Freshman Setting Pace as St. Joseph Finds Footing Among State's Best
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
October 12, 2021
If this fall marked the starting line for St. Joseph freshman Elena Figueroa, it’s sure to be an exciting finish for the budding talent as she progresses over the next three cross country seasons.
Having already claimed titles at a pair of Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West division meets, a victory at the Berrien County Invitational, wins in the underclassmen races at the Harper Creek Optimist Club Invitational and St. Joseph Invitational — which included times that would have placed her first and second, respectively, among the upperclassmen — and a runner-up performance at the Lakeview Invite, Figueroa leads a Bears program looking to have a strong kick as the year winds down.
“I started getting more serious last track season and started training more,” Figueroa explained. “I’ve been training since the summer, and I’ve been doing more weights and working on my strength.”
“She’s having a really solid and strong season,” veteran St. Joseph coach Mike Mahler added. “Coming into this season I knew she’d be on our varsity along with a lot of other strong runners this year, but I had no idea she’d end up being our No. 1 runner. That was a little surprising for me.”
St. Joseph competes at the Rock ‘N Run Invitational on Thursday in Dowagiac before closing out the schedule with the SMAC Championship on Oct. 23 and Lower Peninsula Division 1 Regional meet on Oct. 29 with a chance to earn spots in the Nov. 6 Finals at Michigan International Speedway. The Bears are ranked No. 14 this week in LPD1.
Along with Figueroa, seniors Riley Mullen and Jillian Tunnicliff, sophomores Grace Kelley and Cecilia Ruchti, and junior Olivia Ippel have helped fuel St. Joseph’s success this season. And though she isn’t officially part of the team, sophomore Gail Vaikutis, a transfer from Illinois who will be eligible next season, has played a critical role this year.
“She probably would be our No. 1 runner,” Mahler said of Vaikutis. “Gail is full of energy and very team-oriented and really pushing the girls in workouts. Gail and Elena have been able to train together every day. I have six girls that could be our No. 1 runner at any given point.”
But someone had to claim that spot, and Figueroa emerged as the pace setter for the Bears, setting up what will be an exciting partnership on the course with Vaikutis in years to come.
“She’s probably faster than me, and she’s been pushing me a lot at practice,” Figueroa said of Vaikutis. “Next year you will see her. We have so much talent on this team.”
Shy and humble, Figueroa is learning to deal with the newfound attention she’s getting, as well as how to navigate larger races like the ones rapidly approaching.
“Probably the only thing we need to work on is she gets really nervous when we go to a course she hasn’t run before,” Mahler said. “We just have to make sure we have plenty of time before the race to go over the course, and just keeping those nerves under control.”
At the ultra-competitive Ottawa Hills Invite, the freshman finished fifth overall in 18 minutes, 52.34 seconds. At the prestigious Portage Invitational, and while not feeling up to par, Figueroa was 34th overall in the Division 1 race. But with multiple sub-19-minute finishes already under her belt, she’s hoping to keep up with the top half of the field come Finals time.
“It was a lot of good competition (at Portage),” Figueroa said. “It was really big. I really got to see the competition and talent that is around me and the faces that I need to try to keep up with next time.”
“It’s just a great group of kids, and I’m thrilled for Elena having a super solid season,” Mahler said. “She’s coachable, she works hard, asks a lot of questions about workouts and it is exciting. I’m just so happy for the season she’s having so far, and hopefully we’ll see more improvement over the next few weeks.”
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) St. Joseph’s Elena Figueroa has won five of her nine races this season. (Middle) Figueroa (1160) leads the field during the Oct. 2 Berrien County Invitational. (Photos courtesy of the St. Joseph cross country program.)
Goodrich Enjoying Every Moment of Pursuing 1st Finals Title since 2005
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
August 23, 2024
Kamryn Lauinger and her Goodrich girls cross country teammates have a very big but attainable goal heading into the season: Stand atop the podium as Division 2 Finals champions at Michigan International Speedway on Nov. 2.
