Garces Sisters Helping Set Pace as Racers, Leaders for Hopeful Chargers
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 2, 2024
As Victoria Garces prepared for her first race of the season Sept. 21 at the Veterans Serving Veterans Invitational in Cadillac, she went through her normal pre-race routine.
But while she jumped in the air as she’s done so many times before, she realized she now had a shadow – her younger sister Emilia.
“We both kind of do the same little warm-up thing,” Victoria Garces said. “We both like to jump before the race, and we were doing it before and I was like, ‘Aw, nobody ever does that with me.’”
On that day, for the first time, the Garces sisters competed together for Midland Dow in a varsity race. They finished first (Victoria) and fifth (Emilia), leading the Chargers to a first-place finish in the event.
Now, having run the second and sixth-fastest times in Lower Peninsula Division 1 this season, they’re looking to take another leap together and lead Dow to even greater things.
“I’ve been in this not too terribly long, but long enough to know not to count your chickens before your eggs hatch,” Dow girls cross country coach Jamie Haruska said. “But we do have a very strong team. What I’m seeing is a lot of inspiration that comes from Victoria and Emilia and Syd Roberts and Maddie (Varhola), and the rest of the team is pushing themselves to say, ‘I want this. I want to be part of this, too.’ We have kids that want to be on that team, and are pushing really hard to be at that level. It’s great, because it’s bringing everybody up.”
Victoria Garces is already well known in Michigan running circles. She finished fifth in each of the past two LP Division 1 Finals, and finished second in the 3,200 and third in the 1,600 at this past spring’s LPD1 Track & Field Finals. She also has to her credit a ninth-place finish in the Wisconsin Division 1 cross country final as a freshman.
This past weekend, she committed to Duke to continue her running career.
“Academics were a big thing for me, and it’s such a good school, but I really liked the team and the coaches,” she said. “I was doing my fair share of visits these past couple of weeks, and it was a tough decision, but I kind of knew as soon as I took my visit (to Duke).”
She’s run just twice for Dow this season, winning both races. Her time of 17 minutes, 16.91 seconds at the Veterans was a personal best, and she followed that up with a 17:26.1 to win the Shepherd BlueJay Invitational Elite race.
Both of those times are faster than her Finals time of 17:29.1 a year ago, which set the school record.
“Going into the first race, I didn’t really have high expectations,” Victoria Garces said. “I kind of always wanted to run under 17:20; that was kind of a goal for me. Ultimately, I hope I break 17, so I got that out there. A lot of my goals are for later in the season. But it was nice just to kind of prove to myself that I’m capable of what I hope to do.”
The lighter start to the season is in service of those later goals. Garces ran into December a year ago, competing in regional and national meets.
Dow competed in five meets before Victoria Garces hit the trail, although it was not without a Garces at the front.
In big sister’s absence, Emilia Garces stepped up in a big way. She finished first at three meets and second at the others, including the Duane Raffin Festival of Races in Holly. She broke 18 minutes in her third career race, running 17:57.2 at Northwood. She’s since run 17:49.8.
“That was pretty wild,” Emilia Garces said of her early-season success. “Going into the season, I definitely had not too high of expectations, so when I started doing well, I was a little surprised, for sure.”
That time also gave Victoria a chance to be the fan watching her sister thrive at the varsity level, a role reversal from the past few years.
“She was having tons of success early on,” Victoria said. “After a little bit, I was itching to race, but I’m glad I held back and she got to shine.”
While Emilia certainly enjoyed leading the pack, she’s excited to now be running with her sister, something she’s looked forward to for years.
“Oh my gosh, it’s been so much fun,” she said. “I went to all my sister’s meets for the past few years and I always thought, ‘I can’t wait to do that, too.’ And the team atmosphere is so great, too.”
The Garces sisters are two of 46 runners on the Dow girls roster, and Haruska said their contributions as teammates have been as impactful as their accomplishments on the course.
