Preview: Champs Collide In D3 Final
October 18, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A shuffling among the Upper Peninsula’s smallest-school powers has set up an intriguing matchup at Saturday’s MHSAA Cross Country Finals at Gentz Homestead Golf Course in Munising.
The move of reigning Division 2 champion Stephenson into Division 3 not only pits the Eagles against still-loaded reigning D3 champion Munising, but means the reigning individual champions from those two divisions also will chase each other.
Here's a look at those matchups plus more stories behind all of the favorites. Click for Saturday's race schedule and links to all qualifiers.
DIVISION 1
Reigning champion: Sault Ste. Marie
2012 runner-up: Escanaba
2013 top three: 1. Marquette, 2. Houghton, 3. Escanaba.
Marquette has been locked out of the top two spots the last two seasons after winning Division 1 from 2008-10. But the top-ranked team is anchored by one of the top returning placers from 2012 in sophomore Lance Rambo, who will look to build on his fourth-place finish. He was 19 seconds behind third-place finisher and Houghton junior Jacob Colling, who was only nine off the lead and might be the favorite this time. Escanaba returns three from last season’s top 21 and should make a push.
Individuals: Four more top-10 placers also are back, led by Menominee senior Davey Luplow, who finished fifth. Calumet senior Devin Berg finished seventh, Kingsford sophomore Nate Carey was eighth in his first season, and Negaunee senior Keenan Gantz will look to finish his career by building on last season’s ninth-place finish.
DIVISION 2
Reigning champion: Stephenson
2012 runner-up: Norway
2013 top three: 1. Hancock, 2. Ishpeming, 3. Ironwood.
Stephenson has won the last three Division 2 Finals, but is running in Division 3. The door appears most open for third-ranked Ironwood, which returns junior Jared Joki, the reigning individual runner-up, and last season’s 10th-place finisher Coli Clausen, also a junior. The only other top-10 placer returning to this race is Hancock senior Jacob Jarvis, ninth in 2012, and he’s joined by 11th-place Hayden Heikkinen, also a senior. Ishpeming finished only seventh last season, but could make a jump led by sophomore Derek Mahoski, who finished 36th as a freshman.
Individuals: Two others from last season’s top 15 should make a big move up the chart. Manistique junior Ryan Ramey is coming off an 11th-place finish and was a mere 11 seconds from ninth. Norway junior Justin Anderson was just behind Ramey in 12th.
DIVISION 3
Reigning champion: Munising
2012 runner-up: Cedarville
2013 top three: 1. Powers North Central, 2. Eben Junction Superior Central, 3. Stephenson.
Munising curiously is ranked only fifth despite winning the last two Division 3 titles and returning last season’s individual champion in sophomore Brett Hannah (17:55.0), third-place finisher in junior Izaak Mahoski and 10th-place finisher senior Sam MacArthur. Stephenson certainly is intriguing as well with reigning Division 2 individual champion Connor Cappaert (17:25.7), just a junior, looking to add another few titles. Dollar Bay does bring back a top-20 finisher in senior Cameron Ringler plus 21st-place senior Tom Autio. Superior Central sophomore Jesse Elsenbroek finished 24th last season as an individual qualifier and leads the second-ranked team.
Individuals: Five more of last season’s top 10 also will run this weekend. Fourth-ranked Pickford features seniors Jacob Anderzjak and Alec Firak, who finished seventh and ninth, respectively. Bessemer junior Zack Mazurek should push the favorites after finishing fourth as a sophomore, while Carney-Nadeau senior Dionte Blahnik (sixth) and Cedarville junior Teddy Bowlby (eighth) also are good bets to be in the hunt.
PHOTO: Houghton’s Jacob Colling (57) is the top returning placer from last season’s UP Division 1 Final, where he placed third in 16:59.3. (Photo courtesy of RunMichigan.com/Paul Gerard.)
Cedarville/DeTour, Marquette Sweep Finals Wins, Rudyard Reigns with Tie-Breaker
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 25, 2026
HOUGHTON — The race for the Division 2 team title race was as close as could be at Saturday’s Upper Peninsula Boys Cross Country Finals.
Rudyard and Munising both scored 42 points, with the Bulldogs from the Eastern U.P. getting the nod on the sixth runner tie-breaker.
Painesdale Jeffers, which won Division 2 titles the past five years, placed third this time with 50 points.
“Our boys have been runner-up to Jeffers the past two years,” Rudyard coach Brad Hall said. “It feels great to win this one.”