The Martians were third a year ago, return their entire top seven, and added a top-flight freshman to that already stacked lineup.
But you won’t catch Lauinger and the Martians looking ahead; they’re too busy enjoying every moment together along the way.
“I don’t want the season to go by fast,” said Lauinger, who placed 10th at the 2023 Finals. “It’s my last year, and we’re all kind of taking it all in, working hard together and preparing for what we can accomplish.”
Goodrich entered the season as the top-ranked team in Lower Peninsula Division 2, and with one meet under its belt has lived up to that ranking. The Martians won the Unionville-Sebewaing Invitational on Aug. 19 with a perfect score (15) – 1. Lauinger; 2. Jordan; 3. Sophomore Alivia Ottinger; 4. Sophomore Claire Brown; 5. Senior Avery Byrne.
Their sixth (freshman Kayla Shellenbarger) and seventh (sophomore Baylor Lauinger) runners finished sixth and seventh.
“It’s definitely exciting – I think we’re going to have a really great season,” said senior Layla Jordan, the reigning LP Division 2 Track & Field 800-meter champion. “Also, at the same time, we’re taking the same approach. We’re not changing anything we do. We’re excited, but we’re trying not to get too excited to the point where we look ahead. It’s really great to know that we have such great depth. Everybody is working for the same goal, and we all can just rely on one another.”
They’re also relying on their self-described “computer geek” of a coach, Al Warden, who has built a season-long plan he said is backed by science and computer programs – along with his own knowledge.
“I tell the kids all the time, this is not about going out there and being faster than everybody else,” Warden said. “You have to be smarter than everybody else. It’s science-based. Every single practice is science-based.”
Warden creates his training calendar by starting at Nov. 2 and building backward. That includes more than just workouts, as one of the items on next week’s agenda is buying new shoes.
“The more determined runners, they’re at that 400-mile mark,” he said. “They need new shoes, because they wore them out. That’s right in my schedule so I don’t have to remember to remember it.”
Warden’s plans are clearly getting results, and his runners have bought in completely.
“It definitely helps, because we know he cares,” Lauinger said. “I do like knowing all of his science – he does a lot of research. I like it. I like how he does it.”
While Warden is focused on the science of training, he hasn’t forgotten that it also needs to be fun if he’s going to get the most out of his runners.
So, mixed in with the temple runs and 10-mile days around Top Hill Farm are donut runs, slushie runs, pizza parties and swimming parties. There’s also a “no runner left behind” policy that ensures the top runners turn back and finish with the next group, reinforcing a culture of togetherness.
“I think it’s just that we all enjoy it,” Jordan said. “You have to love what you do, and we all love running. It’s really cool to be great at something, but it’s not as fun to be great alone. We all want to be great.”
If the Martians were to finish off the season with a Finals title, it would be the first since they won three straight from 2003-05.
As Warden said, “it’s time for Goodrich to win it again.”
His runners agreed.
“It would mean to me that I got to do something that’s going to be long-lasting,” Kamryn Lauinger said. “To have the little runners at Goodrich looking up to us. Just to have something long-lasting and people knowing that I came in here and did what I needed to do and left a mark.”
A Finals title would also allow the Martians to partake in one of their favorite traditions – treating a championship trophy like the Stanley Cup, and allowing a team member to take it home with them.
Who gets each trophy is normally a pretty easy decision, Jordan said, as they’re often on the same page about who deserves it on a given day.
There would be absolutely no debate if they win the big one: Warden.
“He’s the reason that we’re up there anyway,” Jordan said. “We couldn’t have done it without him.”
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) Goodrich’s Kamryn Lauinger pushes through the final stretch to finish 10th at last year’s LPD2 championship race at MIS. (Middle) Layla Jordan races for the finish line in placing 27th last season. (Below) The Martians’ Baylor Lauinger and Zeeland East’s Meredith Cook charge toward the finish. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)