took my first mile out at 5:30.

“I think it’s pretty cool to run in the evening. It was a great atmosphere. I don’t think I ever started a race after 6 p.m. Lot of times the wind goes down in the evening.”

He was followed by classmate Trevor Nolan (19:13.8), Manistique senior Ben Gilroy (20:00.1) and Gladstone junior Tyler Soderman (20:02.3).

“I’ve twisted my ankle about five times and was trying to be cautious,” Gilroy said. “I tried to take it at a comfortable pace. I started walking on the uphill and several people passed me, but I caught them after the hill anyway. I was just trying not to get injured before our home meet (Sept. 11). I think it was a fun meet. It was an adventure and something new. I told my teammates to take it easy. I don’t want them to be injured for the U.P. (Division 2) Finals.”

Gladstone junior Payton Takkunen recorded her first varsity victory on the challenging 3.1-mile course in 25:56.6

Gwinn’s Eloi Lopez (194), Manistique’s Ben Gilroy (464) and Gladstone’s Teagan Reynolds (422) run a stretch of the Gwinn Invitational on Sept. 3.“This feels really good,” she said. “I’m glad everyone was there to support me. I wanted to stride it out in the first mile and continue from there. I thought the race was well-organized, but it was really hard. Although, I think this will give me confidence for the bigger meets.”

Takkunen was followed by senior teammate Kristy Karl (26:34.2) and Ishpeming seniors Peyton Kakkuri (26:39.9) and Laynie Korpi (26:51.8).

“Payton and I were on pace for 8-minute miles, but once we got into the sand we slowed down a lot,” Korpi said. “I was doing pretty good until we got to the hill in the last mile. We had beach sand after the first mile. I enjoyed the race, though. It’s good when you have somebody to run it.”

The Gladstone girls won with 20 points, followed by Superior Central at 47 and Manistique with 57.

“That was a challenging course, but it was a good first meet for us,” Superior Central coach Holly McDonnald said. “It was nice because it was close for us. I hope they’ll do it again.”

The Gladstone boys also won with 32 points, followed by Munising at 57 and Gwinn at 76.

The invite featured varsity, junior varsity and middle school races, with seven varsities competing for boys and girls championships.

“It was a tough course,” Gladstone’ coach Gary Whitmer said. “Although, it was pretty exciting to see the kids get their medals. This is a boost for the kids.”

John VrancicJohn Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

PHOTOS (Top) Crystal Falls Forest Park’s Max Mainville crosses a road during his school’s inaugural invitational Sept. 4. (Middle) The Trojans’ Ellie Zaupa crosses the finish line. (Below) Gwinn’s Eloi Lopez (194), Manistique’s Ben Gilroy (464) and Gladstone’s Teagan Reynolds (422) run a stretch of the Gwinn Invitational on Sept. 3. (Forest Park Invitational photos courtesy of the Forest Park cross country programs; Gwinn Invitational photo by Laura Spade.)