Performance: Lansing Catholic's Olivia Theis
September 21, 2017
Olivia Theis
Lansing Catholic senior – Cross Country
After missing out on winning her first Finals championship last fall by less than a second, Theis is undefeated at the 5K distance this fall. On Friday, she outpaced the toughest field the state has seen this season to date – running a personal record 16:59 to win the Spartan Invitational “elite” race at Michigan State University and earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Theis crossed the line first ahead of Hart junior Adelyn Ackley, who edged her to win last year’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 race at Michigan International Speedway. Also in the “elite” field were reigning LP Division 1 runner-up Anne Forsyth of Ann Arbor Pioneer, reigning LP Division 2 runner-up Anna Fischer of St. Joseph and a combined nine others who finished among the top 10 in either LP Division 1, 3 or 4 including sophomore sister Jaden. Lansing Catholic, which moved to LP Division 2 this season after finishing runner-up last year at MIS in Division 3, came in fourth at MSU on Friday behind two Division 1 teams and Hart.
Olivia did get her first Finals championships last school year, winning the 1,600 and 3,200 meters at the LP Division 3 Track & Field meet. Her 16:59 on Friday made her one of four girls who have broken 17 minutes this fall (Forysth, Ackley, and Traverse City Central’s Sielle Kearney – who came in fifth at the Spartan – are the others) after no one broke 17 in 2016. Theis is exploring her college options and carries a 4.0 grade-point average, with interests in becoming an occupational or physical therapist. Lansing Catholic is ranked No. 2 in LP Division 2 this week and seeking its first team MHSAA Finals championship in girls cross country to go with last year’s runner-up finish and another from 2000.
Coach Tim Simpson said: “She has the talent and then adds in a desire to work as hard as she has to. We are lucky because we have a few girls who will do whatever it takes. Olivia is tireless in her work and very conscientious about it. I literally have to reign in her training. The fact that she ran track has now given her well over a year of continuous training for running; she has stayed injury free as well. In that year of running she has earned her way onto big stages like the FootLocker Nationals and New Balance Track Nationals. In those meets she has done extremely well and pushed her times to new heights as well as her confidence in her abilities. Track season showed everyone including her just how talented she was, and it wasn't just cross country. She has broken records of many of the best runners ever from Michigan and even though she doesn't pay a lot of attention to that, she knows what it means. But she takes everything seriously, never overlooks anyone and is diligent about being prepared.”
Performance Point: “I know that the original plan was to go out and stay with the lead pack, and that’s what Jaden and I did, essentially,” Theis said. “Not even halfway in, a girl started breaking away, so I was like, I’ll go with her. And eventually I just ended up being able to break away from her – Adelyn Ackley, she beat me at states last year. I didn’t want her to be close enough to me where she could out-sprint me again. So I just wanted to keep going, and eventually I realized I could break 17. I had no idea what time I was going to be at, and then in the straightaway I saw it and was like, ‘Oh, I can do this.’ It’s definitely a huge accomplishment. I was definitely hoping to do that at MSU. I knew the competition would be really good, but I had no idea how I’d be feeling. I felt really good, and I’m really happy I took advantage of that level of competition. “
Division 3 to 2: “I think it’s going to be a lot more challenging team-wise. There’s a lot of teams in D2 that have a lot of pack runners. So they have a lot of girls not necessarily individually that are fast, but groups that are fast. I feel like that will be challenging for us as a team.”
Speedy sisters: “It’s really nice, because I can train with (Jaden) at home. It’s someone to push me. A lot of times you don’t want your sibling beating you, especially when she’s younger than you, so it’s pretty motivational. Sometimes it’s hard because we’re siblings, but sometimes we just have to use each other as competition. It’s great. I love having her on the team. I think (eventually) she’ll beat me easily. She already almost beat my (personal record) from last year; she’s a sophomore. I want her to beat all my times, and I think she can do it.”
Born to run: “I like how it makes me feel, and I like how it’s hard. I like challenging myself. I like knowing the people I’m racing, because I know I can talk to them afterward and be like ‘good job’ no matter what happens. I think running has allowed me to get to know a lot more people.”
Also born to help: The human body interests me, and I want to help people. (Occupational therapists) help you get back from injury, back into normal life, from illness back into real life, so I think it would be really cool to be able to help people do that.”
- 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:
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Lansing Catholic's Olivia Theis pushes toward the finish line during Friday's Spartan Invitational "elite" race. (Middle) Theis comes down the stretch with the clock telling her how close she is to breaking 17 minutes. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
Sinke Family Has Bear Lake Primed to Compete for Championships Now, In Future
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
October 25, 2024
One Sinke is nearing the end of a high school running career seeking to qualify for a fourth-straight MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Cross Country Final.
A few other Sinkes are right in the middle of possible team and individual title opportunities.
Mason Sinke, who broke the Bear Lake cross country race record earlier this season, is about to finish his stellar career on 5K courses. He still has the spring track season ahead, and then he’s moving on to run for Hope College. Saturday, he hopes — or rather expects — to qualify for his fourth Final while vying for the individual Regional title at Benzie Central.
