Preview: Champs Favored to Reign Again
October 21, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Upper Peninsula’s dominant girls cross country programs will be looking to add to those legacies Saturday at Gladstone’s Beauchamp Cross Country Course.
Marquette is seeking its fourth straight title in Division 1, while Ishpeming in Division 2 and Chassell in Division 3 have both won two straight MHSAA Finals championships.
Races begin Saturday with the Division 1 boys at 11 a.m. and finish with the Division 3 girls at 2 p.m. Check back Saturday evening for coverage of all six Upper Peninsula Finals, and see below for more teams and individuals to watch. The MHSAA Cross Country Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
DIVISION 1
Reigning champion: Marquette
2015 runner-up: Sault Ste. Marie
2016 top three: 1. Marquette, 2. Sault Ste. Marie, 3. Menominee.
The Redettes graduated some serious firepower after winning their third straight championship last season, including individual winner Lindsey Rudden and fifth-place Holly Blowers. But seniors Becci McNamee (seventh last season) and Amber Huebner (nine) are back to anchor a team that total brings to this weekend four who finished among the top 21 in 2015 plus standout freshmen Erica Asmus and Reegin Katzenberger. Asmus finished first at the Great Northern Conference championship race, followed by Huebner and McNamee. Sault Ste. Marie’s top five from last season’s Final should lead the strongest challenge – junior Mackenzie Kalchik, who finished fourth last year, plus sophomore Megan Arbic (sixth), senior Courtney Arbic (eighth), junior Rebekka Ranta (15th) and senior Josie Roos (16th). The Blue Devils also have a pair of standout freshmen in Nicky Kucharczyk and Shelby Eavou.
Individuals: A trio of contenders join the other six mentioned above who finished among the top 15 last season. Negaunee junior Clara Johnson is the reigning Division 1 runner-up after finishing only six seconds behind Rudden in 2015. Gladstone’s Leigha Woelffer was 10th last season – but won Division 1 in 2014 – and Kingsford’s Peyton Johnson was 12th in 2015. Johnson, a sophomore, finished fourth behind the three Marquette placers at the GNC final two weeks ago, and Woelffer, a senior, was sixth. Manistique sophomore Ashley McDonald was eighth in Division 2 last season.
DIVISION 2
Reigning champion: Ishpeming
2015 runner-up: Hancock
2016 top three: 1. Ishpeming, 2. Munising, 3. Hancock.
The Hematites are significant favorites with six of their top seven – who all placed 22nd or better – back this weekend. They’re led by reigning individual champion and senior Khora Swanson, followed by junior Mariah Bertucci (third), junior Kayla Kaukola (sixth), sophomore Brooke Johnson (ninth), junior Chloe Sjoholm (17th) and junior Katie Loman (22nd). Munising was last season’s Division 3 runner-up and could challenge with five of their top seven back including juniors Alyssa Webber (third in D3), sophomore Madeline Peramaki (sixth) and junior Sami Coyne (19th). Hancock was second to Ishpeming last year in Division 2 and brings back top-20 finishers Allyson Fenton (19th) and Greta Berg (20th), both juniors.
Individuals: Joining the Ishpeming crew are four others who finished among the top 15 last season – Gogebic junior Melissa Wanink (fourth) and senior Lily Wieringa (14th), St. Ignace senior Callie Kammers (10th) and Ironwood senior Corissa Mattson (15th). Also, Newberry senior Maysa Sitar was 15th in Division 3. Swanson won last season’s race by 19 seconds, but Wanink was only a second behind Bertucci for third place. Munising’s Webber ran an impressive 20:02 at the Holly Invitational in September to beat that mostly downstate field by eight seconds.
DIVISION 3
Reigning champion: Chassell
2015 runner-up: Munising
2016 top three: 1. Chassell, 2. Cedarville, 3 Stephenson.
Top-ranked Chassell won’t have to worry about Munising this season after finishing only two points better to win last year’s title, but has another experienced contender to watch. Sophomore Lela Rautiola is coming off a seventh-place finish at least season’s Final and has been in the mix among the Upper Peninsula’s best, regardless of division. Jenna Pietila (21st) and Briah Maki (27th) also are back as sophomores after running in the team’s top five. Cedarville senior Emma Bohn was fourth last season and leads a team bringing back all seven runners, including also 14th-place senior Leila Schlosser, after finishing third in 2015. Stephenson is looking to move up from sixth last season while returning four of its top six.
Individuals: Bohn is the highest returning placer, and in addition to her teammate Schlosser and the Chassell leaders will also have to watch for Brimley juniors Lauren Halvorsen and Hannah Lyons. They finished fifth and ninth, respectively, at the 2015 Final.
PHOTO: Ishpeming's Khora Swanson (right) receives her championship medal last season from a member of the Michigan National Guard.
Eagles' Frens, East Grand Rapids Find Fast Gears at Finals Time
November 6, 2021
BROOKLYN — The clock was ticking on Madelyn Frens’ hopes of winning an MHSAA cross country championship in her final season at Grand Rapids Christian.
After running a blistering time of 17:56.0 on Aug. 28 at the Pete Moss Invitational at Benzie Central, Frens was sidelined with a stress reaction in her right femur.
Cross country season is short. Any time away from training and racing makes it less likely a runner will be successful come championship time.
But after going nearly four weeks without a race, Frens returned without missing a beat. With five races as a build-up for the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final, Frens pulled away from a five-way battle for the championship to win in 17:52.30.
The time away from running was actually beneficial for Frens.
“I was able to have a lot of time just to think about myself and what running actually means to me,” she said. “It doesn’t define all of who I am.”
It was in her second race back, an Ottawa-Kent Conference White jamboree Oct. 6 that she won in 18:11.9, that Frens knew she was still on track to become a Finals champion.
“I was like, ‘I’ve still got this; my team’s got this,’” Frens said.
Her team finished second with 99 points behind East Grand Rapids, which had 66.
It was the third MHSAA team championship in four years for East Grand Rapids, which took second last year to Petoskey. Grand Rapids Christian was third last year.
East Grand Rapids put four runners in the top 15, with sophomore Drew Muller placing fifth in 18:23.28, senior Ainsley Workman ninth in 18:55.57, freshman Sadey Seyferth 12th in 18:58.41, sophomore Sophia Lado 15th in 19:05.87 and junior Abigail Petr 52nd in 19:50.93. All seven Pioneers broke 20 minutes.
Following Frens across the line were four sophomores who will likely have more battles just like this in the next two years. Early leader Mary Richmond of Frankenmuth was second in 17:56.01, Meghan Ford of Mason was third in 18:10.81, Natalie VanOtteren of Grand Rapids Christian was fourth in 18:13.46 followed by East Grand Rapids’ Muller in 18:23.28. There was a 22-second gap after that before the next wave of runners reached the line.
It was the most competitive race of the day, with five runners within three seconds of one another at the two-mile mark. Frens was fourth at the mile and third at the two mile.
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Christian’s Madelyn Frens pulls away during the final stretch of Saturday’s LPD2 championship race. (Middle) Drew Muller leads a group of eventual high-placing East Grand Rapids runners in their team title pursuit. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)