Preview: Favorites Poised to Blaze Paths
November 2, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
If the projections are correct, two Michigan high school boys cross country teams will be celebrating MHSAA championships for the first time this weekend.
Chelsea and Hanover-Horton are the top-ranked teams in their divisions, and both are seeking to win Finals titles for the first time. Four more boys teams ranked among the top three in their respective divisions also could contend for their first championships in this sport at Saturday's championship races.
A total of 989 runners will take to the course at Michigan International Speedway, with the first boys race at 10:50 a.m. – the girls start the day with their Division 4 at 9:30. Below are some of the teams to watch and a glance at each of the individual fields. Click for all Finals qualifiers, a map of the course and links to buy tickets and watch the Finish Line camera on MHSAA.tv, and come back to Second Half later Saturday for coverage of all four meets.
Division 1
Reigning champion: White Lake Lakeland
2016 runner-up: Saline
2017 top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2. Plymouth, 3. Romeo.
A yearly contender especially during the 1990s, Ann Arbor Pioneer is expected to claim its first MHSAA championship since 2008 after finishing fifth a year ago. The Pioneers have five of their top six back from last year’s Final and placed five of the top six and six of the top nine to take last week’s Regional, which also included No. 5 Saline. Neither Plymouth nor Romeo made the MHSAA Finals as teams last year; combined they sent three individual qualifiers. Senior Ethan Byrnes and sophomore Carter Solomon finished 10th and 18th, respectively, in 2016 for Plymouth, while Romeo sophomore Jack Wilson was 37th and returns to lead a team challenge. Romeo won its Regional last week ahead of honorable mention Clarkston, while Plymouth won its Regional putting six runners among the top nine as well to finish ahead of No. 11 Novi and No. 15 Salem. Neither Plymouth nor Romeo has won an MHSAA title in this sport. And don’t forget about last year’s contenders: Lakeland and Saline could figure into the mix again too, coming in ranked Nos. 4 and 5, respectively.
Individuals: Last year’s champion and runner-up graduated, leaving White Lake Lakeland junior Harrison Grzymkowski the highest returning finisher after coming in third. Ann Arbor Skyline junior Tristan Williams was eighth last year, followed by Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern now-senior Abdi Ahmed and Byrnes. Pioneer’s Nick Foster, Ahmed and Rockford’s Cole Johnson have the fourth, fifth and sixth-fastest times in the state this season, respectively. Johnson finished ahead of Ahmed at their Regional and was third at the 2015 Final. Other Regional champions last week were Foster, Grzymkowski, Alpena junior Aden Smith, Holland junior Sam Martens, Ann Arbor Skyline senior Anthony Giannobile, Novi senior Gabriel Mudel (ahead of Solomon and Byrnes), Birmingham Seaholm junior George Nummer and Rochester Hills Stoney Creek senior Harrison Steen.
Division 2
Reigning champion: Corunna
2016 runner-up: Fremont
2017 top-ranked: 1. Chelsea, 2. Corunna, 3. Lansing Catholic.
Chelsea has never won an MHSAA boys cross country championship but finished ninth last year with only one senior. Five of last year’s seven runners will return to MIS coming off a Regional title that saw five place among the top nine as the team finished ahead of No. 13 Dearborn Divine Child. Corunna graduated last season’s champion Noah Jacobs, but junior Ben Jacobs (Noah’s brother) came in eighth in 2016 and is one of four back from that winning team. The Cavaliers won their Regional last week with Jacobs the individual champion and three more teammates among the top eight against a field including No. 8 Flint Powers Catholic. Lansing Catholic was runner-up in Division 3 last season and moves into Division 2 this weekend paced by its top four from the 2016 Final and five of its top six off that team. The Cougars placed five runners between fifth and 12th in winning a Regional that included No. 11 St. Johns and honorable mention Haslett.
Individuals: Coldwater senior Shuaib Aljabaly and Otsego junior Alex Comerford have the fastest boys times in the state this season, both breaking 15 minutes at the Otsego Invitational on Sept. 30. They finished third and ninth, respectively, at last season’s Final, and Aljabaly is unbeaten this fall. The third fastest time statewide belongs to Fremont senior Ben Schmidt, who is coming off a 10th-place Finals finish a year ago. Joining those three and Jacobs from the top 10 are St. Johns senior Dillan Haviland (seventh) and Grosse Ile junior James Gedris (fifth). Schmidt, Aljabaly, Comerford, Haviland and Gedris joined Jacobs as Regional champs last week, as did St. Clair senior Brendan Parr, Linden sophomore Tyler Buchanan and Fruitport senior Cameron Oleen.
