St. Francis Follows Bullough to D3 Title

November 7, 2015

By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half

BROOKLYN — Holly Bullough knows something about playing with pain. 

She is, after all, from one of Michigan's most well-known football families.

So, she wasn't going to let a stress fracture in her left foot keep her from defending her MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. 

Bullough wasn't able to run in practice the last two weeks, keeping in shape by hitting the spinning bike hard at a yoga center in Traverse City. It worked, as she was fit enough to dominate the Division 3 field, winning by 36.4 seconds with a time of 17:41.8.

Bullough shattered her own LP Division 3 record of 17:51.3, set last year when she surged ahead at the finish to edge Amber Way of Charlevoix by 0.2 seconds. 

"I was pretty tired," Bullough said. "I just needed to finish and try to finish as strong as I can."

She said she felt some of the effects of running only once in the previous two weeks, that being in the regional meet a week earlier when she won in 17:15.40. It was a week before regionals that she noticed something didn't feel right. 

"After this one meet, I was limping after it," she said. "I was like, "I need to get an X-ray.'"

The X-ray revealed a stress fracture in the second metatarsal bone in her left foot.

She has numerous examples in her own family of athletes who know a thing or two about toughing it out. Her grandfather, father and three brothers played football at Michigan State, with Riley and Byron on the current roster. Hank Bullough, her grandfather, was a starting guard on MSU's 1954 Rose Bowl championship team. Her father, Shane, was a linebacker at MSU. Brother Max is on the Houston Texans' roster.

An injury was going to be the only thing to keep Bullough from repeating as Division 3 champion. Nobody went out with her, as she built a 28-second lead by the two-mile mark.

"I was more worried coming into regionals, because that's when I had the longest break, but I was still nervous," Bullough said.

Winning the individual title was more special for Bullough this time around, because she was able to lead her team to a championship, as well. 

St. Francis scored 69 points to easily beat Benzie Central by 72. Shepherd was third with 181 points.

The Gladiators didn't even qualify for the Final last year, finishing sixth in their Regional to miss out on a trip to MIS for only the second time in 14 years. Bullough is the only runner from that regional lineup that ran in the Final on Saturday. 

"It's awesome. I love it. It's so much better than being alone," Bullough said.

Also scoring for the Gladiators were freshman Katelyn Duffing (fourth, 18:35.2), junior Emmalyne Tarsa (fifth, 18:42.3), sophomore Joyana Tarsa (12th, 19:05.1) and sophomore Lauren Bramer (66th, 20:23.5). 

The title was the second for St. Francis, which was the LP Division 4 champion in 2003.

Click for full results.

The MHSAA Cross Country Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.

PHOTOS: (Top) Alone on the final stretch, Traverse City St. Francis’ Holly Bullough surges toward the finish line. (Middle) Bullough and teammate Katelyn Duffing (1650) lead the St. Francis pack, including Emmalyne Tarsa (1653), off the start. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)

Farrell, Milford Finish Incredible Runs

November 5, 2016

Second Half reports

BROOKLYN – When everyone packed up and left Michigan International Speedway last year, cross country gurus inclined to predict the 2016 MHSAA Division 1 girls cross country race had no shortage of candidates for the individual championship.

Of the top 17 finishers, 13 were non-seniors, headlined by two sophomores at the top of the podium.

It’s safe to say nobody dug deep enough into the results to pull out Maggie Farrell’s name as a leading contender.

Farrell had just completed her second straight middle-of-the-pack showing, taking 97th in 19:29.9 after placing 92nd in 19:28.8 as a sophomore. She certainly had consistency going for her.

But she wanted to accomplish so much more, so she put in the hard work to make her dreams come true.

“I changed my schedule a little bit and worked with a trainer,” Farrell said. “My goal this year was top 15; I thought that would be tough.”

Her goals were revised as she got into the season and won almost everything in sight. She claimed the ultimate prize Saturday by winning the Division 1 title with a time of 17:25.6.

Ann Arbor Pioneer junior Anne Forsyth was second in 17:35.0. Farrell made a move at the two-mile mark, but could never feel comfortable until she experienced the relief of hitting the finish line.

“I’ve just got to go,” were Farrell’s thoughts during the final stretch. “I know the girl behind me wants it as much as I do.”

Farrell won 13 of her 14 races this season. The only time she lost was when she took third place at the Portage Invitational on Oct. 8. Forsyth was first in that race, followed by Traverse City Central junior Sielle Kearney. Kearney was seventh in 18:16.5 on Saturday.

“In that race, I ran the same way,” Forsyth said. “I just run from the front. I tried to pull ahead, and I felt good. Today, she kind of did the same thing to me.

“I’m happy. I haven’t been running as well in the big meets in the past, so I’m happy I ran well today.”

In the team race, Milford pulled off an upset by winning its first MHSAA girls cross country championship. The Mavericks, ranked 10th in the state, scored 150 points to beat Pioneer by 22.

Northville finished in the top eight for the sixth straight year, placing third with 178 points. Top-ranked Birmingham Seaholm, winner of three of the last four MHSAA titles, was fourth with 188.

Senior Mallory Barrett led Milford by placing ninth overall and sixth among team runners in 18:16.5. Sophomore Victoria Heiligenthal was 14th overall and 10th in the team race in 18:26.6.

Also scoring for Milford were junior Nicole Grindling (33rd, 19:21.3), sophomore Natalie Black (43rd, 19:32.1) and junior Regan Lobodzinski (58th, 19:47.5).

Milford’s previous best finishes were second-place showings in 1984 and 2000. The Mavericks were third last year.

Click for full results.

The MHSAA Cross Country Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.

PHOTOS: (Top) Battle Creek Lakeview’s Maggie Farrell (right) stays just a few paces ahead of Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Anne Forsyth. (Middle) Milford’s Natalie Black (1049) pushes toward the finish with Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern’s Emily Fredette (1200). (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)