Preview: Champs Return as Favorites
November 4, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A total of 987 girls will launch from the starting line during four MHSAA Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
And a number of those athletes have plenty of experience crossing the finish line first over the last few seasons as well.
In all four divisions, the reigning team champions enter as favorites to win again, Birmingham Seaholm in Division 1 for the third straight season. Two individual champions – one from 2015 and another from 2014 – will also look to add to their accolades.
Click for all Finals qualifiers, a map of the course and links to buy tickets and watch the Finish Line camera on MHSAA.tv, and come back to Second Half later Saturday for coverage of all four meets. See below for many of the competitors to watch; Saturday’s first race begins at 10 a.m., with the final awards presentation slated to end at 4 p.m.
DIVISION 1
Reigning champion: Birmingham Seaholm
2015 runner-up: Brighton
2016 top-ranked: 1. Birmingham Seaholm, 2. Northville, 3. Ann Arbor Pioneer.
Seaholm has won the last two Division 1 titles and is the favorite to extend the streak to three straight despite graduating a few top runners for the second straight year. Senior Audrey Ladd and juniors Rachel McCardell and Emily Rooney took the top three places at their Regional at Grosse Pointe South, all in 18:12, as all seven Seaholm runners finished among the top 20. Ladd was 11th and McCardell 16th as the team’s top two at last year’s Final, when the Maples won by 46 points. Northville is the 2013 champion and finished fourth and third at the Finals the last two seasons, respectively. The Mustangs again dominated their Regional (at Willow Metropark) despite graduating their top three from last season. Junior Ana Barrott was the Regional champion in 18:35 and sophomore Nicole Cybul was fourth in 19:07. Pioneer won its Regional at Lake Erie Metropark ahead of No. 6 Saline and should make a big jump from eighth at last season’s Final with five back from last year led by junior Anne Forsyth; she was 13th last season and won her Regional in 18:16.
Individuals: Five of the top 10 from 2015 will return – Saline junior Jessi Larson (second), Traverse City Central junior Sielle Kearney (fourth), Royal Oak senior Grace Cutler (sixth), Milford senior Mallory Barrett (seventh) and Milford sophomore Victoria Heiligenthal (10th). Forsyth finished ahead of Larson by 17 seconds at their Regional and Kearney also was a Regional champion in 18:05. Battle Creek Lakeview senior Maggie Farrell was only 97th last season but has dropped major time to become the possible favorite; she won her Regional in 17:21, with Grandville sophomore Madison Malon second at Portage in 17:59. Watch also for Midland Dow freshman Anna Jensen (18:07) and Grand Ledge senior Jenna Magness (18:15), both Regional winners, and Macomb L’Anse Creuse North junior Karenna Duffey (18:51) and West Bloomfield sophomore Kyla Christopher-Moody (18:43) also claimed Regional titles last week. Allen Park junior Makayla Perez was seventh in Division 2 last fall but will run in Division 1 as an individual qualifier.
DIVISION 2
Reigning champion: Otsego
2015 runner-up: East Grand Rapids
2016 top-ranked: 1. Otsego, 2. Grand Rapids Christian, 3. East Grand Rapids.
Otsego has been ranked No. 1 in Division 2 all but one week this season, with its top six runners back from the team that finished 83 points better than the field at MIS a year ago. Seniors Megan Aalberts and Sophie Hirzel – who finished fifth and sixth, respectively, at last year’s Final – took second and third at their Regional as Otsego placed all seven runners among the top 11 in the Division 2 race at Portage. Grand Rapids Christian is the only other team to occupy the top spot in the coaches poll this fall with four of its top six back from 2015 including senior Megan Schenkel. She finished 25th last season but won her Regional last week in 19:32 as the Eagles placed four among the top five. Grand Rapids Christian was third in 2015 behind also East Grand Rapids, which won its Regional by six last week over No. 7 DeWitt. The Pioneers have their top four back from 2015, led by junior Kate O’Connell, who was 29th at the Final and took sixth (19:12) in last week’s Regional.
