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.)
Redettes' Rudden Aims to Add to Legacy
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
August 20, 2015
MARQUETTE — Lindsey Rudden has enjoyed a stellar high school track career, to say the least.
The Marquette High School senior is the current Upper Peninsula Division 1 Finals record holder in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs and was part of U.P. record-setting 1,600 and 3,200 relays this spring at Kingsford.
She could graduate next spring as the top high school female distance runner in Upper Peninsula history. But one accomplishment that has eluded her, however, is a U.P. cross country title – something she’ll begin next week to pursue one last time.
At the end of her freshman year, Rudden was well ahead of the MHSAA Finals field with a half-mile remaining at Munising when she became ill and passed out. In Marquette as a sophomore, she was runner-up to Kameron Burmeister of Menominee. Then, she and now-junior Amber Huebner missed a flag in last year’s Finals and had to retrace their steps, adding distance to their race. Huebner ended up runner-up to Gladstone’s Leigha Woelffer that day, and Rudden finished well behind the leaders.
“I’ve learned so much from the losses,” Rudden said. “I still wouldn’t change it. I know how to react when other people are upset. I was real nervous before the Finals as a sophomore because of what happened in my freshman year. I wasn’t quite as nervous about it last year, and I’m not worried about it this year. I’m just going to try to run it like any other race and do my best. Either way life goes on. I have a great support system. My coaches and teammates have been great.”
Rudden, as she did the past three years, will lead the Redettes into this cross country season when they open Aug. 28 by hosting the Marquette Relays.
“I feel better going into this season than I did going into any other season,” said Rudden, who has made a verbal commitment to continue her track and cross country careers at Michigan State University. “I’m in better shape this year and starting to enjoy cross country. This is kind of special. I’m just going with the flow and trying to enjoy my last year of high school. I feel I’m ready for the next step.”
Rudden indeed has experienced plenty of success in cross country, earning a pair of Great Northern Conference titles in three seasons.
Her efforts certainly haven’t gone unnoticed, as some of the Marquette boys runners will verify.
“Lindsey has great dedication to her sport,” said senior Lance Rambo, last season’s U.P. Division 1 cross country runner-up and winner of the 3,200 and 1,600 at the spring Finals. “She just works so hard. … (And) she’s very humble. She’ll always congratulate other runners after the races and tries to encourage them. She always has a smile after a race.”
Redmen senior Troy Sergey, who finished 13th at last fall’s U.P. Division 1 Final and has known Rudden since fourth grade, also is impressed by Rudden’s accomplishments.
“She’s able to go into a gear nobody else has,” he said. “After two miles, she can pick up the pace. She never misses a workout. Lindsey understands what she needs to do. She talks to me and Lance before every race, and we discuss her game plan.”
Rudden trains an average of 30 miles a week.
“That gives me a pretty good base,” she said. “I’ve also been doing some weight training, and I’m more confident this year. I don’t feel as much pressure now that I’m committed to Michigan State. I’ve already met some of my (future) teammates. I’m just so excited.”
Rudden set Division 1 Finals records in the 800 at two minutes, 13.94 seconds this spring, the 1,600 (4:55.28) a year ago and 3,200 (11:26.38) in 2013. Her 800 and 1,600 times are records for all U.P. Finals.
“I’ve always loved track,” she said. “I think that’s why I’ve had a lot of success with it.”
In late May, Rudden combined forces with current senior Holly Blowers and Amber Huebner and recent graduate Shayla Huebner in U.P. Finals record-setting efforts in the 1,600 (4:00.15) and 3,200 relays (9:30.25).
“I’ve been playing sports with Lindsey since I was in fourth grade,” Amber Huebner said. “She always works her hardest and pushes other people to work harder. Lindsey is a great friend, leader and teammate. I can’t imagine what next season is going to be like without her.”
Rudden will become part of a program which captured the NCAA Division I cross country title last fall and was crowned Big 10 track and field champion this spring.
What has she meant to Marquette’s track and field and cross country programs?
“Lindsey is one of the all-time better mid and long distance runners at Marquette High School,” Redettes coach Dale Phillips said. “Not many girls can meet that kind of success. She has already surpassed the times by the Anderson twins (Emily and Katie in the late 1990s) in the 800 and 1,600 and even the 400.
"I think Lindsey has really matured. She has developed into a good leader, and that’s going to help her. I think that will make her a better runner.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Lindsey Rudden (77) leads the pack during last season's MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 Cross Country Final. (Middle) Rudden cruises down the stretch during one of her races at this spring's U.P. Track and Field Finals.