Runners Mourn St Louis Coach Mayer
January 12, 2016
By Dick Hoekstra
Reprinted from Gratiot County Herald
His former coach at St. Louis is one of the main reasons Dale Devine has been coaching cross country the past 25 years at Alma High School.
That coach, Jerry Mayer, passed away Dec. 8, at the age of 72 after battling Parkinson’s disease.
“Jerry and my friend Craig Higby got me interested in running,” Devine said. “One thing is Jerry always made it fun, although he also worked us very hard. Those times there was a lot of overtraining, but surprisingly none of us got injured. Maybe it’s because a lot of the kids ran around a lot more (than kids today).”
Higby was the individual MHSAA Finals champion on the Sharks’ 1979 team coached by Mayer, which edged Freeland 86-88 to win a Lower Peninsula Class C title at Clare.
Higby completed the three-mile course in 14:49, and was joined in the top 10 by three teammates. Armando Garza, who went on to run for Alma College, took fourth in 15:25; Paul Diaz, who later competed for Southwestern Michigan Community College, was sixth in 15:32; and Doug Border, whose son Brayden was an all-stater for the Sharks in 2007 and 2010, took 10th in 15:36.
But the Gratiot County Herald story that week said “the place that made the whole difference was Steve Crumbaugh in 65th with a time of 16:50. He gained several places near the end of the race which proved to be the winning margin over Freeland.”
Devine, who finished 83rd in 16:52, four places behind teammate Pete King in 16:51, said, “I remember personally I needed to do a lot of running the prior summer just battling to be in the top seven because we always did pretty well at the state level.”
Mayer was quoted as saying that the 1979 cross country MHSAA title was the first at St. Louis High since the boys basketball and track teams both earned one in 1953.
“I don’t remember a time, and there was never a course or a workout where I feel like we complained or made excuses about courses,” Devine said. “That had a lot to do with Jerry and his expectations. We did a lot of hills, especially at the old Edgewood Hills Golf Course in St. Louis (now Hidden Oaks Golf Course).”
When those expectations weren’t met, Mayer let his team know – sometimes by breaking clipboards.
“He was known for having a temper,” Devine said. “But he knew what potential his athletes had, and was frustrated when they decided to do things on their own instead of listening to his advice.”
Diaz still holds the 400, 800 and 1,600-meter records and Garza the 3,200 record listed on the track and field records board in the school’s gym. All were set during the 1980 season, a few months after the cross country championship.
Janell Best Vier still holds the 100, 200, 400 and 800 records in girls track and field for St. Louis and was part of an unofficial Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association state championship in 1978 won at Potterville. (The Michigan High School Athletic Association began crowning champions in 1979.)
“Coach Mayer had a way of inspiring us to reach higher and dig deeper,” she said. “Many times the goals he set for us were much higher than we would have set for ourselves. After a while, we believed we could do what he told us we could do. Winning was always the goal. He assumed that we could achieve this, so we thought that we could always come in first.
“He cared about us individually and we wanted to make him proud, and not disappoint him. So we exerted maximum effort. Really, that was all he would ask or expect.”
She said Mayer’s sense of humor was dry and constant.
“There was laughter throughout our practices, meetings and even at our meets,” Best Vier said. “We were trading jabs constantly.”
Kathy Hutfilz coached the St. Louis girls track and field team from 1973 until she became athletic director in the mid-1980s at the same time Mayer coached boys track as well as boys and girls cross country.
“Jerry worked as hard as the kids worked at getting ready to compete in meets,” she said. “He cut (results) out of the paper, and we talked about where our best chances were to get points in meets.”
Hutfilz coached the 1981 St. Louis girls to a Class C title.
“He had a phenomenal knowledge of the sports,” said Rudy Godefroidt, who coached Breckenridge to a Class C title in cross country in 1976. “He was always prepared, and made the rest of us coaches better.”
Mayer coached Godefroidt’s daughter, Lorenda, a four-time all-stater in track and field and three time all-stater in cross country.
“Jerry had the ability to bring athletes along to perform at that level,” Godefroidt said. “As a parent and co-coach, I always appreciated the way he treated athletes, brought them along and made sure they were prepared for their competition.”
