Engadine's Rock & Roll Relays Provide Runners with Interval Challenge
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
August 27, 2026
ENGADINE — This was not your ordinary cross country meet.
Last week’s Engadine Rock & Roll Relays provide interval training for the runners, who do a mile on three occasions during the races and start and finish with music playing in the background.
“It went pretty good,” Engadine junior Ed Frankowiac said. “The breaks are nice, but you have to keep moving. It’s fun. We didn’t have this meet two years ago because it conflicted with a meet in Munising (Larissa Vartti Memorial Invitational), but we’re glad we had it last year. We’re trying to build this up.”
Frankowiak combined with junior Nate Stielstra for the first-place finish as they covered the six miles in 35 minutes, 17.18 seconds on a sunny and mild Aug. 20 day.
Rapid River, however, won the boys meet with five points. The host Eagles scored six and Manistique finished with 11.
The Rapid River girls retained their title by edging the Eagles 5-6.
“This is the second year we got the plaque,” Rockets’ sophomore Victoria Coppock said. “This is a nice boost for our team. Engadine has a couple real good runners.
“This is one of the meets I really look forward to. I think it’s more competitive. It’s also easier to look at placement and know where you are.”
Engadine sophomores Sarah Chapman and Fern Stielstra combined to win the girls race at 44:59.31. Rapid River juniors Kaylee Tyler and Julia Poma were runners-up (47:53.93) followed by Coppock and junior Ashlynn Thompson (49:02.42).
“All my miles were under seven minutes,” Chapman said. “I’m very happy with my times and how I finished each time. It’s hard to stop and go, but it’s fun. It’s a great way to open the season. I think last year’s experience is helping me. It was nice out there. It wasn’t too hot and we had a nice breeze. I think it went well.”
Engadine junior Birch Bitely, who teamed with Oliver French for a fifth-place finish among the boys (41:08.53), also enjoys this meet.
“It’s a good course,” he said. “There’s one big hill toward the end and a few rolling hills before that. We had better conditions this time. Last year we had rain with temperatures in the 50s. The nice weather made it easier to keep your legs warm.”
Rapid River senior Jae Poma and sophomore Owen Truitt were boys runners-up at 35:40.63, followed by senior teammates Jeb Green and Jon Denkins (38:38.56).
“I really like it,” Poma said. “It’s something different. This helps our speed, and it’s kind of a tune-up for other races. It’s nice to get the break, but you have to keep moving to keep your legs warmed up for your next interval.”
Poma also has some personal and team goals in mind.
“I would like to get under 18 minutes,” he added. “I feel we have a shot at the U.P. (Division 3) title. There’s a lot of good teams out there, but if we work hard I think we have a chance.”
Rapid River senior Camden Holmio and Engadine’s Eli Frankowiak teamed for a sixth-place finish in 48:01.53.
“I was a little excited to run with a guy from another school,” Holmio said. “I think that made it more fun. Interval training is pretty helpful. The breaks are good, but it’s sometimes a little hard to get going after you stop.”
Sophomore Keira Hart, who represented the Manistique girls, ran on a boys team with fellow Emeralds Trent Mason and James King.
“I really wasn’t that nervous, but standing at the starting line alone was the hardest part mentally. It just felt weird because I wasn’t running with the other girls,” she said. “It was a good first meet. It was also kind of a learning experience.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Rapid River and Engadine medal winners stand for a photo together after the Engadine Rock & Roll Relays. (Middle) The Rockets enjoy a moment together after their win. (Photos courtesy of the Rapid River cross country program.)
Butkiewicz Closes Hackett XC Career No. 1 Again, Holland Calvary Clinches 1st Title
November 1, 2025
BROOKLYN, Mich. — There’s a history of soccer players turning into great cross country runners in the state of Michigan, most notably Grand Blanc’s Grant Fisher.
Fisher played soccer his first two years at Grand Blanc, even missing the MHSAA Cross Country Finals his sophomore year because the Bobcats reached the Division 1 championship game in soccer. He went on to become a two-time MHSAA Finals champion and win two bronze medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep senior Marek Butkiewicz is the latest in a line of former soccer players who have become champion runners.
He didn’t even run cross country until his freshman year of high school, but has developed into a two-time MHSAA Division 4 Finals champion.
Butkiewicz won his second title Saturday at Michigan International Speedway with a time of 15:27.0. He won by 10.6 seconds ahead of Harbor Beach senior Brody Karg.
“I knew I wanted to be great,” Butkiewicz said. “I knew I wanted to go out and do something special. Actually putting it into action, you can’t think about what it feels like before you actually do it. It’s just so amazing to be able to say, ‘Wow, I actually did that.’”
Butkiewicz gave up soccer in ninth grade and threw himself into his new sport. He was 52nd at the Division 4 Final as a freshman in 17:42.2 before moving all the way up to sixth as a sophomore in 16:12.2.
On the track, he was the Division 4 Finals champion in the 3,200-meter run and second in the 1,600 as a sophomore. He swept those events as a junior.
As a junior in cross country, he set the Division 4 Final record by winning in 15:09.7.
“My middle school didn’t have cross country or track, so I was just running on my own,” said Butkiewicz, who will run at Michigan State University. “Going into high school and having actual structure was super beneficial. I’m super thankful to everyone at Hackett who has gotten me to where I am. It’s not just a one-way street. There’s a lot of things that go into it behind the scenes.”
Butkiewicz was aiming for a sub-15 time Saturday, but chilly conditions resulted in slower times for most of the contenders in the morning races.
“It was kind of cold,” he said. “Last year was like the perfect temp. This year I couldn’t feel my nose. I’d try to breathe out of my nose and there would be like slot bubbling. It was a good day overall. I’m not displeased with it by any means.”
In the team race, second-ranked Holland Calvary scored 110 points to outpace top-ranked Maple City Glen Lake by 21. The Crusaders were Division 4 runners-up the last two years.
Christian Getz was eighth in 16:13.9, Noah Schipper 18th in 16:29.5, Gibson White 27th in 16:46.4, Brody VanTuinen 43rd in 17:05.2 and Regan Downing 70th in 17:29.5 for Holland Calvary.
Hillsdale Academy was also in the mix, placing third with 158 points.
PHOTOS (Top) Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep’s Marek Butkiewicz races toward the finish line and a repeat championship Saturday at MIS. (Middle) Holland Calvary’s Christian Getz (1372) pulls nearly even with Hackett’s Sean Siems (1382). (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)