“I’ve worked really hard to create a culture where everybody runs and everybody is valued,” Haruska said. “Victoria and Emilia are incredible, they’re national-level runners, but my slowest runners are an equal part of the team, too. Victoria is invested in all of those runners. Emilia, she’s just getting started, but I can see that she’s the same way.”
As for competition between the sisters, it’s friendly if anything. Emilia knows she has some work to do before she can approach her sister’s success, even if she’s off to a faster start to her career.
“I think she knows that she’s a lot better than me as a freshman, so she doesn’t need to rub it in,” Victoria said. “My coach is like, ‘Don’t go out there and just race each other.’ But we normally have our own goals. I guess there’s a little bit of competition, but I think she respects me, and I respect her.”
There’s also some mutual inspiration. Victoria said watching her sister train and thrive early in the season was motivating. Emilia has been motivated by her sister’s work ethic and success for years.
“She motivates me, definitely a lot,” Emilia said. “I feel like she inspires me a lot, watching her do those big things. I want to do those big things, too.”
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) Victoria (475) and Emilia Garces (474) pace with the lead pack during a race this season. (Middle) Victoria, left, and Emilia take a photo at a finish line. (Photos courtesy of the Garces family.)
BEWARE of Bears: Finals Champ Harrand Pacing Buckley's Team Title Pursuit
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
August 25, 2023
Over the years at Buckley, Aiden Harrand got pretty used to running alone.
It is unknown how often she thought about encountering a bear. It is also uncertain how much she dreamed about running with Bears — the Buckley Bears.
Harrand, now a senior, is surrounded by Bears – teammates. She had only one teammate as a freshman. There were no other girls on the team her sophomore year. Buckley fielded an entire team her junior year last fall, and the Bears placed eighth at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final. Harrand won the individual championship that day to lead them to that best-ever girls cross country finish.
She also won the three LPD4 track individual distance championships last spring in helping the Buckley claim the first team Finals title in any sport in the school’s history.
Harrand is starting this fall campaign Saturday at the Benzie Invitational. They’ll hit the Benzie course with their two team themes in mind – “We’re on Fire” and “Watch out for Bears.” If the competition doesn’t heed the theme warning posted on their T-shirts, they likely note them in the results.
And with individual and team state championships on their mind, the Bears are also looking for another possible first. They have high hopes of picking up the school’s first Northwest Conference championship. The league has been dominated by Benzie Central and Kingsley, schools with rich cross country histories.
“Watch out for Bears” just may have been set with the conference in mind. The recent track and cross country success won’t allow the Bears and Harrand to sneak up on anybody, pointed out second-year coach Jolie King.
“We didn’t ever have a chance because we’re competing against Benzie and Kingsley,” admitted King, who also has coached track and cross country for Bay City Western, Traverse City St. Francis and Kingsley. “They draw from 300 kids, and we have 118.
“We have a chance this year,” she continued. “(But) Benzie is going to be tough. You know Mylie (Kelly) is going to be amazing.”
The Regional and Final is really where the Bears have their sights. Kelly – who finished eighth in LP Division 3 last fall as a junior – and Benzie, along with Kingsley, will compete in Division 3. The Bears will see other conference teams, Frankfort and Glen Lake, in the Division 4 Regional the Bears are hosting Oct. 28.
By then, Buckley hopes to be on fire as demonstrated by its preseason team picture taken on a fire truck. The training plans are set with the Regional and Final meets in mind.
King said September’s plan is learning to run as team and focus on pacing as the Bears take on some pretty tough competition, including Hart and Traverse City St. Francis, two more top Division 3 teams in Northern Michigan. October will include speed work and seeing what the Bears are made of at the Portage Invitational, the coach revealed.
Harrand, the most decorated runner in Buckley’s history, has 11 teammates this fall. All the Bears are back from last year’s eighth-place finisher, plus they’ve added freshmen. They have been training all summer, meeting – and in many cases – exceeding King’s expectations.
Needless to say there is lots of excitement in Bear country. The season kicked off with a Glow Run, a team training experience commencing 12:01 AM on the first day MHSAA allowed practice for this season.
