Saugatuck Wins Despite Concord Repeat
November 2, 2013
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
BROOKLYN — Jesse Hersha had just crossed the finish line with his second MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 cross country championship, but he wasn't thinking about himself.
As soon as the Concord junior finished the 3.1-mile course Saturday at Michigan International Speedway, he turned around and watched the race unfold behind him.
Of particular interest were the purple and gold jerseys of his Concord teammates, who were engaged in personal battles that would determine whether or not the Yellowjackets would win a third straight team championship.
Trying to do the math with so many bodies sprinting to the line proved to be too difficult, as did the challenge of securing a three-peat. Concord had to settle for a third-place finish with 134 points, marking the sixth straight year it finished in the top six.
"I wasn't focused on my race so much as I was focused on my team's race," Hersha said. "We didn't do as well as we would've hoped, but it happens."
It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Hersha would win a second straight championship, but stranger things have happened at MIS. He dominated the field as expected, posting a time of 15:49.2 on a muddy course to win by a whopping 44.8 seconds over East Jordan senior Josh Wojan.
"It felt a lot different, because this year you knew as well as I did that I had a really good chance of winning it," Hersha said. "I'd beaten almost everyone there except (Evart's David) Zinger last year, but I still had that doubt. This year, I didn't have that doubt at all."
Hersha took off hard and didn't give anyone a chance to get into the race. Pushing himself when nobody else was around to assist was the most difficult part for Hersha.
"It's tough, but you've got to think to yourself, 'I've got to get going,'" he said. "I could jog the last 100 meters and maybe still win, but you've got to keep pushing yourself, even if no one else is pushing you."
For someone accustomed to winning easily, Hersha said his most memorable race this season was the only one he didn't win. He ran with the larger schools at the Spartan Invitational (at Michigan State University) on Sept. 13, taking third in a personal-best 15:31. He won his other 13 races this year.
"That was fun," he said. "By the time I got to the second mile, guys were catching up with me and passing me. It was a lot different."
Dethroning Concord as Division 4 champion was Saugatuck, which scored 113 points to edge Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart by eight.
The difference, as it often does, came down to the fifth and final scoring runner. Saugatuck junior Joe Brown was 40th among team runners in 17:52.2, 17 places ahead of Sacred Heart sophomore Sam Neyer (18:07.4).
Junior Jacob Pettinga led Saugatuck, placing third overall in 16:36.9. Senior Clayton Springer was seventh among team runners (16:53.7), freshman Nick Butch was third (17:27.0) and freshman Zachary Pettinga was 38th (17:48.1).
Only three Saugatuck runners had ever competed in the MHSAA meet, with three freshmen in the varsity seven. The team's best finishes ever were fourth-place showings in 2006, 2007 and 2012. Saugatuck had never qualified for the MHSAA Finals until 2001, but has now made it eight of the last 13 years.
PHOTO: Concord's Jesse Hersha extends his lead on the way to his second straight MHSAA championship. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Hersha Paces D4 Field for 3rd, Final Time
November 1, 2014
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
BROOKLYN — Jesse Hersha is the best small-school runner in Michigan, but he's got big-time talent.
Everybody else in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 cross country meet Saturday was running for second place, as exemplified by Santana Scott's reaction when he finished as runner-up to Hersha at Michigan International Speedway.
Spotting Evart teammate Josh Woods in the finish area, Scott thrust his arms in the air and ran in his direction.
"Josh! I got second!" a delirious Scott screamed.
Hersha ran away with his third straight individual title, posting a time of 15:23.0 to narrowly miss the LP Division 4 record and win by 31.7 seconds over Scott.
Scott shattered his personal best with a time of 15:54.7.
Asked if the field was racing for second place, Scott said: "That's what I was feeling like. I didn't think I'd be able to catch him."
Hersha became only the third boy to win three championships since team and individual qualifiers began running in the same race in 1996, the first year for the LP Finals at MIS. Benzie Central's Jake Flynn won Class C from 1997-99 and Maverick Darling of Ovid-Elsie won Division 3 from 2005-07.
Four others who ran when there were separate team and individual races had the fastest time at the MHSAA Finals three times.
"When I won it my sophomore year, the first thing I thought was, 'All right, I've got to go through and do it,'" Hersha said. "It really didn't feel real until now that I'm a three-time state champion."
Hersha would be a threat to win or place high in any division in the state.
He ran his personal best of 15:07 on Sept. 12 at the Spartan Invitational, taking second to Royal Oak's Ben Hill in an elite field stacked with some of the best Division 1 runners in Michigan. He finished ahead of Waterford Mott's Ryan Robinson, who was 21st in last year's Foot Locker national meet.
"It's nice to be able to look at the state meet as low-pressure, because I feel I can win every time," said Hersha, whose next race will be the Foot Locker Midwest Regionals on Nov. 29 in Kenosha, Wis. "Obviously, if something goes wrong, I won't win. I'd honestly rather race the bigger guys, even if I don't win the race."
The only thing that didn't complete Hersha's final season at Concord was that the team didn't win its third championship in his four-year career, taking fourth with 123 points.
Fourth-ranked Beal City pulled the upset, edging top-ranked Saugatuck by four points with 105.
Senior Nick Pung was third in 16:19.3 and junior Ethan Schafer seventh in 16:33.9 to lead Beal City, which was in the MHSAA Final for only the third time. Last year's seventh-place finish was the team's best showing in a Final before Saturday.
PHOTOS: (Top) Concord's Jesse Hersha kicks down the stretch on the way to winning his third LP Division 4 individual championship. (Below) Beal City senior Nick Pung finished third individually to lead the Aggies to their first MHSAA team cross country championship. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)