Potential Realized, Otsego Runs for More
September 22, 2015
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
OTSEGO – Megan Aalberts was in middle school when she first realized the potential of her classmates and what their future running days could look like.
“Going into sixth grade and middle school, I could already see that the girls in my grade and a year behind me were really talented and super hard-working,” said Aalberts, a junior on Otsego High School’s girls cross country team. “We had a pretty good season in middle school, and then coming into high school and making it to state our first year was an incredible experience. We wanted to keep it going, and I’m hoping this year is really awesome.”
The Bulldogs have experienced unbridled success at the state level the past two seasons under coach Steve Long, a teacher at the school.
Otsego placed third in Lower Peninsula Division 2 at the MHSAA Finals in 2013 and was runner-up a year ago to Grand Rapids Christian.
Those were the top two Finals finishes in program history – and seem to have set the tone as an experienced group has begun its pursuit of the program's first MHSAA title.
The Bulldogs have shown consistency over the past decade, qualifying seven times for the LP Finals and recording five top-10 finishes. But last season’s accomplishment was built on youth, as there were no seniors among the top seven. All but one of that top seven returned this fall.
“We have a lot of experience, and most of the girls have quite a bit of state meet experience,” Long said. “It’s a huge advantage that these girls know what to expect and how to perform well on the big stage. We’re mixing in a few young runners and they’re feeding off the underclassmen. We’re excited to see what they can do.”
This year’s group remains young with Madison Secord as the lone senior.
She joins a talented collection of juniors and sophomores, spearheaded by Aalberts, a junior who placed third overall at last year’s MHSAA championship meet.
“It was a really exciting feeling to know that everyone was coming back,” Aalberts said. “We just know that every day we’re going to try our hardest and push each other. Expectations are pretty high for our team, and our goal is to compete the best we can every day.”
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 2 in LP Division 2 this week behind Grand Rapids Christian, have achieved early success and gone unbeaten in the Wolverine Conference.
They also won the 16-team St. Joseph Invitational and followed that with a victory at the Paw Paw Invitational.
The squad also features juniors Erica Drobny, Sophia Hirzel and Katie Theis. The sophomores include Maddie Marciniak and Gracie VerHage. Freshman Sydney Kubiak also is in the mix.
“I’m very happy with where we’re at, and we’re trying to stay focused on improving and getting better,” Long said. “The challenge this year is to not think we need to be perfect. We just have to focus on ourselves and what we can do.
“Go out there and try to do the best we can and run the way we always run. And that’s by having fun and loving what we do. I think they’re doing a really good job of that.”
Drobny, who was 27th at last year’s MHSAA Final, said there is some pressure to add to the program’s prior successes.
“There is a little bit of pressure, but now we can count on each other to work hard and not let each other down,” she said. “Having everyone back is helpful because we all have the same energy as last year and the same motivation and dedication. The state meet is our main focus, and that’s what we’re striving for.”
A couple key components of the Bulldogs are their competitive nature and close bond.
“How the girls get along has a huge impact on how we end up at the end of the season,” Long said. “The girls are a bunch of sisters and they love each other, but they are willing to go out and compete against each other when they are racing. It’s a good atmosphere.”
Aalberts said she and her teammates don’t go their separate ways at the end of the season. Instead, they stay connected through different events.
“We’re definitely like a family,” she said. “We’re super supportive of each other, and we’re really close. We had a Christmas party and Valentine’s Day party, so we are just in contact with each other after the season ends.”
Added Drobny: “We’re super close, and we spend so much time together at morning and afternoon practices. We run together in the offseason and in the summer, and that helps because we motivate each other to run faster and to beat each other.”
Although the Otsego is one of the smaller schools in Division 2, it still showcases depth. All 10 of the girls on the team clock times under 21 minutes.
“We’re pretty deep for a small school,” Long said. “And the goal continues to get better. We were second last year, but if we’re not better, then we’re still not going to be at the top of the podium.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Otsego's Megan Aalberts rounds the final curve at Michigan International Speedway on her way to a third-place finish at last season's Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final. (Middle) Erica Drobny, middle, runs with a pack on the way to finishing 27th. (Below) The Bulldogs pose with last season's MHSAA runner-up trophy; six of the top seven runners are back this fall. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Preview: Changes Coming at the Top?
November 6, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
There could be a few changes on the trophy stand at the end of Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Girls Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway.
But maybe not.
Reigning champions Birmingham Seaholm in Division 1, Grand Rapids Christian in Division 2 and Beal City in Division 4 all graduated pack leaders this spring – but remain among the top-three ranked teams in their respective divisions.
In an opposite scenario, two of the top three contenders in Division 3 didn’t run as a team at the Finals a year ago.
See below for the stories behind the team and individual races for all four divisions, and click for a full list of qualifiers for each and information on Saturday’s event – which this fall includes 975 girls.
DIVISION 1
Reigning champion: Birmingham Seaholm
2014 runner-up: Traverse City Central
2015 top-ranked: 1. Birmingham Seaholm, 2. Northville, 3. Brighton.
Seaholm graduated its top three from the championship run including the top two individual finishers in the LP Division 1 race – but the next three runners last season all finished among the top eight at last week’s Regional, with junior Audrey Ladd second and senior Patty Girardot crossing third. Northville won LPD1 in 2013 and then finished third last season with only one senior among its seven runners; all seven Mustangs finished among the top 16 at last week's Regional, led by senior Lexa Barrott in second place. She was 15th at the 2014 Final, and junior Cayla Eckenroth was 11th. Brighton finished only ninth a year ago but with three freshmen, two sophomores and a junior making up the top six. All seven runners were among the top 19 at last week’s Regional, with senior Jenna Sica third.
