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.)
Performance: LCN's Karenna Duffey
November 3, 2017
Karenna Duffey
Macomb L’Anse Creuse senior – Cross Country
Duffey, coming off her fourth Macomb County championship and a repeat Macomb Area Conference Red title as well, ran the state’s fifth-fastest time of last weekend to win her third Regional title and earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
The standout senior has won all of her races this fall except one, finishing second at the prestigious Portage Invitational last month to Traverse City Central standout Sielle Kearney. But Duffey is surging heading into Saturday’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final at Michigan International Speedway, with her Regional time of 17:48 at Algonac her fastest this season and another sign of her return to form. Despite having plenty of success as a sophomore and junior – Duffey still won 15 of 18 races in which she competed – she accomplished it fighting multiple stress fractures, shin splints and last year an iron deficiency. Her Regional time last week was her fastest since setting her personal record while taking third at the MHSAA Finals as a freshman. She also finished third at the Finals last year and 14th as a sophomore.
Duffey likewise has been an ambassador of the running program at her school, helping the team to grow again this fall under first-year coach Bryan Stewart. She’s also a track star with school records in the 800 (2:14.83), 1,600 (4:50.36) and 3,200 meters (10:38.04) to go with her program-best cross country time – that 1,600 time placed her second at this spring’s MHSAA LP Division 1 Final. Meanwhile, Duffey carries a 4.0 grade-point average and will continue academically and athletically next year at Michigan State University, where she’s considering studying something in the sciences.
Coach Bryan Stewart said: “Karenna is a very hard-working and dedicated individual. She shows this in all aspects of her life. She works just as hard at school as she does at running. Karenna has been great to work with since I started coaching her last spring. It's pretty special when an athlete has a lot of talent and has a work ethic to really develop that talent like Karenna has over her high school career. Her mom (Debbie) and dad (Chris) also are extremely supportive of her running and really go out of their way to help her. … Karenna really sets a good example for the team on how important school is along with working hard during practice and making sure she gets her weekend runs done. Over her career, she has battled through some tough injuries as well and came out an even stronger athlete.”
Performance Point: “Where our start line was, the first 200 meters we were going straight into the wind,” Duffey said. “So I went behind the girl who went out first. And then once we turned, that was right about when I took the lead, and from there I just steadily kept on going. The course itself was pretty nice. It was flat so it wasn’t that challenging. Some parts of the grass were a little soggy, and back in the woods where it was just a dirt trail, there were a lot of spots – I kinda stopped running. I had to walk around one mud puddle, actually. I slipped a few times, but I didn’t fall. I think the girls race I was in was maybe the third or fourth race of the day, so the other kids got the course a little dirtier than it was, but the finish was fun because we finished on the track the last 300 meters. Overall, I think it was a good effort, and I think I’m well-prepared for the state finals on Saturday.”
Fast start, then stumbles along the way: “I think my freshman year I was a lot more naïve. I didn’t know much about running. I think my ego was pretty big because I went into the state meet thinking, ‘OK, I have a chance to win. Winning as a freshman would be so cool.’ But I actually didn’t win. … My parents were never runners; my school isn’t very big into running. We don’t have a huge team or anything, so it isn’t like I’ve been training for cross country my entire life. I finally just walked into it and was – not in an arrogant way – but good at it. (But) after my freshman year I battled through two stress fractures, and I also last year had an iron deficiency. My sophomore year at the state meet in the 2-mile for track, I thought everything was going great … (and) the last 40 meters I was in seventh place and a girl accidentally clipped my heal, so I got scraped up and I got a concussion from that. Obviously, I’m a lot more experienced now. I think my mentality toward racing now is a lot different. I know all of the things that could go wrong, versus, ‘OK, I’m going to go out and kill it today. I could beat anybody.’ I think I’m a little bit more timid I guess, but also a little more cautious. But I think that’s a good thing.”
Back to the beginning, but better: “I also think I’m a lot stronger. My freshman year, I wasn’t as strong. I got out-kicked in the final 300 meters in cross country. Now that’s kinda what I do to everybody else, is I (out-kick) them. That’s how I’ve won a few races. I think that’s definitely my specialty, and that helps me a lot. … I really wasn’t sure if I would ever be back to where I was freshman year, which was obviously scary because basically for two years I wasn’t racing at the same level as I was as a freshman. I’m definitely happy to be back to where I was, and in my eyes, a lot stronger.”
Leaving a legacy: “I’ve tried to help create an environment where people aren’t afraid to try things, especially at our school with the 15 kids that we have, boys and girls, that do cross country. A lot of them, it will be their first sport or something they try out and they never expect to like it, and then they end up liking it. So I try to encourage people to join, but it’s very difficult because a lot of them are like, ‘Running is really hard work. I hated running the mile in gym class; why would I like doing it with a team and at races?’ I’d really like people to join because they’d be able to start something too. Maybe at first you might not be (great), but you’re never going to know how good you can be, unless you try it. Because especially in running, it takes years and years and years to turn into what you really could be. A lot of people have great potential, but they never really start it so they don’t see where they could get. I would say try out for a season or maybe a month or two and see where you get from there. The couple of people I have tried to get to do it, they usually stick with it.”
Final stretch: “There’s a chance my grandfather will be there at the race, and he’s never seen me race before, so I’d like to show him what I’m capable of because he’s heard stories about me but he’s never gotten to witness it. So I’d like to make him proud. … I do think I’m capable of winning, so if I don’t win I think it would be more of a disappointment than if I took second just because I think I’m capable of winning almost any race – obviously not winning against an NCAA champion or anything – but it all depends on how the race rolls out. What sort of moves I make, that sort of thing. I think I have to be there mentally for me to win, so I’m just preparing myself for anything that could possibly happen.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 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.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City Central golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Macomb L'Anse Creuse North's Karenna Duffey pushes out in front of the pack during a race this season. (Middle) Duffey is hoping to improve from third last year to first Saturday at the LP Division 1 Final. (Photos courtesy of the L'Anse Creuse North girls cross country program.