| MIS
- Brooklyn, Michigan, November 2, 2002 Welcome
to the 2002 MHSAA Lower Peninsula XC State Finals. Scroll down for latest updates. Race
day updates & stories
by Dave McCauley,
RMDC
Update 1: 9:24 a.m. Welcome
to Michigan International Speedway and the 2002 XC High School State Finals. Once
again, all lower peninsula divisions are represented here at MIS. The first race
of the day will be the Girl's Division 3 race. Here were the most recent D-3 Girl's
rankings coming into the finals: 1.
WILLIAMSTON(3) 57 2. Hillsdale 55 3. Hanover-Horton(1) 54 4. Blissfield 48 5.
Essexville Garber 44 6. Jackson Lumen Christi 36 7. Clare 29 8. Perry 28 9. Goodrich
25 10. Whitehall 21 Update
2: 10:21 a.m.- Girl's D-3 Bush
Wins Third Straight... The
first race of the day got underway right at 10:00 a.m. The temperature here at
MIS at the start of the first race was 33 degrees under cloudy skies and the winds
were out of the Southwest at 9 mph. At
the half mile mark, Nicole Bush of Kellogsville and Jamie Watson of Allendale
are 1-2. Kristen Poulos of Goodrich is third. Megan Young of Detroit Country Day
is right behind as they approach the 3/4 mile mark. As
they near the one mile point, it's Bush, Watson and Young. At one mile, it's Nicole
Bush in 5:23. Watson is second. Bush, of Wyoming Kellogsville, now has a 35 yard
lead as they near the 1.5 mile mark. Bush
is the Girl's Division 3 defending champion. Bush continues to increase her lead
as they work toward 2 miles. At two miles, Bush is running great, coming through
with a time of 11:34. Running second is Watson of Allendale. Watson, running a
great race of her own, still trails Bush. In 4th place is Meghan Young. Turning
into the stadium area and heading for the finish, it's still Kellogsville Junior
Nicole Bush leading the way and going for her third straight D-3 title. Bush crosses
the three mile mark at 17:49 and should have her third straight title. Watson
is still second and Poulos remains in third. Megan Young has dropped to 5th. Bush
is your D-3 individual winner. Update
3... 10:52 a.m.- Girl's D-4
Greenhills Repeats as Team Champion...
The
next race today is Girl's Division 4. Caitlin
Kelly of Kinde North Huron is the early leader. Running close together with Kelly
as they approach the mile mark in 5:44 are Cassidy Edwards of Maple City-Glen
Lake and Laura Rolf of Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest. As
they approach the mile and a half point of the race, Rolf has moved into second
place as Kelly continues to Lead. Moving up to 4th place is Colon's Laycie Skinner.
In the team competition,
Suttons Bay and Ann Arbor Greenhills are looking strong. Kelly
and Rolf are still leading the way, with Kelly about 5 yards ahead as they pass
the 1.5 mile mark. Heading up the hill to the two mile mark, Kelly is still in
first with a slight lead over Rolf in second. Kelly comes through two miles in
11:45 with Rolf right behind. Edwards is still in third. This
race is going to be close as Kelly and Rolf are exchanging the lead. Rolf is now
in the lead. Kelly has fallen to second. Rolf is trying to pull away from the
early leader Caitlin Kelly. Edwards is now in third as they cross the three mile
mark. Coming
to the finish, it's Laura Rolf taking first over Kelly.
