Maples Win First Title, Finn Wins Second

November 3, 2012

By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half

BROOKLYN — The level of competition made its first MHSAA cross country championship even sweeter for Birmingham Seaholm.

Seaholm, Grosse Pointe South and Saline took turns beating each other this season, setting up a three-way showdown for the Lower Peninsula Division 1 girls cross country title Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.

In the end, it wasn’t as close as expected. Even with a sub-par day by its No. 1 runner, top-ranked Seaholm won by a 69-88 margin over third-ranked Grosse Pointe South, the defending champion. No. 2-ranked Saline was third with 101.

Seaholm was fourth in Division 1 last year, its best finish before Saturday. The Maples had been in the top 10 only twice before posting top-nine finishes three of the last four years.

“It’s indescribable,” Seaholm coach Jeff Devantier said. “It’s fantastic. It’s just a lot of hard work that’s finally paid off.

“That’s what makes it even better, knowing the competition around you is as tough as it is. But that was our focus all year. We knew this team and this team — Saline and Grosse Pointe South — were the teams we had to compare ourselves to and had to continually improve to beat. It came together today.”

Seniors Aubrey and Tess Wilberding — two of three triplets — led Seaholm. Aubrey was fourth overall in 17:55.9, while Tess took 12th in 18:16.4.

Rounding out Seaholm’s scoring were freshman Marissa Dobry (15th, 18:23.9), sophomore Rachel Dadamio (20th, 18:27.9) and sophomore Audrey Belf (33rd, 18:32.8).

“The scary thing about this lineup is that we haven’t had the same girls finish in the same order all year,” Devantier said. “My top girl actually did not have the kind of day she wanted to. We wanted to have as many girls in the top 30 to 35 as we could.”

Individually, West Bloomfield senior Erin Finn repeated as champion with the fastest time in all four divisions, a personal-best 17:07.9. Grosse Pointe South senior Hannah Meier set a fast early pace before taking second in 17:34.5.

Finn’s time was the fourth-best ever in an MHSAA meet. She has three of the top 15 times ever run at MIS, more than any other runner.

“I’m definitely getting back there,” Finn said. “God has blessed me. I don’t think I ever prayed so much before a race.”

Less than a month ago, Finn wasn’t sure if she would be able to defend her championship, let alone run that fast.

She trained harder than ever over the summer, had a good race in the season opener, but then saw her times get slower and slower. Finn was eventually diagnosed with an iron deficiency, which she’s been able to correct primarily with supplements.

Once the problem was identified, Finn set her sights on being strong at the end of the season.

“I told myself the Spartan Invitational doesn’t matter, the Regional doesn’t matter as long as I qualify,” Finn said. “All that matters is state, regionals and nationals. Hey, I think I’m back for those. That’s all that counts.”

Meier, the MHSAA Finals record holder in the 800 and 1,600, held the lead until about one kilometer into the five-kilometer race.

“She just really bolted the first two miles,” Meier said of Finn. “I saw her slowing down the last mile. I wasn’t thinking about individually; I was thinking about team. I just wasn’t feeling it today. I think I could’ve done better but, oh, well.”

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PHOTO: Birmingham Seaholm senior Aubrey Wilberding crosses the finish line first for her team, in 17:55.9, as the Maples went on to win the Division 1 team championship at MIS. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).

Marquette Caps Perfect Season with Final Win

By John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com

October 19, 2013

HARVEY — The Marquette girls and Menominee senior Kameron Burmeister concluded their cross country seasons in impressive fashion in Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final.

Marquette capped a perfect season by scoring 27 points, followed by defending champion Calumet 89 and Escanaba 112.

“It has been a tremendous performance by the ladies all year,” said Marquette coach Dale Phillips. “We had a veteran team and an excellent freshman (Amber Huebner). Summer running really paid off for them. Since Day 1 in practice they knew they were going after the championship.”

Burmeister also finished undefeated by covering the 3.1-mile course in 19 minutes, 36 seconds to become the first Menominee girl to be crowned U.P. champion since 1980.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Burmeister said shortly after the race. “This is kind of bittersweet with this being my last cross country race of my high school career. I’m so fortunate to be able to do this against so many good runners.”

Marquette sophomore Lindsey Rudden was runner-up (19:42), with Huebner third (19:56).

“Kameron deserves to win it,” said Rudden. “I’m not disappointed I lost because I gained so much. I learned a lot this year. I learned how to be a teammate and a runner. I’m so proud of our boys and girls teams.”

Division 2

Hancock gained its first title since 1990 with 47 points. The Bulldogs were followed by St. Ignace with 60 and defending champion Newberry with 69.

“We had a real good day,” said Hancock coach Matt Dennis. “We came together as a team and kept pushing each other all year. We knew we had a good shot at winning trophies. We kept shooting for today and gave our best effort.”

Hancock senior Abbey Tembreull won in 21:04, followed by St. Ignace’s Lily Calcaterra (21:12), Newberry sophomore Natalie Beaulieu (21:16), Norway sophomore Kyra Johnson (21:30) and Ironwood senior Jessica Gering (21:37), who won a year ago.

“I had quite a bit left in the end,” said Tembreull, who plans to run cross country at Finlandia University next fall. “Once I saw the finish, I realized I could do it. I usually try to get in front of the pack early. Once I get in front it seems easier to keep the lead than trying to catch up. When that happens, I feel I’m more in control of my pace.”

Division 3

Munising copped its first Division 3 title with 46 points and Cedarville squeezed past Dollar Bay 54-55 for runner-up honors.

“This is a great bunch of girls,” said Munising coach Fran DesArmo. “We’re going to miss our seniors. Cedarville and Dollar Bay were tough. I kept looking at the scores and saw Dollar Bay was running against Houghton, Hancock and Calumet all year. They ran against good competition. The key for us is the girls ran hard in the middle of the race and they stuck with it.”

The Mustangs were led by freshman Marissa Immel at 21:16.

“I was pleased with my race and proud of our girls team,” said Immel, who also plays on the school’s volleyball and tennis teams. “We pulled though today. We have four seniors who realized it was their last high school race and they left it all on the course. I think our perfect score at the (Central U.P./Skyline) conference meet helped a lot. All the girls wanted it real bad. We also have some good eighth graders coming up. I’m excited for next year.”

Rudyard junior Kaylee Hoolsema, who won in 20:32, was followed by Immel and Cedarville’s Emma Bohn (21:19).

“Our coaches told me I could probably get first if I went after it,” said Hoolsema, who became the first Rudyard girl to be crowned U.P. champion. “I was a little nervous coming over here because I never ran here before. I really didn’t know what to expect. The course was kind of slippery at Mile 2 and the rolling hills were kind of tiring in the end. But once you get that far into the race, you just have to go for it.”

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PHOTO: Runners charge to the front at the start of Saturday's Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final. (Photo courtesy of RunMichigan.com/Paul Gerard.)