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.)
As Race Times Fall, Centreville Sophomore's Profile Rises, Goals Grow
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
October 14, 2025
CENTREVILLE – Will Hulin reported to his first high school cross country practice last fall as a freshman at Centreville without logging any summer mileage.
Hulin's lack of preseason training wasn't his choice though.
"My left knee became inflamed, and there was a bunch of liquid in it so I wasn't able to run the entire summer,” he said. “They removed the liquid, and I was cleared to start running the day before our first practice. I went into the season without any miles under my belt."
Despite the late start in his training, it didn't take Hulin long to work himself into shape – and he blossomed into the Bulldogs' top runner with rapid success.
Hulin ended his freshman cross country season as a 2024 Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals qualifier at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, where he achieved a then personal-best time of 16:56.1 – good enough for 83rd place.
Also a guard on the Bulldogs' basketball team, Hulin additionally competes in track & field. Last spring he was part of Centreville's Finals-qualifying 3200-meter relay team. He also competes in the 1,600, 800 and 3,200-meter races.
"I missed going to state in the 1,600 by a half second,” Hulin said. “My success in track last spring helped get me prepared for my sophomore season in cross country. The sprints we do in basketball practice, I feel, make me a strong sprinter at the end of my track and cross country races.”
Hulin spent most of June attending open gyms and lifting weights for basketball. He increased his daily mileage base and attended a summer running camp at Grand Valley State University a few weeks before the start of this cross country season.
"At the cross country camp we had our toughest workouts of the day at 6 a.m. every morning. After breakfast, lunch and some free time we'd do further training in the afternoon,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. We had guest speakers come in and talk to us about nutrition, proper running shoes and mechanics to help improve us as runners. I found the nutrition part most beneficial because I learned what kind of food you need to have in your body before and after a run."
Will's parents, Shawn and Kim Hulin, are both former runners who later coached track & field in Centreville at the high school and middle school levels.
"I was always at practice with them every day when I was younger, so running was kind of born into me," Hulin said.
Fifth-year Centreville cross country coach Alicia Schmidtendorff stated that Hulin has some big goals he’s been working to attain since he joined the program back in middle school.
"Will has been running fantastic times this fall. He ran in some different races over the summer and came into this season with the mindset of going after some school records and placing among the top runners in the state. Last year he had to deal with a few injuries, so this is an exciting time for him,' said Schmidtendorff, who ran at Three Rivers High School and Spring Arbor University.
Centreville has more depth, especially on its boys team this season, prompting the Bulldogs to set a team goal of qualifying for the Finals. The Bulldogs' roster numbers 16 runners on the boys side and 13 on the girls.
"Our goal this year is to qualify as a team for state, and we might still accomplish that. It helps to have other guys with the same goals as I have. It pushes me to run faster and do whatever I can to help our team,” Hulin said. “I've been around most of these guys since elementary school. Our coaches have a good workout program for us every week. Everyone makes things fun at practice, and that's always enjoyable."
A quick start during the first mile of every race is a big part of Hulin's strategy.
"I always run my fastest in that first mile and it fades off from there, which I think is typical for most people,” Hulin said. “I like somewhat hilly courses, like the Big Hill Invite at Meyer-Broadway Park in Three Rivers. I really enjoyed that course because this year I was in better shape."
Hulin has turned in consistent times all season as the Bulldogs prepare for their most important meets over the next few weeks. Centreville’s No. 1 runner has finished first in eight of the Bulldogs' 13 races, including winning all three Southwest 10 Conference jamborees. He finished third in the Division 3 boys race at the prestigious Portage Invite on Oct. 4 with at time of 16:12.5. He clocked his all-time personal-best with a fourth-place time of 16:03.8 on Aug. 27 at the Southwest Michigan Rustbuster XC Invite at the Warner Camp in Grand Junction.
"It's been exciting to see Will's mental and physical growth as a runner this season. He's a very driven person who puts the work in on his own schedule along with what we're doing in practice,” Schmidtendorff said. “Will is very good at communicating how much he's able or not able to handle during workouts. I like knowing as a coach where my athletes are (in terms of) what they are capable of handling each day."
"We have a lot of seniors who are great leaders, but also great racers,” she added. “There are also several young runners who have strong work ethics, and our upperclassmen have been very welcoming to them. This group knows they have to be competitive not only with opposing racers but also with people on their own team. It’s been beneficial to Will to have other guys on his team who can push him in practice. Everyone has their strong suits, and they know what it takes to get the job done. It's a team effort, and we have a coaching staff that has a competitive mindset."
Hulin's goals for the remainder of this season include winning his Regional, qualifying for MIS, earning all-state honors with a top-30 Finals finish, and breaking Logan Weis' 2022 school-record time of 16:01.9 in the 5,000-meter (3.1-mile) race.
"I just try and run as fast as I can every race. I'm chasing Logan's record every meet and getting close to breaking the 16-minute barrier and getting into the high 15s," Hulin said. "It would be really cool to win Regionals as a sophomore. I don't think that many people are aware of me yet."
Hulin feels his biggest strengths as a distance runner are his determination and endurance.
"I always approach every race with some sort of strategy depending on who I'm running against,” he said. “I already know most of the guys I am competing against, so I just try to plan out my strengths to work against their weaknesses.”
Scott Hassinger is a contributing sportswriter for Leader Publications and previously served as the sports editor for the Three Rivers Commercial-News from 1994-2022. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Centreville’s Will Hulin sprints the closing stretch Oct. 4 at the Portage Invitational. (Middle) Centreville cross country coach Alicia Schmidtendorff, left, is pictured with Hulin at the school's Fall Sports Media Day. (Below) Hulin stretches out prior to the start of the Division 3 boys race at Portage. (Race photos by Scott Hassinger. Media day photo courtesy of the Centreville athletic department.)