Bloomingdale Racers Achieve Historic Goal
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
November 13, 2018
BLOOMINGDALE — High fives, music and a hallway full of students gave the Bloomingdale cross country teams an enthusiastic sendoff as they departed for the MHSAA Finals at Michigan International Speedway two weeks ago.
“We left school early on Friday,” coach Alan Bobalik said. “All the kids were in the hallway, the band played the fight song.
“We walked through the hallway and kids were high-fiving the team. It was pretty cool.”
What was even cooler was that the girls already had carved out a place in the Cardinals’ history book.
A week earlier, they became the first team in any sport in school history to win an MHSAA Regional championship.
“At the beginning of our cross country season, we write down our goals as a team and that was our goal,” said Nelly Gonzalez, one of two seniors on the team. The other five runners were sophomores.
To add to the celebration, the runners had fun watching their coach navigate Walmart and then eat dinner wearing a red and black wig as their reward for the Regional win at Centreville.
“We spent Friday night (before states) in Coldwater and ate at the Broadway Grill,” Bobalik said. “I had to wear the wig when we went out to eat as a team. It was nice, black and red, and went down to my shoulders.
“We stopped for snacks at Walmart and I wore it around the store. We got some interesting looks.”
One person was not impressed.
“My daughter (Annabelle, 3½ years old) was confused,” he said. “She thought I was a different person, scared or confused and didn’t want to look at me.”
The girls finished 17th in Division 3 at the Finals while the boys placed 16th.
“I’m sure (the boys) won’t let the girls forget that,” said Bobalik, in his fourth year as head cross country coach and as an assistant for track & field. (The boys team finished second at its Regional, just two points off the lead.)
Four years ago, Gonzalez would have laughed if someone told her she would not only run cross country but also lead the team at the Finals with a time of 20:28.5.
“I was playing volleyball my freshman year,” she said. “I (didn’t play) volleyball my sophomore year, and my coaches and especially Liza (Hutchins) pushed me to run. I really did not want to, but I ran.
“I hated it at first because I didn’t like the running, but now I really enjoy it.”
Gonzalez agreed to join the team to get in shape for basketball and track, where she holds the school record in the 3,200 meters (12:15).
Examples and Inspirations
Bobalik, who ran cross country at Sturgis High School, and assistant coach Tina Bertuca practice with the team.
“I try to run with the girls,” he said. “Keep up? No comment. They’re getting older and faster. I’m getting older and slower.
“Coach Bertuca can keep up.”
Bertuca, the girls head track coach, qualified for the 2019 Boston Marathon. She also competed there last April.
Hutchins, the other senior on the team, was inspired by her aunt, Andrea Hutchins.
“My aunt did (cross country) when she was in high school (at Watervliet) and went to college and ran,” Hutchins said. “She’s been a person I looked up to when I started running.”
Hutchins, who also runs the 1,600 and 3,200 in track, said she has one regret.
“My freshman year and my sophomore year I took (cross country) as getting in shape for basketball,” she said. “But ever since time has gone on, it’s become my best sport that I’ve ever done and I wish I would have done it in middle school.
“I fell in love with the sport, and now I want to run in college. I have (University of) Michigan-Dearborn on my mind right now.”
Gonzalez said she hopes this year’s success inspires next year’s team.
“My sophomore year we really didn’t have a team at all. It was really just me, Liza, Heather (Davis) who already graduated,” Gonzalez added.
“Last year, we had a team and the girls were all awesome and we accomplished a lot.””
This year’s team overcame a stumbling block at Regionals.
“We had a girl (Kallie Harrison) who was very sick Thursday and Friday who didn’t get out of bed, and she came in Saturday and ran really, really tough,” Bobalik said. “She hadn't fully recovered before state.”
“Everyone stepped up. We knew she was sick. Olaisa Moss ran a great race. She really pushed herself and ran her fastest time of the season. Marta Douglas, Maria Herrera ran well and Aimee Sustaita was a Regional medalist this year after finishing 23rd last year. Everyone stepped up that day to help out their teammate.
“I knew we had a chance to win, but it didn’t just happen. We had to earn it.”
Said athletic director Alan Farnquist: “"These girls are an incredibly unique group of athletes. They genuinely get more excited for their teammates than they do for themselves, and I think that's what sets them apart.
“They work hard for each other, and they exemplify what student athletics should be about."
Bobalik said the challenge for next year’s team is to keep the success going.
“We have two great seniors who are big shoes to fill, not only running but as teammates, as leaders, as individuals,” he said.
