UPDATED: Nelkie medals at cross-country state finals – Ogemaw County Herald
11/8/09
UPDATED: Nelkie medals at cross-country state finals

BROOKYLYN — Ogemaw Heights senior standout Martin Nelkie closed his prep career in fine fashion by finishing 10th in the Division 2 boys’ cross-country state finals Saturday, Nov. 7 on the grounds at the Michigan International Speedway.

Nelkie fell early in the race but picked himself up and still got to the finish line in 16:17.9.

Only the top 15 finishers earn medals. There were 240 runners in the race.

Christopher Burns of Pontiac Notre Dame won the individual state title, crossing the line first in 15:47.

The OHHS team finished 21st in the team standings with 485 points. Iona won the team title with 92 points.

Following Nelkie in order of finish for OHHS were: Steven Wysocki, 148th, 17:49.4; Brian Valley, 151st, 17:50.0, Casey Taylor, 171st, 18:01.9), Bob Brent, 222nd, 19:03.5.

In the Division 4 girls race, Hale’s Lauren Brown finished 89th in 22:02.6, while Kelsey Scott placed 153rd in 23:11.1.

There were 230 runners in the race.

Herald Palladium > Sports > Cross country: Bridgman boys place 2nd at state finals
Cross country: Bridgman boys place 2nd at state finals

By H-P STAFF
Published: Sunday, November 8, 2009 1:08 PM EST
Bridgman’s boys cross country team finished second in Division 4 in Saturday’s state finals at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

Bridgman, which entered the meet ranked second, scored 144 points, trailing only top-ranked Concord’s 109. Lake Michigan Catholic finished 17th with 407 points.

Mark Haukereid led the Bees by finishing in 16:43, good for seventh place.

The top three teams in each regional qualified for the state meet, along with any fourth-place team that placed four individuals in the top 20. The top 15 individuals also advanced.

St. Joseph placed 10th in the Division 2 boys race with a score of 248. Sam Felton led the Bears by placing 16th in 16:25.

Concord boys capture Division 4 state cross country championship | Jackson-Area Sports – - MLive.com
Concord boys capture Division 4 state cross country championship
By Jackson Citizen Patriot staff
November 07, 2009, 10:33PM
By Jeff Baumgardner
Jackson Citizen Patriot

Concord High School boys cross country runner Spencer Nousain of Concord said it was a dream of his to finish 1-2 with teammate Kyle Stacks at the Michigan High School Athletic Association state meet.

Saturday, that dream became a reality, as Stacks won the Division 4 state championship in 15 minutes, 54 seconds, and Nousain was second in 16:09 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

Concord used that 1-2 finish as a springboard to the Division 4 team title. It is the seventh boys cross country championship for Concord and the first since 1986.

“It’s so amazing to go 1-2,” Nousain said of the finish. “(Stacks has) been pushing me all season.”
While Stacks and Nousain were leading the pack, it took more than two runners to capture the championship.The day of cross county ended with a fire truck escort through the streets of Concord for the team.

State cross country notebook: Hillsdale’s Sebastian Reisch honors his late father with effort | Jackson-Area Sports – - MLive.com
State cross country notebook: Hillsdale’s Sebastian Reisch honors his late father with effort
By Jackson Citizen Patriot staff
November 07, 2009, 10:31PM
Sebastian Reisch had plenty of motivation to run well at the Division 3 cross country state finals Saturday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, and it had a ripple effect on his Hillsdale High School teammates.

The Hornets finished third as Reisch and teammate Lyle Kafer finished seventh and eighth.

Spencer Pageau was 10th to lead Lumen Christi to a sixth-place finish.

Paul Lewis of Albion was third in 15 minutes, 49.8 seconds and Kenny Harris was 16th as the Wildcats finished 14th. For Reisch, returning to the state finals had special meaning. Last year’s state final was the last race Reisch’s father, Terry, attended before he died of cancer Nov. 21.

“I dedicated the whole race in memory of my dad,” Reisch said.

Reisch trailed Kafer for most of the race, but during the final mile, Reisch moved ahead. Kafer charged near the finish line to give the Hornets’ lone seniors back-to-back places.

Hudson leads county performers at cross country state finals – Adrian, MI – Daily Telegram
Hudson leads county performers at cross country state finals
By Amanda Decker
Daily Telegram
New! Sun Nov 08, 2009, 03:00 PM EST
BROOKLYN, Mich. -

The wind was one opponent Lenawee County cross country runners did not see coming Saturday at the Michigan High School Athletic Association state championships at Michigan International Speedway.

Despite the wind, six local athletes earned All-State honors in their respective races by finishing in the top 30.

Hudson’s Stephen Tennis and Derick Clark, Blissfield’s Justin Bateson and Clinton’s Kenny Cooper earned All-State honors in their respective races to lead the county boys. On the girls side, Lenawee Christian’s Natalie Perry and Sand Creek’s Melanie Glinski earned All-State status with their times.

The Hudson High School boys team had the best overall finish amongst local harriers, placing 11th with 314 points in the Division 4 race. Concord won the team title with 109 points.