Mayer taught eighth grade science classes at St. Louis for 30 years. He was voted the Michigan Coach of the Year for Class C Cross Country by MITCA after winning the 1979 title. After his retirement, he served as an assistant coach at Hemlock.
Devine says he tries to emulate in his coaching each year the light, fun and family atmosphere along with high expectations he experienced with Mayer.
Mayer was at Hemlock when Devine started as Alma’s coach.
“He told me after a while I could call him Jerry,” said Devine, who echoed Best Vier’s noting of Mayer’s humor. “One of the nicknames we had for him was Sunshine, although we didn’t tell him to his face. I had him for an eighth grade science teacher, and one of his famous statements was ‘it’s another beautiful day in the thriving metropolis of St. Louis’.”
Although serious in big track and field meets, if Mayer knew the opponent for a certain meet was weaker, he would allow middle distance and distance runners to try some different events – including sprints.
St. Louis was in the Mid-Michigan B league in the 1970s, and the boys and girls track teams often ran meets on separate days of the week. Once they joined the Central Michigan League in the early 1980s, they began competing in meets together as track teams do nearly all of the time today.
“The kids ran similar workouts, guys and girls, and they all got along really well,” Hutfilz said. “They were friends out in public and on the track. We were like a big family. The end-of-year awards were always a cookout at someone’s house, and we did that together.”
PHOTOS: The St. Louis boys cross country team, coached by Jerry Mayer, won the MHSAA's Lower Peninsula Class C championship in 1979. (Photos courtesy of Gratiot County Herald.)
2011 Finals: Dream Finishes
December 16, 2011
BROOKLYN – West Bloomfield junior Erin Finn said she dreamed of winning an MHSAA cross country championship since she first learned to walk.
But it took a few more seconds Saturday to realize she’d actually done it.
Finn edged Rockford senior Taylor Manett and Grosse Pointe South junior Hannah Meier by just more than a second to claim the Division 1 championship at the MHSAA Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway.
Finn finished fourth as a sophomore, and didn’t run much as a freshman because of an injury.
“I finished the race and I was talking, and it was ‘OK, cool, it was a good race. I finished.’ And a couple of minutes after I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I just won the state championship race.’ I’ve been dreaming about this since I could walk,” Finn said.
“I guess it’s just, how many times do you get to say that? You finish races and don’t think much of it. You think of your time, start thinking of cool down and everything. But this is it. This is it where all comes together. And it took a second to register that this is what I’ve been working on forever.”
Twins Hannah and Haley Meier were Grosse Pointe South’s top finishers at both the 2009 and 2010 Finals, as their team finished third and sixth overall, respectively.
But the sisters and their teammates claimed the program's first MHSAA championship on this day, placing Hannah third, sophomore Kelsie Schwartz 10th and Haley Meier 12th individually. Freshman Ersula Farrow came in 15th as Grosse Pointe South edged Saline by five points.
“Haley was faster than me in seventh grade and the beginning of eighth grade, and Kelsie was faster than me too,” Hannah Meier said. “We always run together. We’re like sisters, even thought one is my sister. (Schwartz) pushes us too. “
Click for full Division 1 girls results.
Division 1 boys: Friendly Final
Most elite runners at Saturday’s Finals were familiar with each other from racing over the years and especially this season.
Few knew their competition as well as White Lake Lakeland senior Garret Zuk.
He attended elementary school with Highland Milford sophomore Brian Kettle and junior Cody Snavely, who finished second and fifth, respectively, in the final Division 1 race of the year.
Not that that knowledge helped Zuk. But it definitely was a fun coincidence that those were two of the many he outlasted to claim the championship. The top six were separated by just 17 seconds, and Zuk purposely started out slower than the pack so he could surpass it at the end.
“I knew it was just all guts. There’s really nothing left,” Zuk said. “My legs were done. It was just keep moving forward. It was all I could do.”
Zuk finished in 15:21.2, with Kettle second at 15:24.3 and Saline’s Nick Renberg third at 15:28.6.
Senior Paul Asum finished 13th for Milford to give that team an unbeatable group up front. The Mavericks finished with a score of 128, 44 fewer than runner-up Hartland.
