Division 1 state track: Hartland's Riley Hough wins 1,600-meter title, but is upset in 3,200 final
ROCKFORD – Hartland’s Riley Hough won the race he never had on Saturday and then lost the race no one thought he could.
Hough, one of the better distance runners in the country, won the 1,600 meters at the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 state track and field finals, competing in the mile for the first time since his freshman year. About 30 minutes later, he was beaten down the stretch in the two-mile, a race he controlled a year ago.
Hough, thrilled by his 1,600 win, didn’t seem at all upset by being out-kicked in the 3,200 by Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills junior Benne Anderson, who was a massive underdog.
“I’m definitely very surprised because my coach just came over and said that I ran a 58(-second final lap),” said Hough, a senior, who has won two straight state cross country championships. “I mean, when we're going that fast at the end of a two-mile (race), there’s not much you can really do and I'm glad that he was able to do that, and ... second place, many people probably didn't expect that, but that is still good for me, especially for doing the mile beforehand.”
Hough didn’t run poorly. He finished the 3,200 in 9:03.68, more than 5 seconds better than his regional qualifying time. Anderson, who entered Saturday’s final with the 18th-best regional qualifying time at 9:37.93, somehow ran 9:02.89.
“I knew (Hough) was going to be slower down (the stretch), because he ran 30 minutes before that race,” Anderson said. “I mean that guy, he's something. I was more playing with the idea that this could potentially happen, but I was not expecting it to.”
Anderson said he misjudged the timing of his kick, thinking the sixth lap was the seventh.
“It wasn’t,” Anderson said, laughing. “When I passed him, I was still really scared. I thought he was coming, because he was right behind me.”
Anderson’s upset win at Hough’s expense speaks to the pressure Hough says he feels, because everyone expects him to win.
“it can be a little bit of a burden at times, but I honestly like to have that pressure going into stuff like this,” Hough said.
He took care of business, as expected, in the 1,600, though got a battle from Grand Haven sophomore Seth Norder, who impressed Hough. Hough's time of 4:07.61 was a stride ahead of Norder (4:07.99)
“To be able to do this my senior year, the last time I'll be able to do a state meet for Hartland High School, it's just amazing,” Hough said of winning the 1,600.
Another Hartland senior finished on a high note, as Emmy Sargeant broke her own school record in the 400 with a fifth-place time of 56.76.
Brighton junior Hunter Harding was eighth in discus with a toss of 142 feet, 2 inches.
Howell's Taylor Moyer, Aliana Pietila, Sophie Daugard and Tianna Bennett took sixth in the 800 and 400 relays.
Brighton's Amelia Kashian, Jordyn Libler, Nikki Carothers and Katie Carothers were fifth in the 3,200 relay in 9:22.80.
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Hartland's Riley Hough wins 1,600 state title, but is upset in 3,200
