Michigan high school cross-country finals: Northville boys, Johannesburg-Lewiston girls win first titles
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Wyoming Potter’s House was first to the finish … and second … and third.
Buoyed by a historic 1-2-3 finish by Lezawe “Moses” Osterink, Logan Swiney and Jackson Rodriguez, the Pumas won their first state cross-country title in only their fourth year as a program. With Ian Palacios (seventh) and Noah Finton (22nd) adding all-state finishes for placing in the top 30, Potter’s House scored a Division 4-record low total of 35 points, the third-best score in any class in the history of racing at Michigan International Speedway.
“That was the goal, but you never know. Two of our top six had never run here before, but we tried to convey to them that anything can happen at the state meet, and you have to run an intelligent race, especially with the wind,” coach Kris Koster said. “Moses ran well, like he always does, in the front. But Jackson and Logan and Ian and Noah and Ezra just executed exactly what we planned to do. It was very gratifying to watch.”
Osterink said the team’s potential had always been there.
“We had injury problems from sophomore year on. I hurt my collarbone sophomore year, and we probably could have contended for a state title then,” he said. “Junior year, Logan and Ian were hurt, and then this year, we kind of put it all together. We’ve only got two seniors, so they’re going to be very dangerous next year – we’ll see who leads this team next year.”
Osterink, the 2021 winner, defended his title in 15:36.84 — 24 seconds ahead of Swiney.
Johannesburg-Lewiston was second in the 27-team field with 101 points, followed by Petoskey St. Michael (153).
Division 4 girls
Johannesburg-Lewiston had never won a state championship in any sport until the Cardinal girls broke through on Saturday. With individual finishes in the top 10 by Allie Nowak (third) and Yolanda Gascho (seventh), Johannesburg-Lewiston totaled 118 points, ahead of Hillsdale Academy (159) and Whitmore Lake (192).
“We’ve had some girls that have been up there, but we’ve never had a whole team that was successful enough to get first, or even place that high before. Last year we were sixth overall,” said Adelaida Gascho, one of the team’s two seniors. “We knew were better this year and we trained for this, it was all year round. We just practiced for this, on the roads covered in ice and grass.”
Buckley junior Aiden Harrand won the individual title in 19:05.89.
The junior was fifth in her freshman season and runner-up last year to Muskegon Western Michigan Christian’s Abby VanderKooi, a four-time champion.
“This year I had a little bit more motivation because I’ve had a team with me, which I’ve never had before,” Harrand said. “I feel like the training this year kind of pushed me toward getting this, which is something that was new to me, but it felt better in the long run.”
Division 1 boys
In the only close individual finish of the day, Grand Rapids’ Ottawa Hills’ Benne Anderson outkicked Grand Haven’s Seth Norder, 15:17.32 to 15:18.95, to earn top honors in the top division.
“I think part of it was we were just trying to sit behind the other one and block the wind,” Anderson said. “We kept doing it to each other, so that definitely was a factor. We kept slowing down and speeding up. We’ve been racing together our whole high school career, and we’ve always been back and forth. I figured it was going to come down to a sprint-off.”
Top-ranked Northville, led by third-place finisher Brendan Herger (15:34.05), earned its first boys’ team championship, with 111 points.
“Usually we’re never in the lead, at least at the two-mile, but we’re a good finishing team. We start moving up as soon as the two-mile hits,” said sophomore Ethan Powell, who finished 28th to earn All-State honors. “We don’t do really long runs, especially at the end of the season, we do more speed stuff at a faster pace.”
“We’re stronger as a group. Today was truly a team effort from top to bottom,” coach Tim Dalton said. “They show up at every race and pound the rock, they broke through that rock today, and I couldn’t be happier for the kids.”
The only other state title earned by Northville boys came in swimming and diving, back in 1973.
Division 1 girls
Down the home stretch, only one thought crossed Helen Sachs’ mind.
“It was just an insane feeling — it was like ‘Oh my gosh, this is happening!’ The energy was just amazing,” she said.
Not only did the Holland West Ottawa sophomore win the race with the fastest girls’ time of the day (17:18.74), she led her school to its first team championship. The Panthers scored 97 points, getting past runner-up Romeo (152) and last year’s champion, Ann Arbor Pioneer (196).
