Freeland Girls Realizing Fast-Pace Potential
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
August 14, 2019
Runners on the Freeland girls cross country team had no idea how good they could be a year ago, mainly because most of them were entering their first year in the program.
Two of the Falcons’ newly formed top seven – Kiera and Peyton Hansen – had just moved into the district from Ogemaw Heights. Three others – Whitney Farrell, Allyson Harvey and Mara Longenecker – were freshmen.
“Everyone was kind of new,” said Peyton Hansen, who is now entering her senior year. “My sister and I were new, and there were a lot of incoming freshmen, so it was a blank slate, and that made it easier for us all to get along and work together. That’s what kick-started us to performing very well. You’re not going to want to train and run with people every day if you don’t like them.”
The Falcons got to know each other and got to know their immense talent throughout the season, winning a Regional title and finishing 15th at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals. Now six of the top seven are back, and hopes are high for the upcoming season.
“I think it was Regionals, because we weren’t really supposed to win that, but we did and that’s when we realized we could really be good,” sophomore Mara Longenecker said. “Before then, we didn’t really realize it. I think we can definitely go to states again as a team, and hopefully place in the top 10 this year.”
As far as preseason proclamations go, Longenecker’s is fairly mild considering what she and her teammates already have done and what they bring back.
With a tough conference season ahead – Tri-Valley Conference rival Frankenmuth also qualified for the Finals a year ago and could bring back six of its top seven racers – and a region that features Frankenmuth, Corunna and Flint Powers Catholic, nothing is guaranteed. But the numbers are in their favor.
Kiera Hansen was an all-state performer, Saginaw County and Regional champion as a freshman, clocking in with a personal best of 18 minutes, 32.7 seconds. Farrell and Peyton Hansen each were sub-20 runners last year, while Harvey (20:07.9), juniors Caitlyn Mieske (21:10.8) and Longenecker (21:12.7) weren’t far behind.
Of the 14 teams that finished ahead of Freeland at the 2018 Finals, only four (champion East Grand Rapids, Petoskey, St. Johns and Cadillac) are expected to return six of their top seven runners.
Only one other school in the top 15 (Otsego, which placed ninth with two seniors leading the way) had four freshmen in the lineup at the Finals.
“I think that we gained a lot of experience,” Farrell said. “We all didn’t run our best times at that race, but now we know the course and it can be a bit more familiar. There was a ton of people; it was really crazy.”
But modesty is something coach George Drown said runs throughout the team, whether that’s in setting individual goals, team goals or even applying to be one of the team’s captains this season.
“I don’t know if it’s that they don’t want the pressure, so they’re not expressing they know how good they are, but I do think they’re slowly understanding that,” said Drown, who is entering his third season at Freeland. “I think they’re excited for the season and excited for the new challenges we face with a different conference. We go from the team that was the darkhorse in the Regional to the team that has a target on their back.”
While the girls on the team said they didn’t see the success coming prior to last year, Drown did. His wife is the middle school coach in Freeland, giving him extra insight into the upcoming talent. And even though he’s fairly new to Freeland, he spent the previous 10 years coaching in nearby Hemlock.
“I think we did see it coming up,” Drown said. “Did we think they were going to be as good as they were their freshman year? No. But they bought in. We train to make the team good. We did a lot of group runs, and we had times with Kiera and Whitney where we knew they could run faster, but we held them back, and we used our top two girls to elevate our three through six and really pull them through the longer workouts. They bought in, and that’s how we did it. We really focused on the thought the team is only as good as the sum of its parts.”
Drown said his team is capable of stretching well beyond the top seven this season when it comes to being competitive at the varsity level, predicting he has 14 girls who are capable of running a 5K in less than 22 minutes.
So while the hopes are high and the season figures to be competitive, perhaps the modesty at the top of the lineup comes from knowing no breaks can be taken, even in practice.
