Performance of the Week: Hartland's Riley Hough
September 23, 2021
Riley Hough ♦ Hartland
Cross Country ♦ Senior
The annual Spartan Invitational at Michigan State University draws top runners from across the state and occasionally Midwest, with its “Elite” race showcasing the best of the best. Hough has been that runner in Michigan the last two seasons, claiming the Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship a year ago and continuing a 16-race winning streak through Friday’s victory in East Lansing. Hough completed the Spartan course in 15:05.5 to best the field by nearly 16 seconds.
Hough won last season’s Division 1 cross country title in 14:49.7, and he’s broken 15 minutes twice this fall during his first five races – including with his personal record 14:41.2 to win the Pete Moss Invitational on Aug. 28 at Benzie Central. He also is the reigning LPD1 track champion in the 3,200 meters, claiming that title by just more than a second June 5 with a time of 9:07.91. Hough has verbally committed to continue his career at Michigan State.
@mhsaasportsPOW: Riley Hough 🏃♂️#performanceoftheweek #mhsaa #xc #run #highschoolsports #tiktalk #hartland #msu #interview #fyp #mistudentaid
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2021-22 Honorees
Sept. 16: Josie Bloom, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Report
PHOTOS courtesy of the Hough family.
Flashback 100: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First
October 11, 2024
No American had ever won medals in both the 5,000 and 10,000-meter events at an Olympic Games until Grand Blanc’s Grant Fisher did so in Paris this summer.
He claimed bronze in both races, finishing just two-hundredths of a second behind second place in the 10,000. Fisher secured his opportunities in Paris by finishing first in both events at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
During his time at Grand Blanc, Fisher won two Lower Peninsula Finals championships in cross country, taking first place in Division 1 in both 2013 and 2014, his junior and senior years, respectively. In Track & Field, he earned five MHSAA titles, including winning the 3,200 meters in 2013 and both the 1,600 and 3,200 meters in 2014 and 2015.
As a sophomore, Fisher played on the Grand Blanc soccer team that advanced to the Division 1 Final, ultimately losing to East Kentwood 1-0. He played for coach Greg Kehler, who retired from coaching boys soccer after the 2020 season with 340 wins, ninth most in MHSAA history. Kehler is the current girls coach at Grand Blanc and is fourth all-time with 402 victories.
Currently, Fisher holds the American records in the 3,000 meters, two-mile, 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. In 2015, he became the seventh American high school student-athlete to run a mile in under four minutes and holds the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Finals record (all divisions) in the 1,600 meters at 4:00.28. At Stanford, Fisher was a 12-time Track & Field All-American and three-time Pac-12 champion.
Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
PHOTOS (Top) Grant Fisher (15) takes a photo with his Grand Blanc soccer teammates as a sophomore. (Bottom) Fisher competes in multiple Cross Country and Track & Field Finals during his high school career. (Soccer photo courtesy of Greg Kehler. Running photos by RunMichigan.com.)