SAC Sound-off: It's not the Win, But the Race

February 8, 2012

All I ever wanted from my high school athletic career was to be an all-state runner in cross country.

My sophomore year, our cross country team won the MHSAA Division 3 title at Michigan International Speedway, but we didn’t have any all-state runners! I was so excited because our top five consisted of four seniors and me. I was our number three runner, and placed 44th overall. It seemed like just the start of big things.

Track season was a blast that year, even though I didn’t qualify for the MHSAA Finals in any events. But when I got back into cross country in fall 2010, I really wanted to be all-state. (The top 30 individuals in each race receive the honor.)

I trained really hard, but I couldn’t get any faster than when I was a sophomore. In fact, I was running slower than I did the year before. I ended up placing 47th in my division at the MHSAA Finals. I was extremely disappointed. But, the season was over. I decided it was time to focus on track.

I ran all winter and attended a few indoor meets. The training paid off when the season started. I was running as fast as I did the year before, and I was able to make our 3200-meter relay team. I qualified for the MHSAA Division 3 Final only with my relay team, but we placed third – and I finally was all-state.

But I wanted more. I wanted to earn the honor by myself.

I ran nearly 500 miles over the summer to prepare for the 2011 cross country season. I ran faster than I ever had before. I thought I had all-state in the bag this year.

And again, I fell short. Again, I placed 47th at MIS.

Yes, I was very disappointed in myself again. But I learned that getting the all-state medal is not what is important. Having fun is what really matters. And throughout my career, I’ve had plenty.

That doesn’t mean I’m not going to try to get all-state this spring. It just means that I am going to have more fun trying!

Travis Clous, Benzie Central senior

Sports: Cross country, track and field, basketball
Non-sports activities: Student section, pep band, marching band, concessions worker
Favorite classes: Band and AP biology
Must-see TV: "How I Met Your Mother"
One shining moment: My sophomore year of cross country when we won the MHSAA Finals even though we did not have a single all-state runner.
What’s next: I plan to attend either Hope College or Michigan State University to enter the pre-med field, but as of now. I am still undecided. I plan to run wherever I go, though.
My favorite part of game day is: ... before the race, I listen to my Ipod. I usually listen to older music to get pumped. I also like to listen to Disney soundtracks; my favorite is the music from "Mulan." The songs usually get stuck in my head, and I end up singing them on the run. I feel like the music helps move me along.

PHOTO courtesy of Travis Clous (front), running at the MHSAA Division 3 Cross Country Final.

Boys Cross Country

Preview: Last Run for Senior Standouts

October 29, 2014

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Cross Country frequently sees the same top programs show best when championships are decided at the annual MHSAA Finals at Michigan International Speedway.

But the return of all four individual champions from a previous season is certainly rare – and could make Saturday’s races as a set among the most noteworthy in some time as all four run for the final time at the high school level.

Click for a full list of competitors plus additional information on Saturday’s event, which will see 1,002 boys at the start line. Read on for more of the run-up to the team and individual competitions in all four races.

DIVISION 1

Reigning champion: Milford
2013 runner-up: Waterford Mott
2014 top-ranked: 1. Waterford Mott, 2. Northville, 3. Rockford.

Milford’s three-season run atop Division 1 will end after the team graduated five of its top six – only one runner qualified for this weekend. Mott, the runner-up the last two seasons, would be happy to take the next step. The Corsairs return their top three and four of their top six from last season’s runner-up team, including fourth-place senior Ryan Robinson and 14^th-place senior Sam Albaugh. Northville will look to jump from fifth returning four of its top five from 2013 including 21^st-place senior Nick Noles, and Rockford should make a nice move after coming in 12^th last year while running five underclassmen – the Rams’ top five are back, and freshman Cole Johnson was their second-fastest and sixth overall at the Regional win last week.

Individuals: In addition to Robinson and Albaugh, eight more of last season’s top 10 are back – but they’ll have their work cut out trying to catch reigning champion Grant Fisher of Grand Blanc. He won last season’s race by 18 seconds in 15:13.7, the 10^th-fastest time in LP Division 1 Finals history. Warren DeLaSalle senior Mickey Davey finished ninth last season and joined Fisher, Robinson and Portage Central senior Connor Wuori (12^th in 2013) among top-20 Finals placers from last fall who won Regionals last weekend.

