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.)
Brother Pairs Pace Kalkaska's Boys Cross Country Hopes
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
September 10, 2021
Three sets of Kalkaska brothers will be running together again this weekend. And most likely Tyler Guggemos and Hayden Moore, both seniors, will be leading the Blazers.
This time, they’re running in the mud – the Charlevoix Mud Run.
The Mud Run is held every year by the Charlevoix Rayders. It’s a favorite of most teams as they overcome obstacles and challenges while getting a little dirty in the process. With multiple knee-deep mud pits, logs and other obstacles strewn throughout the course, overcoming those are at least as important as racing opponents when it comes to achieving a good finish.
Many of the teams are Kalkaska’s opponents in Lake Michigan Conference races and possible obstacles for MHSAA Finals qualification. And East Jordan, a league opponent, also is hosting the Regional.
The Mud Run will help the Blazers along in meeting the season goals.
Guggemos and Moore hope to qualify for the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. They’ve set their sights on individual qualification but have high hopes the whole team will be there, including their younger brothers Gavin Guggemos and Camden Moore, and senior twins Jake Olds and Dave Olds.
“We would like to finish in the top half of the teams at the Lake Michigan Conference meet and take a shot at qualifying for the state finals,” said Kalkaska cross country coach Doug Brown, who has coached all the brothers since they started running middle school track. “We'd have to be in the top three finishers at Regionals to do that.
“We'd at least like to get two or more runners to the state finals.”
Hayden Moore would love to reach the Finals with his younger brother coming along.
“I really want to get sub-17 (minutes) for the 5K and get into states,” Hayden said. “I also really want to get our team to states.”
Tyler Guggemos, who has a shot this fall at breaking Kalkaska’s cross country school record, agreed.
“I would like to make it to the state cross country meet and be in the top five in the state,” he said. “It would be great if the team made it too!”
The Blazers are off to a good start competing in McBain, East Jordan and Benzie Invitational meets with Guggemos finishing first for Kalkaska and Moore second. Their younger brothers as sophomores round out the top four. The twin Olds brothers are also pushing them along.
There’s a little sibling rivalry helping the Blazers, the boys acknowledge, but none noted between the brothers. The six boys have been running for Kalkaska together for six years, starting on the middle school track.
“Dave and I have competed quite a lot over the years, as is natural for twins to do,” said Jake Olds. “I wouldn’t call it a rivalry because he and I have different interests and have different goals in running.
“Having a brother on the team is a gift and a curse because, well, we are brothers and it’s fun to spend time together, to an extent.”
Gavin Guggemos hopes to match his brother’s success.
“It's nice to have someone to try to chase,” he said. “It's not a rivalry because he makes me want to be better.
“It's fun to train together,” Gavin continued. “My goals this year are to run in the 17s and make it to states.”
The younger Moore views it similarly.
“It’s not really a competition, although it is fun to compare times and say that you’ll catch them,” Camden said. “When it comes to times it’s fun to try to beat his when he was in my grade.”
Hayden finds motivation in his brother’s running.
“I think that it's a rivalry in that my brother races to beat my PR (personal record) at the same age and I race so that he can't beat my PR when he gets to my age,” he said. “We also have a rivalry over summer miles.”
The Guggemos and Moore brothers teamed up to run the 3,200 relay as sixth and eighth graders and then qualified for the Track & Field Finals in the 3,200 last spring as freshmen and juniors.
Brown is looking for even more success for all three pairs, but he remembers fondly the start in middle school track, especially the 3,200 relay team.
“I was very happy for them, because we thought they were a good team in middle school, and it was great to see them live up to their potential a few years later,” he said. “They were thrilled to be able to make a trip to the state meet together.”
Looking ahead, Kalkaska will host an invitational Sept. 21 after going to Elk Rapids on Sept. 16.
At Elk Rapids, the brother pairs will compete against Coach Brown’s son Seth, a sophomore. The Elks also have a brother duo – junior Caleb Kerfoot and sophomore Christian Kerfoot.
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) From left: Tyler Guggemos, Hayden Moore, Camden Moore and Gavin Guggemos make up two thirds of a Kalkaska distance running group with Cross Country Finals aspirations this fall. (Middle) Those four also filled relay spots together during middle school track. (Below) Hayden Moore (580) rounds a bend during a race. (Photos courtesy of the Kalkaska athletic department.)