Performance: Lakeview's Maggie Farrell
September 22, 2016
Maggie Farrell
Battle Creek Lakeview senior – Cross Country
Among the most intriguing stories from the first month of cross country season is the significant improvement of Farrell, who finished 92nd as a sophomore and 97th last season at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Cross Country Finals. On Friday, Farrell won the Spartan Invitational “Elite” race at Michigan State University with a time of 17:33 – 2½ minutes faster than her time at the event last year and nearly two minutes faster than her 2015 Finals time – to earn the Michigan National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Farrell finished two seconds faster at MSU than Traverse City Central’s Sielle Kearney, who took fourth in LP Division 1 a year ago and who along with Hart’s Adelyn Ackley was in heavy pursuit until Farrell crossed the line first. Lakeview, which didn't make the Finals last season as a team, finished second at MSU to only Northville, which was fourth in Division 1 in 2015. Farrell has won all of her races this fall, opening this season by breaking Lakeview’s 5K record by 51 seconds with a time of 17:39. The 17:33 at MSU is her personal record; her fastest time just a year ago was 18:58. Farrell's cross country accomplishments are a continuation of a strong spring, when she set school records in track in the 1,600 (4:29.23) and 3,200 (10:57.37), placing sixth at the LP Division 1 Final in the former. She also was part of school record in the 3,200 relay.
A two-time captain of the cross country team and captain for track & field during the spring, Farrell excels in the classroom as well with a weighted grade-point average of 4.19. She serves as president of her school’s National Honor Society chapter and as her class’ vice president. She hopes to continue running for a Division I college program but is unsure where she'll attend; she's passionate about animals and loves cooking and baking, and is considering studying either animal or food science.
Coach Becky Pryor said: “Maggie is the type of runner who not only does what is asked of her, but what her body needs. In addition to running almost every day, Maggie also makes sure to take care of her body; she rolls out almost daily, adds in extra core and stretching and takes ice baths weekly. … You cannot have a better athlete on your team than Maggie; she truly loves to run and compete with her team. She has individual goals, but she also has big team goals. She views her team as her extended family, and when the team does well that is when she is most excited. She is always positive and excited to be with her team. Whatever she can do to support her team, she does.”
Performance Point: “That invite was really huge for me because this season has been kind of a breakout season for me,” Farrell said. “At least in cross country, I haven’t been able to compete with some of the best girls in the state. (And) that race was just huge for me to gain confidence, learn, and feel what it’s like to use racing strategies against the best girls in Michigan. Just figuring out how to race will be huge toward my state and end goals. That was one big thing, and it was really fun to be out there for me and see all the support I had, everything like that. It was a great experience.”
Building a champion: “My coach changed my training plan last indoor track season. That’s when I got serious about wanting to be one of the faster runners in the state and getting into a college of my choice for running. I adapted to a different training schedule, put a lot of time into it and did a lot of strengthening and core as well. I make sure I’m not too hard on myself, but I’m disciplined. I do core when I need to do core; I make sure to stretch because it’s best for me. … And our team is really pushing me because we’ve got a lot of good girls this year, and that’s helped a lot.”
No fluke: “I dropped a lot of time in track, but I wasn’t expecting to break 18 (minutes) my first (cross country) race. At first I thought it was a fluke thing; yeah, I’m really excited, but it’s going to die down. So yeah, I really surprised myself. I knew I’d be better, but (didn't know) to what extent. … I’m a lot more mentally confident. Last year I tended to fold under pressure; I wasn’t really in it mentally, and there was a lot of doubt. I guess you could say now I believe in myself.”
Joining the elite: “This past year, I knew I had the potential to improve a lot. But if you’d asked me last cross country season, it was my dream to just stay in the 18:50s. When I’d hear people ran in the 17s, I just looked at them like super heroes; that seemed physically impossible to me. It’s crazy to comprehend, to sit down and think about it. I’ve always looked up to the Michigan girls who are really fast. I go to a lot of indoor meets and I see how dedicated they are. Last year I looked up to them, I idolized them, and it was hard to think that (I) could’ve been there last year. Madison Troy (Grandville) … Rachel Bonner (Port Huron), Maddy Trevisan (Farmington), I just remember watching them and knowing what they had to do to get there and how dedicated they are and being really inspired – and hoping to one day be running next to them.”
Listen to Dad: “Every Sunday I go on my long run with my dad (Patrick Farrell). He’s big on form, and he shares with me a lot of wisdom on what my form is doing. He also tells me a lot about making sure I enjoy running, making sure I don’t drive myself crazy with it. He’s someone who wasn’t able to finish his high school season because of injuries, and he wants to make sure I embrace every race so if it comes to a point where something happens, I won’t be disappointed in myself. It’s just really great to be able to run with him. It reinforces what I love about running.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan 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 2016-17 honorees:
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Maggie Farrell approaches the finish at the lead of the Elite race at the Spartan Invitational on Sept. 16. (Middle) Farrell moves toward the front of the pack during the 1,600 at this spring's Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals. (Top photo by RunMichigan.com/John Brabbs, middle by RunMichigan.com/Carter Sherline.)