“The fact that we could have three guys up front was really good. We have been very consistent,” Kettle said. “It was a great thing we were able to keep getting better and improving.”
Click for full Division 1 boys results.
Division 2 girls: She’s the Bos
The Division 2 Finals field included two previous champions in Allendale senior Ali Wiersma and Zeeland West senior Rachele Schulist.
Grand Rapids Christian junior Julia Bos became the next.
From arguably the most competitive field of this season’s Finals, Bos emerged, running a 17:24.7 to edge Cedar Springs freshman Kenzie Weiler by 11 seconds. Wiersma and Schulist came in third and fourth, respectively.
“My coaches were telling me to kinda sit behind and let them block the wind, and make my move later on in the race. But I don’t really feel comfortable with that,” Bos said. “Because today especially, I could tell they were saving their energy because they know that’s what I do.
“So I thought I’d just take the lead right away and do something different. It was risky, but it turned out to be successful.”
East Grand Rapids had two runners following the front pack closely. Senior Kassidy Clark was the team’s top finisher in 10th, and senior Jessie Baloga was 19th – giving the Pioneers enough edge to claim the team championship.
“Our little motto is ‘Run as one,’ so we try to pack it up really strong,” Clark said. “Jessie Baloga and I are usually in the front leading, and we’re two seniors so that’s pretty cool. … We set the tone for the race.”
Click for full Division 2 girls results.
Division 2 Boys: From 2 to No. 1
Chelsea senior Bryce Bradley and Mason’s team had little room for improvement after runner-up finishes in 2010.
Saturday, they both took the final step.
Bradley won the individual championship in 15:20.6, one second faster than Dearborn Divine Child senior Nicholas Soter. And the Bulldogs, who finished second to Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern last season, finished with 92 points to clear the field by 37.
“We’ve been working for it for a really long time. To get it, it’s a real honor,” said Mason junior Tanner Hinkle, who finished fourth individually. “I think we just got a couple grades with some kids with talent and also the willingness to work. The combination of that, we got pretty lucky.”
Bradley had finished behind Hinkle at their regional after taking a wrong turn, but he was plenty familiar with the MIS course. He spent the entire summer preparing for this day, logging 950 miles – 290 more than he had before his junior season.
“Last year, I was actually hoping to be in the top 10. So finishing in second place was more than I hoped for,” Bradley said. “I was trying to not go down in places this year.”
Click for full Division 2 boys results.
Division 3 Boys: Expect the unexpected
Zach Zingsheim always has fashioned himself more of a track runner.
But that likely changed Saturday at MIS.
The Lansing Catholic senior relied on some of his middle distance track speed at the end – making his final kick at the 3-mile mark – and claimed the Division 3 boys individual championship in 15:48.2.
Zingsheim was nearly a minute faster than 2010, when he finished 23rd.
“I started running cross country in middle school. Cross country was the first thing I knew, but when I entered high school I found my niche in track,” Zingsheim said. “(But) I knew if we wanted to meet our goal of trying to win the state meet as a team, I needed to really improve.
“So this past summer, I worked even harder than ever. I became a distance runner.”
The Cougars fell just short of that team goal, finishing second to Grandville Calvin Christian for the second straight season.
Calvin Christian placed four runners among the individual top 10 – third place Josh Kersjes (15:56.9), fifth place Zac Nowicki (15:59.9), eighth place Simon Reidsma (16:03.8) and 10th place Justus Pinckney (16:08.5). All but Nowicki are seniors.
The finish also was the Squires’ third-straight among the top two in Division 3. They were runners-up in 2009.
“Especially in training, it’s just nice to run with guys who are at the same talent level, who want to achieve the same things,” Kersjes said. “We’ve definitely stepped up our training as we’ve gotten older.”
Click for full Division 3 boys results.
Division 3 Girls: Winning feeling
BROOKLYN – Benzie Central seniors Theresa Warsecke and Amber Peabody remembered what it was like to win an MHSAA championship, having been freshmen when the team won three years ago.
They also knew what it was like to come close, with Benzie Central finishing third in 2009 and then second last season.