Individuals: Not counting Allen Park’s Perez, now in Division 1, nine of the top 11 from Division 2 will race this weekend. Reigning champion Erika Freyhof, runner-up Kayla Windemuller and third-place Alia Frederick all are back; Freyhof and Frederick are seniors and Windemuller is only a junior. Flint Powers Catholic senior Julia Vanitvelt, St. Joseph junior Anna Fischer, DeWitt sophomore Ashley Shipps and Ludington senior Lauren Biggs (same time as Shipps but one place back) finished eighth through 11th, respectively, in 2015. Biggs (18:46), Vanitvelt (19:18), Frederick (19:34) and Windemuller (18:16) were Regional champs last week, Windemuller just ahead of Freyhof (18:39). They’ll be joined by some interesting new contenders among the other Regional winners: Plainwell freshman Makenna Veen (18:17) finished ahead of the Otsego pack, while Mason sophomore Cecilia Stalzer (18:34), St. Clair junior Gabrielle Morton (19:51) and Tecumseh senior Christina Sawyer (19:10) also were victorious.
DIVISION 3
Reigning champion: Traverse City St. Francis
2015 runner-up: Benzonia Benzie Central
2016 top-ranked: 1. Traverse City St. Francis, 2. Lansing Catholic, 3. Benzie Central.
Gone is reigning individual champion Holly Bullough, who graduated after leading St. Francis to the team title. But returning for the Gladiators are five others who ran, including fourth place Katelyn Duffing, fifth-place Emmalyne Tarsa and 12th place Joyana Tarsa. Duffing, a sophomore, won their Regional in 18:30, while Joyana Tarsa, a junior, was second in 18:36. Benzie Central was at the same Regional, finishing second while putting four among the top nine led by junior Sierra Pallin at 18:39. Four Benzie Central runners are back from the team that finished second at MIS in 2015. Lansing Catholic finished fourth last fall and is again paced by now-junior Olivia Theis, who finished ninth at the Final and won her Regional last week in 18:26 ahead of sophomore teammate Lauren Cleary (18:50) and freshman teammate Jaden Theis (18:57.2). Olivia Theis and Cleary are among four Cougars returning to Brooklyn.
Individuals: Six freshmen finished among the top 10 last season, so this year’s field is predictably strong, even with Bullough’s graduation. Hart sophomore Adelyn Ackley and Shepherd sophomore Amber Gall were second and third, respectively, a year ago, while McBain sophomore Klaudia O’Malley was sixth and Hopkins sophomore Laura Velderman was 10th – and between them, Clare senior Jasmine Harper was seventh and sophomore Lainey Veenkant was eighth. Ackley (17:39) won a speedy Regional ahead of O’Malley (18:47), Gall (18:49), Harper (19:07), junior sister Alayna Ackley (19:16) and Veenkant (19:24). Velderman (19:08) also was a Regional champ, as were Saugatuck sophomore Thea Johnson (20:20), Quincy senior Gabby Porter (20:26), Montrose junior Remington Hobson (19:45), Otisville-LakeVille junior Kailyn Allmon (20:31) and Ann Arbor Greenhills senior Phoebe Sotiroff (19:55). Saugatuck junior Paisley Sipes was eighth in Division 4 a year ago.
DIVISION 4
Reigning champion: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
2015 runner-up: Harbor Springs
2016 top-ranked: 1. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, 2. Pewamo-Westphalia, 3. Harbor Springs.
No seniors ran on Sacred Heart’s first championship team since 1999, and six of seven runners are back this weekend including fourth-place Alexis McConnell, fifth-place Bailley McConnell and 10th-place Scout Nelson. All seven of this year’s runners were among the top nine at their Regional, won by senior Alexis McConnell (18:43) ahead of Bailley (18:44), sophomore Cammie McConnell (19:19) and sophomore Lauren MacDonald (19:37). Reigning Finals runner-up Harbor Springs should be in the hunt again after placing the top two at its Regional in junior Alyssa Kihnke (19:14) and sophomore Ellie Fleming (19:41) and seven of the top 17. Pewamo-Westphalia was ninth in Division 3 last season with only two seniors; this season’s team has four freshmen but also three of the team’s top four Finals finishers in 2015. Freshman Aubrey George won her Regional by 40 seconds in 19:44 as the Pirates took seven of the top 11 places.