“It’s really good for me, because I have people to base off of how fast I should be going,” said Longenecker, who joins Mieske as a team captain. “I’m never by myself on a run. I don’t want to say it’s a competition, but it really is at practice. You don’t want to finish last.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Freeland’s Allyson Harvey, right, and Peyton Hansen pace a pack around a bend during a race last season. (Middle) Whitney Farrell, left, and Kiera Hansen also were among Freeland’s top runners in 2018. (Photos courtesy of the Freeland girls cross country program.)
Preview: Challengers Chase History
November 1, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Make way for historic finishes at Saturday’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Girls Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway.
Two of four team favorites have never won before. A third hasn’t won in more than two decades. There will be at least two new individual champions. And two others will attempt to continue impressive reigns.
A total of 985 runners will take to the course at MIS on Saturday for the four girls races, which begin with Division 4 at 9:30 a.m. Below are some of the teams to watch and a glance at each of the individual fields. Click for all Finals qualifiers, a map of the course and links to buy tickets and watch the live broadcast on MHSAA.tv, and come back to Second Half later Saturday for coverage of all four meets.
Division 1
Reigning champion: Clarkston
2018 runner-up: Ann Arbor Pioneer
2019 top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 2. Traverse City Central, 3. Northville
Pioneer has finished Division 1 runner-up two of the last three seasons, and if rankings hold true will win its first championship since 1997. The Pioneers placed four among the top 52 last season, and all four return led by senior Zofia Dudek. She’s undefeated this fall after finishing third at the Final a year ago, and her personal record (PR) of 16:46.9 is 15 seconds faster than anyone else has run statewide in any division this season. Traverse City Central junior Julia Flynn has the fifth-fastest time in the state (17:26) after placing 10th at last year’s Final, and she’s one of six runners back from the Trojans team that came in fourth in 2018. Northville was eighth last year and brings four runners from that lineup back to MIS, with junior Emily Gordon the top returning placer after coming in 30th.
Individuals: Two-time champion Ericka VanderLende clinched her second title by 50 seconds a year ago. But despite her graduation, this will again be a strong field with Dudek leading 10 returning runners from last year’s top 20. Also back from the top 10 are Lake Orion junior Sophie Novak (fifth), Bay City Western senior Ashlyn Nagel (sixth) and Flynn, and Birmingham Seaholm junior Audrey DaDamio placed 11th and has the state’s third-fastest time this fall of 17:12. Holland West Ottawa freshman Arianne Olson and Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills junior Madison Ebright also should be in the mix; they posted the sixth and 10th fastest times, respectively, in the state this fall at their Regionals.
Division 2
Reigning champion: East Grand Rapids
2018 runner-up: DeWitt
2019 top-ranked: 1. Petoskey, 2. East Grand Rapids, 3. Ada Forest Hills Eastern
Petoskey approached a perfect score at its Regional last week and is running for its first MHSAA Finals championship in this sport after coming in third a year ago. The team’s five scoring runners from that race all are back, and only one is a senior. Junior Emma Squires was seventh in 2018, and junior Cambrie Smith was the league and Regional champ last month after placing 84th at the Final a year ago while competing for Gaylord. East Grand Rapids hardly can be overlooked after winning last year’s title with only one senior. Five of the top six from the title team will run again Saturday, including four who finished among the top 20 individually – senior Margaret Coney (sixth), sophomore Ainsley Workman (11th), senior Katie Hessler (15th) and senior Anna Petr (20th). Forest Hills Eastern is running for its first championship since 2012 with three runners back from the team that placed 11th in 2018. Senior Landyn Howell (46th) is the top returning placer from that lineup.
