In a final tune-up for Regionals, the Chips ran in their own backyard at the Manistee National Invite (10-22-11). On a sunny day with a soggy course, the girls took 4th in the large school race while the boys finished 5th.
Kelly Schubert and Annie Fuller went 1-2 for the girls for the 5th time this season, with Kelly setting a new course record of 18:17 while defending her title from last year. Jarret Deisch was top medalist for the boys in 14th place (17:41) with Jonny Bailey and Tyler Sievert (21st and 22nd) not far behind. Bryce Cameron (19:04) and Colin Bachinski (19:17) ran personal bests as well.
After a week of great weather, rain returned to Manistee, but it didn't slow down the Chip XC teams, as the girls took first and the boys took second at the Chris Grabowski Memorial Invitational. Six high schools competed in the competition. The girls took first over second place Hart, while the boys were second to Kingsley. The MS girls took first place in their race.
Kelly Schubert set a new course record (18:55) while taking first for the ladies. Annie Fuller was second (20:10) and Eva Guillen was fourth (21:23). All of the other girls on the team ran their best times ever for the home course. Jarret Deisch was 3rd overall, leading the boys, followed by Tyler Sievert (6th 18:37) and Jonny Bailey (7th 19:02). The other boys on the team ran their best home course times as well.
The annual Jingle Bell Jog 5K, a fundraiser for Manistee area cross-country, is scheduled for December 3rd this year. The race will be held, once again, at New Kennedy Elementary, with a course through Manistee neighborhoods as we celebrate Victorian Christmas and Old Sleighbell weekend. Race time is 10 am, entry is $15 ($20 on race day.) Participants receive a specially designed stocking cap with entry.
What a weekend! The majority of the Chippewa team made the trip to East Lansing on Friday, home of the MSU Spartan Invite and thousands of runners competing in an afternoon of races. After watching Manistee alum run the college mens' race, the Chip girls (minus Kelly) racing in the White race, made up of mostly D3 and D4 schools (though I saw a few class A schools mixed in there too!) After trailing 2 all-state runners for most of the meet, freshman Annie Fuller kicked it into high gear with 250 meters to go and emerged the champion in the race with an outstanding time of 18:26! Eva Guillen dropped her time by nearly 2 minutes and also took a medal, running 20:33! Ashley, Sophie, and Courtney also ran season bests, with Sarah not far behind. Minus team captain Kelly, the girls took 10th of 35 schools! Nice Job!
The boys didn't want to be outdone, as 6 of 7 guys also ran season best times, led by Jarret D's medal winning 15th place time of 16:59. Jonny, Tyler, Colin, Austin M, and Nick (broke 19!) ran SB's, with Bryce not far behind. The boys were 15th of 32 schools.
Finally, the girls elite race, with the top-ranked teams and runners in the state racing together. Kelly S ran a blistering time of 18:16, finishing 7th in the fastest race in Michigan so far this year. Way to go Chips!
On Saturday, Austin F and Zach K got their chance to race at the Ludington Invite, joined by 4 hearty guys who showed up to race for the second straight day. Despite pacing teammates for the first two miles, Tyler S and Jonny B ended up with medals, running even faster (by 30-40 seconds!) than they did on the same course last year. Austin F was 3 and a half minutes faster than last year. Nice improvement!
The Chippewa teams hurdled the competition Saturday, with both boys and girls taking home second place trophies at the Fremont Hill and Bale Invitational. Kelly S and Annie F took home 1st and 2nd overall, respectively, while Eva G, Courtney S, Ashley T, and Sophie S also took home medals. For the boys, Jarret D led the way with an 8th place overall finish, while Jonny B and Tyler S placed with medals too.
Complete results on the Hill and Bale website. Next up - MSU on Friday, with Ludington Saturday!
The MHS XC teams combined to take 2nd overall Wednesday at the Manton Fox & Hound Invitational, but they brought home the first place trophy! A scoring error led to the Chips initially being announced as meet champions, but after the jubilant Chips returned to the team bus the error was spotted. Out of the 12 schools racing, Manistee took 2nd behind GTA, besting Evart, Kingsley, Manton, and TCSF, to name a few teams.
All 8 girls racing finished with medals, with PR's from Annie Fuller (19:19), Eva Guillen (22:14), Sarah Chandler (22:57), Courtney Stefanski (23:02), and Julia Scherlin (24:36). Many boys ran their season best times, with PR's from Jonny Bailey (18:25), Nick Veine (19:01), Colin Bachinski (19:33), Bryce Cameron (20:11), and Zach Kopfman (22:05). Team results here.
We only had a small MHS representation at the Brethren Days 5K this year, but it was a memorable race! A steady downpour and the rumble of thunder in the distance gave this race some extra character. Sophomore Nick Veine finished 4th overall in the annual 5K run in 19:41, finishing just 6 seconds behind coach Thuemmel. Coach Guzikowski was 13th, his time of 22:06 not too shabby considering he was in the middle of working 3 shifts in 32 hours! Several other Manistee grads and supporters got soaked racing as well. Next year is the 15th annual running of this Labor Day weekend event.
XC team - practice Monday at 4:30, school and our regular practice schedule starts Tuesday. Meets this week Wednesday (at Manton - girls race starts at 5pm) and Saturday (at Fremont - the Hill and Bale - girls run at 9am.) Link to info on the Fremont race here.
