Preview: Seniors to Shine 1 More Time
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 18, 2019
We always can count on high school sports to be cyclical in the way athletes move through their four seasons and are replaced by the next wave.
But some groups certainly are more memorable than others. And Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Girls Cross Country Finals will provide an opportunity to wave good-bye to an accomplished group of seniors who have combined to win five MHSAA individual cross country championships.
Races begin Saturday at Gentz’s Golf Course in Marquette with the Division 1 girls at 11 a.m. and finish with the Division 3 boys at 1:30 p.m. Check back Saturday evening for coverage, and see below for more teams and individuals to watch. (Click for race information and competitors.)
Division 1
Reigning champion: Sault Ste. Marie
2018 runner-up: Marquette
Top-ranked: 1. Marquette, 2. Sault Ste. Marie, 3. Houghton.
Marquette and Sault Ste. Marie have finished first or second together the last five seasons and alternated claiming the championship over the last four. The Blue Devils won last season despite their highest placer coming in eighth, and three of the top four from that lineup are back this weekend – junior Haleigh Knowles (eighth in 2018), sophomore Anna Hildebrand (10th) and senior Shelby Eavou (16th). Marquette senior Ericka Asmus has finished Division 1 runner-up the last two seasons after coming in 10th as a freshman, and she’s joined by three more of the team’s top five from the 2018 Final including senior Reegan Ketzenberger (13th).
Individuals: Negaunee senior Emily Paupore hopes to finish her high school cross country career with a third straight Division 1 championship and won last year’s Final by 32 seconds. She’s been surging not only against Upper Peninsula competition this fall but also against many of the best from downstate. Ishpeming Westwood senior Tessa Leece also should be in the mix again after finishing fourth last season coming off her Division 2 championship in 2017. Paupore teammate Talon Prusi also will run her final high school race after coming in seventh a year ago, and Houghton sophomore Ingrid Seagren could be on the way to becoming the favorite in 2020 after finishing sixth at her first Finals a year ago.
Division 2
Reigning champion: Hancock
2018 runner-up: St. Ignace
Top-ranked: 1. Ishpeming, 2. Ironwood, 3. Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer.
Ishpeming didn’t finish enough runners to place last season, but the Hematites are back to full strength. After winning three straight titles from 2014-16, they are expected to add another with their top three runners returning from last year’s Final: sophomore Abby Racine (fourth place), sophomore Taylor Longtine (seventh) and junior Chyanne Gardner (14th). Reigning champ Hancock isn’t ranked but is going to be in the mix. The Bulldogs had six of the top 12 finishers in winning that team title, and sophomores Jacie Anderson (eighth), Adia Keranen (11th) and Sierrah Driscoll (12th) all are back for a team that will run one senior and six underclassmen.
Individuals: The top three finishers from last season graduated, making Racine the highest-placing returnee. Joining her, Longtine and Anderson back from the top 10 is St. Ignace junior Hallie Marshall (10th), and West Iron County junior Avery Bociek (15th) also is a strong candidate to climb in the standings.
Division 3
Reigning champion: Chassell
2018 runner-up: Cedarville
Top-ranked: 1. Chassell, 2. Brimley, 3. Cedarville.
Chassell will be chasing its third straight championship and fifth in six seasons with four of last season’s top 20 individual placers leading the way. Sophomore Paige Sleeman (fifth), junior Gwen Kangas (seventh), sophomore Kamryn Sohlden (ninth) and freshman Trisha Pietila (20th) make the Panthers the team to beat again. Cedarville is an intriguing contender though with five of last year’s top seven back including freshman Lilianna Cason (eighth) sophomore Meredith Emigh (10th) and junior Cassidy Barr (14th). Rock Mid Peninsula isn’t ranked but brings back all six of last year’s runners who combined to finish third, led by senior Daisy Englund (second) and sophomore Landry Koski (fourth).
Individuals: Eben Junction Superior Central now-senior Danika Walters outpaced 2017 champion Englund by nearly 20 seconds to win last season’s title, and they should provide an excellent individual competition at the front. Total, eight of last year’s top 10 return – the others are mentioned above – and Pickford senior Natalie Miller (11th) and Ewen-Trout Creek junior Elise Besonen also bolster the returning field. Newberry sophomore Jorja Suriano finished 13th in Division 2 last season.
PHOTO: Eben Junction Superior Central’s Danika Walters broke away from the Division 3 field at last season’s Upper Peninsula Finals and will run for a repeat Saturday. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)
Cedar Springs' Weiler Takes Next Step
November 2, 2013
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
BROOKLYN — Kenzie Weiler was satisfied with being the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 cross country runner-up the last two years.
She knew as well as anyone that nobody was going to challenge two-time champion Julia Bos of Grand Rapids Christian.
With Bos now in college, that left a wide-open race for this season’s Division 2 individual title.
This time, Weiler wasn't going to be content with second place.
The Cedar Springs junior made one final surge with fewer than 100 yards to go, passing Detroit Country Day junior Jackie Bredenberg just before the finish line to win by 0.8 seconds with a time of 17:55.1 on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
Weiler finished 18.7 seconds behind Bos last year and 10.4 seconds behind her in 2011. Weiler's times were faster the last two years (17:35.1 in 2011, 17:49.1 in 2012), but a mud-slicked course limited runners' ability to produce personal records Saturday.
"I've gotten runner-up two years in a row," Weiler said. "I really wanted one more (place) this year. I was staying mentally strong. It was a really great day. I'm really happy."
Weiler could appreciate her championship even more after missing track and field season with an injury.
"I decided after missing out on a whole season, I'm just so thankful to run, so thankful to be in the state meet," she said. "I was staying mentally strong. I haven't had a physical change. It's been more mental to be a stronger person."
A pack of four runners reached the two-mile mark in 11:30 before Weiler and Bredenberg began to separate themselves. Bredenberg held a slight lead as the two sprinted down the long straightaway at MIS. Just when it appeared Bredenberg would hold on, Weiler found another gear and made the decisive pass.
"I was hoping I didn't start too late," Weiler said. "I trusted myself. It came over me, and I was like, 'I'm not done yet.' It was exciting."
Such a close loss might be difficult to take, but Bredenberg was in good spirits immediately following the race. She didn't come into it figuring to be in the mix for the title.
"I definitely did not expect this," she said. "I've been running since sixth grade. I never would've thought I would come this close. It's definitely motivating to do that extra pool workout every weekend. I could hear her and I was thinking, 'That girl has an amazing sprint.' It was really exciting."
The top six finishers were juniors, with St. Johns' Karrigan Smith in the hunt until late, finishing third in 18:04.0.
Grand Rapids Christian overcame the graduation of Bos to improve upon last year's third-place finish, winning its fifth MHSAA championship and fourth in the last nine years. The Eagles have been in the top five for 12 straight years.
Grand Rapids Christian scored 109 points to win by 96 over Spring Lake. The battle for the runner-up trophy was considerably closer, with 21 points separating second through sixth places.
The Eagles should be favored to repeat, with no seniors among their top six. Junior Rachel Warners led the team, placing sixth among team runners in 19:01.2. Junior Katie Verhulst (12th, 19:15.8), sophomore Claire Brouwer (19th, 19:38.3), junior Lindsey Fox (27th, 19:45.9) and sophomore Leah Bishop (45th, 20:00.8) rounded out the scoring.
PHOTO: Cedar Springs' Kenzie Weiler (262), Detroit Country Day's Jackie Bredenberg (291) and St. Johns' Karrigan Smith (476) lead at the 1.5-mile point during Saturday's LP Division 2 Final at MIS. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)