Preview: Champs Collide In D3 Final
October 18, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A shuffling among the Upper Peninsula’s smallest-school powers has set up an intriguing matchup at Saturday’s MHSAA Cross Country Finals at Gentz Homestead Golf Course in Munising.
The move of reigning Division 2 champion Stephenson into Division 3 not only pits the Eagles against still-loaded reigning D3 champion Munising, but means the reigning individual champions from those two divisions also will chase each other.
Here's a look at those matchups plus more stories behind all of the favorites. Click for Saturday's race schedule and links to all qualifiers.
DIVISION 1
Reigning champion: Sault Ste. Marie
2012 runner-up: Escanaba
2013 top three: 1. Marquette, 2. Houghton, 3. Escanaba.
Marquette has been locked out of the top two spots the last two seasons after winning Division 1 from 2008-10. But the top-ranked team is anchored by one of the top returning placers from 2012 in sophomore Lance Rambo, who will look to build on his fourth-place finish. He was 19 seconds behind third-place finisher and Houghton junior Jacob Colling, who was only nine off the lead and might be the favorite this time. Escanaba returns three from last season’s top 21 and should make a push.
Individuals: Four more top-10 placers also are back, led by Menominee senior Davey Luplow, who finished fifth. Calumet senior Devin Berg finished seventh, Kingsford sophomore Nate Carey was eighth in his first season, and Negaunee senior Keenan Gantz will look to finish his career by building on last season’s ninth-place finish.
DIVISION 2
Reigning champion: Stephenson
2012 runner-up: Norway
2013 top three: 1. Hancock, 2. Ishpeming, 3. Ironwood.
Stephenson has won the last three Division 2 Finals, but is running in Division 3. The door appears most open for third-ranked Ironwood, which returns junior Jared Joki, the reigning individual runner-up, and last season’s 10th-place finisher Coli Clausen, also a junior. The only other top-10 placer returning to this race is Hancock senior Jacob Jarvis, ninth in 2012, and he’s joined by 11th-place Hayden Heikkinen, also a senior. Ishpeming finished only seventh last season, but could make a jump led by sophomore Derek Mahoski, who finished 36th as a freshman.
Individuals: Two others from last season’s top 15 should make a big move up the chart. Manistique junior Ryan Ramey is coming off an 11th-place finish and was a mere 11 seconds from ninth. Norway junior Justin Anderson was just behind Ramey in 12th.
DIVISION 3
Reigning champion: Munising
2012 runner-up: Cedarville
2013 top three: 1. Powers North Central, 2. Eben Junction Superior Central, 3. Stephenson.
Munising curiously is ranked only fifth despite winning the last two Division 3 titles and returning last season’s individual champion in sophomore Brett Hannah (17:55.0), third-place finisher in junior Izaak Mahoski and 10th-place finisher senior Sam MacArthur. Stephenson certainly is intriguing as well with reigning Division 2 individual champion Connor Cappaert (17:25.7), just a junior, looking to add another few titles. Dollar Bay does bring back a top-20 finisher in senior Cameron Ringler plus 21st-place senior Tom Autio. Superior Central sophomore Jesse Elsenbroek finished 24th last season as an individual qualifier and leads the second-ranked team.
Individuals: Five more of last season’s top 10 also will run this weekend. Fourth-ranked Pickford features seniors Jacob Anderzjak and Alec Firak, who finished seventh and ninth, respectively. Bessemer junior Zack Mazurek should push the favorites after finishing fourth as a sophomore, while Carney-Nadeau senior Dionte Blahnik (sixth) and Cedarville junior Teddy Bowlby (eighth) also are good bets to be in the hunt.
PHOTO: Houghton’s Jacob Colling (57) is the top returning placer from last season’s UP Division 1 Final, where he placed third in 16:59.3. (Photo courtesy of RunMichigan.com/Paul Gerard.)
Marquette, Jeffers, Reigning D3 Champs Sweep UP Boys Titles
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 23, 2021
MARQUETTE — The Marquette boys team achieved a three-peat here in Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Division 1 Cross Country Finals, placing four in the top seven and scoring 32 points.
