Musgrave's Iron Deficiency Work to Help Athletes 'Know If You're Low'

By Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com

November 5, 2021

Maya Musgrave wants every female high school cross country runner to know her story. And she wants to help everyone with a similar one.

Boys, too, should take notice of what the Benzie Central senior has gone through. Her brothers already have. And, they got help.

Both the boys and girls Benzie runners have qualified for this weekend’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Finals.  The girls would not have made it without her leadership and contribution to the team. Perhaps the boys wouldn’t have either.

When she graduates in the spring, it won’t necessarily be Musgrave’s running performances people will remember. She’s in the process of starting a non-profit agency to create awareness for anemia and make iron blood testing free for future Benzie runners.

Now to her story. Musgrave started running cross country as a freshman. Her brothers Michael and Quinten also run for the Huskies.

Maya, who will be named to the academic all-state cross country team this weekend, got back into running her junior year, after recovery from an earlier surgery. She ran her best time of the season in the school’s first race.

But, Musgrave’s times dropped every race after. She and her coaches knew it wasn’t her training or effort.  She and her family struggled with low energy and breathing difficulties.

Benzie Central cross countryUpon receiving Musgrave’s blood test results, her personal physician actually asked Musgrave how she had been avoiding passing out. Her coaches wondered how it was possible she was staying awake during the day, let alone run.

Musgrave’s lab revealed she had iron levels just 10 percent of what they should be. She went through two iron infusions to get her levels to normal. Infusions are usually prescribed by doctors to treat iron deficiency anemia, or when needed to increase iron levels fast to avoid medical complications or a blood transfusion. They also are prescribed for iron deficiency anemia when dietary changes and iron supplements are not enough.

Her story has already led to iron testing of the entire Benzie girls team and some of the boys. Low iron levels are very common among female athletes, and to a lesser extent found among male runners. The testing revealed her brothers had low levels, as did half the girls team. 

The cost of the testing was covered by Musgrave personally, with help from her family. The next step was to start the education process. She arranged to bring in Abigail Ellsworth, a local neuropathic doctor and acupuncturist, to speak to the team. Ellsworth also had volunteered her time to draw blood for the team testing.

Today, Musgrave is working with an attorney to set up her nonprofit called Know If You're Low. Once it is set up, the nonprofit will provide free iron testing and education for female runners at Benzie on an annual basis.

So others don’t have to, is Musgrave’s motivation.

“I just figured it had been a problem for girls in the past, it was obviously going to be with girls in the future as well, so I might as we’ll tell my friends about it and tell my teammates about it so they can get it checked and not have to worry about it like I did,” she said. “I didn’t want them to have to go through that.”

Her coaches, Asa and Traci Kelly, were among the first to suggest iron could be at the crux of her struggles. They’ve seen a lot of runners struggle with iron counts during their coaching and competitive personal running careers.

“She was at the point where we were consoling her after races and saying, ‘Hey, we’re sure this is what is going on,’” Asa Kelly said. “‘You just got to get tested.’”

Other than the extreme low levels, Musgrave’s story fits a pattern the Kellys have seen too often – watching times get slower without a known cause, thinking perhaps the athlete is not working hard enough and having kids quit the sport because of it.

Benzie Central cross country“A lot of coaches, a lot of athletes, a lot of parents just don’t understand how critical (iron levels are),” said Asa Kelly. “I think the biggest thing is back 30 or 40 year ago, you would just keep beating the horse. 

“Low and behold many of these kids had underlying issues.”

The Kellys coach boys and girls cross country at Benzie. Their daughter Mylie broke the school record at the Regional last week and hopes to qualify for the all-state team again this year as a sophomore.

They’ve seen a couple of runners every year test low for iron when it was considered a possible culprit for decreasing performance. They can’t help but wonder what results would have shown if they had tested all the boys and girls every year. Musgrave may make that possible going forward.

“If coaches could be proactive with this kind of thing, imagine the difference in some of the lives of these kids you could make,” Asa Kelly said. “All of a sudden, ‘I just thought I was an OK runner on the team and I was just tired all of the time’ to maybe this kid has this untapped ability they are never going to discover just because of something that’s out of their control.”

Musgrave, who still takes iron supplements, has launched a website, KnowIfYoureLow.com.

“We figured that if people want to know more about this, there probably should be a website for them to go look at it,” Musgrave said. “It’s just a place that A, people can read information about this program, and B, donate if they want to. The money will go for paying for the actual blood test.”

Musgrave is undecided about college plans right how. Her coach believes she could land at one of the nation’s finest academic schools.

“She’s a spark plug,” Kelly said. “She’s a girl that is going to go places in this world for sure.

“She brings that poise, that confidence.”

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) Benzie Central’s Maya Musgrave runs during a cross country race this fall. (Middle) Musgrave is a senior this season and forming a nonprofit to pay for iron deficiency testing for athletes. (Below) Musgrave, far left, with teammates Elise Johnson, Nora Grossnickle, Mylie Kelly, Ava Iverson, Hayley Vanwagoner and Ella Gaylord. (Photos courtesy of Benzie Central cross country program.)

