Ewen-Trout Creek Earns 1st Title, Marquette & Hancock Add to Win Streaks
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 19, 2024
MUNISING — Prior to Saturday, the Ewen-Trout Creek girls cross country program never had a complete team compete at the Upper Peninsula Finals.
The Panthers made up for lost time on a sunny and mild afternoon at the Pictured Rocks Golf Course, earning their first Division 3 title with 54 points. Engadine edged 2023 champion Chassell 100-102 for the runner-up trophy.
“What’s even better is our top five runners are coming back,” E-TC coach Brad Besonen said. “This is going to be a great builder for us. I think this will help the girls’ side and the boys’ side as well.
“Our season is so difficult. We ran against Hancock in two-thirds of our meets and Baraga in all but one race and often against Houghton. We have to work for everything we get.”
Pickford junior Talya Schreiber won the 3.1-mile race in 18:48.8. She was followed by Newberry sophomore Abby Taylor (19:49.1) and her junior sister Samantha Taylor (19:55.9), and Engadine eighth-grader Molly McNamara (20:14.4).
“I think running with these girls helped me a lot,” McNamara said. “I thought this was a strong possibility coming into this race. I think we’ve developed a camaraderie. Finishing runner-up as a team is a great feeling. I think we’re going to have a good team next year. I think this will also help us for track.”
Freshman Bree Besonen led E-TC finishing sixth at 21:28.9.
“We’re like a little family,” she said. “We’re always pushing each other in practice. We’re a young team, which makes it better. Having a full team is very helpful. It’s a big motivator.”
Division 1
Marquette edged Houghton 30-32 for its third-straight Division 1 crown.
Houghton junior Tessa Rautiola gained her second individual title in 19:31.3, followed by Marquette junior Ella Fure (19:44.2) and Houghton freshman Sela Niska (19:51.8).
“It was very close,” Rautiola said. “Their girl taking second was key for them. It was a nice season for our team. We just put in a lot of work. The future looks bright for our team.
“I knew I had to go out and attack all the straight stretches. I just wanted to have a good race. I won as a freshman, and I’m so happy to regain the individual title.”
Fure said she was seeded 10th coming into the Finals.
“I’ve been having some issues with my hip,” she added. “I just had to believe in myself and do it for our team.
“Houghton’s a great team. We knew we were the underdog coming into this meet. I think I prefer the bigger meets. I just need the motivation. I’m really proud of how our team did. I made a hypothetical game plan, and we knew what we had to do. We executed our plan real well.”
Division 2
Hancock proved its tradition is alive and well, earning its fourth consecutive title with 35 points. The Bulldogs, often overshadowed by neighboring Houghton, were followed by Baraga with 67 and Munising at 97.
“We’re a lot smaller than Houghton,” Bulldogs coach Jennifer Smith said. “We also have a good program. The girls know what they have to do. Our tradition is huge. You have to be tough to run cross country. There’s not a lot of glory, but like no other sport we’re all very supportive of each other.”
Ironwood senior Aubrey Smith gained the top individual honor for the first time in 19:57. She was followed by Hancock senior Ella Keranen (20:22.9) and Gogebic (Wakefield-Marenisco) senior Alyssa Shirkey (21:13.2).
“It’s a relief to finally win one,” Smith said. “I was just playing it by ear and ran my own race. Whatever happens, I’ll just do my best out there. This is a great way to end my high school cross country career.”
Shirkey has drawn recruiting interest from Bay College.
“My strategy is always to stay with Aubrey,” Shirkey said. “I attribute my success to summer training and did some 8-mile practices. I think being a senior provided me with special motivation to keep going.”
PHOTOS (Top) Runners – including eventual champion Talya Schreiber of Pickford (307) – begin the Division 3 race at the Upper Peninsula Finals on Saturday. (Middle) Marquette's Maija Maki-Warne (223), Kingsford's Maria Murvich (205) and Marquette's Ella Fure (231) run together during the beginning of the Division 1 race. (Below) Hancock's Ella Keranen (142), Baraga's Princess Pierre (9) and Hancock's Alena Pietila (144) follow race leader Aubrey Smith of Ironwood. (Click for more from Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)
VanderKooi Repeats, Bridgman Wins 1st Title
November 2, 2019
Second Half reports
BROOKLYN – Abby VanderKooi wasn’t being cocky.
She was merely stating the obvious.
“I don’t normally have competition anywhere, so it’s really tough,” the Muskegon Western Michigan Christian sophomore said.
Being one of the nation’s top runners and competing in the smallest division at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula cross country championships only accentuates the gap between VanderKooi and her competition.
The Division 4 girls race Saturday at Michigan International Speedway was a battle for second place as VanderKooi ran solo up front to repeat as champion by 1 minute, 11.7 seconds with a time of 18:11.0.
Last year, she won by a margin of 1:15.6 in 17:47.3.
So, how does VanderKooi maintain her focus in races when there is nobody else around to push her?
“I try to recite Bible verses, and that helps sometimes,” she said.
Her favorite, she said, is Philippians 4:13.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” she said. “I like that one a lot.”
VanderKooi followed up her Division 4 championship last year by placing third in the Foot Locker National Championship in San Diego. She plans to run the Midwest Regional on Nov. 30 in Kenosha, Wis., to qualify for the national meet Dec. 14.
VanderKooi had a gap on the pack by the end of the 700-meter opening straightaway. Riley Ford of Marlette was in second place, but had no delusions of trying to catch VanderKooi.
“I just ignore that she’s there,” Ford said. “I know she’s at a way higher level than I am. I try to do what I can do. My goal was to get second, and it happened.”
Ford held second place the entire race, holding off a brief challenge from 2018 runner-up Madison Volz of Lansing Christian at the two-mile mark. Ford finished in 19:22.7. Volz was third in 19:30.2.
“Last year I got fifth,” Ford said. “I was holding second, then I got passed at the two mile and kept getting passed and couldn’t hold it. The last two weeks, I’ve been doing a lot of kilometer repeats at race pace. My pace was ingrained in my head, and it really helped. I just wanted it really bad. I haven’t had the best season.”
In the team competition, Bridgman ended Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart’s four-year run as champion by scoring 132 points. Sacred Heart was second with 148, and Kalamazoo Christian was third with 174.
Karsyn Stewart was sixth overall and third among team runners in 19:38.8, while Arie Hackett was 11th overall and sixth among team runners in 19:58.2 to lead Bridgman. The Bees’ previous best finish at an MHSAA Final was fifth in Class D in 1985. They didn’t qualify again until 2015, but have since made it four of the last five years.
Summer Fast was 39th (20:59.3), Jane Kaspar 68th (21:43.1) and Mikaela Owen 81st (21:55.8) to complete Bridgman’s scoring.
PHOTOS: (Top) WMC’s Abby VanderKooi builds a big lead during Saturday’s Division 4 Final. (Middle) Bridgman’s Karsyn Stewart (1702) follows Maple City Glen Lake’s Makenna Scott through a curve. (Photos by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)