Plenty Propels Chassell Championship Chase
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
November 1, 2018
CHASSELL — Small school. Big tradition.
That’s pretty much the way it is at Chassell High School, which captured both the girls and boys Upper Peninsula Division 3 cross country championships Oct 20 at Munising.
Both teams won for the fourth time in five years, with the girls retaining their title and the boys edging 2017 champ Brimley by seven points (47-54)
“These folks brought it against some strong competition,” said sixth-year coach Marco Guidotti. “This team is grateful to race against such strong competition from all over the U.P. They’re grateful for family, friends and teammates that support them through it all. It’s nothing short of a privilege to have the opportunity to coach athletes of such character with steady support systems around each and every one.”
Guidotti and four seniors had a chance to reflect on this season and the program’s success Tuesday afternoon.
“It felt great for all of us, especially us seniors,” said Abraham Gockenbach. “We lost to Gogebic and Houghton this year, but we didn’t get crushed. We knew if we could compete with them, we’d be in the race (at Munising). Getting the championship trophy after a season of hard work was rewarding.”
Kurtis Kytta said competing with D-1 runner-up Houghton and D-2 runner-up Gogebic (Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer) helped prepare the Panthers for the Finals.
“The Finals kind of leveled the playing field because we were able to compete with schools our size,” he added. “Our (Copper Mountain) conference has been real hard the past couple years, and it pushed us to work harder. When we first started (in 2014), we never thought this would happen. We knew we had to keep working hard.”
Lela Rautiola remembers taking top individual honors as a sophomore two years ago. Cedarville, however, was crowned team D-3 champion.
“We were real close to Cedarville,” she said. “I walked away from that with mixed feelings. I was happy that I won, but disappointed the team didn’t win. I think that motivated the whole team.
“It feels pretty awesome to win it. This year we lost to Hancock in the first meet (Jeffers Invitational at Atlantic Mine on Aug. 28). It was a little disappointing at first, but it made us want to work a little harder. Then, we were runner-up to Marquette at Presque Isle (Park) in the next meet (in Marquette), which pumped us up a little.”
Jenna Pietila fondly recalled the Panthers winning the Houghton Invitational on Oct. 4.
“That was our last meet with Houghton and Hancock this year, and it kind of set the tone,” she said. “Knowing we could compete with them gave us a good feeling going into the conference meet and Finals.
“I remember when I was in eighth grade, we had no idea what to expect in the Finals (at Marquette) and we won it. It was total excitement. We weren’t expecting that to happen. We didn’t know what we were in for coming in.”
Competition had been tight among Chassell, Houghton and Hancock all of this season.
"We’re really grateful to be in position to compete that well against bigger schools,” said Guidotti. “We have an area with great coaches who show a lot of devotion to their programs. We started with a handful of guys and two girls. Now, it stretches down from the senior class through sixth grade. Being good teammates and leaders are things we put a pretty big premium on. It’s all for one and one for all.”
Guidotti also is grateful for the support the team has received.
“The support we’ve had is remarkable, and I think it’s undoubtedly linked to the team’s desire to keep proving that hard work pays off,” he said. “Every fall, my wife Sarah picks up the slack to keep our family running smooth at home, all while teaching and remaining such a positive influence on these athletes and the rest of the incredible Chassell family. It’s the only way I can devote the time I do to the team.
“Runners’ families open their homes and host team dinners to help them bond and eat well before races, and our local VFW opened its doors for a tremendous meal toward the end of the season.”
The Panthers also were treated to a meal the evening before the Finals.
“We went to Mr. Guidotti’s in-laws in Marquette and had spaghetti, bread and fruit,” said Pietila. “Then, we stayed overnight in Munising and did a lot of team bonding. It’s fun to be together as a team. The bus rides got pretty interesting, and we tried to have fun at practice. The whole season was fun.”
The Panthers then received a hero’s welcome upon their return from the Finals.
“Parents and fans organized the most wonderful welcome-home celebrations for the team with firefighters giving their time to lead us back to the school from the (Houghton-Baraga) county line,” said Guidotti. “Our community has expressed unwavering support to let us know they have our back. Chassell is a small town, but it sure feels big with the school and community support we’ve experienced.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Chassell's Lela Rautiola (263) leads the pack on its first pass by the crowd at the U.P. Division 3 Final at Pictured Rocks Golf Course in Munising last month. (Middle) The Chassell boys and girls teams hold up their newest championship trophies. (Below) Chassell's Ben Tuomi (486) edges Ishpeming's Jordan Longtine (931) at the Tracy Strom Memorial Invitational held in Ishpeming earlier this fall. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)
Lee Learns From Best, Runs To Be Next
August 18, 2015
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
FENTON — Jacob Lee attained a measure of fame last summer through his association with the No. 1 high school distance runner in the nation.
However, the Fenton High School senior gained much more from the experience than an appearance on the cover of a major national running magazine.
When Running Times profiled Grant Fisher in its September 2014 issue, his training partners shared in the glory. The cover of the magazine showed Fisher and five visible training partners doing repeats on a sledding hill at Bicentennial Park in Grand Blanc.
On the far right of the cover shot was Lee, who had trained since eighth grade with Fisher and a group of predominantly Grand Blanc runners led by coach Mike Scannell.
"That was pretty awesome, actually," Lee said. "I saw myself. I knew the article was about Grant. It's still pretty cool to be training with all those high-caliber guys."
Fisher was a two-time national Foot Locker cross country champion who won two cross country and five track and field titles in MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 meets, setting the all-time Finals record of 4:00.28 in the 1,600-meter run as a senior last spring.
Fisher raised the bar incredibly high for the next generation of Michigan high school runners. Having trained daily in the offseason with Fisher, Lee had a unique front-row perspective as Fisher progressed into one of the top high school distance runners ever in this country.
