Preview: Benzie's Jones, Team Favorites Among Several Chasing History
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 2, 2022
Three of four teams entering Saturday's MHSAA Lower Peninsula Boys Cross Country Finals ranked No. 1 in their respective divisions are hoping to complete the day at Michigan International Speedway as first-time MHSAA Finals champions.
Northville in Division 1, Hart in Division 3 and Wyoming Potter's House Christian in Division 4 are those hopefuls, with the top-ranked team in Division 2 – Pinckney – merely seeking its first team championship since 2007.
And yet, amid the possibility of so many first-time team title winners, the biggest story this weekend might be Benzie Central senior Hunter Jones' pursuit of his fourth individual Finals title. He has the fastest time in Michigan this season, 14.32.1 run at his school's Pete Moss Invitational on Aug. 27, and if he can add another Division 3 Finals title to last week's Regional win he'll complete his high school cross country career as the second Lower Peninsula runner to claim four Finals titles. The only other was Central Lake's Ryan Shay, who won four straight in Lower Peninsula Class D from 1993-96. Potter's House Christian senior Lezawe Osterink also is back seeking a repeat individual title in Division 4.
See below for more on several team and individual contenders Saturday. The "season bests" list referred to frequently is a ranking list of every runner's best time this season, maintained by Athletic.net. The first race begins at 9:30 a.m.; click here for the full schedule and ticket information. Additionally, all eight races Saturday at MIS will be streamed live and viewable with subscription on MHSAA.tv.
Division 1
Reigning champion: Brighton
2021 runner-up: Caledonia
2022 top-ranked: 1. Northville, 2. Saline, 3. Traverse City Central.
Northville’s lone top-two Finals finish came in 2015, when the Mustangs placed runner-up, and they were fourth last year. But they are coming off a Regional title that saw them place four racers among the top seven despite running against a field including No. 4 Plymouth. Junior Brendan Herger’s 15:23.9 to win that Regional ranks 14th on the statewide bests list this fall, and senior Brady Heron was fourth at that Regional and also has posted a top-50 time. Herger placed 18th at last year’s Final. Saline is coming off an eighth-place team finish last season and is seeking its first Finals championship as well to go with four runner-up finishes, the most recent in 2016. Senior Samuel Jackson won his Regional in 15:29.38, the 17th-fastest time on the best-times list, and he’s joined by junior Truman Johnson among the top 50. Traverse City Central also is seeking its first team title and first top-two finish since placing Class A runner-up (while still Traverse City High) in 1996. Senior Joe Muha made the best times top-50 list with his Regional runner-up time of 15:41.8, and five Trojans finished among the top 13 as they won the team championship. Central finished sixth at the Final last season.
Individuals: From last season’s top 15 Finals finishers, 12 graduated but two of the top three are back. Grand Haven junior Seth Norder finished runner-up to Hartland’s Riley Hough with a 15:19.91 last fall, and Norder has the third-fastest best time statewide this season at 14:45.4. Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills senior Benne Anderson was third at the 2021 Final and has the second-fastest best time at 14:44.1 – they ran those in finishing third and second, respectively, to Benzie Central’s Hunter Jones on Oct. 8 at the Portage Invitational. New Baltimore Anchor Bay junior Thomas Westphal is another contender coming off a personal-record 15:12.2 to win his Regional, and he and Utica senior Trent McFarland have run some fantastic races against each other over the last month especially. McFarland, Norder, Anderson, Ann Arbor Skyline senior Nicolas Fry, Berkley senior Matthew Short and Traverse City West senior Jonah Hochstetler also were Regional champions, and Kalamazoo Central junior Jasper Cane ran one of the top times in LPD1 this season as runner-up to Anderson last weekend.
Division 2
Reigning champion: Otsego
2021 runner-up: Chelsea
2022 top-ranked: 1. Pinckney, 2. Chelsea, 3. East Grand Rapids.
