Walker, Fremont Break Away for Sweep

November 6, 2020

Second Half reports

BROOKLYN — It was a dream that formulated in the mind of a young runner before he ever put on a Fremont High School cross country singlet.

“It’s something I’ve been working for the last five, six years probably,” senior Nathan Walker said after winning the MHSAA Division 2 championship Friday at Michigan International Speedway.

“It’s a dream come true. I’ve come to state meets since when I was in middle school. I was like, ‘That would be pretty cool to do.’”

Even cooler — and of more importance to Walker — was winning a second straight team championship with longtime teammates. Fremont scored 61 points to outdistance runner-up St. Johns, which had 126.

Fremont has won four Division 2 championships and finished second five times over the last 20 years.

“Fremont pulled the back-to-back,” Walker said. “I put that above the individual title for me.”

Walker led the way, cruising to an emphatic individual victory with a time of 15 minutes, 19.39 seconds on a windy afternoon with temperatures in the low 70s.

He covered the 3.1-mile MIS course alone, leading by eight seconds after a 4:51.4 opening mile and 27 seconds after reaching the two-mile mark in 9:49.0.

“I was just trying to get out there in the first mile, get comfortable, get into a rhythm,” Walker said. “In the middle part of the race, stay smooth and relaxed, try to crank it in the last mile. That didn’t go completely to play. It is what it is.”

Pinckney junior Caleb Jarema was second in 15:42.97, establishing himself as the favorite for next year.

Walker was a four-time all-stater, placing 28th as a freshman, fifth as a sophomore and fourth as a junior.

“Honestly, I did not feel the greatest,” Walker said. “It heated up. The wind kind of ate me up a little bit. I was sticking tough in the second half of the race, but it probably wasn’t my greatest showing. It’s done now. I’m happy with the placing.”

Fremont’s top five runners all made all-state by placing among the top 30. Conor Somers was fifth in 16:02.55, Ben Paige was 18th in 16:31.55, Joshua Zerfas was 26th in 16:37.39 and Adam Ward was 27th in 16:38.57 to complete Fremont’s scoring.

“It’s been an honor racing with those guys, some of them the last six, seven years,” Walker said. “It’s definitely helpful to have that culture, along with the coaches that we have.”

Click for full results.  

PHOTOS: (Top) Fremont’s Nathan Walker approaches the finish line well ahead of the Division 2 field Friday at MIS. (Middle) Fremont’s Conor Summers and St. Johns’ Ryan Brown close in on top-10 finishes. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)

Flashback 100: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First

October 11, 2024

No American had ever won medals in both the 5,000 and 10,000-meter events at an Olympic Games until Grand Blanc’s Grant Fisher did so in Paris this summer.

He claimed bronze in both races, finishing just two-hundredths of a second behind second place in the 10,000. Fisher secured his opportunities in Paris by finishing first in both events at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.

During his time at Grand Blanc, Fisher won two Lower Peninsula Finals championships in cross country, taking first place in Division 1 in both 2013 and 2014, his junior and senior years, respectively. In Track & Field, he earned five MHSAA titles, including winning the 3,200 meters in 2013 and both the 1,600 and 3,200 meters in 2014 and 2015.

As a sophomore, Fisher played on the Grand Blanc soccer team that advanced to the Division 1 Final, ultimately losing to East Kentwood 1-0. He played for coach Greg Kehler, who retired from coaching boys soccer after the 2020 season with 340 wins, ninth most in MHSAA history. Kehler is the current girls coach at Grand Blanc and is fourth all-time with 402 victories.

Currently, Fisher holds the American records in the 3,000 meters, two-mile, 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. In 2015, he became the seventh American high school student-athlete to run a mile in under four minutes and holds the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Finals record (all divisions) in the 1,600 meters at 4:00.28. At Stanford, Fisher was a 12-time Track & Field All-American and three-time Pac-12 champion.

Previous "Flashback 100" Features

Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: 
Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: 
James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6:
Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read 

PHOTOS (Top) Grant Fisher (15) takes a photo with his Grand Blanc soccer teammates as a sophomore. (Bottom) Fisher competes in multiple Cross Country and Track & Field Finals during his high school career. (Soccer photo courtesy of Greg Kehler. Running photos by RunMichigan.com.)