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.)
Preview: Rankings Call for 1st-Time Championship Celebrations
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 5, 2021
If rankings hold true, Saturday could see at least a few first-time boys cross country celebrations at Michigan International Speedway.
Otsego in Division 2 and Johannesburg-Lewiston in Division 4 are the top-ranked teams heading into the day, and both are seeking their first Lower Peninsula Finals championships. Caledonia is the top-ranked team in Division 1 and seeking its first title in 1996. St. Louis is No. 1 and won last year – but surely the Sharks will be up for celebrating a repeat as well.
Individually, Hartland’s Riley Hough will finish a high school career that has seen him rank among the state’s best all-time, and Pinckney’s Caleb Jarema and Benzie Central’s Hunter Jones are mere steps away from joining him.
The day’s first races at Michigan International Speedway begin at 9:30 a.m., and all eight will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv – click for full details.
DIVISION 1
Reigning champion: Romeo
2020 runner-up: Caledonia
2021 top-ranked: 1. Caledonia, 2. Brighton, 3. Grand Haven.
After finishing 32 points behind Romeo at last season’s Final, Caledonia is favored to win its first championship since claiming the Class B title in 1996. The Fighting Scots graduated their top runner from last season’s team but return their next four finishers led by senior Josh Oom, who placed 24th a year ago. Brighton also graduated its top runner from last season but brings back the next four from the Finals lineup. Sophomore Seth Norder and Grand Haven as a team didn’t reach the Finals a year ago, but he was a Regional champion last week and is backed by 2020 individual qualifier Nolan Clark, a junior. Romeo is ranked No. 4 and returns four of its top six from a year ago, led by senior Jack Kelke, who placed 10th individually.
Individuals: Hartland senior Riley Hough has been one of the headliners statewide this season, and his best time of the fall (14:37) is well ahead of the field after he also ran the second-fastest time in MHSAA 5K Finals history (14:49.62) in 2020. He’s one of three top-10 and five top-20 finishers returning to this race. Farmington senior Peter Baracco was fourth at the Finals last season, 19th as a sophomore and 17th as a freshman, and Traverse City Central senior Luke Venhuizen has the division’s second-fastest time this fall after finishing 18th in LPD1 last season. Third on this year’s list is Lapeer senior Jeremy Williams, who was second to Venhuizen at their Regional at Saginaw Heritage.
DIVISION 2
Reigning champion: Fremont
2020 runner-up: St. Johns
2021 top-ranked: 1. Otsego, 2. Grand Rapids Christian, 3. Pinckney.
After Fremont won the last two team titles and Chelsea won back-to-back the two seasons before those, it may be Otsego’s time to climb the podium after finishing runner-up in both 2015 and 2019 and third last season. The Bulldogs return three runners from the 2020 Finals lineup, with senior Nick Cockerel having finished 20th individually and now leading the way. Grand Rapids Christian is seeking its first championship since 2014 and brings back six runners from last season’s ninth-place team. Pinckney was fifth last season and brings back four of its top six finishers including senior Caleb Jarema, the individual runner-up a year ago. Senior Conor Somers was fifth individually last season, but Fremont graduated its other four scorers from that repeat champion.
Individuals: Jarema and Somers top a group of nine returning from last season’s individual top 20. Jarema has the division’s fastest time this fall at 14:57, and Spring Lake senior Ian Hill is second on that list and finished eighth a year ago. Dearborn Divine Child junior Michael Hegarty has the third-fastest time in Division 2 this fall and finished 10th at the 2020 Finals. Chelsea has a chance to make a push in the team competition, with sophomore Connell Alford leading the way after finishing 11th individually a year ago. Parchment junior William Winter is running in Division 2 and finished 10th in Division 3 in 2020.
Division 3
Reigning champion: St. Louis
2020 runner-up: Hart
2021 top-ranked: 1. St. Louis, 2. Traverse City St. Francis, 3. Hart.
After winning its first championship last season since 2005, St. Louis is favored to come out on top again. The Sharks return four of last season’s top six including three runners who placed among the individual top 23, led by senior Aaron Bowerman in ninth and senior Nate March in 17th. Hart was a close second last season, just 13 points back, and despite graduating its top two from that lineup returns the next four runners. Traverse City St. Francis was third a year ago and has three of its top six runners back. Ithaca is intriguing; the Yellowjackets graduated their top runner after finishing seventh, but return the other sixth including two from the individual top 20 in junior Parks Allen (12th) and senior Espen Lehnst (15th).
Individuals: Seven of the top eight from last season graduated, but champion Hunter Jones is back. The Benzie Central junior is seeking his third individual Finals championship in three tries, and his best time this fall (14:44) is 42 seconds faster than the field. Manton senior Noah Morrow has the second-fastest time this season and was the next-closest placer returning from last fall after coming in eighth. Kalkaska senior Tyler Guggemos is a two-time Regional champion, and he has posted the division’s third-fastest time.
DIVISION 4
Reigning champion: Carson City-Crystal
2020 runner-up: Breckenridge
2021 top-ranked: 1. Johannesburg-Lewiston, 2. Concord, 3. Hillsdale Academy
Johannesburg-Lewiston is seeking its first Finals championship in this sport, with five of its top six back from last year’s team that finished 23rd. Concord is looking to return to the top after winning three of four Division 4 titles from 2009-12, and three of the team’s top five from last year’s third-place team are back led by senior Jonathan Mikovits (ninth individually). Breckenridge is ranked No. 4 and is an interesting possibility after also winning the 2019 championship. The Huskies have four runners back from last year’s runner-up team led by senior Mason Sumner, who placed third individually. Reigning champion Carson City-Crystal also has four runners back despite graduating individual champ Coleman Clark.
Individuals: Sumner is the highest-placing of 10runners back from last season’s top 20, and he has the second-fastest time in the division this season. Petoskey St. Michael senior Samuel Paga is back after coming in fifth, and Webberville senior Nathan Lott is running after placing sixth in 2020. Wyoming Potter’s House junior Lezawe Osterink has cut nearly a minute from his best time from a year ago and is undefeated this season, with his 15:42 topping the list of Division 4’s fastest this fall.
PHOTO Davison’s Iain Forrest (28) and Dexter’s Brandon Anderson (45) are among runners returning in Division 1 this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)