Ubly Ace Striding for More after Breakout Sophomore Season
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
August 18, 2021
Maze Gusa’s Athletic.net cross country profile looks like it belongs to two different runners.
During her freshman season at Ubly, a stress fracture caused Gusa to get off to a slow start. While she improved steadily throughout the fall, her season ended at the Regional, one place away from qualifying for the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final.
Her best finish that year was 12th at the Greater Thumb Conference league meet, and she broke 22 minutes just once, running 21:32.6 in the Regional.
As a sophomore, that all changed. Gusa burst onto the scene, winning 11 of 15 events she competed in, and never finishing outside the top three – including at the Division 4 Final, where she finished third.
“Maze, she was not the runner she was last year her freshman year,” Ubly coach Garrett Jurges said. “Her freshman year she had a little bit of an injury, so she had a later start to the season, and she was dual-sporting, playing volleyball. She came back over the summer, and she put some serious training in and miles in.”
Gusa hopes to build on that with another strong performance as a junior, as she’ll lead an Ubly lineup which returns six of its top seven runners after placing sixth at the Division 4 meet as a team. She’s set a new goal for herself – lowering her current personal best of 19:38.7 down to 18:30 – and while she’s aware and ready for it, she knows there will be some added pressure this season as she won’t be allowed to come out of nowhere again.
“I feel like last season, every time I grew it would be like, ‘Look at her, she’s getting so much faster,’” Gusa said. “Now, all of the sudden, there’s all these expectations. If I’m not where I was last year, it’s like I’m not doing what I should be.”
While the expectations are going to be different, it’s not as though Gusa isn’t somewhat used to them. Simply carrying her last name at a cross country meet in the Thumb comes with a certain amount of expectation.
Maze is the third of four Gusas to come through Jurges’ program, following her sisters Haili (2019 graduate) and Josie (2021 graduate). Younger brother Utah is entering his sophomore season after qualifying for the Division 4 Final as Ubly’s No. 1 runner a year ago.
Haili was a four-time all-state finisher and sits third on Ubly’s all-time fastest times list. Josie had three all-state finishes and is eighth all-time at the school. Maze is currently fifth on the all-time list, and her goal of 18:30 doesn’t come out of nowhere, as that matches the school record set in 2004 by Jackie Rivard.
“It’s not super often (we discuss competition within the family), but it’s really fun when we do talk about it,” Maze Gusa said. “My brother is just crazy because he’s gotten so fast, so he’s the hardest to compare. Haili is saying that, ‘It’s OK if you beat my time, but you’re going to have to earn it.’ When I passed Josie, she was happy that I had worked for it. They’re all very supportive, so it really helps to push me.”
The disappointment of Regionals her freshman season pushed Maze as much as anything a year ago. She said she ran more than 500 miles in the spring and summer leading up to her sophomore year, transforming from a solid runner to one of Division 4’s best.
“It was really a big motivation for me – I was just always thinking about that one spot,” she said. “The biggest difference I actually had, and it was really a blessing in disguise, was COVID-19. It took out my track season, so I had all that extra free time. Instead of sitting around, I got out and ran. I started building a base for myself – running more miles, faster miles. On my 16th birthday, I ran 16 miles. It was a really intense summer.”
It paid off with a Regional title and the third-place finish at the Finals, something she was able to share with Utah and Josie, who were also competing there.
“It was really awesome, because she really wanted to do good,” Utah said. “It was super hot, and I didn’t know if she would be one of those people that it would slow them down a lot. She was crushed the year before.”
Maze played soccer at Ubly this past spring, which cut down her offseason miles. She said she was still able to get in about 250, but trying to squeeze them into a shorter timeframe did result in a hip injury, one she’s nearly fully recovered from now.
She does hope, though, that increased competition and being able to run again in bigger meets this season will help push her to reach her goals.
“I’m a very competitive person,” she said. “Whether it’s a board game or a race.”
Jurges agreed.
