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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.)
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Marquette Primed to Continue Dynasty
October 21, 2015
By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half
MARQUETTE – Red is the dominant color when you talk about cross country in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Courtesy of one of the pre-eminent cross country programs in the state, red is worn by the Marquette High School teams that have been a scourge to the rest of the U.P. since the sport's inception.
The boys have won 22 Upper Peninsula big-school championships heading into Saturday's U.P. Finals at Beauchamp's Grove in Flat Rock, in the countryside west of Escanaba. The boys have been competing since 1966, and Marquette began its title string in 1979.
The girls have been even more dominant, claiming 29 U.P. titles since the sport began in 1980, including a string of 13 straight (1980-92).
Both teams have won the past two U.P. Division 1 titles and are expected to repeat again Saturday.
All of the championships have come with Dale Phillips as head coach. Phillips, 73, started coaching both teams in 1977. He was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2009 for his coaching exploits with Marquette's cross country and track and field programs.
Asked what has kept him running the program for 39 years, Phillips did not hesitate. "My love working with the program and the young men and young women and seeing the success they can achieve," he said, noting he is coaching a second generation of runners and enjoys visiting the parents of today's athletes, many of whom he coached.
"They are a great recruiting tool," he said of parents bringing their kids into the program.
Phillips traces the program's success to when it started piling up those various trophies. "Then we started drawing boys and girls into it. They like what we do," he said. "The program kept building. It is like the Menominee football program. It seems they re-load every year, just like we do.
"You are going to hit a down period. There were some lean years," said Phillips. Of course, those "lean years" meant settling for second, third or fourth place.
"Sometimes you just don't get that quality you need. You just get kids into the program and they really work."
This year's leaders are Lance Rambo for the boys and Lindsey Rudden for the girls. Rambo is looking into running at either Central Michigan University, Michigan State or Grand Valley State after graduation. Rudden, who has never won a U.P. cross country title but owns eight U.P. track championships (with MHSAA meet records in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 and with the 1,600 and 3,200 relay units), has verbally committed to run for MSU.
But it is not about super individuals. Rather, it is about the overall depth of the program and the family-like atmosphere. "The varsity cheers for the jayvee group, and the jayvees cheer for their varsity teammates. They know they are a total team. It is not just the top seven we are interested in," Phillips said.
"You don't have to be the number one or two runner," Phillips tells his squads. "You can be number five, six or seven. You can help us immensely by getting ahead of the scorers of our opponents."
To illustrate, at the recent Great Northern Conference meet at Marquette's Presque Isle (complete with a water spout on Lake Superior, tornado warning, lightning, thunder and rain), the first nine girls jayvee finishers wore Marquette red. Marquette's boys and girls swept the varsity and junior varsity team titles.
"We emphasize that we are a team. The kids get so close as a team," Phillips said of the runners gathering for a variety of activities such as meals, movies and swimming. "We are a family. That word has come up for years."
Of course, a lot of that likely comes from the success they have all enjoyed together throughout their careers and from watching their predecessors do the same thing.
Agreeing that success breeds success, Phillips said, "that is a tremendous positive we have going for us. We have a large freshman class out and they learn how we do our workouts correctly and how we handle pace (of racing). We have some talent coming up."
The Redmen set such a tremendously high bar of success without piling up excessive mileage. "We try to get them to reach their peak at the end of the season," said Phillips.
While every coach tries to accomplish that goal, there is a fine line to reach in the process – no matter the sport or the level the athlete is playing.
"Leadership on a team is important," said Phillips, noting he sends groups of runners out at various distances and locations and tries to match them up with those of similar skill sets. With captains such as Rambo and Rudden setting the pace this year, Phillips knows the workouts will be fruitful. "Those kids lead by example. They keep the young runners going. They have responded well over the years," he said.
The coaching staff sets mileage limits and tries to monitor how much the athletes do on their spare time. "We are not a high mileage team," said Phillips. "We try to get a recovery day after a tough workout or a tough meet. We structure our program to keep the legs fresh and minimize injuries."
The runners do just 30-40 miles a week, much of it on an exquisite city trail system or at a grassy park close to nearby Northern Michigan University. "If we do a hard workout, we try to find a soft surface," said Phillips. "We can do hard workouts but they are not hard on the legs."
Including pre-and-post stretching sessions, the weekday workouts last two hours a day in August before classes begin and no more than 90 minutes a day once the academic season starts. "We do longer intervals before the start of the season and shorter intervals later," he said, adding runners are told not to run on one of the weekend days.
Having quality runners throughout the group prevents varsity runners from becoming complacent. "Our jayvees keep the varsity on their toes," Phillips said.
He also encourages his runners to use alternative sports in their training to keep their legs fresh. "If you don't feel like running, jump on a bike. Biking is an excellent cross-trainer. They also go cross country skiing. You shouldn't run 365 days a year," he said.
"If you're in a winter sport, you can't get in better shape than running in cross country," said Phillips, noting several of Marquette's highly successful winter athletes have been on his teams. "That has been a drawing card as well" to attract participation.
In his 39 years at the helm, Phillips said a major highlight was when the girls won the prestigious Holly Invitational and the boys were 10th out of 30 teams in 1982. It was the first time the Redettes and Redmen participated, and many of the downstate runners were surprised to learn Marquette came from the Upper Peninsula.
The girls finished second, fifth, seventh, ninth and 11th and beat Clio, ranked No. 1 in the state at the time. "They couldn't believe someone from the U.P. could come down and dominate a big meet," said Phillips.
Competing in Holly, and big meets in Wisconsin, gives his runners a chance to see "other faces and other teams" and a chance to gauge their performances. That is especially important because cross country (in addition to track and field, tennis, golf, and swimming and diving) is split into Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula Finals.
While Phillips and former U.P. cross country coaches John Prokos, Dave Lahtinen and Arne Henderson previously made a strong push to merge for an all-peninsula MHSAA Finals, they were unable to convince the majority of U.P. teams to accept the proposal, which has been rejected twice.
In the meantime, Marquette makes everyone else look at red across the Upper Peninsula.
Denny Grall retired in 2012 after 39 years at the Escanaba Daily Press and four at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, plus 15 months for WLST radio in Escanaba; he served as the Daily Press sports editor from 1970-80 and again from 1984-2012. Grall was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and serves as its executive secretary. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Upper Peninsula.
PHOTOS: (Top) Marquette’s girls cross country runners, including Lindsey Rudden, front right, prepare for the start at Marquette’s cross country relays earlier this season. (Middle) A pair of Marquette runners including Lance Rambo, right, compete during the boys race. (Below) Coach Dale Phillips has led the program for 39 years. (Photos courtesy of Marquette athletic department.)