Division 3
Reigning champion: Saugatuck
2016 runner-up: Lansing Catholic
2017 top-ranked: 1. Hanover-Horton, 2. Caro, 3. Hart.
Hanover-Horton is predicted to take the jump from third last year to win its first championship in this sport with a lineup returning six of seven runners to MIS including 2016 sixth-place finisher Landon Melling. Now a senior, Melling won last week’s Regional followed by senior teammate Bo Shepherd as the Comets placed six of the top 12 individuals. Caro is paced by reigning individual champion Yami Albrecht, who led the Tigers to a fifth-place team finish at last year’s Final. He’s joined by three more returnees off that team, and he also won his Regional last week as Caro placed three of the top five while fending off No. 8 Shepherd and No. 13 Montrose. Hart didn’t make the Finals last year as a team, but now-sophomore Hunter Tubbs raced as an individual qualifier. He and his teammates put five among the top 20 to win their Regional ahead of No. 9 Clare, and they also come into this weekend seeking their program’s first MHSAA title.
Individuals: Junior Corey Gorgas is one of two returnees for reigning champion Saugatuck, which as a team is ranked No. 4. He finished fourth individually a year ago in leading the title effort, but actually finished second at last week’s Regional to freshman teammate Nik Pettinga. Holland Black River senior Joshua Fink joins Gorgas, Albrecht and Melling as returnees from the top 10 after coming in 10th in 2016. Harbor Spring junior Jeremy Kloss, the Division 4 Final runner-up last season whose team is now in Division 3, also was a Regional champion last week as were Clare junior David Good, Kent City senior Fraser Wilson, Ithaca junior Ransom Allen, Bad Axe junior David Knarian and Blissfield senior Casey Reed – Wilson in a field including Fink.
Division 4
Reigning champion: Pewamo-Westphalia
2016 runner-up: Harbor Springs
2017 top-ranked: 1. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, 2. Potterville, 3. Battle Creek St. Philip.
Pewamo-Westphalia and Harbor Springs both moved to Division 3 this school year, and Sacred Heart could join with its girls team for a Division 4 sweep after the boys finished 10th last season with only one senior. All five placers from 2016 are in the lineup again after the Irish placed six of the top 16 to win a Regional that included No. 8 Beal City and No. 13 Carson City-Crystal. Sacred Heart is running for its first MHSAA title since 1977. Potterville is seeking its first team title since claiming back-to-back in 2007 and 2008, and after placing 12th a year ago. Four of the top five are back from that team, and they placed five among the top 18 to win a Regional that included No. 5 Plymouth Christian Academy and No. 14 Dansville. St. Philip is seeking its first MHSAA title in this sport, having finished runner-up in 1969. The Tigers were 18th last year bringing three freshmen to MIS. All three are back along with two others from that lineup, and they followed senior Kenny Wojcik to a Regional win last week as he came in first and five more finished among the top 15.
Individuals: Even with Kloss running in Division 3 this weekend, four more from last year’s top 10 are back for this race led by Cass City senior and reigning champion CarLee Stimpfel. He’s joined by Ubly senior Alex Grifka (fifth), Bear Lake/Onekama senior Gary McBride (eighth) and Lansing Christian senior Davis Tebben (10th). Expect to see plenty of new names fill out the top of this year’s list. Stimpfel did win his Regional ahead of Grifka last week. But others to watch are Fairview senior Tylor Ross, Walkerville sophomore Shane Achterhof, Whittemore-Prescott senior Zane Aldrich, Bridgman senior Drew Dow, Plymouth Christian junior Luke Pohl, Sand Creek senior Travis Carson and Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest sophomore Ethan Rice. All won Regional titles last week, Achterhof ahead of McBride.
