1st-Time Winners Shine at UP Girls Finals
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2017
MUNISING — Nobody could catch Negaunee sophomore Emily Paupore at Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Girls Cross Country Finals.
Paupore ran the day’s fastest time, covering the 3.1-mile course at Pictured Rocks Golf Club in 19 minutes, 22.3 seconds on this sunny, warm and breezy day. She was followed in the Division 1 race by Marquette sophomore Ericka Asmus (19:55.9) and Sault Ste. Marie senior Mackenzie Kalchik (20:22).
“I wanted to take off hard, but my first mile was slower than I wanted (5:49.2) and I had a 12:09 after my second mile,” said Paupore. “My pacing wasn’t good today. Although it feels great to win it. This shows if you work hard, positive things will come out of it. I’ll just work hard during the winter (for track in the spring) and summer.”
Marquette won the Division 1 team championship for the fourth time in five years with 47 points, followed by defending champion Sault Ste. Marie with 61 and Negaunee with 94.
“We did what we had to do,” said Marquette coach Kyle Detmers. “Ericka Asmus did a great job leading the team, and Allison Jette ran her best race of the year. Our second through fifth runners packed together. I couldn’t be happier.
"Hats off to Sault. Jim (Martin, the coach) does a great job with his program. Also, hats off to Mike Leanes for coming out of retirement to help us out. His knowledge of cross country is incredible.”
Click for full Division 1 results.
Division 2
St. Ignace earned its first Division 2 championship with 34 points, followed by three-time defending champion Ishpeming at 61 and Westwood with 77.
This marked the first U.P. title in five years for the Saints, the previous coming when they were competing in Division 3.
“Our girls have a strong work ethic,” said Saints coach Mary Cullen. “They work hard together and never complain. A couple of our girls stepped up today. I set the bar kind of high, and they excelled. We had a very good year. We’re hoping this will help our program take off.”
Westwood sophomore Tessa Leece won the race in 20:54.2, followed by St. Ignace junior Elizabeth Becker (21:09.7) and freshman Emmalee Hart (21:15.2).
“I think it went real good,” said Leece. “It was fun. I just wanted to go out hard and keep pushing. I think the wind helped, especially when it was on our back. I also think it was the perfect temperature for running. It wasn’t too hot or cold.
“We did a lot of hard workouts in the sand and on hills, which I think helped our mental toughness. Running with the Negaunee girls (Paupore and Clara Johnson) also helped me a lot. There were plenty of girls who were more experienced then me, which helped me develop some competitive spirit.”
Becker said she was happy with her runner-up finish.
“I was really surprised,” she added. “I just wanted to run hard. This is a big accomplishment for our team. I came out halfway through the season. Our coached wanted to add a runner, and she felt I could help the team. I wanted to do it for the team and not for myself.
“The girl from Westwood was very good. There was a point I tried to go after her, but she got too far ahead.”
Click for full Division 2 results.
Division 3
Chassell won Division 3 for the third time in four years with 40 points, followed by Rock Mid Peninsula with 72, Munising 74 and defending champion Cedarville with 87.
Freshman Daisy Englund became Mid Pen’s first MHSAA Finals champion in 21 years in 20:31.3.
“This feels awesome,” said Englund, who also is the first Mid Pen girls runner to be crowned U.P. champion since her mother (the former Faye Peterson) won in 1996. “I didn’t know I could do it. My ankle had been sore, but I iced it down (Friday) night and it felt good today.
“As a team, I think we did pretty well.”
Munising junior Madeleine Peramaki, who led going into the final turn, placed second (20:37.4), and Chassell junior Lela Rautiola was third (20:42.5).
“I started real hard,” Peramaki said. “I just went after it. I’m proud of the way I ran. I didn’t give up at all. When she went by me, I had nothing left. There’s nothing wrong with being runner-up when you give it everything you have. I’m happy with how much I improved all year. I didn’t expect to have as much success as I did. I’m really thankful for the strength God gave me all year.”