Preview: Familiar Racers Ready to Return to Leaderboards

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

October 22, 2021

There is plenty of potential for new champions to emerge Saturday at the Upper Peninsula Girls Cross Country Finals at Gentz’s Homestead Golf Course in Marquette – and also opportunities for past champions to find their ways back to the front.

Returning individual champions are back in all three divisions. But whereas 2020 winner Paige Sleeman is returning for Houghton in Division 1, the past champions in Divisions 2 and 3 are from two seasons ago – Hancock junior Maylie Kilpela and Rock Mid-Peninsula senior Landy Koski, respectively. All three will have to outrun speedy contenders to cross the line first again – Sleeman from teammate Paige Seagren, and Kilpela and Koski from last season’s runners-up Lola Korpi from Ishpeming in Division 2 and Hattie Cota from Munising in Division 3.

The team competition for the most part features a number of teams used to being at the front of the pack. But watch in Division 1 for Negaunee, running to earn its first team title in nearly 40 years.

Saturday’s races begin with the Division 1 girls at 11 a.m. and conclude with the Division 3 boys at 1:30 p.m. Check back Saturday evening for coverage, and see below for more teams and individuals to watch. (Click for race information and competitors.)

Division 1

Reigning champion: Houghton
2020 runner-up: Marquette
Top-ranked: 1. Negaunee, 2. Houghton, 3. Ishpeming Westwood.

Negaunee is seeking its first Finals championship in this sport since winning three straight in the former Class C-D from 1981-83. The Miners did not run at the 2020 Finals and did not have enough participants to place as a team in 2018 or 2019, but they return this weekend with seven runners including junior Endla Harris – who ran at the 2019 Finals as a freshman. Houghton is another favorite after edging Marquette by two points last season to claim its first Finals championship. The Gremlins return three of their seven runners from 2020 led by reigning individual champion Paige Sleeman and third-place Ingrid Seagren; both are seniors. Westwood finished fourth last season and returns three runners as well including sophomore Retta Boburka, who finished 15th a year ago.

Individuals: Houghton is bringing the star power with Sleeman winning last season’s Final by five seconds and Seagren seeking her first championship after running sixth as a freshman and third as both a sophomore and junior. Menominee similarly is led by a speedy duo as senior Hayden Buck was sixth and junior Attica Brandt finished seventh in 2020. Total 11 of last season’s top 20 finishers will be running this weekend. Escanaba senior Ciara Ostrenga also returns after finishing 10th, and Calumet junior Kiira Berg was 11th.

Division 2

Reigning champion: St. Ignace
2020 runner-up: Hancock
Top ranked: 1. Wakefield-Marenisco, 2. Ironwood, 3. West Iron County.

St. Ignace has finished among the top two the last four seasons with championships last year and in 2017, and five of last season’s top six Finals runners are back this weekend – including four who placed among the top 16 overall – led by sophomore Brady Wisteria (fourth) and senior Mariana Zaragoza (ninth). Three from Ironwood’s third-place team last fall also are back, led by junior Lilley Smith (sixth in 2020), and Hancock returns three of last season’s top nine and four of the top 20 placers including junior Maylie Kilpela (third), senior Sierrah Driscoll (fifth) and senior Adia Keranen (eighth). Kilpela was the individual champion in 2019. Neither Wakefield-Marenisco nor West Iron County will run enough participants to accrue a team score.

Individuals: Last season’s top 10 included only one senior, meaning a fast and experienced field will be back in contention. Leading the way is Ishpeming sophomore Lola Korpi, who finished second as a freshman and only 14 seconds off the lead, but 28 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack. Senior teammate Taylor Longtine also is back after finishing seventh last season.

Division 3

Reigning champion: Munising
2020 runner-up: Chassell
Top ranked: 1. Dollar Bay, 2. Newberry, 3. Munising.

Munising broke Chassell’s three-year hold on the title in 2020, and four of the top 19 individual placers will run for the Mustangs this weekend including junior Hattie Cota – last season’s runner-up – and junior Monique Brisson, who finished ninth. Dollar Bay, seeking its first team title since 2010, was fifth last season but returns all five of its runners led by senior Kaylee Cavis, who finished 15th individually. Newberry brings back three from its third-place 2020 team led by sophomore Kaylen Clark, who finished 10th overall. Chassell does bring back four of its top seven from a runner-up team Finals finisher.

Individuals: Total, 11 from last season’s top 20 also return in Division 3. Cota finished 11 seconds off the lead last season and will match up again with Rock Mid-Peninsula senior Landry Koski, who was fourth last season and won the individual championship as a sophomore. Eben Junction Superior Central junior Madisen Begovac also should be in the mix after finishing seventh last season.

PHOTO Ishpeming’s Lola Korpi sets the pace at the WIN Meet earlier this fall at the Negaunee Township Field. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)