Repeat Champ Paces Hart's 1st Title Run
November 4, 2017
Second Half reports
BROOKLYN — The arrival of four girls from the same family at Hart High School resulted in a day the Pirates have never experienced in any sport.
With four Ackley girls finishing in the team’s top four spots, Hart won the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 cross country championship Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
It was the first MHSAA championship for Hart, its best finish being a second-place showing by the girls track & field team at the 1987 Class C meet. The 1985 wrestling team was third in Class C. Three Hart teams in bracketed sports reached the MHSAA Semifinals.
Until recently, girls cross country seemed like an unlikely program to deliver Hart its first title. Hart had never qualified for the MHSAA Finals in the sport until 2011. The Pirates have been to the Finals six times in the last seven years, the best finish being fifth in 2014.
Hart scored 55 points to win by 69 over Benzonia Benzie Central. Grandville Calvin Christian was third with 137 points.
“My dad (Calvin) started a middle school team,” said Hart junior Adelyn Ackley, who repeated as individual champion with a time of 17:49.4. “He got a lot of kids to go out. Pretty soon, they started going out in high school. He would write them running charts and how many miles they should run in the summer. Kids hooked on to it and are running pretty well now.”
Freshman Savannah Ackley took sixth in 18:51.3, senior Alayna Ackley was seventh in 18:52.0 and Lynae Ackley was 20th in 19:23.7. Lynae is the first cousin of the other three Ackleys, who are sisters.
Sophomore Brenna Aerts was 37th in 19:51.7 to complete Hart’s scoring.
“We train every day over the summer and through the winter together,” Adelyn Ackley said. “It’s fun. We like to push each other.”
There was nobody to push Ackley as she repeated as individual champion.
She was 24.8 seconds ahead of Shepherd junior Amber Gall, who made the top five for the third time.
It was quite a contrast from last year when Ackley won a sprint to the finish with Lansing Catholic’s Olivia Theis by 0.7 seconds in 17:40.6.
“I kind of wish I had somebody closer to me, so they could push me,” Ackley said. “I was looking to beat my time from last year. I couldn’t quite push myself hard enough. I had a girl with me last year. I went out pretty hard so I could get out of the crowd. It felt pretty easy at first. The second mile was definitely the hardest.”
Gall was third in 2015 and fifth in 2016.
“I decided coming in to just run my own race,” Gall said. “I thought that would be the smartest. Usually, I started really fast. I have a condition called hypoglycemia. My sugar runs at a certain level, then it just drops. It’s hard when I start out super fast, because I waste the sugar immediately. Pacing myself at the start was necessary. I don’t usually wear a Garmin, but I did just because I had to watch my time.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Hart’s Adelyn Ackley (1589) begins to break away from the pack during Saturday’s Division 3 Final. (Middle) Alayna Ackley (1590) leads another pack around a curve in helping her team to its first MHSAA championship in any sport. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
Match Race Makes for Intriguing Change, but Favorites Still Find Ways to Front
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
September 17, 2025
HOUGHTON — After following the traditional format for several years, organizers of the Bill Fezzey Memorial Invitational cross county meet decided to do something a little bit different for their races Sept. 4.
They elected to host a match race, formerly known as fox and hounds, on the cloudy and cool day in the Copper Country.
“We decided to make it different this year,” Houghton coach Traci Welch said. “Our kids were really upset about it at first. Although they were apprehensive, I think this brought out the best in them. Some of them ran significantly better times.
"This was the first perfect score ever for our girls. I was a little worried about the boys because we knew (Painesdale) Jeffers was going to be tough.”
The Houghton girls grabbed the top five places in their race and scored 15 points, followed by L’Anse with 49 and Calumet at 74. Jeffers squeezed past the Gremlins 27-28 for the boys title, and third-place Dollar Bay scored 88 points.
Runners followed a 20-second stagger, starting with the No. 7 runners from each school and working their way toward the top. The first one to cross the finish line in each race was the winner regardless of starting position.
Houghton senior Tessa Rautiola was clocked at 22:14.1 in winning the girls race.
“I’ve never done a race like this before,” she said. “All varsity runners go out at once in other races. It’s just a matter of getting into a good mindset.
“This is a learning curve for me. I should be happy I’m still running. I was just trying to catch other people during the race, which added to the intensity somewhat.”
Houghton sophomore Sela Niska was runner-up (22:23.4), and senior teammate Jovie Williams took third (22:38.8).
Jeffers senior Cameron Anderson was the boys winner at 18:33.4, followed by Houghton sophomore Xavier Hutchinson (19:08.3) and freshman Cole Ceane (19:08.8).
“Cam started last and came in first,” Jets coach Sam Kilpela said. “We had him timed at 16:31. It’s so easy to start out fast, which in a way is the hardest part. Once the guys settled in, they knew their job and got it done. This is a big win for us.”
Anderson said he didn’t mind the new format.
“It wasn’t bad,” he added. “I wouldn’t mind doing it again. It made me push myself and want to catch the other guys. You had to make sure you held your pace.”
Hancock senior Lydia Pelli took 18th (24:12.9) among the girls.
“(The match race format) gives the people who are usually first more of a challenge,” she said. “I think I like the regular races better because I’m more familiar with them. You have a better idea of what to expect.”
Ironwood senior Jaelyn Novasconi previously played volleyball but decided to go out for cross country this year. She finished 37th (27:48.8).
“This was a hard choice because I love volleyball,” she said. “I also love basketball, and this will get me in better shape.
“This was my (second) meet since middle school. This is also a great opportunity to compete with kids from other schools. The start was definitely different, but I ran faster than in my first meet.”
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) Houghton senior Tessa Rautiola runs to the Upper Peninsula Division 2 Finals championship last season. (Middle) Painesdale Jeffers’ Cameron Anderson moves toward the front of the lead pack at last year’s UPD2 Final. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)