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).
Gull Lake XC Extends Tradition Cross-State
October 4, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
In Randy Hunt’s mind, there was no way Richland Gull Lake’s cross country teams weren’t going to continuing their Homecoming tradition this fall – no matter how much farther they had to run.
Every year since 1993, Gull Lake’s runners have carried a game ball from their football opponent’s school to the Blue Devils’ stadium in advance of the Homecoming game. Previously, the longest trip was 72 miles from Niles.
But this fall, Gull Lake’s varsity didn’t have an opponent lined up for Homecoming until picking up Detroit Country Day – 138 miles to the east.
No problem. Over Thursday and Friday last week, past Farmington Hills, Ann Arbor, Jackson, Battle Creek and more, the Blue Devils again delivered the game ball.
“Our runners are amazing and up to any challenge,” Gull Lake girls coach Robin Blackburn said. “We originally heard that our opponent this year was Detroit Country Day; we thought our athletic director was joking! No joke, she was serious.
“Next thought, how are we going to make this happen? We had lots of crazy ideas. My favorite was putting a treadmill on a flatbed truck and having them run. Obviously we couldn’t do that, but we knew we had to do this over two days. Once we started planning and mapping the course, everything fell into place.”
Runners filled out cards with whom, when and how far they wanted to run, and then Blackburn and Hunt, the boys coach, built the plan. The first shift left Gull Lake for Country Day at 5:30 a.m. Thursday. Makenzie Wank, Betsy Martens, Sarah Grimes, Kayla Eklund, Grace Foster and Abby Bell – running in pairs in 4-mile increments – tackled the first 35 miles west.
The next shift left from Gull Lake at 10 a.m. headed for Northfield Township, north of Ann Arbor. Joel Blackburn, Nick Dawson, Koby Fraaza, Read Knapp, Nate Krawczyk and Nate Alpers – running 5-mile increments – tackled the next 45-mile leg of the relay and even were questioned by a local police officer as to what they were up to in the middle of nowhere on dirt road.
“Usually we like the ball to be continuous, but obviously with such a distance and safety concerns, we split this one up,” Hunt said. “The kids were excited to do it, and as coaches we knew it would create an awesome memory/story.
“I think the kids liked it because it got them out of school but also for the team bonding. I was impressed with their commitment to the tradition.”
Freshmen Kristian Shyiak and Cameron Perkins took Friday’s first leg from Jackson, a 6.4 mile stretch, followed by 10 more shifts – all planned to exact distance and arrival time, while parents joined in to taxi groups to their starting points and back to the school.
The plan was to finish with nearly a full lap at the track at 6:30 p.m., with the teams’ seniors then delivering the ball to the football officials at the 50-yard line. But with time getting short, the last group of four had to adjust, with each athlete running one mile as hard as he could to get the ball to the stadium and into the officials’ hands by 6:50 – and they made it with time to spare. “It was amazing to see the kids work so hard and do it gratefully,” Hunt said.
Others who took part in the relay were Lainie Scott, Lauren Adams, Sarah Donovan, Ashley Randall, Kaylie Murphy, Luke Larson, Zach Zahrt, Neil Gleason, Simon Hakman, Lilly Weigt, Jayne Flynn, Rachel Grimes, Justin Walker, John Porter, Tyler Ford, David Larson, Ruby Risser, Lija Krasts, Nick Martens, Elly Whitfield, Aelita Klausmeier, Lorelei Hess and Oliver Harnden.
“Cross Country doesn’t get a lot of coverage, but this even got the community involved and following our updates on Facebook and Instagram,” Blackburn said.
“We are about being a family. We do a lot outside of practice to build our unity. This was a special moment in our family – one none of us will forget.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Starting top left at Detroit Country Day, groups of Gull Lake cross country runners take turns carrying the game ball during their nearly 140-mile trek to Richland last week. (Middle) Blue Devils runners take their turn on a country road. (Below) All of the runners join together for the final stretch on Gull Lake’s track. (Photos courtesy of the Gull Lake cross country program.)