Performance: Hanover-Horton's Judy Rector
September 13, 2018
Judy Rector
Hanover-Horton senior – Cross Country
The Hanover-Horton senior has returned from injury to become a two-time MHSAA Finals track champion, and she’s surged into her senior cross country season pacing among the state’s elite in that sport as well. Rector ran a personal-record 18:07.7 on Saturday to win the Class 3 race at Bath’s Bret Clements Invitational and also best the winners of the event’s two larger-school races, earning her the first Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week” for 2018-19.
Saturday was the second time in four races this fall that Rector lowered her personal record, and she’s now dropped 37 seconds from her fastest finish of 2017. As a sophomore, Rector began suffering from slipping rib syndrome – one of her ribs would pop out of place, causing intense pain. She was forced to take six months off from running and missed her track & field season that spring while undergoing physical therapy. She ran again for the first time on the day of the 2017 MHSAA Track & Field Finals, built back her strength for cross country last fall and finished 10th in Lower Peninsula Division 3, and then won the 800 and 1,600-meter LPD3 track championships this spring.
Rector’s winning time at Bath bested the lineups from the top-ranked teams in both LPD1 and LPD2, plus racers from five more teams ranked among the top 10 in those divisions. She’s got big goals for the rest of this senior year. She’s aiming to run 17:30, which would break the school cross country record set by 2012 graduate Lindsey Burdette, and finish top-three at this fall’s Finals and qualify for the Foot Locker national competition. Next spring, she’ll try to repeat in the 800 and 1,600 and make a run at the 3,200 as well. With only one A- scratching an otherwise perfect academic record, Rector is carrying a 3.99 grade-point average, tied for sixth in her graduating class. She’s still figuring out where, but she’s planning to study biology and continue her running career at the collegiate level.
Coach Dean Blackledge said: “We knew we had a special athlete when she was a freshman. The only one who didn't know was Judy. It took her a while to really understand she's as good as she is. A year and a half ago she was really in the dumps, the whole thing, because she couldn't run. … (But) we worked though the difficult times for her, spent an awful lot of time together, and she got it. When she did finally get through it, she just blossomed into the runner that I always thought she was going to be. She’s just tough in training and self-discipline. When you talk about a cross country runner, the main thing more than in probably any other sport is a cross country runner has to be self-disciplined. They have to get up and run five or six or 10 miles or whatever when other kids are sleeping or whatever, and they have to do that year-round almost. She’s been that kind of athlete. When we do a workout we go out on the roads sometimes to run, and they can cut corners whenever they want and the coach would never know. I don’t think Judy has ever cut a corner. … She’s just a great leader. She has humility, and it’s tough to get an athlete as good as she is that doesn’t boast about themselves. If you want to know something about Judy, you have to talk to somebody else. She won a couple of state championships in equestrian, and I didn’t know that until 2-3 weeks ago – and I’ve been her coach, been close to her, and she’s never said a word about it.”
Performance Point: “My goal going into (Bath) was actually to try to get under 18 (minutes),” Rector said. “Last year when we ran at Bath, I didn't run very well. I was really sick, so this year I wanted to put up a good time because I knew from last year that it was a good course to run. Fortunately it was a lot cooler in the morning, a lot better running weather than we had earlier that week on Wednesday. I was like, we're going to try to maintain a 5:45 split, which would put me just under 18. I have a tendency to go faster at the beginning of my races, and I thought if I tried to even-split it more that it would be better. At the 2-mile I was at 11:35, 11:40, so I knew I was running well at that point. It was just trying to finish going into the last mile. I knew where I was at time-wise, but more than anything I kept seeing my teammates, like the last mile. There were the boys and some of the JV girls – every time I saw them, it makes it easier to keep going. Your teammates are there and they're cheering you on, and they want you to do well. That picked me up a lot for the last part of the race too.”
Comeback trail: “For me, that was a really hard thing. Before I got injured, running was something I enjoyed and I was fairly good at. But when you're supposed to be going to rehab and doing all of those things, you really have to put yourself into it 110 percent. When they ask you to do things like the exercises and stuff, I was like, This is crazy. No way.’ They're like, it will help you. ... Having goals helped me because I'm a really goal-driven person. So coming out of that and not being able to run, I knew I valued it a lot more, just being able to go outside and being able to run and having the ability to do that because some people don't even have that. Having it in my head that I didn't want to take anything else for granted – every time I did a workout or went out to run, it was the best effort that I could do.”
