USA Discovering New Winning Pack
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
September 1, 2020
Mike Peter knew his Unionville-Sebewaing boys cross country team would have to make adjustments for the 2020 season, and deal with a different set of circumstances.
And that was before COVID-19 gripped the nation.
“We lost some team dynamic – a team isn’t all about time and place all the time,” the USA coach said. “Two of our senior boys that left the team, they really brought a lot just as teammates to our boys side. We’re trying to find that again. It takes time to rebuild that again when the team dynamic changes. We’ll have to fight a little harder this year and try to find our new normal.”
The Patriots are coming off a runner-up finish at the 2019 Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals, the best finish in program history. That followed a fifth-place finish the year before which had been the program best.
While they’re off to a slower start this season, they feel the pieces are there to continue that statewide success.
“I think we have a very good chance of coming back to state,” senior Bryce Langmaid said. “I think we have a chance to come back and be top-three again, or win a state championship.”
Three of the five runners who scored at the 2019 Finals are back, led by Langmaid who had an all-state finish at 22nd. Juniors Ty Pavlichek (38th) and Jacob VanHove (53rd) are back as well. The Patriots are without all-state finisher Bentley Alderson, who placed 16th as a junior but has decided to play soccer his senior year.
But the strength of USA’s 2019 team was its pack – all five scoring runners a year ago finished among the top 40 team scorers at the Final. That pack is something the Patriots are currently trying to establish.
“Since Day 1, we’ve been really close, really tight, and Coach has preached pack running,” Langmaid said. “That would be one of the biggest successes of how we run, and that carried over to how tight we are.”
While that pack is still looking to come together on the course this season, it was a big benefit through the spring and summer. With track season canceled because of the pandemic, and in a world of social distancing, Peter said his team did a good job of getting together to run in small groups.
“The nice thing is that there’s a brother and sisterhood with our group,” Peter said. “They are fantastic about texting each other, communicating with one another and getting out for a run. Once we knew track wasn’t going to happen, it was just about packing on miles, and I think for the mental health of a young person who is a person who competes, that was important. Our team is really good about reaching out to each other, and luckily, we didn’t have to meet to do it.”
Staying focused on running helped, but it wasn’t always easy.
“At times I wasn’t,” Pavlichek admitted. “I slowed down and didn’t run as much. When it came closer to the season I started to run more, and I was just hoping we could have a season.”
What helped them get through it, though, was each other.
“I know this put a lot of stress on families, friends and athletes in USA and Michigan,” Langmaid said. “I tried to stay close with everyone and talk with everyone to see how they’re doing. If someone wanted to meet up, I would do that to run with them and talk with them and let them get things off their mind.”
The Patriots have competed twice this season, at their own quad and the Ithaca Early Invitational. They were second in the quad (losing via tiebreaker to Mayville), and fifth at Ithaca.
“It’s hard to come out of a season where you’re second in the state and not feel that pressure again,” Peter said. “Sometimes, I think after having a year where we got first place at almost every meet, it’s hard to come back and uphold that. There’s an unspoken pressure that kids put on themselves, and they have to be OK with a second or third some of the time, and not always running your best time.”
While the results haven’t been there yet for the Patriots, just being back in competition and wearing the school colors felt like a victory.
“From my perspective, it was just wonderful to see a uniform of any of the schools,” Peter said. “It was nice to see kids from other communities at least roughly near each other, and competing. It was nice to see the joy they had to do something they loved.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) USA's Bryce Langmaid (736) races to an all-state finish at last season's LPD4 Final at Michigan International Speedway. (Middle) Ty Pavlichek is another of three USA scorers back from the 2019 runner-up team. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Preview: Rankings Call for 1st-Time Championship Celebrations
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 5, 2021
If rankings hold true, Saturday could see at least a few first-time boys cross country celebrations at Michigan International Speedway.
Otsego in Division 2 and Johannesburg-Lewiston in Division 4 are the top-ranked teams heading into the day, and both are seeking their first Lower Peninsula Finals championships. Caledonia is the top-ranked team in Division 1 and seeking its first title in 1996. St. Louis is No. 1 and won last year – but surely the Sharks will be up for celebrating a repeat as well.
Individually, Hartland’s Riley Hough will finish a high school career that has seen him rank among the state’s best all-time, and Pinckney’s Caleb Jarema and Benzie Central’s Hunter Jones are mere steps away from joining him.
The day’s first races at Michigan International Speedway begin at 9:30 a.m., and all eight will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv – click for full details.
DIVISION 1
Reigning champion: Romeo
2020 runner-up: Caledonia
2021 top-ranked: 1. Caledonia, 2. Brighton, 3. Grand Haven.
