Finals Preview: Running for Another First
October 31, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three of last season's girls cross country team champions are again ranked among the top three in their respective divisions heading into Saturday's MHSAA Finals at Michigan International Speedway. Three of last season's four individual winners also are back for another title try.
Just pencil them in for first again, right? Cross country isn't that easy to forecast.
West Bloomfield's Erin Finn, Grand Rapids Christian's Julia Bos and Breckenridge's Kirsten Olling all are back to defend their 2011 MHSAA championships. But they'll face a number of challengers, most they've run against but a few newer faces as well. Same for most of the favored teams, which have likely crossed paths at least once this fall. But often that doesn't matter when they're coming down the MIS home stretch.
Here's a look at some of the teams and individuals expected arrive on the medal stand by the time Saturday's races are done. Click for Saturday's race schedule and links to all qualifiers.
DIVISION 1
Reigning champion: Grosse Pointe South
2011 runner-up: Saline
2012 top three: 1. Birmingham Seaholm, 2. Saline, 3. Grosse Pointe South
Seaholm moved ahead of Grosse Pointe South about two weeks ago as the favorite in Division 1, with the top four from last season’s fourth-place Finals finisher back and led by senior Aubrey Wilberding – who crossed 11th in 2011. Saline finished second last season on the strength of four placers among the top 33, and five of the team’s top six from that day are back. But don’t be shocked to see a repeat from the Blue Devils, with all five of last season’s placers back in the lineup. They took five of the top nine at the Regional.
Individuals: Seven of last season’s top 10 will be back at MIS, with West Bloomfield senior Finn and Grosse Pointe South senior Hannah Meier regarded nationally, the latter a bit more from her track prowess. Finn won the title last season in 17:22.6, and Meier was third in 17:24.1.
DIVISION 2
Reigning champion: East Grand Rapids
2011 runner-up: Cedar Springs
2012 top three: 1. Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 2. Spring Lake, 3. East Grand Rapids
Forest Hills Eastern is looking to make a giant jump from last season’s 14th-place finish, and is paced by Regional champion and senior Clara Cullen – with junior Mary Kostielney taking seventh and freshman Lauren Allard 10th last week. Cullen finished 18th individually at last season's Final. Spring Lake didn’t even make the Final as a team last season, but now-senior Brittany Beeler finished 13th individually and was one of three from her team among the top 18 at a strong Regional last weekend. East Grand Rapids graduated its top two from last season’s championship team, but got a sixth-place Regional finish from sophomore Kaela Theut. Grand Rapids Christian, led by individual reigning champion Bos, beat both Spring Lake and East Grand Rapids at the Regional and is ranked No. 4.
Individuals: Bos, a senior, won the Regional in 17:18.21 and edged Cedar Springs’ Kenzie Weiler by 11 seconds in last season’s Final; Weiler is back this fall as a sophomore. Three more of the 2011 top 10 also are back, with Remus Chippewa Hills senior Megan O’Neil and Cedar Springs senior Katie Weiler following Kenzie for the top three spots at their Regional after the latter two finished fifth and sixth, respectively, at last season’s Final.
DIVISION 3
Reigning champion: Benzie Central
2011 runner-up: Kent City
2012 top three: 1. Grandville Calvin Christian, T-2. Benzie Central, T-2. Jackson Lumen Christi
Calvin Christian enters as the favorite on the strength of six of the top seven from last season’s eighth-place finisher. Six of those seven finished among the top 17 at the Regional. Benzie Central placed six of the top 19 at its Regional, and junior Bryce Cutler finished 26th at last season's Final. Lumen Christi finished fourth in 2011 in large part thanks to two freshmen who are now even better sophomores – Aubrey Penn and Caitlin Clark, who are both coming off top-47 Final finishes.
Individuals: Seven of last season’s top 10 also return in this division, headlined by reigning runner-up and senior Raquel Serna of St. Louis and Ida sophomore Ashley Sorge. Serna ran an 18:21.4 at the Regional to beat a groupby 32 seconds that included two more returning top-10 Finals finishers. Sorge also won her Regional, by 28 seconds, in 19:02.3.
