Jack Pine harriers invade Chippewa Hills and massacre
Jack Pine Long Distance Warriors invade Chip Hills
By: Eric Dion
In an early season warm-up Clare, Farwell, Beaverton, and Gladwin traversed the great state as far as Remus to compete in a 5k run. Clare brought their tenacity and determination with them, and it paid dividends for them, as the boys would end up on top of the small school division, and the girls took second. Coach McKown put the girls’ second place finish into perspective by saying “The first meet of the season is always a benchmark for the entire season. It gives us a reference point for us to improve from and helps us establish clear short term and long-term goals. I thought that we got a good start to the season and I am excited to see the progress that each athlete will be able to make and collectively the strong bond that the team will be able to form throughout the season.”
Coach Adam Burhans from the boys only mentioned that the team is young, and they still have a lot of work to do. Farwell proved that they can compete as well, and had some very respectable numbers in their group, they are usually in the top echelon in the Jack Pine Conference when it comes to track and field, and they are hoping to increase their status in cross-country as well. Beaverton has always been strong in any sport they compete in, and hope to come out on top in the conference. Gladwin has their glimpses of brilliance in their ranks, but have to rally around the Flying G flag and find a new gear within them to bring their squad up to the standards they have held so high for years.
The Clare boys would have three runners finish in the top ten of the small school division, and the first five scored, and the top four Clare boys medaled in the top 50. Hunter Nivison finished in 17:52.45 ending up if fourth in the small school division and eighth overall. Lucas Combs finished seventh in his division with a time of 18.34.83. Kevin Spicer-Torres finished tenth in the small school division with his time of 18:56.49, while Kyler Phillips put in a time of 18:56.73 to finish right behind him in eleventh place. Chase Field finished twenty-ninth in his division with his respectable time of 20:51.65.
The Pioneer ladies would finish second in the small school division to complete their school dominance of the running world. Victoria Harper would once again show that she could compete against anyone and does not back down from a challenge by finishing third in the small school division and ninth overall with her time of 21:08.05. Lindsay Winter brought her speed and grit to Chip Hills as well, coming in sixth in her division with a time of 21:59.93. Robyn Stanley finished fourteenth in the small school division with her time of 23:23.79, while Sadie Phillips finished right behind her in fifteenth at 23:31.04.
Farwell’s boys came in third in the large school division, sporting their top-tiered talent and dogged determination. Brandon Frank finished tenth in his division and fourteenth overall with his time of 18:17.79. Luke Schultz finished sixteenth in the large school division with his time of 19:22.65. Trevor Staley is coming off a very successful track season last year, and looks to have kept his abilities in tact coming into the fall with his twenty-third place finish in 20:19.63. Joe Bowen finished in twenty-fourth place with his time of 20:22.55, coming in just behind Trevor and proving that Farwell is going to be a team to contend with this season. Kurt Meister piled onto the Farwell score by finishing twenty-ninth with his time of 20:56.90. Glen McDaniels was hot on his heels in thirtieth place with his time of 20:58.26.
Beaverton battled hard for a fifth place finish in the small school division, and as always showed that Beaverton comes to every event to compete in every sport they represent for their school. Zeke Dassay was Beaverton’s top finisher at the event, coming in ninth in the small school division with his time of 18:55.98. Erik Maxwell managed to break the twenty-minute mark as well, finishing in 19:14.28 giving him a fourteenth place finish in the division. Zach Babcock earned a twenty-second place finish with his time of 20:25.47, and helped cement a good score for the Beavers. Travis Sleight worked hard to get his thirtieth place finish with his respectable time of 20:52.92. Logan Graves is new to the Beaver squad this year as a freshman and came in sixty-third place with time of 26:14.71. Cole Kory never quit, showing the spirit of the Beavers never says die, and finished in sixty-ninth place with his time of 29:49.29.
Beaverton did have some lady runners who came to represent their school, and show their school pride. Valarie Steele finished in thirty-ninth place with her respectable time of 28:17.94. Trying to keep up with the Senior Steele, freshman Jazmin Steele finished in 34:19.23, giving her a fifty-sixth place finish, and a taste of what it is like to compete for Beaverton High School. Megan Goheen earned fifty-ninth place with her time of 37:07.05, giving her a guideline for what to work on for the rest of the season. Charity Last rounded out the Beaverette runners with her time of 41:01.08, showing that there is no such word as quit in Beaverton.
Gladwin struggled throughout this meet, and valiantly attempted to compete against the larger schools in their division. Coach Shearer’s boys fought for the eight-place finish in the large school division, and found out about the training that they still have ahead of them in order to compete in the upper echelon. Sean Pickard was the G’s top runner on the day, coming in forty-first with his time of 21:34.75. Roger Willford finished in fiftieth place with his time of 22:19.55, and looks to improve upon his finish in that meet. Junior Dallas “Gibby” Gibson came in fifty-ninth place in the division with his time of 23:14.25. Dominic Wegner looks to bust out in his sophomore year, but had to settle with a sixty-fourth place finish with his time of 24:02.55. Mike Moore rounded out the Flying G’s runners with a sixty-seventh place finish in a time of 24:37.09.
Considering our conference was competing against many larger schools with a diverse talent base, the Jack Pine schools should be proud of their accomplishments this early in the season, and look to the improvements that can be made to help pick their schools up to that next level where they will be fierce competitors, and feared amongst their rivals.
