Bloomingdale Racers Achieve Historic Goal
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
November 13, 2018
BLOOMINGDALE — High fives, music and a hallway full of students gave the Bloomingdale cross country teams an enthusiastic sendoff as they departed for the MHSAA Finals at Michigan International Speedway two weeks ago.
“We left school early on Friday,” coach Alan Bobalik said. “All the kids were in the hallway, the band played the fight song.
“We walked through the hallway and kids were high-fiving the team. It was pretty cool.”
What was even cooler was that the girls already had carved out a place in the Cardinals’ history book.
A week earlier, they became the first team in any sport in school history to win an MHSAA Regional championship.
“At the beginning of our cross country season, we write down our goals as a team and that was our goal,” said Nelly Gonzalez, one of two seniors on the team. The other five runners were sophomores.
To add to the celebration, the runners had fun watching their coach navigate Walmart and then eat dinner wearing a red and black wig as their reward for the Regional win at Centreville.
“We spent Friday night (before states) in Coldwater and ate at the Broadway Grill,” Bobalik said. “I had to wear the wig when we went out to eat as a team. It was nice, black and red, and went down to my shoulders.
“We stopped for snacks at Walmart and I wore it around the store. We got some interesting looks.”
One person was not impressed.
“My daughter (Annabelle, 3½ years old) was confused,” he said. “She thought I was a different person, scared or confused and didn’t want to look at me.”
The girls finished 17th in Division 3 at the Finals while the boys placed 16th.
“I’m sure (the boys) won’t let the girls forget that,” said Bobalik, in his fourth year as head cross country coach and as an assistant for track & field. (The boys team finished second at its Regional, just two points off the lead.)
Four years ago, Gonzalez would have laughed if someone told her she would not only run cross country but also lead the team at the Finals with a time of 20:28.5.
“I was playing volleyball my freshman year,” she said. “I (didn’t play) volleyball my sophomore year, and my coaches and especially Liza (Hutchins) pushed me to run. I really did not want to, but I ran.
“I hated it at first because I didn’t like the running, but now I really enjoy it.”
Gonzalez agreed to join the team to get in shape for basketball and track, where she holds the school record in the 3,200 meters (12:15).
Examples and Inspirations
Bobalik, who ran cross country at Sturgis High School, and assistant coach Tina Bertuca practice with the team.
“I try to run with the girls,” he said. “Keep up? No comment. They’re getting older and faster. I’m getting older and slower.
“Coach Bertuca can keep up.”
Bertuca, the girls head track coach, qualified for the 2019 Boston Marathon. She also competed there last April.
Hutchins, the other senior on the team, was inspired by her aunt, Andrea Hutchins.
“My aunt did (cross country) when she was in high school (at Watervliet) and went to college and ran,” Hutchins said. “She’s been a person I looked up to when I started running.”
Hutchins, who also runs the 1,600 and 3,200 in track, said she has one regret.
“My freshman year and my sophomore year I took (cross country) as getting in shape for basketball,” she said. “But ever since time has gone on, it’s become my best sport that I’ve ever done and I wish I would have done it in middle school.
“I fell in love with the sport, and now I want to run in college. I have (University of) Michigan-Dearborn on my mind right now.”
Gonzalez said she hopes this year’s success inspires next year’s team.
“My sophomore year we really didn’t have a team at all. It was really just me, Liza, Heather (Davis) who already graduated,” Gonzalez added.
“Last year, we had a team and the girls were all awesome and we accomplished a lot.””
This year’s team overcame a stumbling block at Regionals.
“We had a girl (Kallie Harrison) who was very sick Thursday and Friday who didn’t get out of bed, and she came in Saturday and ran really, really tough,” Bobalik said. “She hadn't fully recovered before state.”
“Everyone stepped up. We knew she was sick. Olaisa Moss ran a great race. She really pushed herself and ran her fastest time of the season. Marta Douglas, Maria Herrera ran well and Aimee Sustaita was a Regional medalist this year after finishing 23rd last year. Everyone stepped up that day to help out their teammate.
“I knew we had a chance to win, but it didn’t just happen. We had to earn it.”
Said athletic director Alan Farnquist: “"These girls are an incredibly unique group of athletes. They genuinely get more excited for their teammates than they do for themselves, and I think that's what sets them apart.
“They work hard for each other, and they exemplify what student athletics should be about."
Bobalik said the challenge for next year’s team is to keep the success going.
“We have two great seniors who are big shoes to fill, not only running but as teammates, as leaders, as individuals,” he said.