Sachs pulled away from the pack after the first 200 meters and widened her advantage throughout the race.
“I had no idea how far away they were, I never looked back. It’s the old rule, don’t look back, keep going,” she said. “I just felt good, super-confident going into the race. We’re tapering a lot, so my legs were more fresh than they’ve been all season. It was a good race.”
West Ottawa’s top five runners all placed in the top 50. Behind Sachs, Arianne Olson was ninth, Megan Postma was 38th, Jane Olney was 49th and Ava Porras was 50th.
Division 2 boys
Top-ranked East Grand Rapids squeaked through for the Division 2 team championship in a race where just 11 points separated the top three boys squads. The Pioneers had 132, to 137 for Chelsea and 143 for Pinckney.
East Grand Rapids only had one all-state runner, Ryan Brinker, who finished 28th in 16:19.01. But Brinker had a strong support pack in Alex Thole (33rd), Elijah Robinson (36th), Jonah Workman (45th) and Davis Christy (46th).
“We believed that we were one of the top teams, and it’s always been close between a couple of teams all year. We just knew that our strength was our pack, and if we could get our guys through together well, we would have a good day,” Coach Drew Collette said. “We were aiming for four inside the top 30, and our fourth and fifth were 32 and 33 (team places), so we knew we had a really good shot.”
While the EGR girls have won several titles lately, this was the first boys’ cross-country title won by the school which has one of the most decorated overall athletic programs in the state.
Chelsea’s Connell Alford won the race handily in 15:12.61, 25 seconds ahead of Monroe Jefferson’s Carter McCalister.
Division 2 girls
No defending team champion was able to reclaim its title, but East Grand Rapids came the closest. The Pioneers were runner-up to Otsego in a competitive battle, 87 to 96 points. Grand Rapids Christian was third with 153.
Otsego was paced by runner-up Emma Hoffmann in 18:27.83, and got high finishes from Logan Brazee (seventh), Megan Germain (eighth) and Taylor Mitchell (14th) to claim its first title since winning back-to-back in 2015 and 2016.
After finishing fifth as a sophomore in 2021, East Grand Rapids’ Drew Muller was able to battle the elements and take the individual title in 18:18.47.
“It was pretty rough, but we have a fair amount of windy workouts on our track, we don’t have any protection and we’re going right into the wind, so it kind of helped,” sha said. “I’m pretty fatigued, but it feels good to be done.”
Muller was in the top five before making a move just before the mile mark and seizing the pace.
“I found my group that I run with a lot, and we just kind of stuck together, and kind of powered through,” she said. “In the backstretch I took a chance and went off at the 1k, which I didn’t do ‘til a couple of meets before this, and it’s worked pretty well.”
Division 3 boys
Benzonia Benzie Central’s Hunter Jones became just the second boy to win four Lower Peninsula individual state championships, rounding the 5-kilometer course in 14:46.50 – the fastest time of all four divisions, and the second-best overall since the races were staged at Michigan International Speedway beginning in 1996
“Obviously I wanted to go for Dathan Ritzenhein’s record, which is really fast, but, you know. After I went through mile at 4:38, that’s already off the mark of that 14:10, and I was pushing it really hard in the wind.”
Although a record pace was off the books for Jones, the Wake Forest recruit still won by a full 66 seconds after Hart’s Clayton Ackley.
Ackley’s squad took the team title, with 116 points, ahead of Traverse City St. Francis (147) and defending champion St. Louis (161).
Division 3 girls
Traverse City St. Francis ended Hart’s bid for a record sixth-straight state title, but the Pirates did have the individual champion in Jessica Jazwinski. She ran the fastest time ever by a sophomore to win the Division 3 race, in 17:36.70 despite harsh winds and a light rain.
“I just kept thinking, these conditions are going to be my great race, and this is real cross-country,” Jazwinski said. “I was super-excited. I know that Adelyn Ackley had won in the past, and I’m just happy to add to Hart’s runners winning state. All of my teammates help me push myself because we work together. Even though we may not win this year, I would totally trace my individual title for a team one.”
For St. Francis, Betsy Skendzel (seventh) and Sophia Rhein (19th) were all-state runners. The Gladiators had 134 points to edge Pewamo-Westphalia (142). Lansing Catholic was third with 165, followed by Hart (171).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan high school cross-country finals: Northville boys win first title