Individuals: Battle Creek St. Philip senior Ava Strenge was runner-up last season and won Division 4 as a sophomore; she’s a favorite again after claiming her Regional in 18:38. She was followed at the Regional by Athens junior Corra Hamilton (19:38) and Kalamazoo Hackett junior Mary Ankenbauer (19:52); Hamilton was 39th at last year’s Final and should make a jump, and Ankenbauer was third and will be in the mix. Springport junior Caitlin Henne returns after finishing sixth and Concord junior Samantha Saenz is back after placing seventh a year ago. Saenz (19:14) won her Regional, as did Marion senior Kyle Sikkema (19:19), Walkerville senior Emily Merten (20:05), Auburn Hills Oakland Christian senior Megan Nichols (19:19) and Plymouth Christian sophomore Sienna Ruiter (20:59).
The MHSAA Cross Country Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTO: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart runners dominated the front of the pack during the Sept. 13 Beal City Invitational. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
St. Francis Sophomore Building Up to Possible Multi-Sport Championship Story
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
October 7, 2022
Although there are plenty of races run on golf courses across the state, it is unlikely anyone would win both high school golf and cross country events on the same golf course.
The odds aren’t very good either that an athlete will capture an MHSAA Finals championship in both sports.
The chances must be even slimmer still for that athlete’s teams to sweep both titles in the same season.
Meet Grace Slocum, a golf and cross country standout at Traverse City St. Francis High School. Don’t bet against her work ethic and talent. Her coaches say both are second to none.
The odds of her capturing golf and cross country first place on the same golf course, winning an individual state championship in both golf and cross country in the same season and helping – if not leading – the Gladiators to team state titles in the same season cannot be calculated.
There might not be a need to do any speculating. Her coaches and teammates can’t wait to see what she accomplishes yet this season and throughout her career. Slocum is only a sophomore.
Her school is undergoing some re-modeling right now. A bigger trophy case perhaps should be under consideration.
She’s been accumulating hardware at golf events away from her high school team for some time. Now, she’s winning high school championships. This week, she won a golf Regional title and led her team to a second-place finish qualifying the Glads for the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final to be played Oct. 14-15 at Grand Valley State University. St. Francis shot a 400 to trail only champion Harbor Springs – one of the strongest golf programs in the state – which finished with a 383.
Slocum finished ninth at the Finals last year as a freshman, and the Glads wound up 13th. Craig Ardery, who is in his 20th season as the St. Francis girls golf coach, is hoping his team cracks the top 10 this time.
When the Golf Finals are over, veteran St. Francis cross country coach Julie Duffing will have Slocum dedicated to running – and the Glads have their eyes on a team championship again after winning LPD3 titles in 2015 and 2016. They were third last year and have ridden consecutive conference and Regional successes to the Finals every year since 2015 – the year Duffing became head coach.
That was also the year her daughter, Katelyn, was a freshman on the Glads team. Julie Duffing's role didn’t change a whole lot with the new title. Prior to joining St. Francis as an assistant track coach in 2013, she had coached at Kingsley for 17 years. The Stags regularly finished among the top 10 in boys and girls cross country during her tenure.
The last year the Glads girls did not qualify as a team for the Finals was 2014 – also the year Holly Bullough won the first of her two individual Finals championships.
Today, the Glads are still feeling some sting from missing out on second place last year by just a few points to Kent City.
“The plan was to come back with a vengeance this year,“ said Duffing, who enjoyed a prep running career herself at Tawas and competed in track & field and cross country at Saginaw Valley State University. “Last year being third, and only two points separated second and third, was a little bitter.”
Slocum’ s twin brother, Josh, also plays golf for the Glads and runs cross country. He’s recovering from a summer injury but ran a personal record last week in his first race of the season. He was the top finisher too for the team ranked second in LPD3.
The St. Francis girls, ranked number one in LPD3, will soon have Slocum dedicated to cross country. She’ll be with the Glads for their last three scheduled meets including the Regional in East Jordan and the Final on Nov. 5 at Michigan International Speedway.