Pinckney is in position to win its first championship since claiming three straight from 2005-07, and after finishing fifth a year ago. The Pirates graduated individual champion Caleb Jarema but return five of their top seven racers and placed four among the top 10 in winning last week’s Regional at Waterford Mott. Junior Evan Loughridge’s 15:20.9 at the Portage Invite is tied for 10th on the statewide best times list. Chelsea finished team runner-up last season and previously won Division 2 in 2017 and 2018. Junior Connell Alford has run the fourth-fastest time on the statewide list at 14:53.1, and he finished fourth at last year’s Final. Chelsea total returns its top four and five of its top six from 2021, with senior Bram Hartsuff having finished 14th individually a year ago. East Grand Rapids was fifth as a team last season with only two seniors, and its top four from that lineup are back led by junior Alex Thole, who finished second at last weekend’s Regional at Grand Rapids South Christian.
Individuals: Alford and Hartsuff are joined as returnees from last year’s top 15 by Dearborn Divine Child senior Michael Hegarty (third), St. Johns senior Joey Bowman (10th) and Freeland sophomore TJ Hansen (12th). Hegarty’s 15:03.7 to finish second to Alford at the Milan Regional also is the fifth-best time on the statewide bests list, and Bowman and Hansen both have season-best times among the top 30. Monroe Jefferson senior Carter McCalister ran third at Milan, but his 15:07.4 is seventh on the statewide bests list and third among Division 2 runners to Alford and Hegarty. Bowman and Hansen also were Regional champs, joined by Loughridge, Otsego senior Colin Wesseldyk, Ada Forest Hills Eastern senior Aiden Sullivan, Grand Rapids Christian sophomore Simon Triezenberg and Cadillac junior Nolan Nixon.
Division 3
Reigning champion: St. Louis
2021 runner-up: Hart
2022 top-ranked: 1. Hart, 2. Traverse City St. Francis, 3. Hanover-Horton
St. Louis has won the last two championships and Hart finished runner-up both years, but the Pirates enter with the top ranking this time as they seek their first Finals team title. Hart won a Regional including No. 7 Reed City and No. 11 Benzie Central with five placers among the top 12, and seniors Clayton Ackley and Wyatt Dean are among five returnees to the Finals lineup after finishing 10th and 26th, respectively, a year ago. St. Francis is expected to be in the mix for its first top-two team finish returning five runners from last season’s sixth-place team and after placing seven among the top 12 to win a Regional at East Jordan that included No. 9 Clare and No. 13 Elk Rapids. Hanover-Horton is seeking its third championship in six seasons after winning Division 3 in 2017 and 2019. The Comets were 16th last season but return three of their top four led by senior Rogan Melling, who placed seventh individually in 2021. St. Louis is ranked No. 4 and returns four of last year’s top six including junior Ben March, who ran ninth individually.
Individuals: Benzie Central’s Jones is arguably the biggest story going into the weekend, and he’ll have an experienced group attempting to push him. Melling, March and Ackley were among the top 10 a year ago, with Ithaca senior Parks Allen (11th), Quincy senior Rhett Reif (13th), Bloomingdale junior Jaden Barnes (14th) and Pewamo-Westphalia junior Collin Farmer (15th) among other high Finals placers heading back to MIS. Joining Jones among Regional champs were Melling, Allen, March, Dansville sophomore Thomas Davis, Parchment senior William Winter, Grandville Calvin Christian senior Nathan Jenkins and Clare junior Brad White. Davis finished fifth in Division 4 last season.