They were followed by Sault Ste. Marie with 48 and Houghton with 75.
“Marquette is probably the best team we’ve had up here in 20 years,” said Sault coach Jim Martin. “We knew they were going to be tough. We also had a real good team this year, probably our best team in a decade.”
Marquette junior Carson Vanderschaaf was crowned individual champion for the first time by covering the 3.1-mile course at Gentz’s Homestead Golf Course in Chocolay Township in 16 minutes, 45.1 seconds. He was followed by Houghton senior Eric Weiss (17:04) and Gladstone junior Drew Hughes (17:23.7) on a sunny and seasonably cool day.
“I wanted to stay up front and see what happened,” said Vanderschaaf. “My legs just felt good today.
“We have good team dynamics. We all train together. I don’t really know what this means at this time, but I’m looking forward to track next spring. This is a big confidence builder right now. It was real nice weather for running. I was afraid it would rain (as forecast by the Weather Channel).”
Hughes was undefeated this season prior to Saturday.
“I was really nervous coming in here, but I did better than last year,” he said. “Anxiety plays a big part. I cut 12 seconds off from my freshman year on this course. I still had a good day.”
Painesdale Jeffers placed four in the top five and earned its first Division 2 team title with 22 points, followed by Ironwood with 50 and Manistique at 62.
For the Jets, this marked their first title since 2009 when they were crowned Division 3 champs.
“We got some fast boys here today,” said Jeffers coach Sam Kilpela. “We moved up to D-2 and last year we were runners-up. It felt weird jumping up to D-2. The start was real fast, but the guys ran smart.
“We have a real young team, and our middle school crew is strong.”
Jeffers senior Simone Barp won a Finals for the first time at 18:30.1, followed by freshman teammates Benton Rajala (18:37.1) and Brit Heinonen (18:40.5). West Iron County senior Landon Sundelius (18:44) and Jeffers junior Tavin Larson (17:50.1) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
“Tavin has been running since middle school,” said Kilpela. “In the last couple years we started getting competitive.”
Dollar Bay kept its Division 3 crown with 57 points, followed by Stephenson with 63 and Brimley with 77.
“We have fun running on the tough courses,” said Dollar Bay coach Matt Zimmer. “Then you get on a golf course and you think it’s going to be an easy course and it really isn’t.
“The Copper Country conferences were well represented. Both of our teams ran very well. We have three girls who have been with us since junior high. We’ve become a family. There’s absolutely a lot of camaraderie, and it’s a family atmosphere.”
Ewen-Trout Creek senior Jonah Nordine retained his individual title at 17:15.7, followed by former teammate and Dollar Bay junior Nik Thomas (17:16.6) and Munising freshman Trevor Nolan (17:47.1).
“I’m pretty happy with my time,” said Nordine. “I really tried to push it in the first mile. I ran a little more conservatively in the second mile, then tried to pick it up in the third.
“This is a pretty big confidence builder, I guess. I was a little nervous coming in here because Nik beat me in the (Copper Mountain) conference race last week. That definitely motivated me for the U.P. Finals.”
Thomas was happy with his and the team’s success.
"I’m so proud of our team,” he said. “After the girls took second, it woke us up. We knew we had to do our part. It’s real competitive in our area. It’s just a great day for our school.
“It was so cool running with Jonah again. At 2½ miles, we were just talking about how great it was to be running together again. We weren’t really running against each other. We were running with each other.”
Click for full results: Division 1 | Division 2 | Division 3
PHOTOS (Top) Painesdale Jeffers’ Simone Barp leads a group of runners including Ironwood's Joey Lauzon (143), Hancock's Jan Baaslrud (138), and teammate Ben Gilroy (154) during the Division 2 Final. (Middle) Marquette's Carson Vanderschaaf celebrates finishing first in the Division 1 race at Gentz's Homestead Golf Course. (Below) Ewen-Trout Creek's Jonah Nordine (246) edges Dollar Bay's Nik Thomas at the finish line. (Photos by Cara Kamps. Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)