Olling Irons Out Health, Wins Again
November 3, 2012
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
BROOKLYN — Kirsten Olling couldn’t understand why the fast times she was running all summer weren’t translating to the cross country course in the fall.
The Breckenridge junior, whose personal best of 17:17.54 was set in last year’s Regionals, failed to break 18:06 in her first five races of the year and barely dipped below 18 minutes only three times all season.
A visit to the doctor three weeks before she was set to defend her title in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 meet revealed an iron deficiency, which was quickly corrected with an iron supplement and a diet of hamburgers.
With the problem corrected, Olling won her third straight championship Saturday at Michigan International Speedway with a time of 17:59.6.
“A lot of coaches thought I had (an iron deficiency) at the beginning of the year, but nobody really said anything,” Olling said. “They just figured I was having bad days.”
Frustration began to mount for Olling, who figured she was ready for a huge season after running well all summer.
“I was really upset,” she said. “This summer during road races, I’d be running 17:17, 17:20s consistently. I was like, ‘Oh, yes, this should be like the best cross country season.’ No, I jinxed it. So, I’m never going to say, ‘It’s going to be the best cross country season ever.’ You’re going to jinx it.”
With her health turned around, Olling had to only tackle the mental side of running. Even having two MHSAA championships to her credit didn’t completely calm her nerves entering Saturday’s race as she won by 22.1 seconds over runner-up Holly Bullough of Traverse City St. Francis. Tessa Fornari of Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes was third in 18:38.8.
“I was actually worried I was going to lose it,” said Olling, who was never threatened Saturday. “I was really worried today.”
One of the mental tricks Olling used to push herself was basically to have teammates lie to her during the race.
“I told everybody to tell me someone’s right behind me,” Olling said. “That way when they tell me that, I’ll go faster. I had four different teams tell me that. They made me run faster.”
Homer, which made the top 10 for the first time with a sixth-place finish last season, won the team championship by a 118-142 margin over Bear Lake.
Homer placed three girls in top-30 all-state positions, with sophomore Jessica Reagle taking ninth in 19:26.3, sophomore Bailey Manis 19th in 19:59.6 and junior Amanda Reagle 23rd in 20:04.9. Rounding out the scoring were freshman Kayla Kline (45th, 20:37.3) and senior Johnica March (70th, 21:01.4).
PHOTO: Breckenridge's Kristen Olling leads the pack again on the way to her third MHSAA championship. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Reigning Champ Sets Pace in D3 Repeat
November 2, 2013
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
BROOKLYN — Amber Way of Charlevoix made up a lot of ground since last year, but couldn't quite close the gap entirely against Gina Patterson of Macomb Lutheran North.
Patterson repeated as the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 girls cross country champion, but had to win a ferocious duel with Way to do so on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. The two runners went back and forth until Patterson edged ahead in the final quarter mile to win in 18:02.7. Way took second in 18:04.2. Nobody else was within 31 seconds of the frontrunners.
"I could feel her the whole way," Patterson said. "This race is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's a race I'll never forget."
Patterson ran faster (17:43.4) and won by a more comfortable margin of 16.4 seconds last year – when Way finished in fourth place in 18:13.6.
In critiquing her performance last year, Way thought she wasn't aggressive enough early in the race, causing her to lose contact with the leaders.
"I knew I could've done better," Way said. "I was too far in the back. That was a big goal of mine, not to get way behind the pack."
Way took the lead at the mile mark on Saturday, but felt the pace was a little too hard.
"I just wasn't ready for that quite yet, but I did my best," she said.
As they battled in the final mile, Patterson was aware of Way's track speed. Way took second in the 3,200-meter run at the MHSAA LP Division 3 track and field meet in 2012 with a time of 11:07.63. In that same race, Patterson was fifth in 11:28.71. Way then set the meet record in winning that event this spring in 10:48.48.
"I was extremely worried," Patterson said. "She's a great, great competitor and has a great kick. She almost won the two mile last year in track, so I know she's definitely a real strong competitor."
Patterson said she felt relaxed coming in as the reigning champion.
"I am really blessed to have such a great school to represent, teammates, family and friends," she said. "There was really no pressure. They just encouraged me to do my best and hope that I can represent my school well. I'm so thankful to everyone to have their support."
Shepherd won the team championship with 120 points, outscoring runner-up Benzie Central by 66.
It was the second MHSAA championship for the Bluejays, who were the 1994 Class C winners. Since then, their best finish was fifth place the following year. They were ninth, 12th and ninth the past three years in the MHSAA Finals.
Shepherd had only one senior last year, but overhauled its lineup with the inclusion of three fast freshmen. Senior Kaylie Rhynard was the team's No. 1 runner once again, placing seventh overall in 18:55.5. She was followed by the three freshmen, as Katelyn Hutchinson was 12th in 19:12.8, Kylie Hutchinson 44th in 20:15.0 and Rachel Mathers 47th in 20:20.4. Junior Taylor Thrush (49th, 20:21.6) completed the scoring.
PHOTO: Macomb Luthern North's Gina Patterson (right) chases Charlevoix's Amber Way on the way to winning Saturday's Division 3 Final at MIS. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)