Raymond's Race to Remember
November 12, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Over the past nine days, Nick Raymond has replayed his best high school cross country race over and over in his memory.
He starts from the beginning and goes right through the finish line – while enjoying especially his surge during the second of the 3.1-mile Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final on Nov. 3 at Michigan International Speedway.
“If I hadn't done that, it could’ve been a difference race,” Raymond admitted Monday.
Instead, it was one of the best Division 3 races run in MHSAA history.
The Erie Mason senior received a Second Half High 5 after claiming his school’s first overall individual championship in 15:05.1, the second-fastest Division 3/Class C Finals time behind only that of Ovid-Elsie’s Maverick Darling in 2007. Raymond's also was the second-fastest time run at the Finals this fall.
And it was a redeeming way to finish his high school cross country career. Raymond found himself at the front of the Division 3 pack as a junior in 2011, but finished fourth. But he started this race with a speedy 4:39 mile and then kicked into another gear halfway home, which was his strategy all along.
“I've just been doing that all year, and it seemed to be working time-wise,” Raymond said. “If I do it then, and I can pull away, it gets into (my opponents') minds that they could get beat.”
Erie Mason has a solid running tradition. It finished 16th as a team this fall and won Division 3 in 2006. Matthew Waldfogel took first among individual finishers in the 1994 Class C Final, when team and individual qualifiers ran separate races, although his time would've tied for only second if both had been run together.
Raymond’s final season puts him at the top of individuals who have come through the program.
He finished his freshman year as the team’s number two runner, and “just progressively got faster,” Erie Mason coach Alison Meisner said. By the end of last fall, Raymond had the school record with a best of 15:59, his time at MIS.
But the best was yet to come.
"He had lots of natural talent, but he has a really good worth ethic," Meisner said. "He's very goal-oriented. He's just a little more driven to work at goals he sets for himself."
When he opened this season at the Ottawa Lake Whiteford Invitational by running 15:59 again, Meisner knew her standout might show more than just the usual improvement that comes from going from junior to senior.
Raymond’s moment of realization came two weeks later when he ran a 15:26 at the New Boston Huron Invitational.
“I realized I could go much faster,” he said. “I was pretty tired, because it was the first time I ever went that fast. But whenever I get a p.r. (personal record), I feel like I could go faster.”
Raymond ran 15:16 a week later at the Oregon Cardinal Stritch Invitational near Toledo, and then 15:15 or better three times before cutting 10 more seconds at MIS.
Oddly enough, the subject of Darling – now a standout at the University of Wisconsin – came up after Raymond beat the field by more than a minute with a 15:15 at his Regional.
An opposing runner quipped that Raymond might have dominated, but he wasn't Darling just yet.
But he’s getting closer. And Raymond too hopes to continue running at the highest level next fall.
“They were dogging me that I wasn't as good as Maverick Darling was,” Raymond said. “But my friends said it was sweet that I was even mentioned in the same sentence as him.”
PHOTO: Erie Mason senior Nick Raymond charges down the home stretch on the way to winning the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship at Michigan International Speedway. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Marquette, Jeffers, Reigning D3 Champs Sweep UP Boys Titles
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 23, 2021
MARQUETTE — The Marquette boys team achieved a three-peat here in Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Division 1 Cross Country Finals, placing four in the top seven and scoring 32 points.
They were followed by Sault Ste. Marie with 48 and Houghton with 75.
“Marquette is probably the best team we’ve had up here in 20 years,” said Sault coach Jim Martin. “We knew they were going to be tough. We also had a real good team this year, probably our best team in a decade.”
Marquette junior Carson Vanderschaaf was crowned individual champion for the first time by covering the 3.1-mile course at Gentz’s Homestead Golf Course in Chocolay Township in 16 minutes, 45.1 seconds. He was followed by Houghton senior Eric Weiss (17:04) and Gladstone junior Drew Hughes (17:23.7) on a sunny and seasonably cool day.
“I wanted to stay up front and see what happened,” said Vanderschaaf. “My legs just felt good today.
“We have good team dynamics. We all train together. I don’t really know what this means at this time, but I’m looking forward to track next spring. This is a big confidence builder right now. It was real nice weather for running. I was afraid it would rain (as forecast by the Weather Channel).”
Hughes was undefeated this season prior to Saturday.
“I was really nervous coming in here, but I did better than last year,” he said. “Anxiety plays a big part. I cut 12 seconds off from my freshman year on this course. I still had a good day.”
Painesdale Jeffers placed four in the top five and earned its first Division 2 team title with 22 points, followed by Ironwood with 50 and Manistique at 62.
For the Jets, this marked their first title since 2009 when they were crowned Division 3 champs.
“We got some fast boys here today,” said Jeffers coach Sam Kilpela. “We moved up to D-2 and last year we were runners-up. It felt weird jumping up to D-2. The start was real fast, but the guys ran smart.
“We have a real young team, and our middle school crew is strong.”
Jeffers senior Simone Barp won a Finals for the first time at 18:30.1, followed by freshman teammates Benton Rajala (18:37.1) and Brit Heinonen (18:40.5). West Iron County senior Landon Sundelius (18:44) and Jeffers junior Tavin Larson (17:50.1) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
“Tavin has been running since middle school,” said Kilpela. “In the last couple years we started getting competitive.”
Dollar Bay kept its Division 3 crown with 57 points, followed by Stephenson with 63 and Brimley with 77.
“We have fun running on the tough courses,” said Dollar Bay coach Matt Zimmer. “Then you get on a golf course and you think it’s going to be an easy course and it really isn’t.
“The Copper Country conferences were well represented. Both of our teams ran very well. We have three girls who have been with us since junior high. We’ve become a family. There’s absolutely a lot of camaraderie, and it’s a family atmosphere.”
Ewen-Trout Creek senior Jonah Nordine retained his individual title at 17:15.7, followed by former teammate and Dollar Bay junior Nik Thomas (17:16.6) and Munising freshman Trevor Nolan (17:47.1).
“I’m pretty happy with my time,” said Nordine. “I really tried to push it in the first mile. I ran a little more conservatively in the second mile, then tried to pick it up in the third.
“This is a pretty big confidence builder, I guess. I was a little nervous coming in here because Nik beat me in the (Copper Mountain) conference race last week. That definitely motivated me for the U.P. Finals.”
Thomas was happy with his and the team’s success.
"I’m so proud of our team,” he said. “After the girls took second, it woke us up. We knew we had to do our part. It’s real competitive in our area. It’s just a great day for our school.
“It was so cool running with Jonah again. At 2½ miles, we were just talking about how great it was to be running together again. We weren’t really running against each other. We were running with each other.”
Click for full results: Division 1 | Division 2 | Division 3
PHOTOS (Top) Painesdale Jeffers’ Simone Barp leads a group of runners including Ironwood's Joey Lauzon (143), Hancock's Jan Baaslrud (138), and teammate Ben Gilroy (154) during the Division 2 Final. (Middle) Marquette's Carson Vanderschaaf celebrates finishing first in the Division 1 race at Gentz's Homestead Golf Course. (Below) Ewen-Trout Creek's Jonah Nordine (246) edges Dollar Bay's Nik Thomas at the finish line. (Photos by Cara Kamps. Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)