Repeat Winners Dominate Boys Finals

By John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com

October 23, 2016

FLAT ROCK — Early in Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Cross Country Finals, there was a feeling Negaunee junior Colton Yesney was about to break the 16-minute barrier for five kilometers at Beauchamp’s Grove.

He did just that by covering the 3.1 miles in a course-record 15 minutes, 49.8 seconds.

“This is amazing,” said the reigning Division 1 champ. “It just feels unreal. I needed to do this for our team. They’ve been good to me, and I just wanted to pay them back.”

The Negaunee boys retained their crown with 38 points, followed by Houghton with 56, Marquette 92, Sault Ste. Marie 96 and Calumet with 160.

“Colton ran an unbelievable race,” said Negaunee coach Lisa Bigalk. “I’m just amazed. Our goal for him was to break 16. It’s incredible how he can push himself when the guys aren’t with him.

“Our whole team was bound and determined to defend its title. We have four seniors who wanted to go out on top. It was nice to see them perform at their absolute best for two years.”

Yesney was clocked at 5:14 at the mile and 10:04 at two miles.

“I wasn’t thinking about time at that point (two miles) of the race,” said Yesney. “I just played it by ear. Then, people were yelling out my time as I was coming into the finish, and I just gave it everything I had. I run for my teammates. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be the runner I am.”

Marquette junior Garrett Rudden, who overcame a recent injury (pulled muscle above his hip), was runner-up at 16:25.9, followed by Houghton’s Clayton Sayen (16:27.4), Negaunee’s Thomas Ziegler (16:30.4) and Houghton’s Seth Helman (16:42.7).

Click for full results.

Division 2

Ishpeming earned its third consecutive Division 2 title with 29 points, followed by Gogebic with 41, Newberry 106, Ironwood 110 and Hancock at 136.

“We knew our boys were going to win,” said Pruett. “We knew Gogebic had a good team, but we went head-to-head with Negaunee (two-time reigning Division 1 champs) all year, which prepared us well for this meet.”

Ishpeming senior Grady Kerst gained his first D-2 title at 16:24.3, followed by sophomore teammate Spencer Giroux (16:35.4), Newberry senior Kindred Griffis (16:37.3), Gogebic’s Isaiah Aili (16:52.9) and Ironwood sophomore Nick Niemi (16:53).

“This is about the same time I ran here two weeks ago,” said Kerst, who was crowned D-3 champion while a student at Munising two years ago. “This is a little disappointing in a way because I was hoping to shave some time off. Although, this victory is more satisfying than the one two years ago because there was more competition this time. The kid from Newberry really helped me. He was with me at two miles, then I started picking it up. He’s a good runner. This is a real fast course and the perfect temperature for me.”

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Division 3

Chassell achieved a three-peat in Division 3 with 54 points, followed by Brimley with 77, Stephenson 81, Cedarville 126 and Powers North Central with 149.

“I’m very pleased with everyone’s effort today,” said Chassell coach Marco Guidotti. “I think the boys benefitted from strong senior leadership. They brought everything they had.

“There was such strong competition here today. We feel fortunate to have an opportunity to come here and compete.”

Brimley freshman Austin Plotkin won in 17:02, followed by Dollar Bay sophomore Brendan LeClaire (17:24.9), Chassell’s Ben Tuomi (17:36.1), Cedarville’s Thomas Bohn (17:38.5) and Chassell’s Hunter Rautiola (17:43.4).

“I try to go for long strides to conserve energy,” said Plotkin, the overall Eastern U.P. Conference champion. “I also try to keep my breathing slow. I got him (LeClaire) on the hill about ¾ mile into the race and gained some separation.

“When I started running last spring, I worked a lot on my form. It feels great to win, although I just do it for fun.”

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The MHSAA Cross Country Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.

PHOTOS: (Top) Negaunee’s Colton Yesney charges toward the finish in leading his team to the Division 1 championship. (Middle) Ishpeming’s Grady Kerst (185) leads the pack in the Division 2 race. (Below) Chassell poses with its Division 3 trophy after a third straight Finals win. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)

Carson City-Crystal Earns Finals Sweep

November 7, 2020

By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half

BROOKLYN – When Carson City-Crystal’s Coleman Clark crossed the finish line Saturday, he raised his arms over his head and belted out a loud scream.

He had plenty of reasons to celebrate.

The senior captured the Division 4 individual title at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Boys Cross Country Finals, beating out a loaded field in the second of two races in the division. He broke 16 minutes, finishing in 15:58.55.

And his Eagles also captured the school’s first boys cross country team title since 1994.

“My goal was to come in here and win it,” said Clark, who finished runner-up to Breckenridge’s Mason Sumner a year ago. “And to have my team win as well, this is awesome.”

Clark said his strategy was to take an early lead and keep it. That’s what he did.

“Throughout the race, it could have been anybody’s. But once I got to the stretch, I knew I was going to win it,” he said. “This is the strongest front pack we’ve had in a long time. There were a lot of top runners up there. I’m friends with a lot of them. I race them all the time. 

And to break 16. It feels great, amazing.”

Saugatuck junior Max Sharnas finished runner-up in a time of 16:06.51. Sumner finished third (16:31.27), while Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart senior Matthew Nowak finished fourth and Petoskey St. Michael Academy junior Samuel Paga fifth overall. 

As a team, Carson City-Crystal was solid one through five. Junior Ashton Keiffer finished 25th overall, earning all-state honors after running a time of 17:38.74. Also scoring for the Eagles were sophomore Brayden Clark and seniors Jared Shepler and Calvin Clark.

“In past years, we haven’t had a super, great team,” Clark said. “This year, we’ve got the most amazing, talented group of guys I’ve ever raced with. I knew that we could pull off a state title if we worked hard.”

Head coach Grant Woodman knew a championship would not come easy. But when he learned his team had accomplished the feat, he was more than fired up.

“It’s pretty freaking awesome,” the coach said, still somewhat in disbelief. “Our history at the school is pretty steeped with tradition, so to bring a state title back is pretty cool. 

“We knew it was going to be a fight from the beginning. Saugatuck, Breckenridge and Webberville, we’ve been fighting back and forth with those teams all season. Breckenridge is in our league, and we’ve been keeping an eye on Saugatuck on the other side of the state. They are a powerhouse every year. 

Carson City-Crystal’s last Finals team title came back in 1994, the same year the school last produced an individual state champion (Justin Curry). 

Breckenridge finished runner-up, led by Sumner’s third place. Also earning all-state honors for the Huskies were junior Trent Carter (8th place) and Colttion Vine (20th place).

Concord was third overall, followed by Kalamazoo Christian and Saugatuck in the top five. 

Click for full results.

PHOTOS: (Top) Carson City-Crystal’s Coleman Clark digs for the final paces of his Division 3 Finals heat with Saugatuck’s Max Sharnas just behind. (Middle) Ashton Keiffer was the second Eagles runner to cross Saturday. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)