Sophomore Pair Clinch 1st Finals Titles, Korpi Wins 3rd to Cap Ishpeming Career
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2023
FLAT ROCK — Pickford’s Talya Schreiber is a first-year high school cross country runner.
The Pickford sophomore placed an exclamation point at the end of her season, setting the Upper Peninsula Division 3 Finals record by covering the 3.1-mile course in 18 minutes, 49.2 seconds here Saturday.
“That’s nine seconds off my PR (personal record),” she said. “I wanted to go out hard because it gave me a cushion to work with.
“This has definitely been a real good learning experience. I dealt with some illness last summer (2022). I needed a lot of rest and had to get back into running very slowly. It’s disappointing I didn’t get to do anything in my freshman year, but I’m definitely happy to be back.”
Chassell was crowned champion for the first time in four years by edging Newberry 52-54. Third-place Stephenson scored 58 points.
“The girls are really excited,” Chassell coach Marco Guidotti said. “I’m so happy for them. Stephenson beat us at Munising (Sept. 26) and kept an eye on the times Newberry was running. We knew it’d be tough. I’m so proud of the girls for believing in themselves. When you see a team running times like that, every place counts.
“The girls really started to find their groove late in the season. Winning the Copper Mountain Conference really motivated us, and Ironwood put on a great meet over there. We have a real strong community that supports the school and runners.”
Newberry grabbed the next three places, led by sophomore and runner-up Samantha Taylor (19:28.6), freshman Abby Taylor (19:48.6) and senior Kaylen Clark in a season-best 20:19.1, Dollar Bay senior Taryn Maki (21:06.3) and Chassell junior Lily Etelamaki (22:04.9).
“We put in lot of hard work during the week,” Etelamaki said. “We were definitely on a mission. Our area teams did real well. There’s a lot of trophies going back home. We were kind of in shock when we found out we won. We thought we’d be runner-up. We tried to run in a pack, and I think our depth helped us.”
Division 2
Ishpeming senior Lola Korpi ran the fourth-best time in U.P. Division 2 Finals history at a personal-best 19:04.8, clinching her third individual championship in her final race for the Hematites.
“I ran about 20:18 here last year and was trying to beat that,” she said. “That was amazing. It feels like I’m on top of the world right now.
“I’m also proud of my sister. Laynie ran real well. I was thinking to myself ‘leave it all here.’ I’m not as sad as others because I know I’ll be running in college. Plus, I still have track to look forward to next spring.”
Hancock gained its third straight team title with 38 points, followed by Munising with 71 and Ironwood with 93.
The Bulldogs were led by juniors Ella Keranen in a personal-best 20:56.9 and Rayna Towles (21:06.3), who placed second and third, respectively.
“I never broke 21 minutes before,” Keranen said. “It’s hard to run against the clock at the Finals. It can be a little nerve-wracking, but I was excited when I saw my time. Rayna and I ran together. It’s good to have someone to run with. We definitely ran as hard as we could. We wanted to win it for the third time for our senior Jolene Larson.”
Division 1
Marquette, as expected, retained its D1 title by tying the UPD1 Finals scoring record with 23 points, followed by Houghton with 53 and Sault Ste. Marie with 92.
Led by sophomore individual champion Ella Fure, the team placed five in the top 11.
Fure was clocked at 19:24.6, followed by junior teammate Monet Argeropoulos in 19:30.2.
“I’m definitely happy. I was faster than in the GNC (Great Northern Conference) meet,” Fure said. “I was a little nervous about my time. I was running with Monet, and she told me to take off with a quarter-mile to go. I was about 17 seconds off my PR. The weather was nice. It was about the perfect temperature (near 50).
Argeropoulos was followed by Houghton junior Roman Peterlin (19:55.3) and sophomore Tessa Rautiola (19:55.5), and Marquette senior Abby Harma (19:58.5).
“Ella and I helped each other out,” Argeropoulos said. “I’m happy about my time and our team winning. Houghton did really well. We were really close last year. It’s really fun to see our whole team do well. It’s kind of a reward for the hard work we did.”
PHOTOS (Top) Pickford's Talya Schreiber runs during the Division 3 U.P. Final at Farmhouse B & B in Gladstone on Saturday. She won the race. (Middle) Ishpeming's Lola Korpi runs to her third straight U.P. Division 2 championship. (Below) Marquette’s Ella Fure runs with Houghton's Tessa Rautiola in Division 1. (Photos by Jason Juno. Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
Hancock, Munising Reign Again, While Marquette Wins Matchup of Rivals
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 22, 2022
FLAT ROCK — There was a feeling the race for the Upper Peninsula Division 1 girls championship would be a close one here Saturday.
That’s exactly how it played out as Marquette edged two-time reigning champion Houghton 35-37. Third-place Sault Ste. Marie scored 104 points.
