Stimpfel, P-W Rise Above New Competition
November 5, 2016
Second Half Reports
BROOKLYN – Moving down a division helped, but there’s no substitute for good old-fashioned hard work.
So, even though Cass City junior CarLee Stimpfel was racing runners from smaller schools, it was still his personal improvement that put him in a position to win the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 cross country championship Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
Stimpfel finished the 3.1-mile course in 16:02.7, beating Harbor Springs sophomore Jeremy Kloss by 9.8 seconds.
A year ago, Stimpfel missed all-state in Division 3 by three places, taking 33rd in 16:48.1. As a freshman, he was 72nd in Division 3 in 17:20.3.
“I was kind of bummed, getting three places away from all-state,” Stimpfel said. “I knew I had to train. I trained all summer. We got moved down to D4. I guess it was to my advantage.”
Saturday’s time was his fastest by far at MIS, but nowhere near his personal best. He ran 15:39.4 on Oct. 1 at the Wagener Park Invitational. Even though he ran in the first race of the day, the course was already muddy down the final stretch from rain earlier in the week.
“Honestly, I was hoping to go for Tec Adams’ state record,” Stimpfel said. “It wasn’t going to happen today.”
Adams set the Division 4 record for the MIS course with a time of 15:22.4 in 2008.
Stimpfel hit the mile mark in 5:00 and the two-mile in 10:16, holding a four-second lead at both splits. He wasn’t sure if that lead would hold up as he made his way down the interminably long final stretch at MIS.
“I was a little nervous,” he said. “I looked back a couple times. I didn’t know how far I had on him. I was hoping I would finish strong and get across. It’s not every day you can be state champion; that’s pretty sweet.”
In the team race, top-ranked Pewamo-Westphalia won its first MHSAA boys cross country championship since Pewamo High School was the Class C-D champion in 1959 by a 131-144 margin over Harbor Springs. Bear Lake/Onekama was third at 181.
As was the case for Stimpfel, Pewamo-Westphalia moved down to Division 4 from Division 3. The Pirates were sixth in Division 4 in 2013 before taking 18th in both 2014 and 2015 in Division 3.
Senior Bryce Thelen is the lone holdover from that sixth-place team. He was the team’s leading runner and fifth in the team race with a time of 16:43.2.
Pewamo-Westphalia won on the strength of a strong pack behind Thelen, with only six team-race places and 9.9 seconds separating the Pirates’ No. 2 and No. 5 runners.
Sophomore Mitch Nurenberg was 29th (17:18.6), senior Brock Simon was 30th (17:19.4), sophomore Kyle Hengesbach was 32nd (17:21.3) and junior Trent Barker was 35th (17:28.5).
Harbor Springs had three runners cross before the Pirates’ No. 2 runner, but had to score a 41st and a 66th place.
Bear Lake/Onekama had two runners in the top 10 of the team race, but scored three runners in the 50s.
The MHSAA Cross Country Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Cass City’s CarLee Stimpfel drives the final stretch on the way to the Division 4 individual title Saturday. (Middle) Bryce Thelen leads the P-W pack on its team championship run. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
SAC Sound-off: It's not the Win, But the Race
February 8, 2012
All I ever wanted from my high school athletic career was to be an all-state runner in cross country.
My sophomore year, our cross country team won the MHSAA Division 3 title at Michigan International Speedway, but we didn’t have any all-state runners! I was so excited because our top five consisted of four seniors and me. I was our number three runner, and placed 44th overall. It seemed like just the start of big things.
Track season was a blast that year, even though I didn’t qualify for the MHSAA Finals in any events. But when I got back into cross country in fall 2010, I really wanted to be all-state. (The top 30 individuals in each race receive the honor.)
I trained really hard, but I couldn’t get any faster than when I was a sophomore. In fact, I was running slower than I did the year before. I ended up placing 47th in my division at the MHSAA Finals. I was extremely disappointed. But, the season was over. I decided it was time to focus on track.
I ran all winter and attended a few indoor meets. The training paid off when the season started. I was running as fast as I did the year before, and I was able to make our 3200-meter relay team. I qualified for the MHSAA Division 3 Final only with my relay team, but we placed third – and I finally was all-state.
But I wanted more. I wanted to earn the honor by myself.
I ran nearly 500 miles over the summer to prepare for the 2011 cross country season. I ran faster than I ever had before. I thought I had all-state in the bag this year.
And again, I fell short. Again, I placed 47th at MIS.
Yes, I was very disappointed in myself again. But I learned that getting the all-state medal is not what is important. Having fun is what really matters. And throughout my career, I’ve had plenty.
That doesn’t mean I’m not going to try to get all-state this spring. It just means that I am going to have more fun trying!
Travis Clous, Benzie Central senior
- Sports: Cross country, track and field, basketball
- Non-sports activities: Student section, pep band, marching band, concessions worker
- Favorite classes: Band and AP biology
- Must-see TV: "How I Met Your Mother"
- One shining moment: My sophomore year of cross country when we won the MHSAA Finals even though we did not have a single all-state runner.
- What’s next: I plan to attend either Hope College or Michigan State University to enter the pre-med field, but as of now. I am still undecided. I plan to run wherever I go, though.
- My favorite part of game day is: ... before the race, I listen to my Ipod. I usually listen to older music to get pumped. I also like to listen to Disney soundtracks; my favorite is the music from "Mulan." The songs usually get stuck in my head, and I end up singing them on the run. I feel like the music helps move me along.
PHOTO courtesy of Travis Clous (front), running at the MHSAA Division 3 Cross Country Final.