“Seeing how excited Hanover(-Horton) was last year, we wanted that again,” Warsecke said. “That just made us want it that much more again after getting second last year.”
Benzie Central finished 20 points ahead of runner-up Kent City to claim the Division 3 championship at MIS. Warsecke finished seventh individually in 18:57.1, followed by sophomore Bryce Cutler (19:20.6) in 15th place and three more teammates between 30th and 38th.
The individual race was a little more open with Allendale and reigning Division 3 champion Ali Wiersma moving up to Division 2 this fall. Manistee senior Kelly Schubert ran with the opportunity, finishing in 17:58.6 to claim the individual championship by nearly 25 seconds.
She had finished seventh in 2010, and didn’t even know her time immediately after Saturday’s race – just that she kept pushing through the final mile.
“I was actually happy for once at the state meet,” Schubert said. “I’d been here sophomore year and junior year, and I was kinda disappointed both those years. I was hoping to do better. But this year I’m satisfied.
“I just decided not to worry about it, and just run because that what I like to do.”
Click for full Division 3 results.
Division 4 Boys: Going out strong
Spencer Nousain’s high school cross country career ended with perfection.
After three top-10 MHSAA Finals finishes – including Division 4 second places the last two seasons – the Concord senior cross the line first Saturday in 15:55.8.
But he was just the start for the Yellow Jackets. Four more teammates crossed among the top 25 individuals to 
give Concord its second MHSAA championship in three seasons – and finish a 2011 season that included first places in every meet it ran.
“We’ve been working so hard for this moment. To have it all come together my last race is just amazing,” Nousain said. “When I win, I’m probably the only person on the team that’s happy. When the team wins, everyone is happy. And it’s just nice to see them be happy.”
Nousain finished five seconds ahead of Saugatuck junior Sean Kelly (16:00.3). Yellowjackets freshmen Jacob Hall (16:40) and Jesse Hersha (16:40.6) finished 11th and 13th, respectively. Junior Parker Saenz (16:41.9) and sophomore Mason Nousain (17:10.9) – Spencer’s brother – rounded out Concord’s scoring coming in 14th and 25th.
Spencer Nousain’s individual success was the result of some trial and error. He said he overtrained as a freshman and sophomore, then undertrained as a junior. He prepared for this season just right – and let everything fly in his final race.
“I had nothing to lose. Might as well give it all I have, and that’s what I did,” Nousain said. “So it worked out perfectly.”
Click for full Division 4 boys results.
Division 4 Girls: Champions again
Breckenridge sophomore Kirsten Olling wants to win four MHSAA cross country championships.
She’s halfway there.
Olling won the first race of this season’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Finals today at Michigan International Speedway, clearing the field by nearly 38 seconds with a winning time of 18:02.7.
Olling was hoping to break 17 minutes. But despite a slow first mile and no one to push her after that, she still cut seven seconds from her 2010 finish.
“I thought I would be more nervous last year than this year, but I think I was more nervous this year. This year ... everyone was aiming for me,” Olling said. “It just means that there is more of a target on my back now.”
Hesperia won the team Division 4 championship, also for the second straight season. North Muskegon came in second. Black River senior Nicole Zeinstra, an individual qualifier, crossed second after Olling.
Senior Alexa Rumsey finished third overall and best for Hesperia, which saw all five of its scoring runners finish among the individual top 25. Four of those five scored at last season's final as well.
"Our top competition was North Muskegon, and we raced against them before and we beat them every time. I knew they were close to us though, so I knew we had to work really hard, but we did," Rumsey said. "It was tougher the first one (in 2010). There defintiely was a lot more pressure this time. We just did everything the same, worked hard and tried not to worry about it too much."
Click for full Division 4 girls results.
PHOTOS
Top: West Bloomfield junior Erin Finn crossed the finish line first to claim her first Division 1 championship.
D3 Girls: Manistee's Kelly Schubert improved from seventh as a junior in claiming Saturday's Division 3 individual championship.
D4 Boys: Concord's Spencer Nousain ended his high school cross country career with an individual championship that also helped the Yellow Jackets to the team Divisioin 4 title.
(Photos courtesy of RunMichigan.com)