Stimpfel Repeats, MPSH Completes Sweep
November 4, 2017
Second Half reports
BROOKLYN — CarLee Stimpfel of Cass City had to spend some extra time walking around in the chute area before he could collect his breath and talk with reporters Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
There was a physical and mental toll in repeating as MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 individual boys cross country champion.
“It was definitely a lot tougher race than last year,” Stimpfel said. “I don’t know what it was. I think it was more mental this year.”
Stimpfel’s margin of victory was smaller this year. He emerged from a five-man pack to win in 16:07.1, beating Plymouth Christian Academy junior Luke Pohl by 6.1 seconds. Stimpfel’s time of 16:02.7 last year was 9.8 seconds faster than runner-up Jeremy Kloss, a Harbor Springs runner who took second in Division 3 on Saturday.
“Everybody’s always on your, ‘Are you gonna repeat this year? Are you gonna repeat this year?’” Stimpfel said. “’You’re not gonna let anybody beat you.’ It’s a lot of pressure. I put a lot of pressure on myself. I want to repeat. I just finally got out there today and was able to pull it off. The time wasn’t the greatest. The quads kind of locked up on me from the get-go. I don’t know if it was a lack of stretching or mentally I let it get to me. I’m happy I was able to pull it off.”
Stimpfel knew one of the top competitors, Ubly senior Alex Grifka, as well as someone can know one of his or her rivals. They are from neighboring communities, racing against each other all year and sometimes training together.
The wild card was Pohl, who was running in his first MHSAA Final after being homeschooled his first two years of high school.
Pohl passed Grifka down the stretch to take second in 16:13.2. Grifka was third in 16:23.8.
“I haven’t been eligible to run at states,” Pohl said. “This is my first time. It was cool coming back into the stadium and running alongside the track; it’s crazy.”
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart won the team championship by a 126-185 margin over Potterville, giving the school a sweep of the Division 4 titles. The Irish girls won their third in a row earlier.
The Irish boys won without a star up front, getting their five scoring runners in the top 33 in the team race with a separation of only 40.3 seconds.
T.J. Moore was 25th overall in 17:03.6, Chase Nelson was 31st in 17:09.8, Josh Lynch was 40th in 17:29.1, Matthew Nowak was 46th in 17:33.3 and Noah Schafer was 54th in 17:43.9 for Sacred Heart.
It was the first MHSAA Finals championship for the Irish since they won the 1977 Class D title. They were ninth in 2015 and 10th in 2016 on their way to the top.
PHOTOS: (Top) Cass City’s CarLee Stimpfel leads the Division 4 race on the way to repeating as champion. (Middle) T.J. Moore (719) and Chase Nelson (720) lead a closely-packed group of Sacred Heart runners who earned the team’s first championship in 40 years. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
Potter's House Sweeps Top 3 Places, LPD4 Team & Individual Titles
November 5, 2022
BROOKLYN – This year, it wasn’t just about individual glory for Lezawe Osterink.
As soon as Osterink crossed the finish line after winning his second MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 cross country championship Saturday, his thoughts turned to his Wyoming Potter’s House Christian teammates who were still on the course.
He didn’t have to wait long for his friends to join the postrace party.
Potter’s House became the first boys team to sweep the first three places in an MHSAA Final since the meet moved to Michigan International Speedway in 1996. The Pumas’ fourth and fifth runners weren’t too much farther back, giving Potter’s House a Division 4-record winning score of 35 points.
“Last year, we weren’t as good as this,” Osterink said. “It was more of an individual focus. This year, we can really win it and hopefully get that record. It was exciting. I love training with them.”
Osterink dominated the field, winning by 24.01 seconds in 15:36.84. Although he was running solo up front, he was aware of what was taking place behind him.
“I could hear them,” he said. “Our coach got around to almost all the spots. He was updating me on how they were doing.
“That’s just sweet. I don’t think any team in the state can do that right now. It’s cool to get 1-2-3 and the other guys following.”
The Pumas’ score is the third-lowest for a boys team at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula championships since 1956. The only lower scores both took place in 2006 when Pinckney won Division 1 with 27 points and Dexter won Division 2 with 28.
It was the first MHSAA cross country championship for the Pumas, who were 11th in 2020 and 12th last season. Potter’s House hadn’t qualified for the Finals before 2020.
Senior Logan Swiney was second in 16:00.85, and junior Jackson Rodriguez was third in 16:07.23 to complete the Pumas’ 1-2-3 sweep. Completing the team score were junior Ian Palacio, who was 11th overall and seventh in the team race in 16:42.91; and junior Noah Finton, who was 30th overall and 22nd in the team race in 17:18.00. All five scoring runners made all-state.
“It’s weird, because we’ve been thinking about it for so long,” Swiney said. “Ever since our first meet, we knew we could do it. It’s constantly putting in the work, and it worked out.”
Training with a Finals championship-caliber team brought out the best in all of the Pumas’ runners.
“In workouts, to have someone around your skill level, it does a lot,” Rodriguez said. “We push each other every day in practice. In races, you can push each other there, too.”
Johannesburg-Lewiston finished second with 101 points, while Petoskey St. Michael was third with 153.
PHOTOS (Top) Wyoming Potter’s House Christian’s Lezawe Osterink crosses the finish line first in the LPD4 Final on Saturday at MIS. (Middle) Teammates Logan Swiney (1949) and Jackson Rodriguez follow down the closing stretch as the Pumas swept the top three places. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)