Individuals: In addition to the Northville pair mentioned above, seven more are back from last year’s top 15. Macomb L’Anse Creuse sophomore Karenna Duffey, Port Huron senior Rachel Bonner and Traverse City Central sophomore Sielle Kearney took third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Ann Arbor Pioneer sophomore Anne Forsyth was seventh and Romeo senior Emma Wilson was 10th. Wilson finished nine seconds ahead of Bonner at their Regional last week, and Kearney and Forsyth also won Regional titles – as did Farmington’s Maddy Trevisan and Grandville’s Madison Troy, who finished 12th and 13th at the 2014 Final. Milford junior Mallory Barrett, 17th last year, finished ahead of the Seaholm runners last week, and Royal Oak junior Grace Cutler and Saline sophomore Jessi Larson also broke 18 minutes in winning Regional races.
DIVISION 2
Reigning champion: Grand Rapids Christian
2014 runner-up: Otsego
2015 top-ranked: 1. Otsego, 2. Grand Rapids Christian, 3. East Grand Rapids.
Otsego finished a distant second to Grand Rapids Christian a year ago, but with no seniors and six underclassmen. The Bulldogs took seven of the top 12 places at their Regional with junior Megan Aalberts finishing first – she’s a strong possibility to improve on her fourth place at last season’s Final. Christian has won two straight LPD2 titles and can’t be counted out, of course. The Eagles put all seven runners among the top 11 at their Regional with junior Megan Schenkel third and senior Claire Brouwer fourth; Brouwer was ninth individually at the 2014 Final. East Grand Rapids was fifth at the Final with five seniors, but placed four underclassmen among the top 11 finishers in dominating this season's Regional. Sophomore Kate O’Connell, the team’s fifth finisher at MIS last year, came in second at the Regional.
Individuals: Aalberts is the top returning finisher from a year ago and Brouwer was third-fastest among racers who will be back. Hamilton junior Erika Freyhof was seventh a year ago and Whitehall junior Maya Hector was 12th, and Freyhof outpaced Holland Christian junior Kayla Windemuller 18:46-18:52 in one of the fastest Regional finishes in the division. Flint Powers Catholic junior Julia Vanitvelt, St. Clair sophomore Gabrielle Morton, Gaylord senior Alexis Smith and Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills senior Madison Goen all broke 19 minutes to win Regionals; Goen ahead of the Grand Rapids Christian group and Smith ahead of Hector.
DIVISION 3
Reigning champion: Ithaca
2014 runner-up: Shepherd
2015 top-ranked: 1. Traverse City St. Francis, 2. Lansing Catholic, 3. Benzonia Benzie Central.
St. Francis as a team will join reigning individual champion Holly Bullough at the Final this season after taking the top four places at its Regional with Bullough leading the way in an incredible 17:15.4 and freshman Katelyn Duffing and junior Emmalyne Tarsa both breaking 19 minutes. Lansing Catholic is expected to take a jump from sixth last season with its top three back and after taking the top three places at its Regional led by sophomore Olivia Theis, who broke 19 minutes and also was the top finisher for the team in 2014. Benzie Central also didn’t run as a team at last year’s Final; now-senior Stephanie Schaub was 23rd as an individual qualifier. The Huskies were the Regional runner-up to St. Francis placing all seven runners among the top 20 and five among the top 13.
Individuals: Bullough is the clear favorite and only three others from last year’s top 15 are back – Hart junior Sierra Albus (ninth), Clare junior Jasmine Harper (11th) and Ithaca junior Courtney Allen (12th). Watch for a trio of freshmen: St. Louis’ Brooklyn Filipiak, Hart’s Adelyn Ackley and Shepherd’s Amber Gall all broke 19 minutes at their Regionals, the latter two finishing ahead of Harper and Albus.
DIVISION 4
Reigning champion: Beal City
2014 runner-up: Kalamazoo Hackett
2015 top-ranked: 1. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, 2. Saugatuck, 3. Beal City.
Sacred Heart, third at the 2014 Final, has been a few steps ahead of two-time reigning champion Beal City this season and finished ahead of the Aggies again in winning their Regional. Irish junior Alexis McConnell finished individual runner-up a year ago and won the Regional in 18:53.9 as her team placed all seven runners among the top 11 and four of the top five. Beal City put five among the top 18 at the Regional, and senior Hannah Steffke leads the way after finishing sixth individually at MIS in 2014. Saugatuck was eighth at last year’s Final but paced by three underclassmen. Sophomore Paisley Sipes was the leader last year coming in 15th at the Final and won this year’s Regional followed by two more strong underclassmen – freshmen Thea Johnson and Rose O’Brien – as all seven runners came in among the top 12.
Individuals: Familiar faces will abound as 11 of last season’s top 15 will be back at MIS – including reigning champion Ava Strenge. The Battle Creek St. Philip junior dominated most of this season – but despite running an 18:50 at the Regional finished second by 10 seconds to Kalamazoo Hackett sophomore Mary Ankenbauer, who came in third individually at the 2014 Final. Waterford Our Lady senior Tessa Fornari, eighth last season, won in the fastest Regional time in the division at 18:27.3. Lutheran Westland senior Jenna Wisner, 10th last year, also won a Regional title, by nearly a minute.
The MHSAA Cross Country Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTO: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart’s Alexis McConnell (1848), Battle Creek St. Phillip’s Ava Strenge (1972) and Waterford Our Lady’s Tessa Fornari (1912) finished among the top eight in LP Division 4 last season and are among strong favorites this weekend. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)