“The girls did fantastic,” said Marquette coach Derek Marr. “I’m impressed with the way they came through. We were down slightly after two miles, then they really picked it up. I applaud the Houghton girls for their effort. They really went after it.”
Houghton freshman Tessa Rautiola won the 3.1-mile race in 20 minutes, 11 hundredths of a second. She was followed by Sault senior Cassandra Gallagher (20:07.7) and Marquette freshman Ella Fure (20:13.69).
“I just wanted to enjoy the last race of the season,” said Rautiola. “I’m happy with how everything went. We’re pretty happy with our performance. I think this will just make us work harder next year.”
Gallagher achieved a personal record by one second.
“I’m very happy with that,” she said. “I’m also happy with how our team did. I didn’t want to go out too hard today. I was in 10th place at the mile mark. This was my last high school cross country race and I really wanted to give it my all. I tried to catch Tessa, but she ran a real good race. We had nice weather. There were a lot of hills out there, but I liked the course.”
Fure said this was a learning experience for her.
“I learned to work with our team and trust in myself,” she added. “I tried to spread out my energy, which takes a lot of practice. My pacing didn’t go as well in the past. We had been running on flatter courses the last couple weeks to save it for the Finals. We had a few hills out there today, and I had to get used to that all over again. I appreciate all the support I received from our team and coaches.”
Marquette placed the third, fourth, seventh, 10th and 13th placers to edge Houghton, which had finishers in first, fifth, eighth, 11th and 14th. Sophomore Monet Argeropoulos followed Fure in fourth, with junior Abby Harma crossing the line seventh for Marquette. Sophomore Lily Ross was fifth for Houghton, and junior Ayla Miller was eighth.
Division 2
Hancock repeated as Division 2 champion with 23 points, followed by Ishpeming with 40 and Powers North Central at 68.
Ishpeming junior Lola Korpi retained her individual title in 20:18.81, followed by Manistique freshman Maya Carlson (21:26.38) and Bessemer (Gogebic) senior Natalie Stone (21:31.6).
“That’s awesome,” said Korpi, who had been battling a chest cold. “I was going for time. I’m still battling a chest cold and struggled a little with my breathing.
“We had a full team for the first time this year. I’m so happy the girls decided to run. Hancock was tough to beat. There was a little more pressure trying to defend my title, but it’s really nice to bring something back to our school.”
Carlson was also happy with the way everything fell into place.
“We had only four runners today, but still did good as a team,” she said. “I thought I had a chance to win it, but then I just wanted to stay in second place and finish with her (Stone). I think this was my best race of the year. I got stronger as the race went on. I did some races during the summer, and that helped a lot.”
Hancock surged on the strength of four top-10 individual placers – sophomore Ella Keranen in fifth, senior Maylie Kilpela in sixth, sophomore Rayna Towles in seventh and senior Liana Berg in ninth.
Division 3
Munising captured its third consecutive title with 26 points, followed by Eben Junction Superior Central at 71 and Stephenson with 97.
“We knew what we wanted to do this season and came out of here with a huge win,” said Munising coach Mark Kinnunen. “This just shows what hard work and leadership can do for you, and our senior leadership was as strong as it ever was.
“Competing with Superior Central is awesome. It’s fun having the two schools do so well. We went from having just one runner to earning three straight U.P. titles. I ran for Fran (former coach DesArmo) and learned a lot from him. It’s an exciting time to be coaching this team.”
Newberry freshman Samantha Taylor earned the top individual honor in 20:06.34, and junior teammate and 2021 champion Kaylen Clark was runner-up in a season-best 20:18.09.
“I’m obviously disappointed I didn’t win, but happy for Sam. She had an amazing season,” said Clark. I’m happy with the progress I made this year. We should be able to compete as a team next year, which will make it more fun. I gave it everything I had. I plan on training real hard. This just makes me hungrier for it.”
Munising senior Monique Brisson placed third (21:36.09), followed by classmate Hattie Cota (21:54.33).
“I think it’s pretty cool the two Alger County schools finished on top,” Brisson said. “We know each other pretty well. I’m proud of our team and definitely happy for them. It’s a pretty hard course, but I’m obviously capable of better. I’m happy for Hattie. She finished strong.”
PHOTOS (Top) Houghton's freshman Tessa Rautiola (47) and sophomore teammate Lily Ross (48), and Marquette freshman Ella Fure (83) and sophomore Monet Argeropoulos (81) run together during the Division 1 race. (2) Ishpeming's Lola Korpi smiles after she finishes the Division 2 Final. (3) Hancock's Ella Keranen (138), Rayna Towles (143), and Maylie Kilpela (140) run together during the Division 2 Final. (4) Competitors break away from the start during the Division 3 Final. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)