SAC Sound-Off: Seniors Say Good-Bye
June 13, 2012
All over Michigan during the last three weeks, seniors have been finishing up their high school athletic careers -- some to next play at the college level, most to continue as students only, but armed with a book full of memories and lessons learned on the field.
Our SAC seniors are no different. Here's what they'll miss most as they too move on to the next level.
I'm going to miss ...
"...everything about high school sports -- competing, winning, hanging out with my friends and meeting new people." -- Benzie Central's Travis Clous
"... the atmosphere of growth and learning, with others around encouraging me to always strive for greatness as I do the same for them." -- New Buffalo's Lena Madison
"... the butterflies in my stomach before every serve-receive and cheering for my teammates when they make a mistake." -- Detroit Country Day's Maria Buczkowski
"... the team unity the most. In high school sports, I've been friends with most of my teammates ever since kindergarten. Sports in college aren't the same because your teammates aren't your lifelong friends." -- Rudyard's Tyler Wilson
"... supporting my fellow students while leading our student cheering (section) for football. Those were some of the most fun nights of my life in high school." -- Grand Blanc's Bailey Truesdell
"... the support that my community gives to all of the sports teams." -- Muskegon Catholic Central's Alissa Jones
Performance of the Week: Freeland's TJ Hansen
September 19, 2024
TJ Hansen ♦ Freeland
Senior ♦ Cross Country
Despite a steamy day at Michigan State, Hansen ran a 15:24.6 to win last weekend’s Spartan Invitational Elite race by nearly four seconds. The victory came against a truly “elite” field; Hansen is the reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion and was followed by Marshall senior Jack Bidwell (fourth in LPD2 in 2023) and Jenison senior Seth Conner (fifth in LPD1).
Hansen has won all but one race since the start of his junior season, and opened this fall with a 14:49.3 – just three seconds off his personal-record run and already 3.5 seconds faster than his championship time last fall at Michigan International Speedway. His 14:52.8 that day at MIS was the fastest Division 2 time in MHSAA Finals 5K history and tied for seventh-fastest for all classes and divisions. He said he’s chasing the 14-minute mark this fall; the fastest MHSAA Finals 5K time was 14:10.4 run by Rockford’s Dathan Ritzenhein in 2000. Hansen also won the 1,600 at the LPD2 Track & Field Finals in June after finishing first in the 3,200 as a sophomore, and he will run on both the cross country and track & field teams at Colorado.
@mhsaasports 🏃♂️➡️POW: TJ Hansen #crosscountry #freeland #invitational #winner #part1 #highschoolsports #tiktalk #interview #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
@mhsaasports 🏃♂️➡️POW: TJ Hansen #tiktalk #questiontime #ronaldo #bucketlist #travel #laughing #crying #emoji #phone #part2 #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys - Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
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Previous 2024-25 honorees
Sept. 12: Jordan Peters, Grayling soccer - Report
Sept. 6: Gabe Litzner, Sault Ste. Marie cross country - Report
Aug. 30: Grace Slocum, Traverse City St. Francis golf - Report
PHOTO Freeland's TJ Hansen surges toward the finish of this season's Spartan Invitational Elite race. (Click for more from John Brabbs/RunMichigan.com.)