“She’s a competitor and a hard worker,” he said. “She’s one of those that when push comes to shove, at the end of the race, this girl is not going to beat me. She will pull everything out of her guts and sprint her down.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTO: Ubly’s Maze Gusa (369) races toward the finish line during last season’s Division 4 girls team championship race at Michigan International Speedway. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
Lansing Catholic Trio Bringing Pacesetting, Pack-Leading Prowess Back to Finals
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
November 3, 2022
When it comes to success, Hannah Pricco sees no problem spreading the wealth.
While some cross country runners are guarded over their personal times and finishes, Pricco is one of three Lansing Catholic runners who have had no problem taking turns virtually dominating the Capital Area Activities Conference White over the last two seasons.
Not only are the three part of a Cougars program which hasn't lost a conference jamboree in 11 years, Pricco along with CC Jones and Tessa Roe have grabbed the top three spots in each conference jamboree over the last two seasons. They also took the top three places at their Regional last weekend.
When it comes to the specific order of those finishes, Pricco said there is complete agreement among the runners: it doesn't matter who wins.
"We all want to win; that's normal," said Pricco, a senior all-stater in both cross country and track. "But I've run with these other girls in practice and in meets, and if I beat them, okay. If I don't, that's okay, too.
"We're definitely all competitive in our own way. We push each other and want to get better. When you're in a race, it's better to look over and see someone you know rather than seeing someone from another team. There's nothing wrong with any of us winning."
The three have posted personal bests within 25 seconds of each other. Jones, a senior, tops the trio with an 18:13, Pricco an 18:14 and Roe, a junior, has gone 18:38. Those times are more than a minute better than the usual fourth-place finisher in a conference jamboree.
Cougars coach Tim Simpson said whatever their individual finishes, the ultimate goal of the runners is the success of the team. Personal recognition is a far second.
"With them it's like, 'Well, I finished first this time and third the next. That's fine,'" he said. "Whether it's a league meet or a Regional or one of the bigger meets we go to, they just race. They work together. They're pretty similar, so it's just how they feel on that day."
The girls not only run cross country and track together, they spend time together away from athletics. They'll typically be found together at everything from bonfires to dining out to trips to a local park. Roe and Pricco also play on the basketball team.
The trio has been together since Jones transferred as a sophomore and Roe arrived at the school as a freshman. Pricco has been at the school all four years.
Jones said there is absolutely no jealousy among the runners as to who wins a meet. While the runners typically stay together during a race, there is often a scramble at the end to see who grabs first.
"The last hundred meters we sprint to see who wins – it doesn't matter if it's in practice or in a meet," Jones said. "We want to win, but we're all friends. We're not going to make anyone tense. We don't really think (about places). It's not like we need to beat each other."
Roe, a three-year varsity basketball player, said the benefit of having three runners within 25 seconds of each other is that each makes the next runner better. It's true none are obsessed with who finishes first, but like any athlete, they are competitive.
"All of us are definitely competitive. We look at that as a way to push each other," Roe said. "Obviously, we try to beat other runners; that goes hand-in-hand with running. I think it gives us all confidence that we have each other. It's that way in practice and in meets. We know we can pick up each other."
The runners do admit that their philosophy will be altered at Saturday's Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final at Michigan International Speedway. Headed by Pricco's seventh place a year ago, all three finished among the meet's top 20. Simpson predicts the meet's winner will likely clock in under 18 minutes, meaning his runners will have to post a career day to win. But he does call all three finishing among the top 10 "realistic."
"They're all capable of running under 18 minutes on any given day. They're shooting for that," he said. "They'll run their races and be very competitive with the others and with themselves."
Whether it’s in the Final or during the conference season, Pricco said the girls are only pulling for each other.
"There's nothing wrong with any of us winning," she concluded.
PHOTOS (Top) From left, Lansing Catholic’s CC Jones (749), Tessa Roe (745) and Hannah Pricco (755) lead the pack during a race. (Middle) Pricco, Jones and Roe help set the pace during another race. (Photos courtesy of the Lansing Catholic girls cross country program.)