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.
Ithaca's Bloom Gets Her Title, Hart Ties LP Finals Team Record
November 6, 2021
BROOKLYN — A year ago, Lani Bloom of Ithaca was in first place with a decisive lead, less than 100 meters from the finish line at Michigan International Speedway.
But then she fell and was reduced to a slow crawl.
As she desperately tried to reach the line on her hands and knees, three runners passed her. It was the second year in a row that Bloom led coming down the stretch at MIS, only to experience a catastrophe. She was 18th in 2019 after leading with 800 yards remaining, collapsing after crossing the line.
So, that fist pump she gave when she crossed the line at MIS on Saturday was almost as much for the fact she finished upright as it was for winning the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 individual championship.
There would be no drama awaiting Bloom on the home stretch this year, as she cruised through the finish line in 17:29.69, winning by 30 seconds ahead of Hart sophomore Alyson Enns.
“I was in the same position last year,” Bloom said. “I was ahead by quite a bit. I just fell. This year, I made a conscious effort, I got to that point and I said, ‘You have never run this part of the course. You have crawled it for the past three years. It’s time to run it. It’s time to finish it.’”
Perhaps because of her past issues at MIS, Bloom showed empathy for fellow runners who were struggling after crossing the line.
She helped sixth-place Mylie Kelly of Benzie Central get back to her feet and moving, then helped hold up two teammates who were completely spent after racing 3.1 miles.
“Usually if I’m feeling good enough to stand up on my own, I’m feeling good enough to help people,” Bloom said. “The girls I went back for are girls I’ve competed against, ran with forever now. It seems they’ve given me so much respect that the least I could do is hold them up at the end.”
Bloom went through the mile mark in 5:38.1, holding a 7.8-second lead over Hart freshman Jessica Jazwinski. The lead stretched to 19.2 seconds when Bloom reached two miles in 11:17.3.
“I was expecting them to hang on to me for a little longer,” Bloom said. “I was reading these Michigan Speed Ratings. He said these girls get out hard and dare the field to hang on. I said, ‘I’m going to do that. I’m going to see who is ready to race today.’”
Following Bloom across the line were three Hart runners who took places two through four. Alyson Enns was second in 17:59.67, Jazwinski was third in 18:00.59 and senior Audrianna Enns was fourth in 18:32.27.
Hart’s strength up front was able to offset more consistent top-five finishes by the other contenders. Hart scored 143 points to win its fifth consecutive Division 3 championship by 36 points over Kent City.
The fifth-straight Finals title tied Rockford’s run in Class A/Division 1 from 1998-2002 for longest championship streak in Lower Peninsula girls cross country history.
Kent City’s top five runners were in the top 72 overall and top 53 among team runners, while Hart counted a runner who was 159th overall and 111th in the team race.
Lexie Beth Nienhuis was 31st in 19:36.65 for Hart, while Abigail Pretty completed the team score by taking 159th in 21:47.49.
PHOTOS (Top) Ithaca’s Lani Bloom approaches the finish line on the way to winning the LPD3 individual championship. (Middle) Hart’s Alyson Enns (255) and Jessica Jazwinski (257) lead the way as their team wins a record-tying fifth-straight title. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)