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.)
Marquette, Jeffers Repeat While Stephenson Earns 1st Title Since 2012
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 22, 2022
FLAT ROCK — It seemed very little, if anything was going to separate the Marquette boys from their fourth straight Upper Peninsula Division 1 cross country title here Saturday.
Despite missing a couple of its top runners, Marquette placed five among the top nine and scored 29 points. They were followed by Sault Ste. Marie with 83 and Houghton at 97.
“The guys push one another and Brady Ketzenberger had a great race,” said Marquette coach Derek Marr. “This envisions the concept of being a team. It’s awesome to see how both teams support each other.”
Sault Ste. Marie freshman Gabe Litzner recorded the day’s fastest time, covering the 3.1-mile course in 16 minutes, 41.55 seconds on a sunny and mild day on the Richer farm property, home of the Farmhouse cross country course, near Gladstone. He was followed by Gladstone senior Drew Hughes (16:48.83) and Ketzenberger (16:58.61), also a senior.
“I tried to lay back for two miles, then I tried to reel people after that,” said Litzner, who made his move approximately 400 meters after the two-mile mark. “At that point I felt real good and thought to myself, ‘I have a chance to win this.’ I ran a 16:30 at Rudyard (on Oct. 15) which gave me a lot of confidence. Our team also did real well. I think this will motivate us.”
This marked the first time Hughes broke 17 minutes in a U.P. Final.
“I’m happy with the way everything went,” he said. “I’m glad I got into the 16s. It has been fun running with everybody. I’m happy with how my four years of high school cross country have gone. I set a lot of goals and achieved nearly all of them.”
Freshman Peter Argeropoulous was fourth for Marquette, with sophomore Chase Thomsen sixth, senior Colin VanderSchaaf seventh and junior Cullen Papin ninth.
Division 2
Painesdale Jeffers grabbed the top three places and retained its Division 2 title with 27 points, followed by Ishpeming with 70 and Ironwood with 78.
“We came in with a real solid game plan and were as ready as we could be,” said Jeffers coach Sam Kilpela. “We really worked on pace in practice and came through exactly where we should be.
“Going 1-2-3 was unexpected. Brit (Heinonen) had a real bad cramp halfway through the race, but still ran a solid race. This was just a rewarding day. The guys are talented. They work together.”
Senior Tavin Larson was crowned champion for the first time in 17:43.83. He was followed by freshmen Landon Larson (17:44.4) and Cameron Anderson (17:53.34).
“This was my best race of the year,” said Tavin. “Once I got into first place (after the first mile), I tried to hold off my brother. Our top four runners always run as a pack, and we’re always within 30 seconds of each other. Our top runner from last year missed this season with a broken leg, but we have two freshmen who are fast. We have a lot of good middle school runners coming up. The future looks bright.”
Ironwood coach Ben Schmandt said he was pleased with his team’s effort.
“We kind of finished where we expected,” he added. “The guys left it all on the course. They worked hard all year long and had a nice finish. We’ll keep working at it. We’ll miss our seniors. Hopefully, we’ll keep working hard and stay in competitive mode.
Division 3
Stephenson captured the Division 3 crown with its first Finals title since finishing a streak of three straight in Division 2 in 2012. The Eagles were Division 3 runners-up last season.
The Eagles scored 77 points and Engadine edged Republic-Michigamme 86-89 for its first runner-up trophy.
“We ran a lot of races with Munising, and they really pushed our boys,” said Eagles coach Kate Kuntze. “I’m really proud of our boys. They performed on a day we really needed them to. In D-3 there’s so many schools without full teams. We couldn’t settle for passing just one runner. The weather was perfect and the boys came in with a good mindset.”
Dollar Bay senior Amos Norland was the top individual finisher in a school-record 16:44.18, followed by Pickford’s Hayden Hagen (18:00.14) and Munising sophomore Trevor Nolan (18:04.1).
“Getting a lot of sleep and eating healthy were keys in the last two days,” said Norland. “I did 1-K repeats in practice and tried to keep a steady pace today. I got the school record by 21 seconds, which was unexpected for sure. I knew I had a chance, but I thought I’d get it by just a couple seconds.”
Seniors Griffin Brown in fourth and Jacob Ross in ninth set the pace for Stephenson.
PHOTOS (Top) Gladstone's Drew Hughes (27), Marquette's Carson VanderSchaaf (78), Gladstone's Aaron Hughes (26), Sault Ste. Marie's Gabe Litzner (117) and Cody Aldridge (112), and Negaunee's Judge Anderson (98) lead the start of Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final. (2) Litzner crosses the finish line first in the D1 race. (3) Painesdale Jeffers’ Tavin Larson (186) wins Division 2 with freshman brother Landon Larson (185) a close second. (4) Stephenson's Griffin Brown races to a fourth-place finish in Division 3. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)