Cheerleader Support Helps Mendon Return to Cross Country Finals
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
November 2, 2021
Art Stephenson’s family knows not to make any big plans in early November.
Each season of his 18-year tenure has ended the same way, with the Mendon cross country coach roaming Michigan International Speedway and motivating his runners in green.
The Mendon girls team’s appearance this weekend at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals in Brooklyn marks the seventh since Stephenson took over. Previously, the boys team made 17 consecutive trips to the championship race.
Even with fourth-seeded freshman Presley Allen leading the way in an unbelievable debut season, the Hornets were on the verge of seeing that team-qualifying streak snapped. For most of the year, Stephenson’s squad didn’t have enough runners to register team points. In fact, it took until Oct. 16 at the Sturgis Kiwanis Invitational for Mendon to put together five times for a team score.
Like most small schools, Mendon struggles yearly to fill out its athletic rosters. And considering the storied histories of the Hornets’ volleyball and football programs, getting kids to choose cross country — despite its own record of consistent success — isn’t always easy. So, numbers were low this year, and with Allen missing four of the first six meets due to COVID, a team trip to MIS didn’t appear to be in the cards.
But Allen, who had nine individual victories and a school-record time of 18:37 in a runner-up performance against top-ranked Abby VanderKooi (of Muskegon Western Michigan Christian) at the Portage Invite this fall, eventually returned to full strength. And she and teammates Amber Hostetler (senior), Lauren Schabes (junior) and Chloe Behrends (senior) spent their free time recruiting anyone who would listen.
Cheerleaders Alivia Stuart (senior) and Gracey Loker (junior) answered the call as first-time runners.
“We didn’t have enough to score as a team for either boys or girls for most of the year,” Stephenson said. “We were wondering if we were ever going to with this girls team, to be honest with you. We had Alivia, who ran her heart out last Saturday (at Regionals), she came out, and so did Gracey Loker — they both came out and they have obviously been great additions to the team. They allowed us to get to this point where we’re going to the state meet.
“It is a hard thing to do and a hard thing to convince a kid to do. The least amount you’re going to do on any given day of practice is four miles. It’s a hard sell. But we do a lot of things outside of practice. We used to do more before the pandemic. We do team dinners, which is always a fun thing to do. With the smaller teams, we still have just as much fun. It’s a good thing.”
Mendon finished fourth at the Division 4 Regional at Portage Central with 92 points, trailing Kalamazoo Christian (26) and Battle Creek St. Philip (72). Allen was medalist by over a minute with a time of 19:02.09. But a 13th-place finish by Hostetler, a 23rd-place effort by Schabes, Stuart’s 34th-place run and Behrends’ 45th-place finish helped secure the Finals berth.
Allen’s rise to the top of the program’s record list required besting her cousin Kasey Culp’s time of 18:43 from 1997.
“She was cheering me on the whole time,” Allen said of Culp. “She lives in Kentucky and she was texting me and asking me … she was almost as nervous as I was.”
Having competed against most of the top-seeded runners in D4 already this season, Allen is excited to be a part of a lead pack Saturday in Brooklyn that includes VanderKooi, Buckley sophomore Aiden Harrand, Maple City Glen Lake senior Makenna Scott and Western Michigan Christian freshman Grace VanderKooi.
“It really makes me think about how they were running in each meet and what they do,” Allen said. “It has helped me know what to do when I go to state.”
“She has had a lot of success this year,” Stephenson said of Allen. “She had COVID early on in the year and we’re lucky it was early on in the year. It took her a while to get back. I think she’s back to form now and doing well. She is definitely there in that top five (at state). She is probably the most driven runner I’ve ever had. She’s amazing, and she loves to do what she’s doing — and it shows. She has a workout regimen that I defy any high schooler to do.
“Getting out clean isn’t a worry because she gets out fast. That’s always been her thing. She has only been behind a couple times this season. She’ll keep chasing if that happens. This week is going to be an awesome race because of who you have there. That’s quite a top five for a D4 Final. It is going to be a fun race to experience.”
Stephenson and Allen both agreed it will be a whole lot more fun having that experience as a team, made a whole lot sweeter after the adversity they faced in 2021.
“It doesn’t matter when we get them, as long as we get them,” Stephenson said. “Everyone is out here doing the same thing for the same cause.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Mendon’s Presley Allen leads the pack during her team’s Division 4 Regional at Portage Central. (Middle) The Hornets advanced to the Finals as a team with a third-place Regional finish. (Photos by Nicci Plummer/JoeInsider.com.)
Ithaca's Bloom Gets Her Title, Hart Ties LP Finals Team Record
November 6, 2021
BROOKLYN — A year ago, Lani Bloom of Ithaca was in first place with a decisive lead, less than 100 meters from the finish line at Michigan International Speedway.
But then she fell and was reduced to a slow crawl.
As she desperately tried to reach the line on her hands and knees, three runners passed her. It was the second year in a row that Bloom led coming down the stretch at MIS, only to experience a catastrophe. She was 18th in 2019 after leading with 800 yards remaining, collapsing after crossing the line.
So, that fist pump she gave when she crossed the line at MIS on Saturday was almost as much for the fact she finished upright as it was for winning the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 individual championship.
There would be no drama awaiting Bloom on the home stretch this year, as she cruised through the finish line in 17:29.69, winning by 30 seconds ahead of Hart sophomore Alyson Enns.
“I was in the same position last year,” Bloom said. “I was ahead by quite a bit. I just fell. This year, I made a conscious effort, I got to that point and I said, ‘You have never run this part of the course. You have crawled it for the past three years. It’s time to run it. It’s time to finish it.’”
Perhaps because of her past issues at MIS, Bloom showed empathy for fellow runners who were struggling after crossing the line.
She helped sixth-place Mylie Kelly of Benzie Central get back to her feet and moving, then helped hold up two teammates who were completely spent after racing 3.1 miles.
“Usually if I’m feeling good enough to stand up on my own, I’m feeling good enough to help people,” Bloom said. “The girls I went back for are girls I’ve competed against, ran with forever now. It seems they’ve given me so much respect that the least I could do is hold them up at the end.”
Bloom went through the mile mark in 5:38.1, holding a 7.8-second lead over Hart freshman Jessica Jazwinski. The lead stretched to 19.2 seconds when Bloom reached two miles in 11:17.3.
“I was expecting them to hang on to me for a little longer,” Bloom said. “I was reading these Michigan Speed Ratings. He said these girls get out hard and dare the field to hang on. I said, ‘I’m going to do that. I’m going to see who is ready to race today.’”
Following Bloom across the line were three Hart runners who took places two through four. Alyson Enns was second in 17:59.67, Jazwinski was third in 18:00.59 and senior Audrianna Enns was fourth in 18:32.27.
Hart’s strength up front was able to offset more consistent top-five finishes by the other contenders. Hart scored 143 points to win its fifth consecutive Division 3 championship by 36 points over Kent City.
The fifth-straight Finals title tied Rockford’s run in Class A/Division 1 from 1998-2002 for longest championship streak in Lower Peninsula girls cross country history.
Kent City’s top five runners were in the top 72 overall and top 53 among team runners, while Hart counted a runner who was 159th overall and 111th in the team race.
Lexie Beth Nienhuis was 31st in 19:36.65 for Hart, while Abigail Pretty completed the team score by taking 159th in 21:47.49.
PHOTOS (Top) Ithaca’s Lani Bloom approaches the finish line on the way to winning the LPD3 individual championship. (Middle) Hart’s Alyson Enns (255) and Jessica Jazwinski (257) lead the way as their team wins a record-tying fifth-straight title. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)