Preview: Experience Takes the Lead
October 20, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Familiar faces could dominate photo finishes at Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Boys Cross Country Finals at Pictured Rocks Golf Club in Munising.
Two reigning individual champions are back from a year ago, as is the runner-up from the race where the winner has moved on. Reigning Division 2 and 3 team champions Ishpeming and Chassell, respectively, are expected to celebrate again for the fourth straight seasons – but so too is Houghton for the first time since 2011.
Races begin Saturday with the Division 3 girls at 11 a.m. and finish with the Division 1 boys at 1:30 p.m. Check back Saturday evening for coverage of all six Upper Peninsula Finals, and see below for more teams and individuals to watch.
Division 1
Reigning champion: Negaunee
2016 runner-up: Houghton
2017 top-ranked: 1. Houghton, 2. Marquette, 3. Negaunee.
Negaunee has won the last two UPD1 championships and finished 16 points ahead of Houghton last season. The Miners have three of their top seven back for this weekend, led by reigning champion Colton Yesney; he won last year’s race by 36 seconds. But Houghton brings back five of its top six including third-place Clayton Sayen and fifth-place Seth Helman, who like Yesney have continued to dominate this fall as seniors. Marquette is in the mix with its top three and four of its top seven back from last season’s third-place team, paced by reigning Finals runner-up and current senior Garrett Rudden.
Individuals: While Yesney, Rudden, Sayen and Helman give the field four of last season’s top-five finishers, none of the rest of the top 10 returns – although Negaunee sophomore Eric Anderson and senior Elliott Prusi were 10th and 11th last year, respectively. Marquette senior Luke Rambo, who won the Great Northern Conference meet title last week, also likely will be among the leaders. Gladstone junior Adam Bruce won the Mid-Peninsula Conference meet championship (although Yesney was unable to finish) and should find the frontrunners as well.
Division 2
Reigning champion: Ishpeming
2016 runner-up: Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer
2017 top-ranked: 1. Ishpeming, 2. Ironwood, 3. Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer.
The Hematites have won three straight UPD2 championships and did so last year on the strength of five top-10 finishers, with all seven racers coming in 21st or better. Although reigning champion Grady Kerst graduated, runner-up and now-junior Spencer Giroux, ninth-place sophomore Jonah Broberg, 10th-place junior Devin Tasson and 13th-place senior Kyle Pruett fill the top of this season’s lineup. Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer finished 12 points back last year and returns its top six runners who all finished among the top 16 at last year’s Final, led by fourth-place senior Isaiah Aili, fifth-place junior Devon Byers and eighth-place junior Uriah Aili. Ironwood finished a distant fourth last season but also has broken into the picture with an experienced group – junior Nick Niemi was fifth last season as his team brings back its top three and four of the top seven from that race.
Individuals: Total, seven of last season’s individual top 10 will race again this weekend – all seven are mentioned above. Led by Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer senior Tim Rowe, six who finished between 11-20 last season also are back including Newberry juniors Chase Canfield and Evan Griffis.
Division 3
Reigning champion: Chassell
2016 runner-up: Brimley
2017 top-ranked: 1. Chassell, 2. Munising, 3. Brimley.
Chassell also has won three straight titles and got past Brimley by 23 points to win last season’s championship. The Panthers bring back two of their top four, led by third-place finisher and now-junior Ben Tuomi. Brimley is fresh off a league title but also returns two of last year’s top four – with senior Austin Plotkin the individual favorite again after winning last year’s Final by 34 seconds. Munising was sixth in Division 2 last season but brings five of the top six runners from that race to this weekend’s finale.
Individuals: Cedarville sophomore Thomas Bohn came in fourth last season and only a second behind Tuomi. Stephenson senior Ethan Brown and Pickford senior Michael Satchell came in sixth and seventh, respectively, and only seven seconds back of Tuomi in third – meaning there could be a pretty tight pack chasing Plotkin, who won by 23 seconds.
PHOTOS: Houghton's Clayton Sayen (447) leads the pack during the Harger Invitational on Sept. 26 at Pictured Rocks Golf Club. Negaunee's Colton Yesney (591) is chasing and ended up winning the race. (Middle) Ishepming's Spencer Giroux came in fourth at the Harger. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)
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.)