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.)
Eberhard Surpasses Personal Goals, Becomes Linden XC Standard Setter
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 20, 2022
Kyle Eberhard has enjoyed running for as long as he can remember.
He joined a mileage club in elementary school. He said his days on the playground weren’t spent playing soccer like some of his classmates, but running back and forth.
Back then, he was simply having fun and blissfully unaware of a Linden High School distance program that was among the best in the state.
Now in his senior year, that love of running helped turn him into the best distance runner the program has ever had.
“Kyle had another year of really solid mileage and had a fantastic track season (as a junior),” Linden boys cross country coach Trevor Hall said. “Coming into cross country season, he was brimming with confidence. Running consumes his thoughts. He’s always thinking about, ‘How can I be a better runner?’ He just does everything right.”
Eberhard recently set the school’s cross country record, completing the 5K course at the Shepherd Blue Jay Invite in 15 minutes, 20.9 seconds. It was nearly 30 seconds better than his previous personal best, and 14.4 seconds better than the previous record, set by Roger Phillips in 2012.
“It’s crazy because my goal was just to get on (the program’s top 10 list),” Eberhard said. “And that was starting last year – by the end of my senior year, the goal was to get on there. I never envisioned getting on the top. There was a senior when I was a freshman, Tyler Buchanan, he’s (third), and I was like, ‘I’ll never be as fast as him.’”
The record started to become a reality for Eberhard this past track season. He set the school record in the 1,600 meters at 4:18.01, was a Regional champion in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 and was all-state at the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals in the 800 (fifth) and 1,600 (eighth).
Track season also showed Eberhard’s range as a runner, as he was unbeaten in six 400-meter races, including winning the Flint Metro League championship.
“I’ve been training over the winter since my freshman year,” Eberhard said. “But last winter, I went a lot harder. I raced a lot more. I really focused on racing almost every weekend, and focused on what workouts I was doing, stuff like that.”
Track didn’t just bring confidence to Eberhard, it also brought college interest. Scholarship offers have started rolling in, including from Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan. He’s also visited Michigan State and Oakland, among others, with more visits upcoming.
“In late spring, I was getting more attention from track, and it’s been consistent since then,” Eberhard said. “I’ve been narrowing it down since the start of the summer, going on unofficials and stuff. It’s fun, but it’s also annoying sometimes.”
The recruiting process hasn’t distracted Eberhard from having the best season of his career. He’s won six of Linden’s first eight races, including the Duane Raffin Festival of Races at Holly.
Not among those wins is the Shepherd race in which he broke the record. There, he finished third, behind Thomas Westphal of New Baltimore Anchor Bay and Trent McFarland of Utica, two of the top runners in Division 1.
“I was definitely really locked in that day, just because I knew that was one of two or three chances I had to really run fast this season,” Eberhard said. “I knew I would have more than one person to chase after.”
Eberhard knew he was moving fast throughout the race, and it really hit home when he crossed the 2-mile mark in 9:50, which would be a personal best for him on the track.
“I’m only the cross country coach, but I think that might be the most impressive record of all the distance records at Linden,” Hall said. “Just to have him not just break the record, but blow it out of the water in a program where we’ve had some state runners-up and top-five finishers. We had a plan going in, and he executed it perfectly. It was just a gutsy race. You could see the effort on his face at every step. It was just so cool to witness.”
Eberhard’s time tied for the second-fastest in Division 2 this season with Pinckney’s Evan Loughride. Only Chelsea’s Connell Alford has run faster in Division 2 this season, and he’s done so three times, with his best time 14:53.2.
Eberhard and Loughride will meet at the Regional on Oct. 29 in Waterford, but they won’t see Alford until the Division 2 Final on Nov. 5 at Michigan International Speedway.
“I definitely want to win Regionals, which is going to be a battle,” Eberhard said. “The big one is to try to win the state meet, which is going to be hard with Alford there. I know I can compete with the other guys, but anything can happen. Our coach always says, ‘You’re better than you think you are.’”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Linden’s Kyle Eberhard, left, runs with a pack during the Shepherd Blue Jay Invitational on Oct. 1. (Middle) Eberhard (1222) follows Anchor Bay’s Thomas Westphal, far right. (Photos courtesy of Kyle Eberhard.)