East Grand Rapids girls cross country team grabs second consecutive state title; Ionia boys also win – MLive.com
East Grand Rapids girls cross country team grabs second consecutive state title; Ionia boys also win

Jeff Chaney and Dean Holzwarth | The Grand Rapids Press, November 07, 2009 5:14 p.m.
BROOKLYN — Lauren Grunewald tried, but her legs just would not carry her to a state championship.

The East Grand Rapids senior led with 150 meters to go in the Division 2 finals race at Michigan International Speedway, but heat exhaustion knocked the determination out of her.

Taylor Pogue of Goodrich passed Grunewald and won with a time of 18 minutes, 11 seconds. Grunewald finished second, 7seconds behind.

After the completion of the race, Grunewald collapsed twice in the exit chute and had to be taken to the medical center for treatment.

“I think I just pushed myself really hard, I don’t know, I don’t think I drank enough water,” Grunewald said. “This has happened a couple of times. I think I just worked really hard until I made myself hurt, I guess.”

Video: Flint-area state cross country meet highlights – MLive.com
Video: Flint-area state cross country meet highlights

Bill Khan | The Flint Journal, November 08, 2009 2 a.m.

BROOKLYN, Michigan — Flint-area highlights from the state cross country meet Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. Durand’s David Madrigal and Goodrich’s Taylor Pogue won state championships, while Linden’s Jake Hord and Swartz Creek’s Jeremy Dickie had second-place finishes.

Ionia boys claim cross country crown | lansingstatejournal.com | Lansing State Journal
Ionia boys claim cross country crown
Lansing Catholic junior Heeder 2nd in Division 3 girls

Dick Hoekstra • For the Lansing State Journal • November 8, 2009
BROOKLYN – The city of Ionia is getting some new signs.

They’ll read something like, “Welcome to Ionia, home of the 2009 Division 2 high school boys cross country state champions.”

Mayor Dan Balise made the promise to Ionia boys cross country coach Chris Young over the phone shortly after his team captured the school’s second state title Saturday and its first since the girls track team in 1975.

“The guys lost a little of that swagger after taking second (in meets) the last two weeks, and I was concerned,” Young said. “But they spent the last two nights together as a team, and this was all they talked about on the way down here.”

Senior Austin Alcala took 13th place, or 20 places higher than he finished at regionals, with a 3.1-mile time of 16 minutes, 22 seconds to lead the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs.

“He was down six days (with the flu), and that scared me,” said Young of Alcala, who didn’t even run in the Remus Chippewa Hills Invitational two weeks ago.

But a long workout last Sunday with sophomore teammate Nick Wharry was the turning point for Alcala.

Because of a side ache, Wharry (36th in 16:47) narrowly missed all-state. Sophomore Connor Montgomery (41st in 16:53) and freshman Brandon Winter (44th in 16:56) made Ionia’s 1-5 gap an amazingly small 31 seconds.

“People told me you have to have a frontrunner to win a state title,” Young said. “But I think the key is the fifth man. Forest Hills Eastern (which beat the Bulldogs at regionals) finished eighth today and Fremont (which beat Ionia at Chippewa Hills) was way back (in 18th) because they don’t have a fifth man (close enough to their first).”

Teams, runners struggle at finals | thetimesherald.com | The Times Herald
Teams, runners struggle at finals
Illness takes its toll; O’Connor finishes 96th

Times Herald
• November 8, 2009
BROOKLYN — Saturday’s Michigan High School Athletic Association cross country state meet was a disappointment for most area teams.

The top two runners in the area — Leah O’Connor of Croswell-Lexington and James Fisher of Yale both struggled at Michigan International Speedway.

O’Connor became sick on Friday and tried to run anyway, but finished 96th with a time of 20 minutes and 43 seconds. Fisher, meanwhile, didn’t finish the race.

“Leah didn’t have her best race,” Cros-Lex Coach Lisa Shaw said. “She went home (Friday) and she wasn’t feeling good. She thought she was up for the challenge. It is what it is.”

In the Division 1 competition, Detroit Catholic Central was first overall on the boys side with 68 points. Saline (141) was first in the girls race.

Eddie Komph was 48th in the boys competition at 16:41. The top 30 runners in each race were named to the all-state team.

In the Division 2 boys competition, Cros-Lex was 14th overall with 377 points.

CU Qualifies Two for Nationals – Nov 7, 2009 – Cornerstone University
CU Qualifies Two for Nationals
Nov 7, 2009

(Grand Rapids, Mich.) Aside from a blustery twenty mile per hour wind, conditions were ideal for the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Cross Country meet at Riverside Park.

Cornerstone’s top two, Andi Owens-Ripley and Janelle Lindman wasted no time, racing to the front of the pack. After an opening mile in 5:53, Andi worked her way into a three-way battle for second with Katey Cramer of Aquinas and Sarah Sherwood of Madonna. Lindman took her place in line as the pack strung out and held on to sixth.

In the final mile Owens-Ripley broke free and began closing the gap on the leader, Carly Plank of Aquinas. She got within ten seconds, taking second in 19:02 and earning All-Conference honors. Lindman’s determined effort kept her in sixth, also making the All-WHAC team.