Update
4... 11:17 a.m.- Boy's D-3 In
the first boy's race of the day, the D-3 leader at the mile mark was Hillsdale's
Josh Perrin. The
leaders at the mile came through in an extremely quick 4:30. At the mile and a
half point, there is a pack of seven runners. Josh Perrin of Hillsdale is the
leader. At two
miles, Perrin continues to lead that pack but his lead is very slight. This pack
is so close, it's going to be anyone's race. Jake
Flynn of Benzie Central holds the course record for D-3. Flynn's course record
is 15:12. At
the three mile mark, David Bills of Williamston is trying to pull away from this
close pack. Bills does it, taking first in 15:30, unofficially. Update
5... 11:59 a.m.- Boy's D-4
The final
race of the morning belonged to the boys of Division 4. The pre-race favorite
is Stephan Shay, the Junior from Central Lake. Shay
is the early leader at the half mile mark, along with teammate and brother Elliot
Shay. Stephan Shay now has a commanding lead as he approaches the mile. Shay is
the brother of former 4-time Class D State Champion Ryan Shay. At
the mile it's Stephan Shay in 4:49, leading by 20 yards over Daniel Orozco of
Lawton and Liam Boylan-Pett of Bath. The race is now getting tighter as Boylan-Pett
has moved into a close second with Orozco of Lawton close behind. As
that pack of three approaches two miles, it's still Shay holding onto first and
crossing two miles in 10:11. Boylan-Pett is right on Stephan Shay's heels. Matt
Kibby of Maple City Glen Lake has moved up to 5th. Harbor Springs is looking strong
in the team competition with 4 runners in the top 30. Last
year's champion, Lawton is also looking tough. With less than a mile left, the
individual race is heating up as Shay is holding on as best he can to his slight
lead. It's still
Shay and Boylan-Pett together as they cross two and a half. Boylan-Pett of Bath
has now moved into first as Shay is dropping back. Boylan-Pett wins. Update
6... 1:50 p.m.- Girl's D-2 The
afternoon session of the 2002 LP XC Finals got underway at 1:30 p.m. with the
Girl's Division 3 race. At
the mile, the leader is Laura Malnor of East Grand Rapids. Close behind her in
second is Jackie Gaydos of Allen Park, while Caitlin Clifford of Bloomfield Hills
Lahser. Malnor crosses the mile in 5:39. At the mile and a half mark, the leader
is now Caitlin Clifford of Lahser, with Jackie Gaydos. The
lead continues to change hands, as close to the two mile Malnor retakes the lead.
This race is going to come down most likely to a great finish with these three
front runners. Coming
through two miles, it's still the trio of Malnor, Gaydos and Clifford. Clifford
now drops off slightly as Kelly Sampson Sampson of Detroit Renaissance moves into
4th. The three leaders cross the 2 mile in 11:45, unoficially. Teamwise,
both Battle Creek Lakeview and Croswell Lexington are both looking strong. Malnor
is still has the lead, but it's not a very large one. And
with just 800 meters to go, it's now Jackie Gaydos of Allen Park pouring it on
over the last 400 meters to win the 2002 D-2 girl's race in right around 18:00.
Laura Malnor ends up second, while Kelly Sampson takes third. Update
7... 2:28 p.m.- Girl's D-1 The
D1 girl's race was anticipated to be one of the fastest races on the day with
returning champion Nikki Bohnsack of Rockford and Shannon Stanley of Rochester
Adams. The lead
pack got out quickly but under control, with Bohnsack, Stanley, Liz Mengyan of
Clarkston and Elisa Zemlick of Portage Northern leading the way. At
the mile, Bohnsack decided to take the lead, going through that mark in 5:37.
Coming to the mile and a half, it's Bohnsack opening up a 30 yard lead over Stanley,
Zemlick and Mengyan. At
two miles, Bohnsack's lead could be untouchable. She passes that point of the
race in a time of 11:15 and enjoys a 12 second lead over Stanley. At
the finish, it's Bohnsack in first and Stanley in second. Update
8... 2:49 p.m.- Boy's D-2 The
Boy's D-2 race is next up. Luke
Walker of Flint Powers Catholic at the half mile is the leader with Chris Burke
of Dexter in second. Approaching
the mile, it's Walker in 4:47. Riley Klingel of Fremont is close behind. At
the two mile, Riley Klingel of Fremont, 23rd in the 2001 finals, has taken the
lead. Right on his shoulder and now in second is Jeff Byrne of Bay City John Glenn.
Moving into 4th and 5th are brothers Jared and Timothy Kelsh from Remus Chippewa
Hills. In the
team competition, Dexter looks to have a slight lead over Flint Powers Catholic.
As they turn
for the finish, Klingel of Fremont and Byrne are fighting for the lead. As they
get closer to the finish, the battle continues and right at the finish, it's Klingel
barely holding off Byrne in the closest finish on the day. Klingel's
time is 15:25.1 and Byrne is only tenths of a second behind. Update
9... 3:20 p.m.- Boy's D-1 The
2002 MHSAA LP XC Finals are being capped off by the last race of the day, the
Division 1 Boy's event. At
the mile, the leader is Chris Catton of Grand Blanc in 4:31, followed closely
by a pack of 3-4 other runners. Coming
to the mile and a half, it's a three man race with Catton leading the way. Kevin
Gienapp of Brighton and Frank Tinny of Ann Arbor Huron are close behind. Two
miles into the race, the leader is still Chris Catton of Grand Bland and Ann Arbor
Huron's Frank Tinny in 9:51. Gienapp
is in third. With just under a half mile to go, Catton , ranked the number three
individual in the final RMDC individual rakings, remains in the lead and holds
off the field for the victory. | 