Lee certainly hopes to take the lessons he learned in training with Fisher onto the cross country course this fall and the track next spring. But, beyond that, he will seek to apply lessons learned while training in Scannell's group to other areas of his life.
"It was incredible to train with Grant Fisher and all those guys up at Genesys (Athletic Club in Grand Blanc) with the level they train at," Lee said. "It's not just athletics. They strive to do great in the classroom and the community. That's what I like about it. They have household goals, academic goals. We just strive to achieve them."
One lesson that Lee has learned all on his own is that, no matter how well you've trained and how attainable your goals might appear, strange things can happen in MHSAA Finals.
He was primed to grab a top-30 spot last year after finishing 37th in the Division 1 cross country meet as a sophomore. Things were going according to plan through the mile mark before the race began to unravel for Lee. His body mysteriously betrayed him. Slowing down just a little bit can spell disaster in the Finals, as Lee discovered by dropping to 212th place out of 256 runners with a time of 17:24.3.
"I was feeling good between the first and second miles," Lee said. "I was right on pace. I was in the top 30-40 group. About the second mile, I started cramping up. I don't know what happened exactly. My back kinda tightened up, too. I couldn't move as much. My stride became super short. I'm not really sure what happened that day. I'm just making sure it's not going to happen again."
The Finals aside, it was a season in which Lee lowered his personal best from 16:13.4 as a sophomore to 15:46.75 as a junior. He broke 16 minutes twice.
“I thought the season overall was a great success,” he said. “I wish the state meet would’ve gone better, because I know my fitness level was higher than what I finished.”
Lee's shot at redemption came at the Division 1 Track and Field Finals, where he placed 13thas a sophomore in the 3,200-meter run in 9:38.78. He was peaking at the right time, running 9:23.6 on May 1 in Saline and 9:27.9 two weeks later in the regional meet.
As was the case in cross country, Lee was positioned right where he'd hoped to be. But bad things sometimes happen when so many fast feet are in close proximity. Again, disaster struck for Lee in the biggest meet of the season.
"I tripped and fell with 800 to go," Lee said. "I got spiked in the head, actually. I've still got a little bit of a mark. So, I wish that would've gone better, because I was in the top eight going into the last 800, but there's nothing you can do about that. I was right behind (Davison's) Nick Schmidt, who ended up coming in sixth."
The 5-foot-7 1/2, 122-pound Lee got to his feet and finished 21st with a time of 9:37.23.
“When I first met Jake, I thought he was someone’s younger brother who happened to be training with the team and Mike’s guys,” Fisher said. “Jake’s always been one of the smaller guys. Because of that, he has to make up for that in his work ethic and intensity at every practice. I definitely have a lot of respect for him because of that. He’s racing against guys who are 6-3, 170 or whatever. Jake’s not the biggest dude. Jake has a focus that is pretty special. He brings his all at every practice.”
While Lee no longer has the Stanford-bound Fisher to push him in training, he will have some strong talent within his own league to keep him sharp throughout the regular season.
Fenton competes in the Flint Metro League, which will feature Clio senior Ethan Taljonick and Holly senior Dilon Lemond. Taljonick finished 16th in last season’s Division 2 Final, while Lemond was 39th in Division 1.
Lee's goal is to finish among the top five at the MHSAA Finals, but along the way he hopes to emerge from that speedy trio as the Metro League champion.
"The competition is really high in our own league, so it should be a good race for the individual top spot," said Lee, whose personal best came when he won a talent-laden league jamboree at the Cummings Center in Mount Morris. "All of the league meets are pretty good competition, especially the ones with Clio and Holly. There's no slacking off when it comes to racing those guys, for sure."
Lee also will get a good daily push in practice because of a coaching change that has former Fenton all-stater Jesse Anderson in charge of the cross country program. Anderson was 11thin 2006 and 10thin 2007 at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Cross Country Finals. He still runs at a high level in road races.
“It’s going to be a huge benefit, a huge advantage for us,” Lee said. “Not only does he know what he’s talking about, but he runs. He knows all of this great stuff about running, he owns a shoe store, but he can also run with us and tell by our individual fitness what we’re capable of.”
And what is Lee capable of this season
“It’s pretty limitless, really,” said Anderson, who calls coaching Fenton his “dream job.” “We want to keep him healthy. He’s coming in with a very, very strong base. We’ll see how he responds to training.”
Lee began running in fifth grade with the encouragement of his physical education teacher at North Road Elementary in Fenton.
“We had this thing called Mileage Club at North Road,” he said. “He turned me on to that. I started running. I really liked it. I kept running every single day to get toe tokens. Once you get five miles per card, you get a token. It was a race between me and my friends to get the most tokens. You put them on a shoelace and wear them around; it’s pretty cool.”
As cool as they were back then, a medal from the MHSAA Finals on Nov. 7 would be even cooler.
And for his part, Fisher was glad to see friends like Lee make his Running Times cover.
“I was really happy they picked that picture,” Fisher said. “They were taking all these options for a cover shot. To have that group of guys on the cover was really special, because those are the guys I train with day in and day out. A lot of times, they’ll feature me or Mike.
“Jake is the younger guy, but he’s very dedicated to running. To get him on the cover and the other guys, when they first saw it and had the magazine in their hands, their reaction was pretty cool. It was definitely more special for me. I’d rather have it that way than an individual shot of me.”
Bill Khan served as a sportswriter at The Flint Journal from 1981-2011 and currently contributes to the State Champs! Sports Network. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Fenton's Jacob Lee runs with a pack during last season's MHSAA Division 1 Cross Country Final at Michigan International Speedway. (Middle) Lee, on left, turns the corner during a race at the 2013 Brighton Invitational. (Top photo by RunMichigan.com, middle by Bill Khan.)