Sumner Sets Pace in Breckenridge Sweep
November 2, 2019
Second Half reports
BROOKLYN – Getting beat by Coleman Clark occasionally last year only made Mason Sumner a stronger runner.
Sumner, a sophomore at Breckenridge, competes regularly against Clark, a junior from Carson City-Crystal, because both schools are in the Mid-State Activities Conference.
They took their individual rivalry to the biggest stage in the state Saturday, dueling for the championship in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final at Michigan International Speedway.
Sumner got the best of Clark this time, winning in 16:07.5. Clark was second in 16:16.8. A year ago, Clark took fifth in 16:22.7, just ahead of Sumner, who was sixth in 16:23.0.
“It’s nice to have that competition there,” Sumner said. “Last year, it was definitely back and forth a lot. He had the edge last year in wins. I built up my experience in racing and was able to win more this year. It’s nice to have that in earlier races and every race in the season, because then you’re used to it by state. You don’t get nervous and stuff.”
Clark, who was the conference champion as a freshman, welcomes the challenge from Sumner.
“It’s really nice having that competition at every meet,” Clark said. “When I was a freshman, he was in eighth grade, so my conference meets were really easy. I didn’t have competition. When he came up last year, I’ve had a lot of competition in conference meets. It pushes me to be better.”
Sumner and Clark sat back while Carlos Gascho of Johannesburg-Lewiston set the early pace. They pulled ahead at the two-mile mark, then Sumner made his move a half mile later.
“It went how I wanted it to go,” Sumner said. “I wanted to just sit there and kick. It was going to come down to who could kick at the end.”
Sumner led Breckenridge to its first MHSAA championship since the Huskies won Class C in 1976.
Breckenridge scored 72 points, while runner-up Unionville-Sebewaing had 131.
Colttion Vine was 10th among team runners in 16:56.9, Trent Carter 14th in 17:07.2, Ashton Gillis 19th in 17:15.4 and Colton Chovanec 28th in 17:33.8 for the Huskies.
PHOTOS: (Top) Breckenridge’s Mason Sumner (585) begins his move ahead of Carson City-Crystal’s Coleman Clark, Johannesburg-Lewiston’s Carlos Gascho and Webberville’s Nathan Lott. (Middle) Colttion Vine keeps pace as Breckenridge’s second runner to earn a top-10 finish. (Photos by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)
Northville Extends Team Title Streak, Jenison's Conner Joins All-Time Elite
November 2, 2024
BROOKLYN — Ethan Powell is grateful to be part of three team championships with Northville at MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Cross Country Finals, but sometimes he wonders if things could’ve turned out better his freshman year.
The Mustangs finished fourth that season with 204 points in a meet won by Kensington Lakes Activities Association West rival Brighton with 141.
Powell finished 94th that year in 16 minutes, 41.28 seconds after running times of 16:19.88 and 16:24.8 in the first two meets of Northville’s championship season.
“My freshman year, we had a chance to win it, too,” Powell said. “I underperformed. I was part of the reason we didn’t win it. We took fourth that year. I was just really bummed out.”
Powell never left Michigan International Speedway feeling that way the rest of his career.
He led Northville to its third consecutive Division 1 championship Saturday by a dominant 99-169 margin over Saline.
The Mustangs are the first Division 1 boys team to win three titles in a row since Milford from 2011-13. Powell is the only runner who was in the Finals lineup for all three championships.
Northville was ranked No. 1 all season, winning the KLAA championship by a 36-68 margin over a Brighton team that finished third Saturday. The Mustangs’ league included four of the top 10 teams in the Division 1 Final.
“Last year, it was honestly a tougher year, especially after Portage (Invitational) where we took sixth or seventh or whatever,” Powell said. “We came back and were able to win it last year. It was honestly an amazing feeling doing it back to back.
“This year, we’ve just been grinding. Some people don’t really understand the behind-the-scenes part of it. Every day, it’s work. It’s making sure we’re doing what we’re doing, not slacking off. We have this saying: ‘Don’t bite the bait, don’t take the cheese.’ We’re making sure not to get too boastful or too ahead of ourselves, knowing anything can happen.”
Potential trouble struck for the Mustangs when senior Ishaan Kundapur fell about 200 yards from the finish line and struggled to get going again. He finished as the team’s fifth and final scoring runner in 84th place.
“I’m really happy he ended up finishing,” Powell said. “It looked like he wasn’t going to finish. He ended up pushing through and finishing. That’s a moment where, honestly, it can be a game-changer and turn the tables.”
Northville had four runners make all-state by finishing among the top 30, including three in the top 10. Powell was seventh in 15:24.8, junior Ben Hartigan was ninth in 15:27.7, sophomore Brandon Cloud was 10th in 15:29.0, senior Nick Barretto was 25th in 15:41.7 and Kundapur was 84th in 16:14.5.
The battle for the individual championship was won by Jenison senior Seth Conner, whose time of 14:54.5 ranks 11th in the 29-year history of the Finals at MIS.
The names ahead of him include three Olympians, most notably Grand Blanc’s Grant Fisher. Like Fisher, a two-time bronze medalist at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, Conner played soccer and ran cross country early in his high school career.
Conner didn’t make it to MIS as a freshman as Fisher did, finishing 45th at Regionals, but he gave up soccer to focus on running after that.
He never envisioned becoming a Finals champion.
“Oh, no,” he said. “I was a soccer player, so freshman year I came in and didn’t really have any goals. Nobody probably would’ve seen this coming. Last year, I was like, ‘I’m gonna win state. Let’s see what happens.’”
Conner had a comfortable lead as he cruised down the final stretch at MIS, having made a decisive move about halfway through the race. Canton junior Aiden Pengelly charged from behind to nip Milford junior Kyle O’Rourke at the finish line to take second place by one second in 15:01.0.
“I was really nervous about it, especially after MI Speed Rating ranked me lower for the Regional race,” Conner said. “I just kind of gave it all to God. ‘Hey, listen, this is making me really nervous. I know you’re going to take that from me. I can just focus on my hard work.’ That’s what I did. Going into the race, I wasn’t really that nervous, just very confident and excited.”
PHOTOS (Top) Northville’s Ethan Powell powers toward the finish as his team’s top placer Saturday at MIS. (Middle) Jenison’s Seth Conner sees the finish line ahead as he leads the Division 1 Final. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)