Finding form: “Last summer was just trying to build up to where I was in the high 18s. This (spring’s) track season was huge for me and getting me the confidence that I could be running faster, not just short distance things but cross country too. Over the past year I've worked a lot on my form and a lot more on basic strength, the little things that I didn't necessarily do before. So I feel a lot more smooth when I'm running.”
Back on track: “After taking all of that time off, I started running on the day of the (track) state meet a year ago – so it would've been a full year from not being able to run to starting running, to the day I won those two championships. It was really emotional. I never would've imagined being able to do all of that in a year. ... It had always been a goal I had to maybe run and win a state championship, but that I was able to do it, in that amount of time, I was just so happy and proud.”
Future path: “(I’d like to become) a pathologist, someone who researches and studies diseases. I really like science classes. Last year I took a microbiology class that was more based on studying diseases, and we took samples of things from around our school and looked at them and ran tests on them, and I thought was super cool. If I could do something like that or in the medical field, that's a long-term goal for me.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2018-19 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
PHOTOS: (Top) Hanover-Horton's Judy Rector leads the way during a race this fall. (Middle) Rector powers down the straight-away during the Track Finals this spring. (Photos by Joe Childs and Marlissa Shepherd, respectively.)
Ellsworth On Course for More Big Finishes
September 21, 2018
By Chris Dobrowolski
Special for Second Half
ELLSWORTH — Running fever is running rampant in Ellsworth, and it’s got quite a grip on the small Antrim County school.
Despite having fewer than 100 students in their high school, the Lancers’ boys and girls cross country teams thrive on a statewide level, thanks to nearly two dozen runners who grace the team’s roster — a number that holds pretty steady from year to year.
“I like to believe I don’t do any recruiting,” said head coach Ruben Oviedo, in his sixth year leading Ellsworth’s program. “I simply invite kids. Honestly, I just want our kids doing something.”
Running is the avenue that many at the school elect to take. Sometimes they’re just following in the footsteps of an older sibling. Some start with other sports but become drawn in by friends who are on the cross country team. Others are persuaded into giving running a try by Oviedo, who has even sought out kids who aren’t involved in anything as they’re heading to the bus after school to see if they’re interested.
“It’s fun to try to get kids who wouldn’t be invited to a high school varsity sport,” said Oviedo. “It’s fun when they say, ‘I hate running.’ It’s fun to say, ‘You’re the kid I want’ and to challenge them.”
What all of them discover is a family atmosphere that welcomes each of them with open arms, and where they get an opportunity to develop and compete on a perennially strong squad.
“I think a lot of people just like being a part of something,” said senior Isaiah Romeyn, the top runner on the Lancers’ boys team. “Cross country is a lot different from other sports, where it’s more of a family environment. It’s a lot more like an actual family.”
That kind of vibe is what drew Oviedo to running in his own right. The 2008 Ellsworth graduate joined the cross country team his sophomore year and helped the Lancers reach the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals three straight years, highlighted by a sixth-place finish in 2007.
“That’s what kind of roped me in was so many friends and people were doing it,” remembers Oviedo. “Why not? (Former head coach) Kirk (Ikens) just made it all about being a team and making it fun.”
Oviedo has carried over that philosophy since taking over for Ikens in 2013.
“They let me punish them into running, but I like to say that running isn’t punishment,” said Oviedo. “I’ve never used running as a punishment. Most of the time I like to use it as an escape. Hey, we’re stressed out. We’re having a bad day. Let’s go run and lose our minds in the woods. That’s one of the things I’ve tried to put into place. We try to get out of Ellsworth, and we try to go somewhere else to run different places just so it’s not the same place all the time.”
The Lancers often have ended the season in the same place, however — the Division 4 Finals. The boys squad has put together a string of four straight Finals’ appearances, with last year’s fourth-place finish the school’s highest. They were the only team among the top five with an enrollment under 100 students.
