Concord's Hersha Matches Heroes
November 3, 2012
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
BROOKLYN — Jesse Hersha has already done something his running role models never accomplished, but that doesn’t lessen the sense of awe he has for past Concord state champions Kyle Stacks and Spencer Nousain.
Hersha became Concord’s third individual MHSAA champion in the last four years, but the first to do so as a sophomore, as he cruised alone up front to take the Lower Peninsula Division 4 championship Saturday at Michigan International Speedway with a personal-best time of 15:32.3. His performance led Concord to a second consecutive team title.
Stacks won the 2009 championship in 15:54.8, followed by Nousain two years later in 15:55.8. Both were seniors when they won.
“I’m always fighting to beat Spencer’s times and Kyle’s times,” said Hersha, who was a teammate of Nousain’s on last season’s championship team. “Today I was three seconds or so off Kyle’s best time.
“They are definitely a push for me. They inspire me. Even if I beat their times, I’ll never think of myself as more than them. They’ll always be a role model to me.”
Hersha ran alone up front, winning by 20.5 seconds over David Zinger of Evart. Sean Kelly of Saugatuck was third in 15:58.9.
Hersha placed 19th at last year's Final, ninth among non-seniors. It was during the summer road race season that he began to get the confidence that he could become an MHSAA champion.
“I ran a road race without much training in 17:04 or something,” Hersha said. “My coach came to me after that and told me when Spencer won his senior year, he ran like 16:50 something at that race. When Kyle won his senior year, he ran 16:50 something.”
Nousain was the only senior in Concord’s Finals lineup last year, so the Yellow Jackets were favored to repeat. They did so handily by a 61-100 margin over Evart.
Freshman Josiah Ottolini was 11th in 16:23.0, senior Parker Saenz 14th in 16:27.0, senior Tyler Neu 18th in 16:29.7 and senior Sam Comden 47th in 17:05.4 to complete Concord’s scoring.
PHOTO: Concord's Jesse Hersha became the third MHSAA individual champion from Concord. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)
Performance of the Week: Charlevoix's Hunter Eaton
November 7, 2025
Hunter Eaton ♦ Charlevoix
Junior ♦ Cross Country
Eaton raced the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final in 15 minutes, 30.8 seconds, to win the championship by three seconds at Michigan International Speedway after breaking away from a group of three contenders during the final mile. He improved from finishing ninth as a sophomore, and his individual victory paced Charlevoix to a team championship as well as Eaton and his teammates edged runner-up Lansing Catholic by seven points.
Charlevoix boys cross country has a long record of success, but its Saturday sweep updated a couple of “last time” references significantly. Eaton was the boys team’s first individual champion since 1989, and the Rayders’ team title was the program’s first since 1991. Eaton also runs track; he won the 3,200 and finished second in the 1,600 at the spring’s LPD3 Finals in that sport.
The cross country sweep carried special significance for Eaton’s entire community. The Rayders are coached by Doug Drenth, who also coaches the boys golf team, which was involved in a devastating crash April 27 while traveling during a tournament weekend. Drenth is continuing to recover after suffering life-threatening injuries, and multiple golfers also required surgeries including his son Maxwell – Charlevoix’s fourth scoring runner at MIS.
@mhsaasports 🏃➡️POW: Hunter Eaton #charlevoix #crosscountry #highschoolsports #performanceoftheweek #MHSAA ♬ Bright and fun upbeat pops, Kids, Animals, Pets, Fun, Cute, Happy, Playful, Upbeat(1465232) - SAKUMAMATATA
@mhsaasports 🏃➡️POW: Hunter Eaton #funfacts #tiktalk #performanceoftheweek #highschoolsports #MHSAA ♬ Girly and cute synth pop - SAKUMAMATATA
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Previous 2025-26 honorees
Oct. 31: Stephen Gollapalli, Lansing Christian tennis - Report
Oct. 23: Talya Schreiber, Pickford cross country - Report
Oct. 16: Avery Manning, Dexter golf - Report
Oct. 9: Brady Van Laecke, Hudsonville football - Report
Oct. 2: Sarah Giroux, Flat Rock volleyball - Report
Sept. 25: Sam Schumacher, Portage Central tennis - Report
Sept. 18: Kaylee Mitzel, Saline field hockey - Report
Sept. 11: Natasza Dudek, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country - Report
Sept. 4: Kate Posey, Big Rapids golf - Report
PHOTO Charlevoix's Hunter Eaton runs toward the finish line at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final at Michigan International Speedway. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)