Harbor Springs Finishes 1st Title Run
May 30, 2015
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
HUDSONVILLE – Harbor Springs’ Emily Kloss has been coaching track and field for more than two decades.
Throughout her career, however, one accomplishment had eluded her.
That was until Saturday afternoon at Hudsonville’s Baldwin Middle School.
Harbor Springs claimed the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Track and Field Final championship. It was the first in school history.
The Rams finished with 57 points, while Fowler placed runner-up with 53.5 points. Concord (50) and was third, and defending champion Reading (48) was fourth.
“I’m super excited because we brought 11 girls here and every single one of them placed and medaled,” said Kloss, who coaches with her husband, Mike. “This is my 25th year coaching, but the first state championship won for track.”
Harbor Springs’ cross country program has won two MHSAA Finals and placed runner-up twice, but the track and field crown has special meaning.
Kloss’ hometown is Fowler, and she and Fowler’s coach, Jill Feldpausch, were teammates in high school.
“We won state championships together so this is pretty special, especially for them to take second,” Kloss said.
Senior Charlotte Cullip, who placed runner-up in the 400 to teammate Salix Sampson, was thrilled to end her career with a victory in the Finals.
“I can’t believe it,” she said. “I’ve run forever in cross and track and this is my last year, so it’s amazing. Our coaches looked at the stats and thought we had a chance. I didn’t believe them until the 4 X 4, and then I thought we could do it.
“We had throwers, pole vaulters, distance runners, relays. We had everything, and I’m so glad it all came together this last year.”
Sampson clocked a 58.99 in the 400 and was the anchor on the victorious 1,600 relay (4:08.14).
“Our team has worked really hard at it, and our coach doesn’t say that we can do something if we can’t,” Sampson said. “We had a lot of good freshmen come through, and they really powered through. We couldn’t have done this without them, and the seniors have been there since the beginning.”
Kloss credited her seniors for helping propel the team to the top of the standings.
“My seniors have worked so hard, and we broke two school records today,” she said. “I’m pretty excited to finally do it with the great seniors that we have. Everyone worked really hard, and it is nice to end it this way.”
Sophomore Caylin Bonser took fifth in the discus and fifth in the shot put, while teammate Erika Lechner, a sophomore, was fourth in the shot put.
The weather Saturday changed dramatically, and the final portion of the meet was run in light rain, wind and cooler temperatures.
“We’re used to this crappy weather,” Kloss joked. “We had snow at our conference meet last week.”
Fowler senior Ashley Hufnagel led her team’s charge.
She won the 300 hurdles (47.38), placed runner-up in the high jump (5-2), and led off the 800 relay, which won with a time of 1:48.35.
Fowler also finished runner-up to Onekama in the 400 relay. Also contributing to the win were junior Madison Koenigsknecht and freshmen McKenzie Feldpausch and Sidney Horak.
Mason County Eastern sophomore Jordan Goodman won the 100 for the second year in a row, and in record time.
Goodman raced to a narrow win by clocking a 12.40, which tied the LP Division 4 Final record set by Pewamo-Westphalia’s Abbey Hengesbach in 2010.
“I was nervous at the beginning, but then I thought, ‘this is my favorite race’,” Goodman said. “I’m a sophomore, I need a scholarship and this is my race. I like being out there, and I feel strong in that event. I feel like I can run really fast.”
Goodman held off Concord’s Lindsey Lehman by two hundredths of a second.
“I felt a little bit of pressure, and I was worried because I know Lindsey and (Reading’s) Jennifer Davis were running some pretty good times,” Goodman said. “I just got in the right frame of mind. I ran a 12.1 this year, so I thought if I could do that again then I would be all right.”
Goodman also placed sixth in the 200 and sixth in the long jump.
Lehman recovered to edge Davis in a photo finish in the 200 by clocking a 25.92.
PHOTO: Salix Sampson (middle) and teammate Charlotte Cullip race to the top two places in the 400 during Saturday's LP Division 4 Final. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com. Photo by Janina Pollatz.)
Ross Emerges from Running Family to Earn Historic Finals Accomplishment
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
June 5, 2024
Emmry Ross had some assistance Saturday when she won four individual events at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals.
Her late grandfather, Phil Six, was with her every step of the way.
“Every time I run I think of his presence,” said the Onsted junior. “He helps me get through the harder times of my races.”
Ross won the 400, 800, 1,600, and 3,200, scoring 40 points by herself, good enough to put Onsted in second place as a team.
She was just the third Lower Peninsula girls track & field athlete and seventh in state history to win four events at an MHSAA Finals.
The stunning performance wasn’t all that stunning to Ross.
“It feels amazing, it was such a perfect day, and it turned out exactly as I was hoping, and better,” she said. “It was a very great feeling after I processed what happened, and it was so exciting to share that with all my family and coaches behind me supporting me.”
Ross has been an outstanding runner for the Wildcats since middle school. Her training, she said, set her up for the historic performance.
The daughter of Daryl and Alicia Ross said once she glided past the finish line to win the 1,600, she gained even more confidence. She maintained that level of confidence throughout the day.
“After I ran so good in my 1,600, and felt so good in that race, I definitely thought I could do it,” Emmry Ross said. “I think that was part of the reason I did it. I was ready to do it in my head, and had a positive attitude the whole day.”
Ross always has drawn inspiration from her family, which has a significant sports background.
Her grandfather was an Onsted record holder in the 400 for decades. Her parents were high school athletes. Her older sister Rayne and younger sisters Hadley and Stylar participated in multiple sports, including track. Hadley and Stylar also are on the track team at Onsted.
They are close and push each other. Rayne and Emmry earned all-state honors two years ago together on a relay.
“I set such high goals for myself because I believe the sky is the limit, and there is no limit if you set your mind to it,” Emmry said.
Ross hesitated to pick which race was most difficult Saturday because they all went relatively smoothly.
“They all came with some things that I wasn’t expecting,” she said. “I might have to say the 800, mainly for the fact that the first 200 meters I was nervous because I got boxed in for a split second, but I got out of it, and finished really strong.”
Ross has earned seven individual first-place finishes and ran on a winning relay over her three MHSAA Finals. She isn’t worried about an encore yet.
“I have thought a little bit into next year, and I think it would be awesome to do it again,” she said. “But with MITCA (Champion of Champions Festival) and nationals coming up, I’ve been pretty focused on that and doing the best I can there before I look into next year.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTO Emmry Ross (far left) leads a pack during one of her championship races Saturday at Kent City. (Click for more from Mary Wilson/RunMichigan.com.)