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.)

Marquette Caps Perfect Season with Final Win

By John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com

October 19, 2013

HARVEY — The Marquette girls and Menominee senior Kameron Burmeister concluded their cross country seasons in impressive fashion in Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final.

Marquette capped a perfect season by scoring 27 points, followed by defending champion Calumet 89 and Escanaba 112.

“It has been a tremendous performance by the ladies all year,” said Marquette coach Dale Phillips. “We had a veteran team and an excellent freshman (Amber Huebner). Summer running really paid off for them. Since Day 1 in practice they knew they were going after the championship.”

Burmeister also finished undefeated by covering the 3.1-mile course in 19 minutes, 36 seconds to become the first Menominee girl to be crowned U.P. champion since 1980.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Burmeister said shortly after the race. “This is kind of bittersweet with this being my last cross country race of my high school career. I’m so fortunate to be able to do this against so many good runners.”

Marquette sophomore Lindsey Rudden was runner-up (19:42), with Huebner third (19:56).

“Kameron deserves to win it,” said Rudden. “I’m not disappointed I lost because I gained so much. I learned a lot this year. I learned how to be a teammate and a runner. I’m so proud of our boys and girls teams.”

Division 2

Hancock gained its first title since 1990 with 47 points. The Bulldogs were followed by St. Ignace with 60 and defending champion Newberry with 69.

“We had a real good day,” said Hancock coach Matt Dennis. “We came together as a team and kept pushing each other all year. We knew we had a good shot at winning trophies. We kept shooting for today and gave our best effort.”

Hancock senior Abbey Tembreull won in 21:04, followed by St. Ignace’s Lily Calcaterra (21:12), Newberry sophomore Natalie Beaulieu (21:16), Norway sophomore Kyra Johnson (21:30) and Ironwood senior Jessica Gering (21:37), who won a year ago.

“I had quite a bit left in the end,” said Tembreull, who plans to run cross country at Finlandia University next fall. “Once I saw the finish, I realized I could do it. I usually try to get in front of the pack early. Once I get in front it seems easier to keep the lead than trying to catch up. When that happens, I feel I’m more in control of my pace.”

Division 3

Munising copped its first Division 3 title with 46 points and Cedarville squeezed past Dollar Bay 54-55 for runner-up honors.

“This is a great bunch of girls,” said Munising coach Fran DesArmo. “We’re going to miss our seniors. Cedarville and Dollar Bay were tough. I kept looking at the scores and saw Dollar Bay was running against Houghton, Hancock and Calumet all year. They ran against good competition. The key for us is the girls ran hard in the middle of the race and they stuck with it.”

The Mustangs were led by freshman Marissa Immel at 21:16.

“I was pleased with my race and proud of our girls team,” said Immel, who also plays on the school’s volleyball and tennis teams. “We pulled though today. We have four seniors who realized it was their last high school race and they left it all on the course. I think our perfect score at the (Central U.P./Skyline) conference meet helped a lot. All the girls wanted it real bad. We also have some good eighth graders coming up. I’m excited for next year.”

Rudyard junior Kaylee Hoolsema, who won in 20:32, was followed by Immel and Cedarville’s Emma Bohn (21:19).

“Our coaches told me I could probably get first if I went after it,” said Hoolsema, who became the first Rudyard girl to be crowned U.P. champion. “I was a little nervous coming over here because I never ran here before. I really didn’t know what to expect. The course was kind of slippery at Mile 2 and the rolling hills were kind of tiring in the end. But once you get that far into the race, you just have to go for it.”

Click for full results.

PHOTO: Runners charge to the front at the start of Saturday's Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final. (Photo courtesy of RunMichigan.com/Paul Gerard.)