Marquette Boys Win 5th-Straight Finals, Jeffers & Dollar Bay Run Title Streaks to 3
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2023
FLAT ROCK — The Marquette boys continued their hold on the Upper Peninsula Division 1 cross country title here Saturday, scoring a meet-record 22 points.
Marquette, which placed seven among the top nine runners, was crowned champion for the fifth-straight time. Sault Ste. Marie was next with 64 points and Houghton was third at 74.
“We’re happy with the state record, and the girls tying the state record,” said senior Cullen Papin, who placed 10th, noting Marquette’s girls championship as well. “We had some guys really step up. This is a great day for Marquette. It’s great to see the hard work pay off. There was definitely special motivation with this being my last high school cross country meet. We went 4-for-4 during my high school career, which is special for me.”
Sault sophomore Gabe Litzner retained his individual title by covering the 3.1-mile course in 15 minutes, 56.6 seconds, becoming only the second runner to break 16 minutes in U.P. Finals history. Colton Yesney of Negaunee remains the U.P. recordholder at 15:49.8 from seven years ago.
“I went out a little hard, and the second mile went okay,” he said. “In the third mile, I really felt good. I just wanted to get a gap right away. It seemed like when I got an adrenaline rush, I didn’t feel it.
“We’ve come a long way from the beginning of the season. Eli (Hills) came out late, and it really helped the team. I’m very proud of our team today.”
Litzner was followed by Marquette juniors Seppi Camilli (16:29.1) and Evan Balko (16:33.5) and freshman Lucas Ballard (16:37.5), and Sault sophomore Shea Armstrong (16:41.8) on this cloudy, cool and breezy day at the Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast in Flat Rock.
Division 2
Painesdale Jeffers claimed its third straight Finals championship with 48 points, followed by Rudyard with 66 and Munising with 105.
“Overall, it was a great day,” Jeffers coach Sam Kilpela said. “Our fifth runner was up in the air. We’ve had two freshmen battling for that. We knew it wasn’t a given. Rudyard ran well today. The boys are excited for next year already.”
Jets sophomore Landan Larson earned his first title in 17:10.3. He was followed by Ishpeming freshman Kemper Gearhart (17:20.8), Jeffers sophomore Cameron Anderson (17:28.1), Munising junior Dan Goss (18:03.5) and Gogebic freshman Noah Verbos (18:12.4).
“I just wanted to go out hard and open a gap,” Larson said. “The first mile was real fast. Running with Kalvin (Kytta, of Chassell) helped me a lot.
“It’s a pretty special feeling to win this as a team for the third year in a row. Kemper did real well for a ninth-grader. He’s going to be good next year.”
Division 3
It was also a three-peat for Dollar Bay, which captured the D3 crown with 54 points, followed by Eben Junction Superior Central with 78 and Stephenson with 104.
“The Copper Mountain Conference did real well,” Dollar Bay coach Matt Zimmer said. “It’s a tough conference to run in, and we just kept getting better all year long.
“We did the work and told the kids the hay is in the barn. We also told them to ‘do what you can do.’ The parents made sure the kids ate right. Dollar Bay is just one big community.”
Chassell junior Kalvin Kytta won at 16:49.9, followed by Pickford seniors Hayden Hagen (17:18.8) and Quinn Socia (18:29.1), Dollar Bay junior Joshua Gaunt (18:32.6) and Engadine sophomore Duane Krenek (18:36.9).
“I’m happy with that,” Kytta said. “I pretty much knew I’d be running by myself and tried to make each mile a time trial. It’s pretty easy to get sidetracked when you’re running by yourself. This is pretty special. I feel very blessed.”
PHOTOS (Top) Sault Ste. Marie's Gabe Litzner (119) leads the pack at the start of the Division 1 U.P. Final at Farmhouse B & B in Gladstone on Saturday. (Middle) Jeffers' Landon Larson rounds a corner on his way to a win in Division 2. (Below) Chassell's Kalvin Kytta, right, runs with Pickford's Hayden Hagen during the Division 3 U.P. Final. Kytta won, and Hagen took second. (Photos by Jason Junio. Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
Norder Leaves No Doubt with 1st Finals Win, Northville Breaks Away for Repeat
November 4, 2023
BROOKLYN — All that stood between Grand Haven’s Seth Norder and his cross country dreams last year were 1.63 lousy seconds.
That was the margin when Norder took second place in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final to then-senior Benne Anderson of Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills.
Looking back, Norder believed his mistake was allowing that race to come down to a sprint to the finish line.
He wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.
When Norder looked over his shoulder down the stretch, he didn’t see a serious threat as he put the finishing touches on an individual Division 1 championship Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. Norder finished in 14:54.3.
Norder was part of a three-runner lead pack at the mile mark, closely pursued by about a dozen other hopefuls. By the two-mile mark, Norder opened up a 4.7-second lead over New Baltimore Anchor Bay senior Thomas Westphal, who would go on to finish second by 3.6 seconds.
“Last year, I lost on a sprint-off with like 200 (meters) to go,” Norder said. “I wasn’t going to let that happen again. I believed I had the strength to pull away from the field. I guess I had the strength and ended up holding it down that stretch. That felt like forever.”
Norder finally has a championship on his resume after placing second both of the last two years. As a sophomore, he finished 23.5 seconds behind Hartland senior Riley Hough, who went on to win the Eastbay National Cross Country Championship.
“It feels so good,” Norder said. “Sophomore year — I lost to Riley, OK. Junior year, I wanted to win. I lost by a second. I decided I wasn’t going to lose again. If I was going to lose, it was not going to be a sprint-off. It was going to be the toughest man.”
Norder did have one MHSAA championship going into Saturday, having won the 3,200-meter run in 9:04.68 on the track last spring.
The team championship came down to a clash between Kensington Lakes Activities Association rivals Northville and Brighton, who split four meetings during the regular season.
Northville emerged with a second straight championship, scoring 128 points to edge Brighton by 13. Norder’s Grand Haven team was third with 187 points.
Northville had three all-staters, with senior Brendan Herger placing third in 15:05.6, junior Ethan Powell 13th in 15:28.0 and sophomore Benjamin Hartigan 24th in 15:37.7. Rounding out the Mustangs’ team score were junior Nick Barretto in 16:05.1 and senior Nicholas Yaquinto in 16:14.8.
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Haven's Seth Norder closes the MHSAA Finals with a Division 1 win Saturday. (Middle) Northville's Benjamin Hartigan (318) leads a pack down the stretch. (Photos by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)