Small-School Powers Tie for LPD4 Title

May 30, 2015

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half

HUDSONVILLE – The Saugatuck boys track and field team believed it had to settle for another second-place finish at Saturday’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final at Hudsonville’s Baldwin Middle School.

A late scoring change created hysteria among the squad.

After originally thinking it had fallen one point shy, a correction was made in the final 1,600 relay results that created a tie at the top between Saugatuck and defending champion Concord.

Both teams wound up finishing with 40 points, thus sharing the MHSAA Final crown. Muskegon West Michigan Christian placed third with 39 points.

“We saw coach Bauer run out of the tent holding up the No. 1 finger and everybody just exploded,” said Saugatuck sophomore Blake Dunn, who anchored the winning 1,600 relay team. “It was so sweet, and I’ve never had a feeling like that before. It was amazing.”

The Indians finished a distant second to Concord a year ago. They won the MHSAA Final in 2013.

“We got second last year and we were so down about it,” said Dunn, who also won the 300 hurdles in a time of 39.31 seconds. “There is such a difference between second and first, and when he came out of the tent it was the greatest feeling ever.

“I ran pretty well, but it comes down to the whole team thing. Without my teammates running as well as they did, then we don’t get first place. It’s not all me, and every point matters.”

Saugatuck coach Rick Bauer became emotional after learning his team had won after an official inadvertently forgot to factor in the results of another heat.

“We put so much into this, and this is our life,” Bauer said. “And to see their reaction after they found out they won, that’s really what it is about. It’s a big relief, and it’s like a weight getting lifted off your shoulders.

“Now they get to shave my head. I told them if they won then they could shave my head, and it’s the best haircut you could ever get.”

Concord used a balanced effort to share the crown and repeat.

“That was really exciting,” Concord coach Mark Hersha said. “A lot of teams had a chance, so we knew we had to perform really well to give ourselves the best chance. Our kids responded pretty well, and we had a lot of kids scoring and a lot of kids performing really well.”

Concord graduated seven from last season, but Hersha said a group of young kids stepped up and filled those shoes.

Veteran leadership also factored in as senior Jesse Hersha won the 3,200 (9:39.87) and finished runner-up in the 1,600.

“I’m really happy for our team,” Jesse Hersha said. “It wasn’t as deep as last year, but we put in the work and we had a lot of guys step up when we needed it. I was happy to be a part of it and earn some points for my team today.

Harbor Springs senior Luke Anderson wrapped up a stellar career with a pair of victories. He claimed top honors in the 800 (1:57.31) and repeated in the 1,600 (4:17.77).

Anderson also took third in the 3,200.

“The only better way to cap it off would have been to run a second faster in that 1,600, but God was good to me today; I will tell you that,” Anderson said. “My goal was to help my team do well, and I wanted to run a season-best in the mile. I did that, and my goal for the 800 was to win it. Not time or anything else, just win it. I couldn’t be happier.”

Another multi-winner was Union City senior Austin Watson, who blazed to wins in the 100 (10.96) and 200 (22.33).

He also anchored the winning 400 relay team, which clocked a 44.30.

“I’ve kind of had an injury-riddled season, so it was really good to end it like this on a positive note,” said Watson, who won the 100 in LP Division 3 last season.

“I pulled my groin during indoor season, but it feels great because this is just what I worked for, and I got it. I knew our team had a shot to win the 400 relay, and we went out there and did that.”

Southfield Christian’s Blake Washington established a new LP Division 4 Final record in the 400. The senior speedster clocked a 49.34, eclipsing the old mark of 49.43 set in 2005.

“I can only thank God because he got me through this race,” said Washington, who will run at the University of Michigan in the fall. “I’ve been battling injuries, and it was cold, but God pulled me through.”

Washington, who also placed runner-up in the 200, was diagnosed with a rare condition when he was young that prevented him from walking or hearing.

“For me to actually run at all is a blessing, and for me to do what I did today is just a miracle,” Washington said. 

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PHOTOS: (Top) Saugatuck's Blake Dunn clears a hurdle Saturday in helping his team claim a shared LP Division 4 championship with Concord. (Middle) Concord's Jesse Hersha capped his high school career with a championship in the 3,200 to go with the team title. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com. Photo by Janina Pollatz.)

With Fast Fall Finish, Alpena's Day Arrives

April 13, 2016

By Dennis Chase
Special for Second Half

ALPENA – Mitchell Day, who had a breakout second-place finish in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Cross Country Final last November, is gearing up for what he hopes will be an equally strong track season.

The Alpena junior is one of the state’s top returning 3,200-meter runners. He finished 10th in LP Division 1 a year ago, and followed that up with a second-place finish at the Michigan Indoor Track Series state meet in late February.

“I feel very confident going into spring,” the 16-year-old said. “But I know there’s a lot of work to do, and I’m prepared to do it.”