Garces Sisters Helping Set Pace as Racers, Leaders for Hopeful Chargers
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 2, 2024
As Victoria Garces prepared for her first race of the season Sept. 21 at the Veterans Serving Veterans Invitational in Cadillac, she went through her normal pre-race routine.
But while she jumped in the air as she’s done so many times before, she realized she now had a shadow – her younger sister Emilia.
“We both kind of do the same little warm-up thing,” Victoria Garces said. “We both like to jump before the race, and we were doing it before and I was like, ‘Aw, nobody ever does that with me.’”
On that day, for the first time, the Garces sisters competed together for Midland Dow in a varsity race. They finished first (Victoria) and fifth (Emilia), leading the Chargers to a first-place finish in the event.
Now, having run the second and sixth-fastest times in Lower Peninsula Division 1 this season, they’re looking to take another leap together and lead Dow to even greater things.
“I’ve been in this not too terribly long, but long enough to know not to count your chickens before your eggs hatch,” Dow girls cross country coach Jamie Haruska said. “But we do have a very strong team. What I’m seeing is a lot of inspiration that comes from Victoria and Emilia and Syd Roberts and Maddie (Varhola), and the rest of the team is pushing themselves to say, ‘I want this. I want to be part of this, too.’ We have kids that want to be on that team, and are pushing really hard to be at that level. It’s great, because it’s bringing everybody up.”
Victoria Garces is already well known in Michigan running circles. She finished fifth in each of the past two LP Division 1 Finals, and finished second in the 3,200 and third in the 1,600 at this past spring’s LPD1 Track & Field Finals. She also has to her credit a ninth-place finish in the Wisconsin Division 1 cross country final as a freshman.
This past weekend, she committed to Duke to continue her running career.
“Academics were a big thing for me, and it’s such a good school, but I really liked the team and the coaches,” she said. “I was doing my fair share of visits these past couple of weeks, and it was a tough decision, but I kind of knew as soon as I took my visit (to Duke).”
She’s run just twice for Dow this season, winning both races. Her time of 17 minutes, 16.91 seconds at the Veterans was a personal best, and she followed that up with a 17:26.1 to win the Shepherd BlueJay Invitational Elite race.
Both of those times are faster than her Finals time of 17:29.1 a year ago, which set the school record.
“Going into the first race, I didn’t really have high expectations,” Victoria Garces said. “I kind of always wanted to run under 17:20; that was kind of a goal for me. Ultimately, I hope I break 17, so I got that out there. A lot of my goals are for later in the season. But it was nice just to kind of prove to myself that I’m capable of what I hope to do.”
The lighter start to the season is in service of those later goals. Garces ran into December a year ago, competing in regional and national meets.
Dow competed in five meets before Victoria Garces hit the trail, although it was not without a Garces at the front.
In big sister’s absence, Emilia Garces stepped up in a big way. She finished first at three meets and second at the others, including the Duane Raffin Festival of Races in Holly. She broke 18 minutes in her third career race, running 17:57.2 at Northwood. She’s since run 17:49.8.
“That was pretty wild,” Emilia Garces said of her early-season success. “Going into the season, I definitely had not too high of expectations, so when I started doing well, I was a little surprised, for sure.”
That time also gave Victoria a chance to be the fan watching her sister thrive at the varsity level, a role reversal from the past few years.
“She was having tons of success early on,” Victoria said. “After a little bit, I was itching to race, but I’m glad I held back and she got to shine.”
While Emilia certainly enjoyed leading the pack, she’s excited to now be running with her sister, something she’s looked forward to for years.
“Oh my gosh, it’s been so much fun,” she said. “I went to all my sister’s meets for the past few years and I always thought, ‘I can’t wait to do that, too.’ And the team atmosphere is so great, too.”
The Garces sisters are two of 46 runners on the Dow girls roster, and Haruska said their contributions as teammates have been as impactful as their accomplishments on the course.
“I’ve worked really hard to create a culture where everybody runs and everybody is valued,” Haruska said. “Victoria and Emilia are incredible, they’re national-level runners, but my slowest runners are an equal part of the team, too. Victoria is invested in all of those runners. Emilia, she’s just getting started, but I can see that she’s the same way.”
As for competition between the sisters, it’s friendly if anything. Emilia knows she has some work to do before she can approach her sister’s success, even if she’s off to a faster start to her career.
“I think she knows that she’s a lot better than me as a freshman, so she doesn’t need to rub it in,” Victoria said. “My coach is like, ‘Don’t go out there and just race each other.’ But we normally have our own goals. I guess there’s a little bit of competition, but I think she respects me, and I respect her.”
There’s also some mutual inspiration. Victoria said watching her sister train and thrive early in the season was motivating. Emilia has been motivated by her sister’s work ethic and success for years.
“She motivates me, definitely a lot,” Emilia said. “I feel like she inspires me a lot, watching her do those big things. I want to do those big things, too.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Victoria (475) and Emilia Garces (474) pace with the lead pack during a race this season. (Middle) Victoria, left, and Emilia take a photo at a finish line. (Photos courtesy of the Garces family.)