Preview: Powers Prepared to Surge
October 19, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Marquette and Ishpeming have combined for 40 Upper Peninsula boys cross country championships over the years.
They’re predicted to add to that total this weekend.
The Redmen and Hematites are among teams that enter Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Boys Cross Country Finals top-ranked in their respective divisions. Chassell also is a favorite, running for its eight MHSAA championship in this sport.
Races at Pictured Rocks Golf Course in Munising begin Saturday with the Division 1 boys at 11 a.m. and finish with the Division 3 girls at 1:30 p.m. Check back Saturday evening for coverage, and see below for more teams and individuals to watch.
Division 1
Reigning champion: Houghton
2017 runner-up: Marquette
2018 top-ranked: 1. Marquette, 2. Houghton, 3. Gladstone.
Marquette has won the most U.P. Finals titles, 22, and is favored to win its first since 2014. The Redmen finished 15 points behind Houghton last season as they combined to take six of the top 10 team places – although five of those runners graduated this spring and the sixth isn’t running this weekend. The Redmen did win the Great Northern Conference meet last week with five of the top 10 finishers led by senior Mathurin Gagnon, who took 22nd at last season’s Final. Houghton finished second in the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference and returns senior Clayton Bulleit, who was 18th at last season’s Final, and junior Joe Wood was the individual West-PAC champ. Gladstone, led by individual favorite Adam Bruce, was second at the GNC taking the top two spots and three of the top six.
Individuals: Seven of the top 20 from last season’s Final are back this weekend, and Bruce recently won both the GNC and Mid-Peninsula Conference meet championships. Senior teammate Jake Strasler was eighth last season and should help keep the Braves in the team title hunt. Negaunee junior Eric Anderson also returns after finishing ninth, and Sault Ste. Marie brings back three top-20 finishers from a year ago – junior Kaaleb Ranta, sophomore Hunter Walther and senior Jakob Hopkins.
Division 2
Reigning champion: Gogebic (Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer)
2017 runner-up: Ishpeming
2018 top-ranked: 1. Ishpeming, 2. Gogebic, 3. Ironwood.
Last season’s Final was a two-team race with Gogebic and Ishpeming placing nine of the top 10 runners. Ishpeming’s top seven all placed among the top 17, and five of those runners return led by individual champion and now-senior Spencer Giroux, junior Jonah Broberg (fifth) and senior Devin Tasson (10th). Gogebic placed six among the top 14 a year ago, and four return including seniors Uriah Aili (third), Devon Byers (fourth) and Cade Mazzon (sixth). Ironwood is led by senior Nick Niemi, who came in eighth last season, and junior David Collins is returning after finishing 16th. Aili, Niemi and Giroux finished in that order in the top three spots and all within two seconds of each other at the Houghton Invitational on Oct. 4.
Individuals: The front pack should have a familiar look with 14 of last season’s top 20 running this weekend. In addition to the many listed above, watch for Ishpeming sophomores Jordan Longtine (12th last season) and Silas Broberg (17th), Gogebic junior Adam Mazurek (14th), Newberry sophomore Ephram Evans (15th) and senior Chase Canfield (19th) and Manistique junior Alex Misniakiewicz (20th).
Division 3
Reigning champion: Brimley
2017 runner-up: Chassell
2018 top-ranked: 1. Chassell, 2. Dollar Bay, 3. Rock Mid-Peninsula.
This was another two-team race last season – so much so that it came down to a sixth-runner tiebreaker. Chassell won three straight titles from 2014-16 and is expected to rise to the top spot again returning three of last season’s top 13 – seniors Ben Tuomi (third) and Kurtis Kytta (sixth) and freshman Daba Holmes (13th). Brimley was left out of the final rankings but returns three of the top 11 finishers – reigning individual champion and now-junior Austin Plotkin plus sophomore Cameron Hoonstra (eighth) and senior Hunter Lipponen (11th).
Individuals: Cedarville junior Thomas Bohn was the runner-up a year ago and also is back, meaning the top three from last season’s race all return as 10 of the top 16 are expected to run Saturday. Also look out for Powers North Central senior Griffin Johnson (ninth last year), Rudyard junior Payton Cheney (10th) and Rapid River junior Azariah Hernandez (16th).
PHOTO: Gladstone’s Adam Bruce, left, and Ishpeming’s Spencer Giroux lead the pack at the Mid-Peninsula Conference championship race Oct. 8. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)
Norder Leaves No Doubt with 1st Finals Win, Northville Breaks Away for Repeat
November 4, 2023
BROOKLYN — All that stood between Grand Haven’s Seth Norder and his cross country dreams last year were 1.63 lousy seconds.
That was the margin when Norder took second place in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final to then-senior Benne Anderson of Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills.
Looking back, Norder believed his mistake was allowing that race to come down to a sprint to the finish line.
He wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.
When Norder looked over his shoulder down the stretch, he didn’t see a serious threat as he put the finishing touches on an individual Division 1 championship Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. Norder finished in 14:54.3.
Norder was part of a three-runner lead pack at the mile mark, closely pursued by about a dozen other hopefuls. By the two-mile mark, Norder opened up a 4.7-second lead over New Baltimore Anchor Bay senior Thomas Westphal, who would go on to finish second by 3.6 seconds.
“Last year, I lost on a sprint-off with like 200 (meters) to go,” Norder said. “I wasn’t going to let that happen again. I believed I had the strength to pull away from the field. I guess I had the strength and ended up holding it down that stretch. That felt like forever.”
Norder finally has a championship on his resume after placing second both of the last two years. As a sophomore, he finished 23.5 seconds behind Hartland senior Riley Hough, who went on to win the Eastbay National Cross Country Championship.
“It feels so good,” Norder said. “Sophomore year — I lost to Riley, OK. Junior year, I wanted to win. I lost by a second. I decided I wasn’t going to lose again. If I was going to lose, it was not going to be a sprint-off. It was going to be the toughest man.”
Norder did have one MHSAA championship going into Saturday, having won the 3,200-meter run in 9:04.68 on the track last spring.
The team championship came down to a clash between Kensington Lakes Activities Association rivals Northville and Brighton, who split four meetings during the regular season.
Northville emerged with a second straight championship, scoring 128 points to edge Brighton by 13. Norder’s Grand Haven team was third with 187 points.
Northville had three all-staters, with senior Brendan Herger placing third in 15:05.6, junior Ethan Powell 13th in 15:28.0 and sophomore Benjamin Hartigan 24th in 15:37.7. Rounding out the Mustangs’ team score were junior Nick Barretto in 16:05.1 and senior Nicholas Yaquinto in 16:14.8.
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Haven's Seth Norder closes the MHSAA Finals with a Division 1 win Saturday. (Middle) Northville's Benjamin Hartigan (318) leads a pack down the stretch. (Photos by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)