By MATT WENZEL, Manistee News
Advocate Sports Editor
Published: Sunday, October 25, 2009 11:26 PM
The Bear Lake High School cross
country team competed in the Northern Lower Peninsula Invitational on
Saturday in Elk Rapids against some of the best teams in the state.
However, the Lakers had no intention of winning. As a matter of fact,
Bear Lake coach Eric Ross said he didn’t even pay attention to how his
team finished. “They all ran great,” Ross said. “But, we’re not going
there looking for a medal.”
The Lakers used Saturday’s meet
merely as a way of determining their top seven runners for the upcoming
regional meet — the first one of the season that really counts.
“It means everything,” Ross said.
Bear Lake, which co-ops with Onekama, has a storied cross country
program, which includes four state titles and five second-place finishes
in the last 18 years.
So, just about everything in the regular season — including winning
another West Michigan D League title — is just a warm-up before the
regional meet rolls around. Now that it’s in sight, Ross said he’s
confident in his team.
“Providing everyone stays healthy with the flu that’s been going around,
these kids will run phenomenal,” he said. “I’m not putting expectations
on them, I’m just telling you what I’ve seen and how hard they’ve
worked. I just have a hard time believing anybody works as hard as these
kids.”
Ross said that the top seven runners for the boys will be Chuck Schoedel,
Tyler Groenwald, Josh Goins, Alex Ringel, Ryan Pienta, Danny Brown and
Lewis Bartlett, with Weston Brooks as No. 8.
Middle School's Elk Rapids Results |
“Chuck is clearly our No. 1 and
Tyler No. 2 and after that it’s kind of a melting pot,” he said.
For the Bear Lake girls, the top
seven will consist of Jaylee Brown, Tobi Schoedel, Elizabeth Schoedel,
Samantha Mullet, Yumi Babinec, Taylor Anderson and Katie Alkire, with
Danielle Ward as No. 8.
Ross said that Taylor Hagen is
out for the season for medical reasons and that Alkire has stepped in to
take her spot. “Katie hasn’t ran with us all year,” he said, citing
injuries. “She’s been working out on her own. But, I think she’s going
to be a huge asset for us at regionals.”
The Division 4 regional meet will be held on Saturday at Benzie Central
High School, with the girls race at 10 a.m. and the boys at 11:30 a.m.
The top three finishing teams move on to the state finals on Nov. 7 at
Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.
“The girls have a tough struggle,” Ross said. “I think Manton will win
because they’ve won everything this year, but there will be a huge fight
for those next two spots.”
The Bear Lake boys had their seven-year streak of regional titles
snapped last year, finishing only two points behind winner Traverse City
St. Francis.
That should provide sufficient motivation for the Lakers this time
around.
“The seniors don’t want to leave without a regional trophy,” Ross said.
“That trophy doesn’t go anywhere. It stays in the case at school. They
want it and they’ve all worked hard for it.”
The Bear Lake boys are No. 6 in the latest
www.MichiganCrossCountry.com Division 4 poll, but Ross
said that’s meaningless. “Who cares where they’re ranked in the middle
of the year?” he said of the polls. “Tell me where they’re ranked after
the last race of the year.” |