“The girls on the team and the guys on the team, are they going to be content just having one year of success, two years of success? Or do the middle school kids coming up want to be a part of something special? Or do the returning girls next year want to continue going?”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) The Bloomingdale girls cross country team, during the Nov. 3 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Finals at Michigan International Speedway. (Top middle) Bloomingdale head coach Alan Bobalik and assistant Tina Bertuca, and then Bobalik in his celebratory wig. (Middle) Nelly Gonzalez powers toward the finish during her team’s Regional victory. (Below) Seniors Liza Hutchins and Gonzalez hold the first Regional trophy won by the school in any sport. (Photos courtesy of Bloomingdale’s athletic department; head shots by Pam Shebest.)
Martin Brings LA Marathon Championship Experience Home as Jackson High Coach
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
April 23, 2026
Nathan Martin has the best possible example a coach can give when it comes to the old phrase, “It’s never over, until it’s over.”
Last month, the Jackson cross country head coach and track assistant captured national attention when he miraculously came from behind to win the Los Angeles Marathon.
The winning margin was one hundredth (0.01) of a second.
“I didn’t really know if I won,” said Martin. “I tried not to get too emotional or celebrate too much. Then people around me started confirming it.”
Martin, 36, was running his race when, with about five miles to go, he had a surge and passed the pack he was with to get comfortably into second place.
“There was only one guy to catch at that point; he was so far ahead,” Martin said. “I couldn’t even see him. At that point, it was like, ‘Okay, let’s push, let’s finish, be strong, and all that kind of stuff.”
Slowly, the leader came into focus.
“Within the last mile, I’d say, he came into view,” Martin said. “By 800 meters to go I thought I had a serious shot to try and win.
“I made one final surge. That last 800 was super painful. I was thinking to myself maybe I’ll catch him, maybe I won’t, but I definitely wanted to make sure I crossed that finish line with no regrets, knowing I left everything out there.”
As he and the leader, Michael Kimani Kamau of Kenya, approached the finish, the crowed braced for the finish.
“It was the last 50 to 80 meters where the true opportunity to win presented itself and I took full advantage of it,” Martin said. “When I crossed the line, it was so close. I was trying to hold back the excitement and emotions and all of that kind of stuff. People started confirming it, and it was surreal. I just started absorbing the moment and everything going on.”
He credits his own coach, James McCurdy, with preparing him with everything from the right nutrition to handling the Los Angeles heat to the running strategy.”
“It was painful, but I still had something left in the tank,” he said. “If the race would have been a couple miles longer, I would have been okay (to finish).”
Martin finished with a personal best time of 2 hours, 11 minutes, 16.5 seconds. It was the closest finish in LA Marathon history.
“It was pretty special,” Martin said.
Martin was born in Chicago Heights, Ill., and moved with his family to Three Rivers before he started school. He began running in middle school and competed throughout high school. He ran the mile in high school and the 5K in college.
“I had a lot of success in my running journey,” he said. “Eventually, my coach thought I had what it takes to run a marathon.”
It wanted until late in his college career at Spring Arbor University that Martin ran his first marathon. He was 23.
“I won the 10K, then 36 hours later I won the marathon,” he said. “My coach was like, ‘Okay, you need to do this.’”
Martin is now a professional runner and has sponsors. He was at the Boston Marathon on Monday making appearances and connecting with people in the running community.
After college he began substitute teaching while trying to advance his running career. That’s when he launched his coaching career.
“There was a year where I was substitute teaching and going to races to try and place well,” he said. “By year two or three, I was coaching and I’ve continued that on.”
Martin said coaching is rewarding, “Especially seeing a kid overcome some kind of challenge.
“It’s being able to use my experiences to give back,” he added. “I want to help kids along their running journey. Even if they don’t become a big-time runner, I hope the types of lessons they learn, they can apply in life.
“Just see them be able to fight through something makes me feel like I am making a positive impact in the world.”
Martin has run fewer than 20 marathons in his life. “If you are training at an insanely high level, you usually look at doing one, maybe two or three a year,” he said.
He has taken some time away from marathon training recently as he’s made several national appearances.
And an assistant at Jackson this year, he said he’s noticed a buzz around the distance runners.
“There’s way more interest in distance running,” he said. “Normally they give me my two minutes of fame, then they are back to being high school students. This has been different. They’ve made me feel like definitely I’ve done something.”
He will begin ramping up his training and plans on competing in a half marathon soon, then has set his sights on either the New York or Chicago Marathon.
“It’s been pretty cool,” he said of the running community in Jackson. “They’ve been showing me a lot of love, and they are super proud. If I did Chicago, I imagine I would get a chunk of people down to watch. I’ve had so many people supporting me. It’s a really good feeling.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Nathan Martin, middle with clipboard, coaches his Jackson distance runners. (Middle) Martin poses for a photo with a community award he received from the school. (Photos courtesy of Nathan Martin.)