Rautiola said her goal was to stay with Peramaki.
“We definitely had a fast start,” she said. “The Mid Pen girl really surprised me. She never gave up, and I’ll give her credit for that. She and Maddy definitely pushed me.
“It was exciting to win as a team. We weren’t expecting Cedarville to win it last year. We were ranked No. 1 all year, but it didn’t work out for us in the Finals.”
Click for full Division 3 results.
PHOTOS: (Top) Negaunee’s Emily Paupore (245) ran the day’s fastest time and here leads a pack that includes Marquette’s Ericka Asmus. (Middle) Division 2 runners rush forward led by Ishpeming Westwood’s Tessa Leece (154). (Below) Rock Mid Peninsula’s Daisy Englund (345), Munising’s Madeleine Peramaki (230) and Chassell’s Lela Rautiola (37) push toward the finish line. (Photos by Cara Kamps; click for more at RunMichigan.com.)
Farrell, Milford Finish Incredible Runs
November 5, 2016
Second Half reports
BROOKLYN – When everyone packed up and left Michigan International Speedway last year, cross country gurus inclined to predict the 2016 MHSAA Division 1 girls cross country race had no shortage of candidates for the individual championship.
Of the top 17 finishers, 13 were non-seniors, headlined by two sophomores at the top of the podium.
It’s safe to say nobody dug deep enough into the results to pull out Maggie Farrell’s name as a leading contender.
Farrell had just completed her second straight middle-of-the-pack showing, taking 97th in 19:29.9 after placing 92nd in 19:28.8 as a sophomore. She certainly had consistency going for her.
But she wanted to accomplish so much more, so she put in the hard work to make her dreams come true.
“I changed my schedule a little bit and worked with a trainer,” Farrell said. “My goal this year was top 15; I thought that would be tough.”
Her goals were revised as she got into the season and won almost everything in sight. She claimed the ultimate prize Saturday by winning the Division 1 title with a time of 17:25.6.
Ann Arbor Pioneer junior Anne Forsyth was second in 17:35.0. Farrell made a move at the two-mile mark, but could never feel comfortable until she experienced the relief of hitting the finish line.
“I’ve just got to go,” were Farrell’s thoughts during the final stretch. “I know the girl behind me wants it as much as I do.”
Farrell won 13 of her 14 races this season. The only time she lost was when she took third place at the Portage Invitational on Oct. 8. Forsyth was first in that race, followed by Traverse City Central junior Sielle Kearney. Kearney was seventh in 18:16.5 on Saturday.
“In that race, I ran the same way,” Forsyth said. “I just run from the front. I tried to pull ahead, and I felt good. Today, she kind of did the same thing to me.
“I’m happy. I haven’t been running as well in the big meets in the past, so I’m happy I ran well today.”
In the team race, Milford pulled off an upset by winning its first MHSAA girls cross country championship. The Mavericks, ranked 10th in the state, scored 150 points to beat Pioneer by 22.
Northville finished in the top eight for the sixth straight year, placing third with 178 points. Top-ranked Birmingham Seaholm, winner of three of the last four MHSAA titles, was fourth with 188.
Senior Mallory Barrett led Milford by placing ninth overall and sixth among team runners in 18:16.5. Sophomore Victoria Heiligenthal was 14th overall and 10th in the team race in 18:26.6.
Also scoring for Milford were junior Nicole Grindling (33rd, 19:21.3), sophomore Natalie Black (43rd, 19:32.1) and junior Regan Lobodzinski (58th, 19:47.5).
Milford’s previous best finishes were second-place showings in 1984 and 2000. The Mavericks were third last year.
The MHSAA Cross Country Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Battle Creek Lakeview’s Maggie Farrell (right) stays just a few paces ahead of Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Anne Forsyth. (Middle) Milford’s Natalie Black (1049) pushes toward the finish with Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern’s Emily Fredette (1200). (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)