The girls team has qualified for the Finals in back-to-back years, last year tying for 17th. Both teams have the capabilities to return to Michigan International Speedway — the annual site of the Finals — again this year, too. Ellsworth’s boys have six of their top seven back, while the girls return four of the top seven.
Romeyn earned all-state honors a year ago when he finished 13th at the state meet. His older brother Winter, a redshirt junior on the men’s cross country team at Michigan State, was a two-time all-stater in 2013 and 2014, finishing ninth and eighth, respectively, at the Finals. Winter also proved to be a big influence on getting Isaiah into running.
“He started me with running, and he encouraged me to join the team,” said Isaiah. “I ran because he was on the team. It was mainly because he was there. I wanted to be with him.”
Isaiah remembers watching his brother’s success, but also seeing what a tight-knit group the Lancers were and feeling connected himself.
“I could see that family aspect,” he said. “Everyone just kind of bonds and accepts one another. I really wanted to be part of that. I would watch his race, then go to the Ellsworth tent and just hang out with the kids — tried to be part of that. So, when I actually got the chance to be part of it, I definitely wanted to join.”
Romeyn is getting his biggest push within the team from junior Robbie Wise, who was Ellsworth’s fifth counter at last year’s Finals, but has seen his performance jump so far this season. A good summer of work equated to a fast start to the season and vaulted Wise into the company of Romeyn.
“I can’t believe how much effort I put into it,” said Wise, a football player who converted to cross country as a freshman. “My first year I would remember all these insane runs. Ruben would say, ‘OK we’re going out for six miles.’ Just one mile sounded insane. Now, as somebody who runs over the summer — I got over 150 miles in over the summer — six miles doesn’t sound near as bad.”
Seniors Lucas Sweet, Richard Adams, Alex Adams, and junior Caleb Godwin give Ellsworth a formidable veteran lineup that has shown it can compete with anyone in the state.
The girls team is anchored by a pair of sophomores in Christy Figueroa and Judy Veldboom. Figueroa has competed at the Finals the past two years, including with a 38th place as an eighth grader that was Ellsworth’s best individual finish in a 19th-place team performance.
“It was really stressful being in my shoes (as an eighth grader), but I enjoyed it,” said Figueroa, who started participating in the sport as a sixth grader and quickly proved to be a natural.
Veldboom burst onto the scene last season as a freshman and created a dynamic duo with Figueroa. The two were separated by six places and a total of 14 seconds at the Finals and have a healthy competitiveness between them.
“When she’s in front of me, it just pushes me to do better and pushes me to go harder,” said Figueroa.
This season Figueroa and Veldboom have seen eighth grader Maia Romeyn, the younger sister of Winter and Isaiah, enter the picture to give the Lancers even more depth at the top.
“She’s pushes me and Christy to keep going,” Veldboom said. “She’s one of my best friends, so she inspires me to run faster. She’s a great asset.”
Seniors Sarah Sitzema and Ana Oviedo provide additional Finals experience to the lineup.
Ellsworth is one of the few schools in the Northern Lakes Conference that has enough runners to earn a team score in league meets, which it’s dominated in recent years. On the Regional level the Lancers have formed a rivalry with East Jordan, a school just a few miles down the road but with more than twice as many students.
“I think we can get first place in the Regional and make it to states,” said Veldboom. “That’s my goal for this team. I think we have a really strong team.”
Ellsworth is undaunted about running against the Red Devils or any of the other larger schools it races. Those are the kinds of tests Oviedo likes to give his runners as they navigate through the season, and the Lancers have shown they’re capable of holding their own.
“It shows that we really put in the effort and want it,” said Wise, who has the bar set as high as possible for his team. “I hope this year we can win states. We got fourth place last year. I think it’s within our grasp.”
Chris Dobrowolski has covered northern Lower Peninsula sports since 1999 at the Ogemaw County Herald, Alpena News, Traverse City Record-Eagle and currently as sports editor at the Antrim Kalkaska Review since 2016. 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) The Ellsworth boys and girls cross country teams after a Northern Lakes Conference meet this season. (Middle) Judy Veldboom, right, tries to get past a St. Ignace runner near the finish line of the House on the Hill Invitational. (Below) Isaiah Romeyn runs with a pack during the Central Lake Invitational. (Top two photos by Olivia Adams; below photo by Chris Dobrowolski.)