Sault, Ishpeming, Chassell Boys Set Pace
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2018
MUNISING — The Sault Ste. Marie boys made a statement in the wind and cold Saturday, earning their first Upper Peninsula Division 1 cross country championship in six years with 42 points.
Sault, which placed five in the top 14, was followed by reigning champ Houghton with 65, Gladstone 70 and Marquette with 71 points.
“This is the first time all seven of our boys ran together all year,” said Sault coach Jim Martin. “We’ve been banged up all year, but the kids never stopped believing. The parents were very supportive, and the kids were great to work with. They never complained. We knew Marquette would be tough, and Houghton really came on late in the season.”
Gladstone senior Adam Bruce won the 3.1-mile race in 17 minutes, 5.6 seconds at Pictured Rocks Golf Club. He was followed by Houghton junior Joe Wood (17:35.1), Gladstone senior Jake Strasler (17:40.1), Sault junior Kaaleb Ranta (17:47.8) and Gladstone freshman Giovanni Mathews (17:48).
“My time wasn’t the greatest, but I’m happy with it,” said Bruce. “I’m proud of the way our team ran. If Marquette hadn’t pushed us all year, this wouldn’t have happened. We have a lot of work to do, but we’re pleased. I think this will give us awesome motivation for track.”
Division 2
Ishpeming completed its first perfect season in school history, taking its fourth title in five years with 32 points. The Hematites were followed by defending champ Gogebic at 47 and Newberry with 70.
“The guys were pretty motivated,” said Ishpeming coach P.J. Pruett. “When one made a mistake, another picked it up. We’ve been doing two meets a week for six weeks. The kids were pretty tired, but they still picked it up.
“We never had any injuries this year. We’re 10 deep and went back and forth all week about who would run today.”
Gogebic senior Uriah Aili earned his first Finals title with the day’s fastest time (17:02.5). He was followed by classmate Devon Byers (17:16) during a snow squall off Lake Superior.
“Devon and I were going to run together and see what happened, and we started pulling away at about 1 1/2 miles,” said Aili. “(Ishpeming) really did good. We had the numbers, but they were just a little better overall.
“It’s awesome to go out this way (as a U.P. champion), and running with my teammates was even better.”
Ishpeming grabbed the next three spots, with senior and last year’s champion Spencer Giroux taking third (17:33.9). He was followed by junior Jonah Broberg (18:00.4) and sophomore Jordan Longtine (18:06.4).
Division 3
Chassell took five of the top 13 places and claimed the D-3 title for the fourth time in five years with 41 points, followed by 2017 champion Brimley with 54 and Rudyard with 72.
“We anticipated a close race, and our guys wanted to regain the title,” said Chassell coach Marco Guidotti. “All our guys did their best to take the places we needed, and we had some youth really step up.”
Brimley senior Austin Plotkin retained his title in 17:23.5, followed by Cedarville junior Thomas Bohn (17:29.5), Brimley sophomore Cameron Hoornstra (17:46.2), Chassell senior Ben Tuomi (17:55.4) and Dollar Bay’s Davin Hill (18:04.3).
“It was quite windy and cold,” said Plotkin. “After the first loop we could feel a lot of heat from the sun (during its brief appearance), but my kneecaps went numb.
“Thomas ran with me most of the way. I was waiting for the wind to be on our back, and that momentum carried me into the home stretch.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Gogebic's Uriah Aili (217) leads the Division 2 pack Saturday with Ishpeming's Spencer Giroux (161) and their teammates Devon Byers (219) and Jonah Broberg (159) following close behind. (Middle) Gladstone's Adam Bruce heads down the home stretch on the way to finishing first in Division 1. (Below) Chassell placed five of the top 13 in Division 3; here Ben Tuomi (258), Kurtis Kytta (255), Gabe Torola (257), Kolson Kytta (254), Abraham Gockenbach (252) and Elijah Soumis (256) break out of the start together. (Photos by Cara Kamps. Click for more at RunMichigan.com.)
New Champions Reign at UP Boys Finals
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2017
MUNISING — The Gogebic and Brimley boys had never been crowned Upper Peninsula cross country champions before Saturday, and Houghton won for the first time in six years.
Houghton led the Division 1 standings with 39 points. Runner-up Marquette scored 54, followed by Sault Ste. Marie with 99, Gladstone 113 and two-time reigning champ Negaunee 119.
