Sachs Surges from Start to Lead Holland West Ottawa to LPD1 Finals Sweep
November 5, 2022
BROOKLYN – Helen Sachs of Holland West Ottawa doesn’t run alone in many cross country meets, which is unusual for an elite runner.
The best runners have to learn to race solo, because there will be meets in which they can simply overwhelm the competition.
But there is always at least one worthy competitor nearby when Sachs races. She runs on the same team as senior Arianne Olson, herself one of the top contenders at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
So, Sachs was surprised to find herself already alone at the front just 200 meters into the race. She never allowed the pack to catch up, winning by 24.73 seconds with a time of 17:18.74.
“I saw nobody in front of me except for the start when they all went off,” said Sachs, a sophomore. “I was just in front. I was like someone is gonna be coming up behind me, because I know the state meet is when people just go for it. No one came up with me.
“It was kind of weird. I was looking forward to some competition or people to run with. It was still fun to run in such a big race, though. It was cool.”
Sachs won eight of her 10 races this season, placing second in the other two to Olson. Olson, who was third in Division 1 last season, placed ninth this time in 18:27.13.
That powerful 1-2 punch up front allowed West Ottawa to win the team championship in dominant fashion, 97-172 over runner-up Romeo.
The Panthers placed their five scoring runners in the top 50, while every other contending team had at least one scoring runner place in the 100s.
Training daily with such a powerful team helped Sachs become an MHSAA champion.
“I just picked up on the dedication, getting everything in,” she said. “Our coaches this year focused more on recovery, like running easy, focusing on recovery, which has helped the mindset of everyone on the team.”
Sachs was a ready-made contributor to the West Ottawa program, finishing fifth in Division 1 last season. But even after finishing among the state’s elite a year ago, she didn’t believe she could win an MHSAA individual championship until she started winning big races early this year.
“It’s surreal,” she said. “Last year I was fifth. This year, winning the state championship was crazy. It doesn’t feel real.”
Rounding out the West Ottawa scorers were 38th-place senior Megan Postma, 49th-place sophomore Jane Olney and 50th-place freshman Ava Porras. Grandville senior Allison Arnsman was the individual runner-up in 17:43.47.
PHOTOS (Top) Holland West Ottawa’s Helen Sachs closes in on the finish and her first MHSAA Finals championship. (Middle) West Ottawa’s Arianne Olson and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central’s Clara James-Heer lead another pack down the stretch. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)
Marquette Carrying Confidence Into Finals After Downstate, Out-of-State Successes
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 20, 2023
MARQUETTE — Marquette’s cross country teams are both seeking to continue championship runs at Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Finals at Farmhouse Cross Country Course in Gladstone – the girls for the second-straight season and the boys attempting a fifth-straight title.
Their travels far and wide this fall have the teams confident that success will continue.
The Marquette girls did something Sept. 15 no other Upper Peninsula team had been able to do, winning the Green division race at the Spartan Invitational at Michigan State University by edging Novi 142-143.
That was the first of multiple successful trips downstate, and Marquette also ran exceptionally closer to home and in Wisconsin against some of that state’s elite.
“I think we’re just really excited,” junior Monet Argeropoulos said. “We’re really looking forward to pushing each other as a team. That’s what keeps us strong. We just need to go down there and take care of business.”
Sophomore Ella Fure was seventh individually at MSU, and senor Abby Harma ran ninth against a field of Lower Peninsula Division 1 schools.
“That’s probably the highlight of the season from a team standpoint,” Fure said during Tuesday’s practice at the Marquette High School track. “We were all crying. At first they announced Novi had won from the unofficial results. We were a little disappointed, although we gave our best effort. Then they found a scoring error and discovered we had won. I think a lot of people were really excited. The car ride home was very good. It kind of flew by.”
After dominating the El Harger Invite at Munising on Sept. 26, Marquette traveled downstate and ran in the Shepherd Bluejay Invitational four days later where the boys placed fifth and the girls were 16th in the Elite division.
“It’s real different running downstate. We needed to get used to that situation and become more comfortable. I think our athletes know what to expect down there now,” Marquette coach Derek Marr said. “(The girls’) confidence really grew after winning at MSU, and a lot of that carried over into Shepherd.
“Many coaches believed the U.P. teams couldn’t compete downstate, and that upset me. I think we can compete with anybody if we believe in ourselves. We’ve trying to break that limitation.”
Marquette opened this season with two victories at home, dominating the Queen City Invitational on Aug. 18 and edging Macomb Dakota for the title in the Wildcat Invite on Aug. 26.
“I think that set the tone,” Harma said. “Downstate runners come up here for camps. They’re very fast. It’s easier to run fast with faster people. Winning the Spartan Invitational was very exciting, and three of us going under 20 minutes at Shepherd was a highlight. It has been a long time since a team from Marquette has done that.”
“I would say we had an exceptional season,” added junior Seppi Camilli, who covered the 3.1-mile course at Shepherd in a personal-best 16 minutes, two seconds. “Derek and Paige (assistant coach DuBois) did a great job preparing us. The girls winning by one point at Spartan was definitely the highlight. Competing downstate allowed us to exemplify our depth and talent. I think it makes us execute to show our skills.”
Senior Cullen Papin had similar thoughts about the early-season meets.
“Everybody showed up and really worked hard in our first meet,” Papin said. “In the Wildcat meet it was good to get pushed by the biggest school in the state, and it came down to a sixth-runner tie-breaker. That’s what it’s all about. It shows every runner is important.”
The Marquette boys were runners-up to nationally-ranked Stevens Point, Wis., at Neenah, and the girls placed fourth.
“That was definitely a confidence builder going down to Neenah,” Papin said. “It was exciting to see all the hard work the girls put in really pay off against some of the D-1 powers in the state at Spartan, and all seven of us going under 16:50 at Shepherd was cool. There’s lots of good teams down there.
“The atmosphere in practice is pretty good.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Marquette's Ella Fure (526), Monet Argeropoulos (514) and Abby Harma (527) make up part of an early pack during the Wildcat Invitational. (Middle) Marquette's Seppi Camilli (497) runs to first place in the boys Wildcat race held on the campus of Northern Michigan University. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)