Day started focusing on track during the winter with workouts designed to build base and improve strength. He said he hopes the results will translate into a faster, stronger kick.

Joe Donajkowski, who coaches the team’s distance runners, said Day is in a good spot, especially when it comes to his endurance.

“He knew he had to put the miles in to get better, and he’s certainly done that,” Donajkowski said. “He has a good base right now. I expect we’ll see some good performances from him throughout the season, as long as he stays healthy.”

Staying healthy is a key. An illness almost cost Day a spot in the MHSAA Final last June.

“I got sick a week or two before the Regional, and missed four or five days of training,” he said. “We were thinking it was walking pneumonia. Thankfully, it wasn’t, but I couldn’t train (properly).  I remember the first mile went well, we went through at 4:40, then it hit me like a wall. I struggled to finish and qualify (for the championship meet).”

Day placed fifth at the Regional in 9:38.65, which earned him the 28th seed at the Final. Given time to recover, Day came back and ran nearly 17 seconds faster in a school record 9:21.76 to take 10th in LP Division 1.

That time came as no surprise to coach Bob Bennett, who called Day a “driven” athlete who once he focuses on a goal “gets after it.”

Day also runs the 1,600 meters, as well as relays, but it’s the 3,200 that he enjoys most.

“The 1,600 is too short for my liking,” he said. “The 3,200 gives me a little bit more time to wear out my opponents.”

Day was a dual-sport fall athlete as a freshman and sophomore, splitting his time playing varsity soccer and running cross country. He also played travel soccer during the summer.

But he decided to give up soccer to focus on running.

“We’re happy he went that way, although I don’t know if our athletic director/soccer coach (Tim Storch) was that happy about it,” Bennett said with a laugh.

Day won two of the three Big North Conference cross country jamborees, claimed the Regional, then took second at the MHSAA Final.

Despite that success, he was second team all-conference. In the third and final league jamboree, which counted 50 percent in the team and individual standings, Day was tripped and lost his balance with about a mile to go.

“I was already dealing with an Achilles problem, and I got hit in the Achilles,” he said.

Down he went – and he didn’t get up right away, which proved costly. He finished back in the pack.

“It was frustrating, but it (motivated) me heading into the state meet,” he said.

Day’s training for the Final went well, so well “we knew I was in for a huge PR,” he said.

Initially, Day was hoping to run close to 15:05, but the wind that day made for a slower race.

“The mile splits were 4:50, and then 5:03-5:05, and then back down to 4:47-4:49,” he said. “The wind played a huge factor. A lot of us had to just hide behind a few of the guys and wait for the last three-quarters of a mile to duke it out.”

When it came to the three-quarter mile mark, the lead pack had whittled to include Rockford’s Isaac Harding and Cole Johnson, Grand Rapids Northview’s Enael Woldemichael, Traverse City Central’s Anthony Berry and Day.

Sizing up the leaders, Day didn’t necessarily like his chances.

“Cole Johnson is a 4:10 miler, Anthony is a 4:08, Isaac’s outstanding, so is Enael,” he said. “I was surrounded by some really good talent and I was like, ‘Shoot, I don’t know if I can keep up with these guys the last 1,200 meters. I don’t know if I have that kind of kick in me.’”

Harding eventually surged, and Day went with him.

“I had another gear I didn’t know I had,” he said. “It was second nature to take off with him.”

Harding won in 15:10.4. Day was three seconds back.

“I was happy with how that turned out,” he said. “I realized there was more in me than what I had shown in the past.”

His time of 15:13.4 was 13 seconds faster than his previous best – and it’s helped attract more interest from college recruiters.

Now, Day’s attention is on track, as a lingering winter finally seems to be giving way to spring.

Alpena’s first meet, last week’s Freeland Invitational, was canceled, but once the season finally gets underway, Day said his goal will be fairly simple.

“I just want to make sure I give it my all,” he said. “I’ll be satisfied if I can do that. I don’t really have any times I would like to hit. Sure, I would like to PR, but it’s more about knowing that I put it all out there and had no regrets.”

Bennett expects nothing less from his star runner.

“We just want him to run as well as he can,” Bennett said. “Physically, he’s a little bigger, more mature. Mentally, he’s right on course. We’re hoping he’s going to have a breakout year.”

Just like he had in cross country.

Dennis Chase worked 32 years as a sportswriter at the Traverse City Record-Eagle, including as sports editor from 2000-14. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.

PHOTOS: (Top) Alpena’s Mitchell Day competes during the fall’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Cross Country Final at Michigan International Speedway. (Middle) Day, far left, emerges from the pack during the 3,200-meter championship race at last spring’s MHSAA LP Division 1 Track & Field Final at Rockford. (Photos courtesy of the Day family.)