Opportunities Abound for New Winners
October 23, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Saturday’s MHSAA Upper Peninsula Cross Country Finals at Beauchamp Grove in Gladstone, sponsored by Michigan National Guard, should provide the ideal scenarios to crown first-time champions.
While Chassell is the favorite in Division 3 after winning a year ago, neither Bessemer nor Wakefield-Marenisco has won an MHSAA boys cross country title – and together they are the favorite in Division 2. Negaunee is top-ranked in Division 1 and hasn’t won in more than 30 years. And only one of three individual champions is back to chase another title.
Here's a look at some of the teams and individuals expected to contend in all three races. Click for Saturday's race schedule and a list of all qualifiers.
DIVISION 1
Reigning champion: Marquette
2014 runner-up: Escanaba
2015 top three: 1. Negaunee, 2. Marquette, 3. Escanaba.
Negaunee’s last boys cross country championship came in 1983, but the Miners are favored to return to the top with all seven runners back from last season’s fifth-place team. Senior Grant Johnson and sophomore Colton Yesney were the top finishers in 2014, at 10th and 11th, respectively. Marquette returns only two runners from last season and has added three freshmen to four seniors – but those two returnees are senior Lance Rambo, last year’s runner-up, and senior Troy Sergey, who was 13th. Escanaba also returns only two runners from last season’s lineup, but junior Joey Wolfe was third individually and senior Jon Hook was 16th.
Individuals: The top three finishers from last year should pace the field again, with Rambo and Wolfe joined by reigning champion Nate Carey. The Kingsford senior finished third behind both at the Great Northern Conference final last week. Calumet junior Mitchell DeLong was 12th last season, and Kingsford senior Jorge Sanchez came in 14th.
DIVISION 2
Reigning champion: Ishpeming
2014 runner-up: Powers North Central
2015 top three: 1. Gogebic, 2. Ishpeming, 3. Powers North Central.
Neither Bessemer nor Wakefield-Marenisco had enough runners to compete in Division 3 as a team last season, but as a co-op in Division 2 they've combined to make favorite Gogebic. Senior Sam Dean was fifth last season in Division 3 and sophomore Tim Rowe finished 20th. Four of the top five Hematites finishers are back; senior Kazmine Langness was third last season, while senior Derek Mahoski was 11th, sophomore Kyle Pruett was 12th and junior Matthew Ferrett was 14th. Powers North Central finished only 14 points back of Ishpeming and returns six runners led by runner-up Bryce Holle, now a senior, seventh-place junior Seth Polfus, 16th-place sophomore Connor Robinson and 19th-place senior Jared Gerlach.
Individuals: Total, 10 of last season’s top 15 are back – although two-time champion Jared Joki of Ironwood graduated. Manistique sophomore Phillip Hagenson finished fourth in 2014, while Hancock junior Murphy Mallow is back after finishing seventh. Ironwood does return a pair of standouts – sophomore Andrew Niemi was ninth last season and senior Tim Lorenson was 11th.
DIVISION 3
Reigning champion: Chassell
2014 runner-up: Stephenson
2015 top three: 1. Chassell, 2. Munising, 3. Dollar Bay.
Chassell is a solid favorite returning all seven runners from last year’s team that won by six points. Four runners finished among the top 20 – now-freshman Abraham Gockenbach was fourth, junior Hunter Rautiola was ninth, senior Lars Daavettila was 14th and freshman Ben Tuomi was 16th. Munising was third last season and returns four of its top five including senior third-place finisher Brett Hannah. Senior Kyle LeClaire leads a Dollar Bay team returning five of seven from last year’s fourth-place team; LeClaire was sixth and sophomore Devin Schmitz finished 17th.
Individuals: Although the top two finishers from 2014 are not back, nine of the top 15 will run. In addition to those mentioned above, Stephenson sophomore Ethan Brown was seventh last season, Cedarville senior Patrick McMaken was 10th and junior Avry Freel was 15th, Big Bay de Noc sophomore Lucas Sundling was 13th and Eben Junction Superior Central junior Luke Leppanen was 14th.
PHOTO: Munising’s Brett Hannah ended third in the U.P. Division 3 race last season and returns as the highest finisher back from that field.
Hansen Goes Distance Again, Allendale Claims 1st Final Since 1999
November 2, 2024
BROOKLYN — It looked like TJ Hansen of Freeland had gotten a big head start on the rest of the field, not that he needed it.
Hansen, after all, set the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals record with his time of 14 minutes, 52.8 seconds last year.
But here he was, moments before the start of Saturday’s Division 2 race at Michigan International Speedway, nearly in a dead sprint 600 yards from the start rushing into the Freeland tent to quickly change his shorts.
The style of shorts Hansen was wearing differed from those of his teammates, a uniform violation that would have disqualified the reigning champion. After frantically rushing to get different shorts, Hansen was put in a cart and rushed to the start line.
There was no time to decompress.
“As soon as I got back, it was 10 seconds and, boom, the gun went off,” he said. “It’s just a lesson in dealing with adversity.”
For a few highly-stressful minutes, Hansen feared he would be on the sideline while someone else won a championship he was out to defend.
“It kind of flashes before your eyes,” he said. “They tell you you’re DQ’d, and all those months of hard work seem like they flash before your eyes and all go to waste.”
When the gun went off, Hansen was back in his element and repeated as champion by lowering his Division 2 record to 14:50.5, the fourth-fastest time in any division at MIS.
He needed every bit of that effort, as Marshall senior Jack Bidwell took second in 14:57.3, a time that is the third-fastest by a Division 2 runner and 14th all-time in any division.
Hansen and Bidwell reached the two-mile mark together in 9:36.2 before the defending champion pulled away in the final mile.
“It was really just try to push the pace and see how fast I could go,” Hansen said. “My legs weren’t really feeling it today, so I changed up strategy to race to win.”
Hansen won 11 of 12 races this year, losing only to a runner from Tennessee on Oct. 5 in Indiana.
In the team race, Allendale won its first MHSAA Finals championship since 1999 by placing its five scoring runners among the top 29. The top 30 made all-state. The Falcons scored 78 points to win by 102 over 2023 champion Ada Forest Hills Eastern.
Sophomore Mason Hill was ninth in 15:24.0, senior Kilian Whalen 13th in 15:28.8, junior Ronnie Silveira 15th in 15:31.1, senior Ben Gross 27th in 15:47.1 and senior Parker Tiethof 29th in 15:48.3.
Allendale was fourth last year and returned its top six runners.
PHOTOS (Top) Freeland’s TJ Hansen pushes to the finish line in the Division 2 race Saturday after looking back to see Marshall’s Jack Bidwell also on the home stretch. (Middle) Allendale’s Mason Hill (403) and New Boston Huron’s Lucas Kuhn (530) race among the lead packs. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)