Bos Buzzes to Repeat as D2 Champion

November 3, 2012

By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half

 
BROOKLYN — Julia Bos of Grand Rapids Christian seems to answer more questions about the style of her running, rather than the substance.

Bos runs with her mouth wide open, something she has done ever since becoming a competitive runner.

“Have you ever swallowed a fly?” was a question posed to her Saturday at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 meet at Michigan International Speedway.

“Once I caught a bumble bee this summer; it wasn’t very fun,” she said. “It stung me on the tongue. I spit it out right away. It was all fuzzy. I’m just thankful I’m not allergic to bees.”

Bos has a ready response to inquiries about her signature facial expression.

“People ask me why and I say, ‘Optimum oxygen absorption,’” she said. “I don’t really think about it consciously. I’m just going, ‘If I look silly, oh well, it works.’”

Indeed it does.

Bos repeated as the Division 2 champion with a time of 17:20.4, the second-fastest of the day in all four divisions. West Bloomfield’s Erin Finn won Division 1 in 17:07.9.

Bos, who was undefeated as a senior, bolted to the lead and was never threatened, winning by 28.7 seconds over Cedar Springs sophomore Kenzie Weiler. Bos reached the mile in 5:20, about five seconds faster than usual, as she wanted to dictate the terms of the race.

“I was aggressive early on in the race,” Bos said. “Last year, the first mile was really slow. Everybody in the front was trying to be tactical. We went out in 5:40 something. That was really slow for a state meet. This year, I tried not to think of the people by me and go at my own pace.”

Bos almost quit cross country before ever realizing her potential as a back-to-back MHSAA champion who will have her choice of major college programs at which to further her career. She said the pressure to succeed became too much until two years ago when she took fourth at MIS and led Grand Rapids Christian to the team title.

“I had kind of a revelation during my sophomore year,” she said. “I was basically trying to put all the pressure on myself and run for myself and be, ‘Oh, my word, I just always have to win,’” she said. “I would get so nervous during the school day if we had a meet after school; I could hardly take it. I almost quit the team, actually.”

Her coach and parents talked her out of it.

“I realized it’s so much more fulfilling to run for God and not for myself and not for other people’s expectations,” Bos continued. “I know that He will be happy with whatever I do, whether it’s a (personal record) or a slower day, as long as I do my best.”

Ada Forest Hills Eastern romped to the team championship by a 93-150 margin over Spring Lake. Grand Rapids Christian was third with 182 points, as Grand Rapids-area schools took five of the top six places.

Senior Ciara Cullen was fourth among team runners and sixth overall in 18:10.6 to lead Forest Hills Eastern, which had five runners cross before Spring Lake’s No. 4 runner.

Junior Mary Kostielney was 15th among team runners in 18:42.8, freshman Lauren Allard was 20th in 18:58.9, sophomore Abigail Bowman was 24th in 19:11.2 and senior Angela Ottenwess was 30th in 19:20.1 for Forest Hills Eastern.

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PHOTO: Grand Rapids Christian senior Julia Bos puts the finishing strides on her second straight MHSAA Division 2 championship. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)

DaDamio, Forsyth Add to Family Fame

November 6, 2020

Second Half reports

BROOKLYN — Two familiar last names battled for the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 girls cross country individual championship Friday, but in separate races.

In the end, Birmingham Seaholm senior Audrey DaDamio had the fastest time in the two heats that were run in a cross country final that was redesigned to limit the size of races in the year of COVID-19.

DaDamio, who ran the first heat with individual qualifiers and runners from third-place teams at Regionals, crossed the line at Michigan International Speedway in 17:46.07.

She had to wait for the second heat to be run before celebrating her MHSAA championship. In that race, Ann Arbor Pioneer freshman Rachel Forsyth took first place in 17:55.60.

Both girls have older sisters who had second-place finishes at the MHSAA Finals. Rachel DaDamio was runner-up in 2014, and Anne Forsyth was second in 2016.

Audrey DaDamio improved every year at MIS, finishing 62nd as a freshman, 11th as a sophomore and fifth as a junior.

“It’s really special,” DaDamio said. “I’ve been dreaming about crossing the line since, honestly, probably middle school, but really freshman year when I was here in the 60s. I was like, ‘How do girls run so fast?’ To have worked to put myself in this position where I’m contending for a title is something really special. I’ve had a lot of good role models on the team and in my family to help me believe in myself so I could get there. I’m really thankful to have them.”

DaDamio ran pretty much a solo race, leading by six seconds at the mile and 15 seconds at two miles.

Forsyth wasn’t made aware of DaDamio’s time before she raced. She had more of a battle on her hands, outkicking Traverse City Central’s Julia Flynn (17:59.18) and Plymouth’s Lauren Kiley (18:03.92) to win her heat. An exhausted Forsyth slowed up right before the finish line.

Forsyth has a strong support system which includes her older sister.

“She helped me a lot,” Forsyth said. “Honestly, me and my sisters feel some pressure, obviously, just coming from a great family. It’s not anyone’s fault. My dad said it doesn’t matter what time you run; just go out there and do your best.”

DaDamio expressed gratitude for the opportunity to have an MHSAA championship meet, but missed the opportunity to race the other top runners in the state.

“I’m really excited we have a state meet,” DaDamio said. “I know a lot of states don’t have that. I’m just grateful to be here. I was kind of thinking about that during the race to kind of give me an extra boost. It’s a little upsetting not to be able to race a lot of girls I know from other teams. Some of the girls in the other race, I was excited to work with to push each other.”

Forsyth, like her older sister, led Pioneer to a team championship. The Pioneers scored 129 points, with Traverse City Central taking second with 168.

Cookie Baugh was fourth among team runners in 18:10.78, Sarah Forsyth was 20th in 19:22.88, Charlotte Batra was 34th in 19:47.28 and Emily Cooper was 48th in 20:04.36 for Pioneer.

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PHOTOS: (Top) Birmingham Seaholm’s Audrey DaDamio runs the final stretch of her championship-winning race Friday at MIS. (Middle) Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Rachel Forsyth paces the second heat in leading her team to the title. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)