Questions Answered for D1 Winner
November 2, 2013
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
BROOKLYN — It's been a year of "what-ifs" for Grand Blanc junior Grant Fisher.
What if the Bobcats' soccer team hadn't made the MHSAA Division 1 Final last season?
What if Fisher, a starting midfielder as a sophomore, hadn't chosen to play in the championship game instead of running in the MHSAA Cross Country Finals, which took place on the same day?
How would he have done against the best runners in the state?
"The soccer final didn't turn out the way we wanted," Fisher said. "We lost 1-0 to East Kentwood. There's always the thought that maybe I could've come here that day and not gone to the soccer game and maybe contended for state. I don't regret that decision, but it's definitely good to be back."
There will be no questions swirling in Fisher's head for the next year. He ran to the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship Saturday with a time of 15:13.7, beating Kensington Lakes Activities Association West rival and defending champion Brian Kettle of Milford by 18 seconds.
The soccer issue was settled when an unbeaten Grand Blanc team was upset 1-0 in the District Final by Clarkston on Oct. 19. Fisher had already determined that he would run in the cross country finals if the Bobcats reached the soccer final.
"We definitely had a good chance to make it in soccer," Fisher said. "We were ranked fourth going in. It was really too bad of a way to go out. It's allowed me to train for cross more and focus. It's definitely helped my cross country. I haven't won a state title in cross. That's something I really wanted to do."
Fisher already had an MHSAA championship on his resume, winning the 3,200-meter run in track and field last spring after taking second in the 1,600 by the narrowest of margins. In his only cross country final before Saturday, Fisher was 44th as a freshman in 16:14.3.
He had raced Kettle one other time this season, winning by 14.6 seconds in the KLAA Lakes Conference meet on Oct. 17. As was the case in that meet, Fisher and Kettle ran together through two miles before Fisher pulled away.
"I didn't want to leave it for too late, so I made my move at two miles," Fisher said. "Brian was with me for a good amount of time. He was right on my shoulder."
Fisher became the third Bobcat to win an MHSAA championship. Mark Mesler was the Class A team champion in 1977 and Chris Catton was the 2002 Division 1 winner.
Kettle didn't come away empty-handed, as he led Milford to a third straight team championship by placing in the top two for the third year in a row.
Milford edged KLAA Lakes rival Waterford Mott, 165-170, for the title. Mott had beaten Milford in both of the teams' meetings this year, winning 88-114 at the Oakland County Championships on Oct. 5 and 63-72 in the KLAA Lakes Conference meet on Oct. 17.
Milford put it together at the right time to win a fifth championship in the last 11 years.
The difference for the Mavericks was at the No. 4 spot, where senior Kevin Black had a 24-point advantage on Mott's No. 4 runner. Three positions were relatively even between the teams, while Mott had an 18-point advantage at No. 2.
Scoring for Milford were Kettle, senior Jeffery Field (28th in the team race, 16:24.0), junior Sean Noone (31st, 16:25.2), Black (34th, 16:26.6) and senior Clinton Caddell (70th, 16:48.5).
Mott had two runners in the top 10 in the team race, third-place Ryan Robinson (15:42.6) and 10th-place Sam Albaugh (15:55.5).
Traverse City Central also was in the title hunt, taking third with 180 points. The Trojans had three runners in the top 11 in the team race, but their No. 5 runner was 118th.
PHOTO: Grand Blanc's Grant Fisher (1023), Waterford Mott's Ryan Robinson (1175), Royal Oak's Ben Hill (1254) and Milford's Brian Kettle (1047) paced the field at Saturday's LP Division 1 Final. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Potter's House Sweeps Top 3 Places, LPD4 Team & Individual Titles
November 5, 2022
BROOKLYN – This year, it wasn’t just about individual glory for Lezawe Osterink.
As soon as Osterink crossed the finish line after winning his second MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 cross country championship Saturday, his thoughts turned to his Wyoming Potter’s House Christian teammates who were still on the course.
He didn’t have to wait long for his friends to join the postrace party.
Potter’s House became the first boys team to sweep the first three places in an MHSAA Final since the meet moved to Michigan International Speedway in 1996. The Pumas’ fourth and fifth runners weren’t too much farther back, giving Potter’s House a Division 4-record winning score of 35 points.
“Last year, we weren’t as good as this,” Osterink said. “It was more of an individual focus. This year, we can really win it and hopefully get that record. It was exciting. I love training with them.”
Osterink dominated the field, winning by 24.01 seconds in 15:36.84. Although he was running solo up front, he was aware of what was taking place behind him.
“I could hear them,” he said. “Our coach got around to almost all the spots. He was updating me on how they were doing.
“That’s just sweet. I don’t think any team in the state can do that right now. It’s cool to get 1-2-3 and the other guys following.”
The Pumas’ score is the third-lowest for a boys team at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula championships since 1956. The only lower scores both took place in 2006 when Pinckney won Division 1 with 27 points and Dexter won Division 2 with 28.
It was the first MHSAA cross country championship for the Pumas, who were 11th in 2020 and 12th last season. Potter’s House hadn’t qualified for the Finals before 2020.
Senior Logan Swiney was second in 16:00.85, and junior Jackson Rodriguez was third in 16:07.23 to complete the Pumas’ 1-2-3 sweep. Completing the team score were junior Ian Palacio, who was 11th overall and seventh in the team race in 16:42.91; and junior Noah Finton, who was 30th overall and 22nd in the team race in 17:18.00. All five scoring runners made all-state.
“It’s weird, because we’ve been thinking about it for so long,” Swiney said. “Ever since our first meet, we knew we could do it. It’s constantly putting in the work, and it worked out.”
Training with a Finals championship-caliber team brought out the best in all of the Pumas’ runners.
“In workouts, to have someone around your skill level, it does a lot,” Rodriguez said. “We push each other every day in practice. In races, you can push each other there, too.”
Johannesburg-Lewiston finished second with 101 points, while Petoskey St. Michael was third with 153.
PHOTOS (Top) Wyoming Potter’s House Christian’s Lezawe Osterink crosses the finish line first in the LPD4 Final on Saturday at MIS. (Middle) Teammates Logan Swiney (1949) and Jackson Rodriguez follow down the closing stretch as the Pumas swept the top three places. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)