DIVISION 2

Reigning champion: St. Clair
2013 runner-up: St. Joseph
2014 top-ranked: 1. Grand Rapids Christian, 2. Fremont, 3. St. Joseph.

Grand Rapids Christian just missed its first top-two Finals finish last season since 1978, and is favored to claim its first title with six of seven runners from 2013 back including ninth-place senior Benny Briseno. Fremont’s tradition is more storied – the Packers’ seven MHSAA titles are tied for fourth-most by Lower Peninsula programs – and despite not making the Finals as a team in 2013 are returning after placing four among the top eight in winning their Regional. St. Joseph has finished runner-up two of the last three seasons and brings back four of its top six from last fall including its top two finishers, seniors Erik Edwards (15^th) and Nick Jewell (28^th). Two-time reigning champion St. Clair made the Final again despite no seniors in the lineup after graduating its top six from last season’s victorious team.

Individuals: There should be some turnover among the lead packs, with 11 of last season’s top 20 graduated. But five of the top 10 return, beginning with reigning champion and Cedar Springs senior Austin Sargent. Third-place junior Blake Watson from Corunna is back to make another push, joining St. Johns senior Codey Cook (seventh), Briseno and Chelsea senior David Trimas (10^th) among the top returning finishers. Sargent had the fastest Regional time last week in Division 2, 15:46.2, followed by Briseno (15:48) and Corunna sophomore Noah Jacobs (15:59.2), who beat teammate Watson by 25 seconds and finished 56^th at last season’s Final.

DIVISION 3

Reigning champion: Benzonia Benzie Central
2013 runner-up: Stockbridge
2014 top-ranked: 1. Lansing Catholic, 2. Benzie Central, 3. Hanover-Horton.

Reigning individual champion and senior Keenan Rebera leads the favored Cougars, who bring back four of their top five from last season’s third-place team. But reigning champion Benzie Central is far from being out of the conversation – the Huskies have four of their top six back from 2013 including top-30 finishers senior Kyle Bailey (23^rd) and sophomore Brayden Huddleston (27^th). Hanover-Horton finished sixth last season with three sophomores and a freshman topping the lineup – four of the top five are back, and the team’s top five this season all finished among the first 13 at their Regional.

Individuals: Rebera won last season’s race by just under 30 seconds, in 15:31, and won his Regional last week by 33. But Michigan Center senior Ben Utz also was a Regional champ, by 29 seconds, after finishing third at the 2013 Final. Mason County Central junior Zac Benham (fifth) and Comstock senior Zack Richards (ninth) also are back from last season’s top 10. Grandville Calvin Christian senior Abe Visser (15^th in 2013), Hesperia senior Damien Halverson (18^th) and Calvin Christian senior Logan Jurgens (13^th) all cleared 15:51 on Saturday in taking the top three places, respectively, at the fastest Regional in this division.

DIVISION 4

Reigning champion: Saugatuck
2013 runner-up: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
2014 top-ranked: 1. Saugatuck, 2. Concord, 3. Bear Lake/Onekama.

After breaking Concord’s two-year hold on Division 4 last season, Saugatuck is expected to extend its streak to two on the strength of four of its top six from 2013. Joe Brown is the only senior; the Indians’ other six runners are sophomores. But Concord will try to take the title back with its top six from 2013 including two-time individual champion Jesse Hersha and last season’s sixth place Jacob Hall, both seniors. Bear Lake/Onekama graduated three of its top four from last season’s fourth-place team, but junior Jordan Anderson was the team’s second-fastest runner at last season’s Final, finishing 19^th overall. Freshmen Gary McBride and Kaiden Hejl finished behind Anderson and among the top five at their Regional as the team won with 27 points.

Individuals: Half of last season’s top 20 will run this race Saturday, but Hersha will be tough to chase down. He won last season’s title by 44 seconds, and his 15:32.3 winning time in 2012 is the sixth-fastest in LP Division 4 Finals history. Ellsworth senior Winter Romeyn (ninth) and Beal City senior Nick Pung (10^th) join the Concord pair among returning top-10 finishers. Harbor Beach senior Luke Anderson, 13^th last season, joined Hersha (15:46) in breaking 16 minutes at last week’s Regional, winning by a minute over Ubly senior Adam Grifka (17^th in 2013) in 15:52.

PHOTO: Grand Blanc’s Grant Fisher, running the final stretch during last season’s LP Division 1 Final, will look to repeat as champion. (Click to see more this weekend from RunMichigan.com.)