DIVISION 4
Reigning champion: Hesperia
2011 runner-up: North Muskegon
2012 top three: 1. Harbor Springs, 2. Bear Lake/Onekama, 3. Beal City
Harbor Springs finished fifth in Division 3 last season and has four of those top six runners back this weekend. Bear Lake/Onekama finished 12th in Division 4 last season with only one senior; the other six runners all are back, including four who were freshmen in 2011. Beal City returns five of its top seven from last season’s 10th-place team, and freshman Hannah Steffke finished third at the Regional.
Individuals: Breckenridge junior Kirsten Olling has won the last two Division 4 Finals and did so last year by nearly 38 seconds. She won her Regional last week by 1:20 with a time of 18 minutes flat. Montabella junior Taylor Smith finished runner-up at that Regional, and might be the second-fastest in the entire Division 4 field after finishing fifth as a sophomore.
PHOTO: Breckenridge's Kirsten Olling rounds the final bend before re-entering the MIS track area during last season's Division 4 Final. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).
Ithaca, Bullough Claim 1st Titles in D3
November 1, 2014
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
BROOKLYN — Holly Bullough of Traverse City St. Francis had raced Amber Way of Charlevoix numerous times, but never with as much at stake.
Bullough closed a gap of about 75 yards and used one final surge in the last 10 yards to beat Way to the finish line and win the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 cross country individual championship on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
Bullough's time of 17:51.3 put her a scant 0.2 seconds ahead of Way.
Bullough and Way were in separate divisions last year, Bullough finishing third in Division 4 and Way taking a close second in Division 3. They were in the same regional this year, with Way winning in 17:51.61 and Bullough taking second in 17:54.16.
"I love it when Amber's there, because she pushes me so much," said Bullough, a junior. "She helps me a lot."
Bullough's late push caught Way by surprise. When the two met up shortly after the finish, Way said, "Where did you come from?"
With a strong wind going through her ears and the focus of trying to reach the finish line, Way never heard Bullough coming.
"I didn't see her," said Way, a senior. "I was kind of a little stupid there. I eased up at the end; that's where she got me. I heard people screaming and thought maybe there's someone behind me. I couldn't hear anyone. I know I didn't want to look back."
Way also took second in a close race last year, finishing second to two-time champion Gina Patterson of Macomb Lutheran North by 1.5 seconds. Patterson placed fifth in 18:29.6 on Saturday.
It was the final state meet for a strong group of runners who have been near the top of the Division 3 ranks for the past four years.
Way has finished in the top nine the last four years. Manistee's Annie Fuller, who was third in 18:15.7, has been in the top 11 all four years. Ida's Ashley Sorge, who took sixth in 18:52.7, had made the top eight all four years. Fourth-place Allison Vroon of Holland Black River has made the top five the last three years.
Returning all seven runners from a team that placed 10th in last year's MHSAA final, Ithaca won its first title with 147 points, beating defending-champion Shepherd by 11.
Ithaca was running in only its third MHSAA final, qualifying for the first time in 2005.
The Yellowjackets won with a strong pack. Sophomore Courtney Allen led the way by placing 12th in 19:06.9, sophomore Amelia Freestone was 33rd in 19:56.0, and the final three scoring runners were within 11.9 seconds of each other. Hannah Thayer (20:17.0), Blaire Showers (20:23.0) and Alyssa Mankey (20:28.9) completed the scoring.
Ithaca will be favored to repeat, with Thayer being the lone senior on the team. Shepherd's No. 1 and No. 4 runners are seniors. Shepherd had three finishers cross before Ithaca, but its fourth and fifth runners didn't cross until Ithaca had five runners home.
PHOTOS: (Top) Traverse City St. Francis’ Holly Bullough (left) follows just behind Charlevoix’s Amber Way before moving ahead down the stretch to claim the LP Division 3 championship. (Middle) Manistee’s Annie Fuller (right) and Holland Black River’s Allison Vroon sprint the final meters on the way to finishing third and fourth, respectively. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)