Division 4
Reigning champion: Hillsdale Academy
2021 runner-up: Concord
2022 top-ranked: 1. Wyoming Potter’s House Christian, 2. Johannesburg-Lewiston, 3. Petoskey St. Michael
Six schools have won Division 4 championships over the last six years, and Potter’s House Christian could run that streak to seven if it can make the jump from last season’s 12th-place finish. The reigning individual champion, now-senior Lezawe Osterink, leads three Potter’s House returnees followed by senior Logan Swiney who placed 25th a year ago. Potter’s House, Johannesburg-Lewiston and St. Michael are among teams seeking a first Finals championship. Johannesburg-Lewiston finished ninth last season with three top-23 individual finishers, and all three are back – senior Jacob Wartenberg (10th), junior Malaki Gascho (21st) and junior Blake Fox (23rd). St. Michael was sixth last season with only one senior, and now-senior Macartan Moore sets the pace among returnees after finishing 17th a year ago.
Individuals: Osterink won last season by nearly 24 seconds, and his best time this fall of 15:05 (run at the Portage Invite) ranks sixth on the statewide season bests list with the next-best time in Division 4 a 15:50. Four more runners are back from last season’s top 15 – Reading senior Tyler Bays (seventh), Wartenberg, Kalamazoo Christian senior Isaac Bogard (12th) and Riverview Gabriel Richard senior Alex Meszaros (14th). Wartenberg, Osterink and Bays were joined as Regional champions last weekend by Mason County Eastern senior Nathan Wing, Blanchard Montabella senior Dakota Dykhuis, Concord senior Adair Artis, Whitmore Lake senior Braylan Majesky, Kingston senior Ethan Green and Allen Park Cabrini senior Christopher Russelburg.
PHOTO Grand Haven’s Seth Norder, left, and Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills’ Benne Anderson enter the final stretch during last season’s LPD1 Final. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
Kilpela Farm Provides 'Perfect' Setting for 20 years of Jeffers Invitationals
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
September 9, 2022
ATLANTIC MINE — Imagine being able to host a cross country invitational on your own property.
That’s what Painesdale Jeffers High School head coach Sam Kilpela does every year in late August.
The Jeffers Invitational has been held annually on the Kilpela farm property since 2003.
“My grandparents lived here,” he said. “This farm has been part of the Kilpela family for many years (since the 1890s) and many of their daughters were part of the program. We moved here in 2015, and now it’s up to us to keep the tradition going.
“People ask, ‘You mean you have a cross country course at your farm?’ We have a lot of property, about 40 acres. The starting line is in our front yard, and the finish line is in our back yard. It’s real convenient. We don’t have to drive anywhere to get what we need. We have everything we need right here.”
The course also has received many rave reviews, including a few after the most recent Jeffers Invite which drew 11 schools Aug. 31.
“It’s a beautiful course,” Hancock coach Jen Smith said after the Dale Phillips Invitational in Marquette the next day. “It has that old country feel to it, which makes you feel right at home. It makes you feel real comfortable. We decided to do races back-to-back days because the kids enjoy running on both courses. We didn’t want to miss either meet.”
Dollar Bay junior Amos Norlin, who won the 3.1-mile race at Atlantic Mine in 17 minutes, 50 seconds, had similar thoughts.
“This is one of my favorite courses,” he said. “This is better than running on a golf course. I find I need to look back when we race on a golf course. You’re more hidden here. Only, the downhills and sharp turns tend to bother my ankles.”
Watersmeet senior William Snow, who placed third (18:28), also enjoyed the course.
“I love the tall grass and the ground is nice and soft,” he added. “There’s not a cloud in the sky. It’s perfect for running. I wish I could train on this course. I’m going to miss it.”
The Jeffers boys put a little icing on the cake by winning their invitational for the first time in 13 years with 44 points. Ironwood was runner-up at 58.
“It has been many years,” said Kilpela, who has been coaching for seven. “The kids have been working hard. It’s really good to see their hard work pay off. I’m especially happy for our senior Tavin Larson because he finally got his first win on his home course. We have only five guys on varsity, but they’ve been strong.”
Calumet edged Hancock 55-61 for the girls championship.
John 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.
PHOTO The Painesdale Jeffers boys cross country team shows off its hardware after winning its invitational at the Kilpela farm Aug. 31. (Photo courtesy of Adams Township schools.)