Individuals: No other race this weekend will have as many familiar faces. Only three seniors graduated from last year’s top 20, and the top 11 all are back in the field. Lansing Catholic senior Jaden Theis won last season’s championship by 15 seconds and has posted the fourth-fastest time in the state this season (17:20.2). Plainwell senior Mackenna Veen came in second in 2018 and has three top-five Finals finishes to her credit, while St. Johns senior Taryn Chapko was third last year and has finished at least 11th all three years of high school. Cadillac sophomore Kendall Schopieray (fourth), Grand Rapids Christian sophomore Madelyn Frens (sixth), Holland Christian seniors Gillian Fiene (eighth) and Michelle Kuipers (ninth) and Allendale senior Sophie DiPiazza (10th) also are back from last year’s top 10.
Division 3
Reigning champion: Hart
2018 runner-up: Grandville Calvin Christian
2019 top-ranked: 1. Hart, 2. Benzie Central, 3. Grandville Calvin Christian
Hart won last year’s championship by 100 points and is seeking its third straight title after graduating only one from that lineup – although that one was three-time individual Finals winner Adelyn Ackley. But the team’s next five runners from 2018 all are back: junior Savannah Ackley (seventh place), sophomore Audrienna Enns (10th), juniors Lynae Ackley (13th) and MacKenzie Stitt (14th) and senior Brenna Aerts (24th). Benzie is looking to make a jump from eighth last year after graduating only one runner and with five returning, led by junior Cierra Guay (37th individually). Calvin Christian graduated its two highest finishers from last year’s runner-up team but returns the other five with senior Olivia Quillan (21st) the top returning placer.
Individuals: A strong senior class last year took the top five places, leaving four of the top 10 – but 12 of the top 20 – to return this weekend. They’ll be joined by a few additions who should make for an interesting finish. Ithaca sophomore Lani Bloom (sixth) is the top returning placer, and with St. Louis sophomore Libby Munderloh (eighth) joins Savannah Ackley and Enns as those back from the top 10. Now the newcomers: Roscommon sophomore Allison Chmielewski was undefeated until her Regional and has the fastest time in Division 3 this fall by 41 seconds (17:31.1). Richmond senior Maddy Bean has won all but one race this season and has the third-fastest Division 3 time (18:24.4) after placing 78th in Division 2 a year ago. And Boyne City freshman Ava Maginity has the fifth-fastest time in Division 3 (18:33.3), which she ran in earning her Regional title.
Division 4
Reigning champion: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
2018 runner-up: Saugatuck
2019 top-ranked: 1. Bridgman, 2. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, 3. Hillsdale Academy.
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart has won four straight Division 4 championships, with four different schools finishing runner-up during that time. But the rankings call for Bridgman to unseat the Irish. The Bees return four from last year’s 15th-place team, led by junior Karyn Stewart (24th individually). They finished ahead of Sacred Heart at the prestigious Portage Invitational and scored just 35 points to win their Regional. Sacred Heart, however, does return three of last year’s top seven, including high placer Desiree McConnell (sixth), now a senior. Freshman Olivia Ervin actually has the team’s fastest time this fall (19:37.7), which ranks ninth in Division 4. And don’t forget about Hillsdale Academy, which finished fourth last year without a senior. Five of the team’s top seven runners return including last year’s three highest placers, led by freshman Megan Roberts, who crossed the line 27th as an eighth grader.
Individuals: Muskegon Western Michigan Christian sophomore Abby VanderKooi made her Finals debut last season running a 17:47.3, the second-fastest 5K time in Division 4 history and 1:15 faster than the field. Her 17:02.7 at Portage is the second-fastest time in the state this fall, regardless of division. Lansing Christian junior Madison Volz and Royal Oak Shrine senior Ellie Kendall finished second and third last season, respectively, and have the third and second-fastest times in Division 4 this year. Marlette senior Riley Ford was fifth last year and has this year’s fourth-fastest time. Four more from last year’s top 20 also are back in the field, and three of the top nine times in Division 4 this fall have been run by freshmen.
PHOTO: Roscommon’s Allison Chmielewski leads the field on the way to winning the Warrior Invitational at Remus Chippewa Hills in August. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)