Challenging Courses, Modified Scoring & Evening Start Highlight UP Race Debuts
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
September 17, 2024
CRYSTAL FALLS — A pair of high school cross country meets made their debuts earlier this month in the Upper Peninsula, with the Gwinn Invitational on Sept. 3 in Sawyer followed a day later by Crystal Falls Forest Park’s first meet at Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp.
According to Forest Park coach D.J. Rasner, it took three months of planning to make the Trojans’ first home meet possible.
“We’re glad to get this in,” he said. “We’re hoping to find out where we need to improve. It’s exciting, and hosting this meet has generated excitement in the community. We were without a program for about 20 years. This is our third year back, and our program has been growing slowly. I’m grateful for the school and administration for taking this risk.”
Bark River-Harris senior Wes Knauf, who runs for Powers North Central as part of a cooperative program, found the course to be challenging.
“It’s a nice course with a lot of shade,” he said. “There was a large sand hill about a mile into the race, and I shortened my stride. Many guys slowed down on that hill. There were a lot of roots out there. You had to watch your footing. There was also a downhill that was nearly as long, which helped me get my second wind.”
Knauf, who won the 3.1-mile race in 19:52.2, was followed by Forest Park junior Joey Mainville (20:47.5) and senior brother Max Mainville (20:47.7) on a sunny and warm afternoon. The Trojans won their home debut with nine points in a meet featuring modified scoring with the top three finishers contributing toward their respective team scores.
“It feels great to win our first home meet,” Joey Mainville said. “Running on our home course for the first time provided us with special motivation. We just didn’t want to start out too fast.”
“Getting to practice on this course really helps,” Max Mainville added. “It’s a big boost for me to finish in the top three, and the victory is a big boost for our team. We had very good conditions for this race, and low humidity helped.”
The North Central girls were crowned champions with seven points, followed by Rock Mid Peninsula with 22 and Rapid River at 24.
BR-H senior Hope Varoni, who also runs for the Jets, won individually at 23:44.9.
“I usually try to follow people and stay with them,” she said. “Today, I decided to run at my own pace. It was a little uneven on parts of the course, although it was a nice course. I’d say my season is starting the way I want.”
At Sawyer, Munising senior Dan Goss took the Gwinn Invitational boys title at 18:32.3 in a meet which started at 6:15 p.m.
“The course was pretty sandy and there were a lot of roots,” said Goss, who trains 40 miles a week. “You had to watch your footing. My goal was to get in front of the pack, and I took my first mile out at 5:30.
“I think it’s pretty cool to run in the evening. It was a great atmosphere. I don’t think I ever started a race after 6 p.m. Lot of times the wind goes down in the evening.”
He was followed by classmate Trevor Nolan (19:13.8), Manistique senior Ben Gilroy (20:00.1) and Gladstone junior Tyler Soderman (20:02.3).
“I’ve twisted my ankle about five times and was trying to be cautious,” Gilroy said. “I tried to take it at a comfortable pace. I started walking on the uphill and several people passed me, but I caught them after the hill anyway. I was just trying not to get injured before our home meet (Sept. 11). I think it was a fun meet. It was an adventure and something new. I told my teammates to take it easy. I don’t want them to be injured for the U.P. (Division 2) Finals.”
Gladstone junior Payton Takkunen recorded her first varsity victory on the challenging 3.1-mile course in 25:56.6
“This feels really good,” she said. “I’m glad everyone was there to support me. I wanted to stride it out in the first mile and continue from there. I thought the race was well-organized, but it was really hard. Although, I think this will give me confidence for the bigger meets.”
Takkunen was followed by senior teammate Kristy Karl (26:34.2) and Ishpeming seniors Peyton Kakkuri (26:39.9) and Laynie Korpi (26:51.8).
“Payton and I were on pace for 8-minute miles, but once we got into the sand we slowed down a lot,” Korpi said. “I was doing pretty good until we got to the hill in the last mile. We had beach sand after the first mile. I enjoyed the race, though. It’s good when you have somebody to run it.”
The Gladstone girls won with 20 points, followed by Superior Central at 47 and Manistique with 57.
“That was a challenging course, but it was a good first meet for us,” Superior Central coach Holly McDonnald said. “It was nice because it was close for us. I hope they’ll do it again.”
The Gladstone boys also won with 32 points, followed by Munising at 57 and Gwinn at 76.
The invite featured varsity, junior varsity and middle school races, with seven varsities competing for boys and girls championships.
“It was a tough course,” Gladstone’ coach Gary Whitmer said. “Although, it was pretty exciting to see the kids get their medals. This is a boost for the kids.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Crystal Falls Forest Park’s Max Mainville crosses a road during his school’s inaugural invitational Sept. 4. (Middle) The Trojans’ Ellie Zaupa crosses the finish line. (Below) Gwinn’s Eloi Lopez (194), Manistique’s Ben Gilroy (464) and Gladstone’s Teagan Reynolds (422) run a stretch of the Gwinn Invitational on Sept. 3. (Forest Park Invitational photos courtesy of the Forest Park cross country programs; Gwinn Invitational photo by Laura Spade.)
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.)