After finishing 32 points behind Romeo at last season’s Final, Caledonia is favored to win its first championship since claiming the Class B title in 1996. The Fighting Scots graduated their top runner from last season’s team but return their next four finishers led by senior Josh Oom, who placed 24th a year ago. Brighton also graduated its top runner from last season but brings back the next four from the Finals lineup. Sophomore Seth Norder and Grand Haven as a team didn’t reach the Finals a year ago, but he was a Regional champion last week and is backed by 2020 individual qualifier Nolan Clark, a junior. Romeo is ranked No. 4 and returns four of its top six from a year ago, led by senior Jack Kelke, who placed 10th individually.
Individuals: Hartland senior Riley Hough has been one of the headliners statewide this season, and his best time of the fall (14:37) is well ahead of the field after he also ran the second-fastest time in MHSAA 5K Finals history (14:49.62) in 2020. He’s one of three top-10 and five top-20 finishers returning to this race. Farmington senior Peter Baracco was fourth at the Finals last season, 19th as a sophomore and 17th as a freshman, and Traverse City Central senior Luke Venhuizen has the division’s second-fastest time this fall after finishing 18th in LPD1 last season. Third on this year’s list is Lapeer senior Jeremy Williams, who was second to Venhuizen at their Regional at Saginaw Heritage.
DIVISION 2
Reigning champion: Fremont
2020 runner-up: St. Johns
2021 top-ranked: 1. Otsego, 2. Grand Rapids Christian, 3. Pinckney.
After Fremont won the last two team titles and Chelsea won back-to-back the two seasons before those, it may be Otsego’s time to climb the podium after finishing runner-up in both 2015 and 2019 and third last season. The Bulldogs return three runners from the 2020 Finals lineup, with senior Nick Cockerel having finished 20th individually and now leading the way. Grand Rapids Christian is seeking its first championship since 2014 and brings back six runners from last season’s ninth-place team. Pinckney was fifth last season and brings back four of its top six finishers including senior Caleb Jarema, the individual runner-up a year ago. Senior Conor Somers was fifth individually last season, but Fremont graduated its other four scorers from that repeat champion.
Individuals: Jarema and Somers top a group of nine returning from last season’s individual top 20. Jarema has the division’s fastest time this fall at 14:57, and Spring Lake senior Ian Hill is second on that list and finished eighth a year ago. Dearborn Divine Child junior Michael Hegarty has the third-fastest time in Division 2 this fall and finished 10th at the 2020 Finals. Chelsea has a chance to make a push in the team competition, with sophomore Connell Alford leading the way after finishing 11th individually a year ago. Parchment junior William Winter is running in Division 2 and finished 10th in Division 3 in 2020.
Division 3
Reigning champion: St. Louis
2020 runner-up: Hart
2021 top-ranked: 1. St. Louis, 2. Traverse City St. Francis, 3. Hart.
After winning its first championship last season since 2005, St. Louis is favored to come out on top again. The Sharks return four of last season’s top six including three runners who placed among the individual top 23, led by senior Aaron Bowerman in ninth and senior Nate March in 17th. Hart was a close second last season, just 13 points back, and despite graduating its top two from that lineup returns the next four runners. Traverse City St. Francis was third a year ago and has three of its top six runners back. Ithaca is intriguing; the Yellowjackets graduated their top runner after finishing seventh, but return the other sixth including two from the individual top 20 in junior Parks Allen (12th) and senior Espen Lehnst (15th).
Individuals: Seven of the top eight from last season graduated, but champion Hunter Jones is back. The Benzie Central junior is seeking his third individual Finals championship in three tries, and his best time this fall (14:44) is 42 seconds faster than the field. Manton senior Noah Morrow has the second-fastest time this season and was the next-closest placer returning from last fall after coming in eighth. Kalkaska senior Tyler Guggemos is a two-time Regional champion, and he has posted the division’s third-fastest time.
DIVISION 4
Reigning champion: Carson City-Crystal
2020 runner-up: Breckenridge
2021 top-ranked: 1. Johannesburg-Lewiston, 2. Concord, 3. Hillsdale Academy
Johannesburg-Lewiston is seeking its first Finals championship in this sport, with five of its top six back from last year’s team that finished 23rd. Concord is looking to return to the top after winning three of four Division 4 titles from 2009-12, and three of the team’s top five from last year’s third-place team are back led by senior Jonathan Mikovits (ninth individually). Breckenridge is ranked No. 4 and is an interesting possibility after also winning the 2019 championship. The Huskies have four runners back from last year’s runner-up team led by senior Mason Sumner, who placed third individually. Reigning champion Carson City-Crystal also has four runners back despite graduating individual champ Coleman Clark.
Individuals: Sumner is the highest-placing of 10runners back from last season’s top 20, and he has the second-fastest time in the division this season. Petoskey St. Michael senior Samuel Paga is back after coming in fifth, and Webberville senior Nathan Lott is running after placing sixth in 2020. Wyoming Potter’s House junior Lezawe Osterink has cut nearly a minute from his best time from a year ago and is undefeated this season, with his 15:42 topping the list of Division 4’s fastest this fall.
PHOTO Davison’s Iain Forrest (28) and Dexter’s Brandon Anderson (45) are among runners returning in Division 1 this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)