Did you see that?
May 7, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan high school athletes are accomplishing great things so quickly this spring, we're missing one every once in a while -- which is why we'll kick off this week's "Did you see that?" with a finish from 10 days ago that we found out more about last week.
Girls Track and Field
Moving up fast: The Grosse Pointe South 3,200-meter relay team of Haley Meier, Hannah Meier, Ersula Farrow and Kelsie Schwartz ran a blistering 8:59.69 to lead their team to a championship at the Michigan State Spartan Invitational on April 27. That's nearly six seconds faster than Rochester's all-MHSAA Finals record set in 2010. (Mlive Detroit)
Golf
This time, it’s FHC: Top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and No. 2 Muskegon Mona Shores are waging a back-and-forth battle not just to be called west Michigan’s top team, but the best in Division 1 overall. Forest Hills Central won the Ranger Invitational by seven strokes Saturday over Mona Shores. (Grand Rapids Press)
Ram tough: The Capital Area Activities Conference includes four teams ranked either in Division 2 or 3 – Division 2 No. 1 DeWitt, Division 2 No. 4 East Lansing, Division 3 No. 1 Jackson Lumen Christi and Division 3 No. 4 Lansing Catholic. But it was unranked Division 1 team Holt that claimed the CAAC Open by four strokes Friday. (Lansing State Journal)
Soccer
Streak over: Scoring two goals in each half Tuesday, Traverse City Central broke Petoskey’s 35-game Big North unbeaten streak with a 4-0 win over the still first-place Northmen. (Petoskey News)
Football
Changes coming in the PSL: School closings and mergers this June will significantly change the football landscape in the Detroit Public School League, home of reigning Division 1 champion Detroit Cass Tech. The formerly four-division league will switch to two divisions. Two schools are closing and two more are forming a new school. (Detroit News)
Editor's note: Did we miss something? Comment below and tell us about it. Is there an event coming up that we should make sure to note? Comment or e-mail [email protected].
Marquette Boys Win 5th-Straight Finals, Jeffers & Dollar Bay Run Title Streaks to 3
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2023
FLAT ROCK — The Marquette boys continued their hold on the Upper Peninsula Division 1 cross country title here Saturday, scoring a meet-record 22 points.
Marquette, which placed seven among the top nine runners, was crowned champion for the fifth-straight time. Sault Ste. Marie was next with 64 points and Houghton was third at 74.
“We’re happy with the state record, and the girls tying the state record,” said senior Cullen Papin, who placed 10th, noting Marquette’s girls championship as well. “We had some guys really step up. This is a great day for Marquette. It’s great to see the hard work pay off. There was definitely special motivation with this being my last high school cross country meet. We went 4-for-4 during my high school career, which is special for me.”
Sault sophomore Gabe Litzner retained his individual title by covering the 3.1-mile course in 15 minutes, 56.6 seconds, becoming only the second runner to break 16 minutes in U.P. Finals history. Colton Yesney of Negaunee remains the U.P. recordholder at 15:49.8 from seven years ago.
“I went out a little hard, and the second mile went okay,” he said. “In the third mile, I really felt good. I just wanted to get a gap right away. It seemed like when I got an adrenaline rush, I didn’t feel it.
“We’ve come a long way from the beginning of the season. Eli (Hills) came out late, and it really helped the team. I’m very proud of our team today.”
Litzner was followed by Marquette juniors Seppi Camilli (16:29.1) and Evan Balko (16:33.5) and freshman Lucas Ballard (16:37.5), and Sault sophomore Shea Armstrong (16:41.8) on this cloudy, cool and breezy day at the Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast in Flat Rock.
Division 2
Painesdale Jeffers claimed its third straight Finals championship with 48 points, followed by Rudyard with 66 and Munising with 105.
“Overall, it was a great day,” Jeffers coach Sam Kilpela said. “Our fifth runner was up in the air. We’ve had two freshmen battling for that. We knew it wasn’t a given. Rudyard ran well today. The boys are excited for next year already.”
Jets sophomore Landan Larson earned his first title in 17:10.3. He was followed by Ishpeming freshman Kemper Gearhart (17:20.8), Jeffers sophomore Cameron Anderson (17:28.1), Munising junior Dan Goss (18:03.5) and Gogebic freshman Noah Verbos (18:12.4).
“I just wanted to go out hard and open a gap,” Larson said. “The first mile was real fast. Running with Kalvin (Kytta, of Chassell) helped me a lot.
“It’s a pretty special feeling to win this as a team for the third year in a row. Kemper did real well for a ninth-grader. He’s going to be good next year.”
Division 3
It was also a three-peat for Dollar Bay, which captured the D3 crown with 54 points, followed by Eben Junction Superior Central with 78 and Stephenson with 104.
“The Copper Mountain Conference did real well,” Dollar Bay coach Matt Zimmer said. “It’s a tough conference to run in, and we just kept getting better all year long.
“We did the work and told the kids the hay is in the barn. We also told them to ‘do what you can do.’ The parents made sure the kids ate right. Dollar Bay is just one big community.”
Chassell junior Kalvin Kytta won at 16:49.9, followed by Pickford seniors Hayden Hagen (17:18.8) and Quinn Socia (18:29.1), Dollar Bay junior Joshua Gaunt (18:32.6) and Engadine sophomore Duane Krenek (18:36.9).
“I’m happy with that,” Kytta said. “I pretty much knew I’d be running by myself and tried to make each mile a time trial. It’s pretty easy to get sidetracked when you’re running by yourself. This is pretty special. I feel very blessed.”
PHOTOS (Top) Sault Ste. Marie's Gabe Litzner (119) leads the pack at the start of the Division 1 U.P. Final at Farmhouse B & B in Gladstone on Saturday. (Middle) Jeffers' Landon Larson rounds a corner on his way to a win in Division 2. (Below) Chassell's Kalvin Kytta, right, runs with Pickford's Hayden Hagen during the Division 3 U.P. Final. Kytta won, and Hagen took second. (Photos by Jason Junio. Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)