Gull Lake XC Extends Tradition Cross-State
October 4, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
In Randy Hunt’s mind, there was no way Richland Gull Lake’s cross country teams weren’t going to continuing their Homecoming tradition this fall – no matter how much farther they had to run.
Every year since 1993, Gull Lake’s runners have carried a game ball from their football opponent’s school to the Blue Devils’ stadium in advance of the Homecoming game. Previously, the longest trip was 72 miles from Niles.
But this fall, Gull Lake’s varsity didn’t have an opponent lined up for Homecoming until picking up Detroit Country Day – 138 miles to the east.
No problem. Over Thursday and Friday last week, past Farmington Hills, Ann Arbor, Jackson, Battle Creek and more, the Blue Devils again delivered the game ball.
“Our runners are amazing and up to any challenge,” Gull Lake girls coach Robin Blackburn said. “We originally heard that our opponent this year was Detroit Country Day; we thought our athletic director was joking! No joke, she was serious.
“Next thought, how are we going to make this happen? We had lots of crazy ideas. My favorite was putting a treadmill on a flatbed truck and having them run. Obviously we couldn’t do that, but we knew we had to do this over two days. Once we started planning and mapping the course, everything fell into place.”
Runners filled out cards with whom, when and how far they wanted to run, and then Blackburn and Hunt, the boys coach, built the plan. The first shift left Gull Lake for Country Day at 5:30 a.m. Thursday. Makenzie Wank, Betsy Martens, Sarah Grimes, Kayla Eklund, Grace Foster and Abby Bell – running in pairs in 4-mile increments – tackled the first 35 miles west.
The next shift left from Gull Lake at 10 a.m. headed for Northfield Township, north of Ann Arbor. Joel Blackburn, Nick Dawson, Koby Fraaza, Read Knapp, Nate Krawczyk and Nate Alpers – running 5-mile increments – tackled the next 45-mile leg of the relay and even were questioned by a local police officer as to what they were up to in the middle of nowhere on dirt road.
“Usually we like the ball to be continuous, but obviously with such a distance and safety concerns, we split this one up,” Hunt said. “The kids were excited to do it, and as coaches we knew it would create an awesome memory/story.
“I think the kids liked it because it got them out of school but also for the team bonding. I was impressed with their commitment to the tradition.”
Freshmen Kristian Shyiak and Cameron Perkins took Friday’s first leg from Jackson, a 6.4 mile stretch, followed by 10 more shifts – all planned to exact distance and arrival time, while parents joined in to taxi groups to their starting points and back to the school.
The plan was to finish with nearly a full lap at the track at 6:30 p.m., with the teams’ seniors then delivering the ball to the football officials at the 50-yard line. But with time getting short, the last group of four had to adjust, with each athlete running one mile as hard as he could to get the ball to the stadium and into the officials’ hands by 6:50 – and they made it with time to spare. “It was amazing to see the kids work so hard and do it gratefully,” Hunt said.
Others who took part in the relay were Lainie Scott, Lauren Adams, Sarah Donovan, Ashley Randall, Kaylie Murphy, Luke Larson, Zach Zahrt, Neil Gleason, Simon Hakman, Lilly Weigt, Jayne Flynn, Rachel Grimes, Justin Walker, John Porter, Tyler Ford, David Larson, Ruby Risser, Lija Krasts, Nick Martens, Elly Whitfield, Aelita Klausmeier, Lorelei Hess and Oliver Harnden.
“Cross Country doesn’t get a lot of coverage, but this even got the community involved and following our updates on Facebook and Instagram,” Blackburn said.
“We are about being a family. We do a lot outside of practice to build our unity. This was a special moment in our family – one none of us will forget.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Starting top left at Detroit Country Day, groups of Gull Lake cross country runners take turns carrying the game ball during their nearly 140-mile trek to Richland last week. (Middle) Blue Devils runners take their turn on a country road. (Below) All of the runners join together for the final stretch on Gull Lake’s track. (Photos courtesy of the Gull Lake cross country program.)
Onsted's Hiatt Completes Title Climb, St. Francis Repeats as Team Champ
November 2, 2024
BROOKLYN — When Brody Amthor moved to Onsted from Lawrence in 2021, it gave the Wildcats a solid No. 1 runner who had experience in two MHSAA Division 4 Finals.
For then-freshman Mitchell Hiatt, the addition of Amthor provided a role model.
Hiatt’s fastest time in ninth grade was 19 minutes, 0.7 seconds. He was a long way from even getting to Michigan International Speedway, finishing 54th at Regionals in 20:02.9.
But the process that would eventually make him an MHSAA Finals champion had begun.
“When I was a freshman, I only ran 19 minutes,” Hiatt said after winning the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final in 15:15.5 on Saturday at MIS. “I didn’t think I’d be able to be a state champ. It took a lot of running. I had so many people that helped me get to this point. It’s good to see hard work pay off.”
One of those people was Amthor, who was a junior when Hiatt was a freshman.
“I ran in middle school, but I wasn’t that fast,” Hiatt said. “There was somebody my freshman year who moved to our school. His name was Brody Amthor. He was the person who got me into running and got me to actually start training. He helped me a lot, and so did my coaches.”
Reed City senior August Rohde came into the meet with the fastest time in Division 3, winning Regionals one week earlier in 14:58.7 on a Benzie Central course known for yielding personal bests.
Rohde liked the position he was in when he and Hiatt reached the mile mark in 4:52. Separation began in the second mile, with Hiatt hitting the two-mile mark in 9:49.3 and Rohde in 9:57.9.
“It was fine until after one mile,” Rohde said. “I got out how I wanted to. I tried to have him run my race. He dropped me. He ran a great race. Our second mile was slower than the first, so I think he was just maintaining the pace better than I did.”
As he made his way down the long straightaway at MIS, Hiatt had a large lead over Rohde, but he ran like he could be caught at any moment. He wouldn’t allow himself to make the final couple hundred yards a victory lap.
“Oh, I didn’t know where he was,” Hiatt said. “I thought he was still close to me. Whenever I have races like that, to be completely honest, I get scared to lose. It just makes me try to go faster and keep pushing the pace.”
Hiatt, who was sixth in Division 3 last year, became the first Onsted runner to win the overall championship at the Finals since Eric Ramsey ran the fastest Class C time of the day in 1987 when there were team and individual races. In 1990, Michael Vischer of Onsted won the Class C team race in 16:05, but Michael Ball of Hudson ran 15:57 to win the individual race.
“I came into this race telling myself that if I put myself in a good position in the start and I don’t get boxed in, then I think I’d be able to win it,” Hiatt said. “That’s what happened.”
Traverse City St. Francis repeated as the team champion by an 86-177 margin over Saugatuck, putting four runners on the all-state podium.
Senior Riley Pattinson was 10th in 15:51.9, sophomore William Ready 11th in 15:52.2, senior Owen Read 22nd in 16:03.7, senior Robby Myler 27th in 16:13.2 and senior Josh Slocum 39th in 16:26.3.
The Gladiators had four runners across the line before Saugatuck’s first finisher.
St. Francis returned five runners from last year’s championship lineup — Pattinson, Read, Myler, Slocum and senior sixth runner Lewis Walter.
St. Francis has finished in the top six for six consecutive seasons.
PHOTOS (Top) Onsted’s Mitchell Hiatt charges toward the finish Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. (Middle) Riley Pattinson (970) emerges from a pack to lead St. Francis’ finishers. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)