“The girls on the team and the guys on the team, are they going to be content just having one year of success, two years of success? Or do the middle school kids coming up want to be a part of something special? Or do the returning girls next year want to continue going?”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) The Bloomingdale girls cross country team, during the Nov. 3 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Finals at Michigan International Speedway. (Top middle) Bloomingdale head coach Alan Bobalik and assistant Tina Bertuca, and then Bobalik in his celebratory wig. (Middle) Nelly Gonzalez powers toward the finish during her team’s Regional victory. (Below) Seniors Liza Hutchins and Gonzalez hold the first Regional trophy won by the school in any sport. (Photos courtesy of Bloomingdale’s athletic department; head shots by Pam Shebest.)
Potential Realized, Otsego Runs for More
September 22, 2015
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
OTSEGO – Megan Aalberts was in middle school when she first realized the potential of her classmates and what their future running days could look like.
“Going into sixth grade and middle school, I could already see that the girls in my grade and a year behind me were really talented and super hard-working,” said Aalberts, a junior on Otsego High School’s girls cross country team. “We had a pretty good season in middle school, and then coming into high school and making it to state our first year was an incredible experience. We wanted to keep it going, and I’m hoping this year is really awesome.”
The Bulldogs have experienced unbridled success at the state level the past two seasons under coach Steve Long, a teacher at the school.
Otsego placed third in Lower Peninsula Division 2 at the MHSAA Finals in 2013 and was runner-up a year ago to Grand Rapids Christian.
Those were the top two Finals finishes in program history – and seem to have set the tone as an experienced group has begun its pursuit of the program's first MHSAA title.
The Bulldogs have shown consistency over the past decade, qualifying seven times for the LP Finals and recording five top-10 finishes. But last season’s accomplishment was built on youth, as there were no seniors among the top seven. All but one of that top seven returned this fall.
“We have a lot of experience, and most of the girls have quite a bit of state meet experience,” Long said. “It’s a huge advantage that these girls know what to expect and how to perform well on the big stage. We’re mixing in a few young runners and they’re feeding off the underclassmen. We’re excited to see what they can do.”
This year’s group remains young with Madison Secord as the lone senior.
She joins a talented collection of juniors and sophomores, spearheaded by Aalberts, a junior who placed third overall at last year’s MHSAA championship meet.
“It was a really exciting feeling to know that everyone was coming back,” Aalberts said. “We just know that every day we’re going to try our hardest and push each other. Expectations are pretty high for our team, and our goal is to compete the best we can every day.”
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 2 in LP Division 2 this week behind Grand Rapids Christian, have achieved early success and gone unbeaten in the Wolverine Conference.
They also won the 16-team St. Joseph Invitational and followed that with a victory at the Paw Paw Invitational.
The squad also features juniors Erica Drobny, Sophia Hirzel and Katie Theis. The sophomores include Maddie Marciniak and Gracie VerHage. Freshman Sydney Kubiak also is in the mix.
“I’m very happy with where we’re at, and we’re trying to stay focused on improving and getting better,” Long said. “The challenge this year is to not think we need to be perfect. We just have to focus on ourselves and what we can do.
“Go out there and try to do the best we can and run the way we always run. And that’s by having fun and loving what we do. I think they’re doing a really good job of that.”
Drobny, who was 27th at last year’s MHSAA Final, said there is some pressure to add to the program’s prior successes.
“There is a little bit of pressure, but now we can count on each other to work hard and not let each other down,” she said. “Having everyone back is helpful because we all have the same energy as last year and the same motivation and dedication. The state meet is our main focus, and that’s what we’re striving for.”
A couple key components of the Bulldogs are their competitive nature and close bond.
“How the girls get along has a huge impact on how we end up at the end of the season,” Long said. “The girls are a bunch of sisters and they love each other, but they are willing to go out and compete against each other when they are racing. It’s a good atmosphere.”
Aalberts said she and her teammates don’t go their separate ways at the end of the season. Instead, they stay connected through different events.
“We’re definitely like a family,” she said. “We’re super supportive of each other, and we’re really close. We had a Christmas party and Valentine’s Day party, so we are just in contact with each other after the season ends.”
Added Drobny: “We’re super close, and we spend so much time together at morning and afternoon practices. We run together in the offseason and in the summer, and that helps because we motivate each other to run faster and to beat each other.”
Although the Otsego is one of the smaller schools in Division 2, it still showcases depth. All 10 of the girls on the team clock times under 21 minutes.
“We’re pretty deep for a small school,” Long said. “And the goal continues to get better. We were second last year, but if we’re not better, then we’re still not going to be at the top of the podium.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Otsego's Megan Aalberts rounds the final curve at Michigan International Speedway on her way to a third-place finish at last season's Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final. (Middle) Erica Drobny, middle, runs with a pack on the way to finishing 27th. (Below) The Bulldogs pose with last season's MHSAA runner-up trophy; six of the top seven runners are back this fall. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)