Ishpeming senior Kemper Gearhart crossed the finish line first after covering the hilly 3.1-mile course in 17 minutes, 48.2 seconds on the Michigan Tech Ski Trails on a sunny and very warm day in the Copper Country.
“I’ve been working hard for this throughout my high school career,” he said. “I was listening behind me. When I heard people in back of me, I just picked up the pace. My time was about the same as many of the other races. This course was a little more challenging than most.”
Rudyard senior Eli Folkersma was runner-up (18:00.7) and Munising senior Blake Lakosky placed third (18:10.1)
“This wasn’t my best time, but it’s a tough course,” Folkersma said. “My goal was to go out easy. I have a strong finish, but today I was dead tired in the end – although, this is the best place I ever got at the Finals.”
Sophomore Jack Lalone finished eighth, senior Zaine Nichols ninth, senior Oliver Dankert 13th and sophomore Liam Hoolsema 15th for Rudyard. Junior Bryce Mitchell clinched the title with a 19th place as the tie-breaker, as Munising’s sixth runner finished 22nd.
Freshman Evan Kelto finished seventh, with seniors Orin Shalom (11th), Nolan Dolaskie (12th) and sophomore Dylan Krause (14th) also following Lakosky for Munising.
Lakosky was happy with the Mustangs taking second.
“It feels good to be runner-up,” he said. “We knew it was going to be close. I was staying with their number one runner (Folkersma). I fell significantly behind him, then I closed the gap. It was a tough course. I ran my personal-best time (18:01) at Rudyard last weekend. I was going for it, but this was not the course for it.”
Division 3
Nine points separated the top four contenders in Division 3 with Cedarville/DeTour taking its first title as a combined program with 78 points. Cedarville had won Finals in 2003 and 2004.
The Islanders also had the individual champion, senior Ethan Snyder, who retained his title at 16:51.4. Freshman Liam Bohn was third, junior Rush Hinnen 16th, freshman Colin Geyer 27th and sophomore Jayden Kemink 58th.
“This was my last high school race,” Snyder said. “I’m happy with defending my title, but it’s way better winning as a team. We have a lot of good runners on our team.”
St. Ignace and Rapid River scored 86 points each and Rock Mid Peninsula took fourth at 87.
“It was a tight race with St. Ignace and Mid Pen,” Rapid River coach Zach Truitt said. “It really came down to the last tenth of a mile. We had the most finishers in the top 15. We got three on the podium, but we really need four to win it. We’re losing four seniors who will be hard to replace.”
Engadine junior Nate Stielstra was the individual runner-up at 17:58.2 with Islanders freshman Liam Bohn taking third (18:02.4).
“The course was hard,” Stielstra said. “I was running sixth in the second mile. This wasn’t my best time, but everything came together. At 1½ miles I could see a couple kids ahead of me. I couldn’t ask for better.”
Division 1
Marquette, as expected, was crowned champion for the eighth consecutive year with 19 points.
The Sentinels, who grabbed four of the top five individual places, were followed by Sault Ste. Marie with 79 and Houghton at 84.
Marquette senior Lucas Ballard earned his first U.P. title in 16:28.9 followed by classmate Vasu Esplin (17:08.1) and junior teammate William Lindsay (17:23.8) in second and third, respectively. Junior Garrett Crimmins ran fifth and junior Lake Skytta eighth to round out the scoring, and senior Welly Fillmore (13th) and junior Jayden Seekie (14th) also filled out the lineup impressively.
“I felt real good through the whole run,” Ballard said a day after his 18th birthday. “It’s a beautiful day and a great way to end the season. I’m pretty happy with my time. I did a lot of training. It’s great to see my hard work pay off. This is a great birthday present.”
PHOTOS (Top) Brimley's Darren Johnson (134), Munising's Blake Lakosky (177), Ishpeming's Kemper Gearhart (166), and Rudyard's Eli Folkersma (210) lead the start of the Upper Peninsula Division 2 Final held on the campus of Michigan Tech in Houghton. (Middle) Cedarville's Ethan Snyder and Copper Island Academy's Jack Ruonavaara lead the beginning of the Division 3 Final. (Below) Menominee's Bradley Klann (85), Marquette's Lucas Ballard (69), Ishpeming Westwood's Calvin Carlson (41), Calumet's Alex Rodriguez (2) and Sault Ste. Marie's Chase Aldridge (115) set the pace at the start in Division 1. (Photos by Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)