His team will not qualify for the Final due to an insufficient number of healthy runners. But the Bear Lake girls team – led by freshman Callie Sinke – has its eyes on qualifying for the Final and can’t help but think a state championship is obtainable in the near future.
A future boys title also isn’t out of the question as the Lakers have a strong middle school program as well. The middle school’s current number one runner is Johnny Sinke.
And all the Lakers cross country teams are coached by Tony Shrum and Kim Sinke. Shrum has headed up the cross country program, which co-ops with Onekama, since 2012. Kim Sinke, a former college distance runner, joined the staff this year. She is also the mother of Mason, Callie and Johnny Sinke.
Bear Lake is really hoping to start some strong winning streaks this weekend after long Regional championship streaks were common up until a decade ago. The Lakers are not unfamiliar with Finals appearances, but they’re looking for their first in a decade with the Regional trophy earned.
“For the girls, as long as we’ve got everybody healthy and racing, the goal is to win,” Shrum said of the upcoming Regional. “It would be our seventh girls Regional title in the program’s history, so they would be on a list with a pretty exclusive group.”
Shrum hopes the resting and recovering this week will allow the Lakers to put their best foot forward in the Regional. Bear Lake’s girls, the West Michigan D League champions this year, will be racing against some familiar foes.
There will be disappointment if there aren’t several Lakers listed among the top 10 finishers – and a handful in the top five are pretty much expected.
Callie Sinke, who is fighting through normal running injury challenges, and Addy Zeller are the Lakers’ top two runners and arguably the top two rated runners in the region. But injuries have slowed down the top two Lakers a bit.
“Right now Callie is about 20 seconds ahead of everybody in the field Saturday,” Shrum pointed out. “We have three of the top five girls when healthy in the region, and our fourth girl has top-15 ability and our fifth girl has been coming on.”
And these Lakers are young. Callie Sinke is a freshman and Zeller, hampered lately by a quad injury, is a sophomore. Melodie Hulinek, the number three runner who is coming back from a knee injury, is also a freshman. Natalie Brown, the current fourth runner, is a junior. Two other freshmen, Isabella Card and Peyton Buckner, may run for the fifth scoring spot, along with two other juniors, Lauren Pulido-Huber and Libby Daugherty. The co-op is without a senior on the girls side.
Shrum is excited about the opportunity this year and really the next three. He notes two current middle school runners will likely compete for varsity spots next fall.
“We’ve got a good core of girls coming back for the next four years,” Scrum said.
Zeller and Sinke attend Onekama High School. The rest of the girls team are enrolled with Bear Lake.
Mason Sinke is a senior at Onekama. He too has sat out a few races recently to rest and prepare for his last two career high school meets.
All season, he’s had a special partner and coach, Kaden Forward. The school record Sinke broke this year had belonged to Forward, who finished 13th in last year’s Final. Sinke was a few seconds behind Forward in the Final last year and finished 16th. He’s looking to take one of the top spots – if not first place – this Saturday and go on to a top 10, if not top five, at the Final.
The West Michigan D League features one of the top runners in the state in Alex Tyndall from Mason County Eastern. Tyndall finished 18th in last year’s Final, a few seconds behind Sinke. Tyndall and Eastern will be among many competitors Bear Lake has raced against week after week. A handful of other runners familiar to Mason Sinke will challenge him for a top-five Regional finish.
“Right now Mason would be the number two guy behind Alex coming in,” Shrum acknowledged. “We’ll see if he wants to chase Alex and push him and see if he can take Alex down. but otherwise I think silver at the Regional is a definite possibility for him.”
The Bear Lake boys team has no chance of qualifying for the Finals as two of its five team members are out with injuries. But Shrum holds strong hopes senior Greyson Hoeflinger will also qualify for the Finals as an individual.
Over the 35 years of the co-op’s existence, Bear Lake’s boys teams have won 23 Regional titles and the girls have won six.
“Between Mason and Kaden, they have really changed the mindset of our program,” Shrum said. “Callie is leading the girls on the same path.”
Bear Lake is looking forward to an influx of talented young runners on the boys side too.
“Our next set of boys teams could be banner raising, winning teams of the state final,” Shrum predicted. “We’re on the comeback collectively as a program.”
The future is bright, but the current boys and girls teams members should get the credit for getting Bear Lake back to its winning ways.
“To me it is exciting to get back on that level and compete for state titles and Regional championships in the next five, six years,” Shrum noted. “A lot of it really has to do with the current group of kids that we have and their dedication, their discipline, their excitement and enthusiasm for the sport.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. 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) Mason Sinke runs to his school record-setting 5K time Sept. 7 at the Bear Country Invitational. (2) The Bear Lake girls team take a trophy photo after clinching the West Michigan D League title. (3) Mason Sinke, middle, takes a photo with Bear Lake head coach Tony Shrum and assistant and mother Kim Sinke. (4) Callie Sinke runs a race this fall. (Photos courtesy of the Sinke family.)