Hart won the LPD3 girls championship last year and is currently ranked fourth. The Glads have run against the Pirates twice this season, winning one of the matchups.
Last year as a freshman, Slocum missed several cross country races but finished 29th at the Final. Sophia Rhein, despite running injured, finished 31st. Betsy Skendzel, 10th, was the Glads’ top finisher. Reilly Duffing was 52nd, Mary Masserant was 62nd and Maddie Gallagher was 84th.
Rhein is the only senior this year among the six returnees. Add stellar freshman Paige Ritchie, and the Glads are ready to contend. Other members of the team looking to compete are senior Cora Garrey, junior Margot Haggerty, sophomores Katie Harrand and Maya Padisak, and freshmen Lucy Noggle, Olivia Padisak and Sarah Trojanowski.
“We did beat Hart at Benzie, and everybody was super excited about that,” Duffing noted. “And then we lost to them this last weekend.
“We didn’t have Grace this last weekend,” she continued. “We just didn’t have a great weekend.”
The loss to Hart can only help the Glads as they prepare for the postseason.
“I told the girls it’s OK. … Let’s have our bad races now,” Duffing said. “Let’s get them out now, and then we don’t have to worry about having another one.”
Slocum, whose favorite sport is golf, considered focusing exclusively on golf this fall. The pressures of two sports at one time with homework demands and school absences were weighing on her as the fall season began.
Duffing was prepared as the possibility was contemplated, having known Slocum for some time through her daughter’s close friendship and all the years they played hockey together. At the top of Duffing’s mind was – and is – Slocum’s happiness.
Duffing came up with a convenient plan for Slocum to follow and participate in cross country. The running Glads were thrilled with it. As a smaller school, the coach knew the importance of flexibility for student-athletes.
“I just looked at her and said, ‘You have a spot on the team no matter what,’” Duffing said. “‘You come when you can – we’ll work with you.’
“‘You don’t golf on Saturdays,’” Duffing recalled telling Slocum. “‘So race on Saturdays, and when you can get some runs in (during) the week, great.”
Knowing Slocum would be in the Glads’ top five whether she practiced regularly or not, the team set its sights on repeating as conference champs and moving through the Regional to the Final.
“I think our job with Grace was to keep the pressure off her and keep her happy,” Duffing noted. “I want her smiling, and I want her to have fun.
“It’s a team sport with a lot of really high goals, and she is part of those,” Duffing continued. “I just want her to be a part of it.”
The two worked out a schedule for training that focused on Sunday running as all the other pieces fell in place. They lost a few Saturdays so Slocum could golf on the courses where the Regional and Final were scheduled.
Slocum will wrap up her golf season next Friday and Saturday in Allendale. She’ll then run Oct. 22 in the Northern Michigan Cross Country Championship at Gaylord – on a golf course at the Otsego Club – and then is expected to help the Glads at the Regional on Oct. 29 before going after the Finals championship.
As she moves through her high school career, Slocum likely will shatter every single golf record at her school — if she hasn’t already. She’s been the team’s top golfer since joining the program a year ago. Before her victory Tuesday, only one other St. Francis golfer had won a girls golf Regional title.
“She’s the number one golfer in my history of girls golf,” Ardery said. “She’s hitting a bar that will be difficult for other golfers to meet.
“The girls before her know about her, and they are very pleased to have their records broken,” he continued. “It’s pretty impressive what she’s been able to do.”
Slocum is nearing the mid-point of her high school career. It would be difficult to bet against her possibly winning golf and cross country races on the same course – or team and individual Finals championships during the same season.
“She has the lowest scoring average of any golfer I’ve coached, and she’s only a sophomore,” Ardery said. “It’s real early in the story.”
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) Grace Slocum (908) and Traverse City St. Francis teammate Grace Skendzel round a corner during a race this fall. (Middle) Slocum stands next to a flag during last season’s MHSAA Girls Golf Finals. (Below) Slocum and twin bother Josh, left, are both golfing and running cross country for the Gladiators this fall. (Top two photos courtesy of Jessica Slocum; bottom photo by Tom Spencer.)