The race for the individual Division 1 title boiled down to a sprint between Houghton senior Clayton Sayen and Marquette senior Garrett Rudden over the final 150 yards, mostly uphill at Pictured Rocks Golf Club.
Sayen prevailed, covering the 3.1-mile course in 16 minutes, 25.7 seconds. Rudden was clocked at 16:25.8.
Marquette senior Luke Rambo placed third (16:28.9), followed by Gladstone junior Adam Bruce (16:39) and Houghton senior Seth Helman (16:56.8).
“This is just an unbelievable feeling,” said Sayen. “It was a great race. Garrett and Luke (Rambo) are amazing runners. Adam Bruce of Gladstone is also an awesome runner. I don’t know if I would have won if I didn’t have them pushing me. I knew it was going to be a battle and I gave it every ounce I could. Seth is also an excellent runner. It’s great to have people like this to run with everyday.
“I can’t explain how well our team did today. This is almost like a dream come true. I love the pain. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Rudden led after the final turn before Sayen caught him shortly before the finish.
“Clayton’s finish was awesome,” said Houghton coach Traci Welch. “He had me worried going around the last turn and up the hill. But I knew he could do it. He doesn’t like to lose.
“We have such a great group of kids. Most of them I’ve coach for 4-6 years. I think our depth made a difference. We had big races from some of the guys.”
Click for full Division 1 results.
Division 2
Bessemer-based Gogebic, which also includes athletes from Wakefield-Marenisco, captured the Division 2 crown with 22 points, followed by three-time reigning champ Ishpeming at 36 and Ironwood at 99.
“It’s nice that everybody was healthy and did what they set out to do,” said Gogebic coach Lauren Korpi. “The guys have been working so hard. I think the West-PAC (Western Peninsula Athletic Conference) is one of the best out there. Running against Houghton all year really helped us, and we’ve become friends with them.
“We’re losing four seniors, but we’re hoping our program continues to grow. We have some strong underclassmen coming up. The future looks pretty good.”
Ishpeming junior Spencer Giroux earned his first U.P. Finals title at 17:03.1. He was followed by Gogebic senior Isaiah Aili (17:45) and juniors Uriah Aili (17:48.3) and Devon Byers (17:49.7).
“I didn’t really have a strategy,” said Giroux. “I just tried to run as hard as I could. I’m happy with how I ran. I think this is a confidence builder going forward. As a team, we’re a little disappointed. But it was a good day overall.”
Sophomore Jonah Broberg came in fifth (17:52.7), and senior Kyle Pruett led another pack of five straight Ishpeming finishers in ninth (18:19.3).
“This wasn’t our best performance this year,” said Ishpeming coach P.J. Pruett. “We ran against Gogebic twice this year, and we beat them twice. Spencer ran real well, and we had a great season. We were missing our three seniors from last year, although we placed among the top two or three teams all year. Spencer is the number nine champion for Ishpeming cross country, plus we are losing only one senior.”
Click for full Division 2 results.
Division 3
Brimley edged Chassell on a tie-breaker for the Division 3 championship. Each team scored 60 points, and third-place Rudyard had 118.
“We’re so excited about that,” said Brimley coach Scout Hester. “We had some good competition over here, and it was fun watching the boys compete. We’ve had good athletic programs, only we couldn’t seem to get over that hump. This is an exciting day for our program. All seven of our runners put it out there.”
Brimley sophomore Austin Plotkin retained his individual title in 17:08, followed by Cedarville sophomore Thomas Bohn (17:16.2) and Chassell junior Ben Tuomi (17:38.3).
“I ran the first mile in 5:20,” said Plotkin, who was clocked at 11:04.9 after two. “I don’t know what happened in the third. It felt like it was fast, only my time didn’t show it. Tom and I wanted to pace with each other. I set the pace for both of us and took off in the last 400 (meters). The first mile was right where we wanted it.”
Click for full Division 3 results.
PHOTOS: (Top) Houghton’s Clayton Sayen (127) works to stay just ahead of Marquette’s Luke Rambo (209) and Garrett Rudden (210) during the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final. (Middle) Isaiah Aili leads a pack of Gogebic racers on their way to winning the Division 2 title. (Below) Brimley’s Austin Plotkin, right, and Cedarville’s Thomas Bohn pace each other at the front of the Division 3 race. (Photos by Cara Kamps; click for more at RunMichigan.com.)