PHOTO: Coldwater’s Shuaib Aljabaly (center), holds off Novi’s Gabriel Mudel (left) and Chelsea’s Tom Oates to win the Spartan Invitational “elite” race on Sept. 15. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
3-Sport Standout Back as Airport Coach
September 9, 2020
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
CARLETON – Dakota Bostic started his high school cross country career because he wanted to get into shape for his freshman year of basketball for Carleton Airport High School.
A decade later, Bostic is about to launch his coaching career as the varsity cross country coach for the Jets.
“Cross country teaches you a lot,” said Bostic, 22. “It’s a tough sport. There’s no one to battle but yourself. There’s plenty to learn from the sport. I didn’t learn it until I looked back a bit. When you stop, you kind of realize what you put yourself through. It makes you mentally tough.”
Bostic was a three-sport athlete at Airport before graduating in 2015. He ran varsity cross country for all four years, was moved up to the Jets varsity basketball team as a freshman and played baseball four years.
“I think sports are an integral part of a person’s school experience,” he said.
Bostic played basketball for four years at Concordia University in Ann Arbor, going from a little-used freshman to starting his junior and senior seasons. He was also an outstanding student at Concordia, being named the Justice and Public Policy Student of the year in 2019 and graduating with a bachelor’s degree. The award came in part because of his work on a class project that involved investigating a 2013 cold case murder of a mother of two from Taylor. He was named to the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference All-Academic Team multiple times, maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.25.
Airport athletic director Tim Duffy said when he heard Bostic was available this fall to be a coach, he called him up. He at first thought Bostic might be interested in being an assistant with the cross country team. But after talking to him, Duffy thought he would be a candidate for head coach.
“He was a very well-rounded athlete here,” Duffy said. “I can’t tell you how many times I saw him run or ride his bike to and from school to get into the gym. Everything he does, he puts everything he’s got into it. Everybody you talk to here speaks highly of him.”
After Bostic was hired, he had to go through the MHSAA certifications and complete a lot of paperwork to be eligible to coach.
“The morning after he was hired, he was in my office trying to figure out everything he had to do,” Duffy said. “He knocked it all out within a week. And, he did it all while juggling a job. That’s the type of kid he is.”
Bostic has enjoyed his first few weeks coaching the Jets runners.
“The kids have been great,” he said. “My little brother just graduated from Airport, so some of them know me. They are a receptive group. They all want to get better. They are learning what it takes.”
While basketball was his favorite sport in high school, cross country holds a special place in Bostic’s heart. Now, he gets to pass that on to a new group of student athletes.
“In any sport, there is something you can do to get better every day,” Bostic said.
Bostic grew up about three miles from Airport High School and remembers attending Jets sporting events from a young age.
“I remember looking up to the older guys, watching them play basketball and football,” he said.
He exceled in basketball, earning some looks from colleges while being an all-region player in Monroe County.
“I always knew I wanted to play basketball in college,” he said. “It was a process once I got there. I had to adjust. My freshman and sophomore seasons, I didn’t play very much. I had to make my name in practice.
“By my junior year I started playing a little bit, then I got to start a game and stayed there from then on. It carried over into my senior year. In four years of playing basketball, I learned there are plenty of aches and pains.”
After Concordia, Bostic joined the Marines. He was in officer school when a back injury forced him to be honorably discharged. When Duffy found out Bostic had returned to the Airport area, he jumped at the chance to add Bostic to his coaching lineup.
“He’s a great guy, and we are happy to have him coaching with us,” Duffy said. “He’s a great pick-up for us.”
Bostic said his message to his cross country athletes will be to treat every practice and every meet as if it might be their last.
“Given the current situation of the world, I’ll try and remind them that no opportunity is guaranteed,” Bostic said. “You owe it to yourself and the kids who aren’t getting to participate to go out and not take it for granted.”
Bostic coming home to coach Airport is not necessarily what he previously pictured doing at this point in his life, but he’s happy to be doing it.
As Bostic said, "I hope to always be a Jet.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Dakota Bostic this fall is beginning his first season as Carlton Airport’s cross country coach. (Middle) Bostic makes his move toward the plate while pitching for Airport. (Below) Bostic lines up to shoot a free throw while playing at Concordia-Ann Arbor. (Top and middle photos courtesy of Monroe News; below photo courtesy of Concordia-Ann Arbor.)