“I am giving myself goosebumps,” King noted as she talked about her 2023 team tapping its potential. “The girls have a goal to make the (Finals) podium this year.
“After (Harrand) winning the state title last spring, they know it is in their wheelhouse,” she continued. “They know they are capable of doing it.”
Harrand, of course, is expected to be the top runner again this fall. King is looking for sophomores Kayla Milarch, Brooklynn Frazee and Kinsey Peer to battle for the team’s 2-4 spots every meet. Addison Harrand, Aiden’s younger sister — also a sophomore— is projected to round out the team’s scoring regularly in the fifth spot.
Senior Natalie Halloway, junior Autumn Kelsey, sophomores Maddie Chilson and Allie Brimmer, along with incoming freshmen Kaylee Swanson and Mykayla Kulawiak, are also expected to figure in the Bears’ championship drive.
The Bears only boys team runner, sophomore Matthew Bentley, will train with the girls, giving the senior sensation the most cross country teammates she’s ever had.
“I used to say I guess I’ll go run by myself,” Aiden Harrand recalled. “Now I have 11 others to go run with me – this is kind of awesome.”
Harrand is expected to be challenged at Michigan International Speedway this fall, and she will welcome the competition as she focuses on a bigger personal goal – leading the Bears to the team championship.
“I have my work cut out for me, but I want it so bad,” the senior said. “I want to continue this trend.
“I want to do it for my girls and my team,” she continued. “I am going to be putting my best foot forward.”
If she had to accept either an individual or team Finals championship, she knows which one she’d take.
“I want the team one,” she said. “I think it is a bigger deal to be a part of a team to accomplish so much than to just do it individually.”
Harrand is very special to her coach.
“Every coach deserves an Aiden Harrand on their team,” King said. “She is bubbly … she makes everybody come together as a team … she demonstrates hard work … she’s really been such a leader … she encourages everybody.”
Harrand took fifth in the Division 4 Final as a freshman and was the runner-up as a sophomore. Across her 11 victories last season, Harrand had an average margin of victory of 34.5 seconds. She took the Division 4 top spot by nearly 15 seconds after winning her Regional by 49 seconds.
Last spring she finished first in every track event she entered, with Finals, Regional and Northwest Conference championships in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs.
Not surprisingly, Harrand owns an endless list of course and Buckley school track and cross country records.
But again, to her, team matters most.
“Her job for the team is to win meets,” King said. “But when she is done, she is on the line. She is coaching constantly. … She rubs off.”
And the sophomore Harrand really looks for her older sister to lead the team to success.
“It is really cool watching my sister do this and being able to support her at what she does,” Addisen pointed out. “Knowing she is going to be in the top five, and just having her do that goal and us follow, pushes us to be so much better as a team.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Buckley runners joke with coach Jolie King, far right, before a training run earlier this month. From left: Kinsey Peer, Brooklynn Frazee, Kayla Milarch, Aiden Harrand, and Addisen Harrand, with Allie Brimmer behind King. (Middle) The Bears’ team photo with a fire engine this fall is symbolic of the team’s “We’re on Fire” theme. From left: Coach Jolie King, Aiden Harrand, Natalie Halloway, Kinsey Peer (standing) Allie Brimmer (kneeling), Maddie Chilson (standing), Addisen Harrand (inside fire truck), Kayla Milarch (sitting), Matthew Bentley (standing) Autumn Kelsey (sitting), Kaylee Swanson (on truck), Mikayla Kulawiak (seated leaning forward) and Brooklynn Frazee (standing). (Below) The team takes a photo in front of a new course marker. From left: Kinsey Peer, Addisen Harrand, Brooklynn Frazee, Mikayla Kulawiak, Allie Brimmer, Kayla Milarch, Aiden Harrand, Kaylee Lown and Autumn Kelsey. Missing: Maddie Chilson, Natalie Halloway and Matthew Bentley. (Top photo by Tom Spencer. Fire engine photo by Amanda Patterson/Pattersnap. Course marker photo by Jolie King.)