The Girls Team placed 12th
of 27 teams, and the
Boys placed 15th out of 27 teams.
Posted by Matt Wenzel,
Manistee News
Advocate
BROOKLYN — When the
state finals are over,
Eric Ross doesn’t check
the results to gauge how
his runners did.
He looks in their eyes.
“I look at it as the
effort that was put
out,” said the Bear Lake
coach. “I have never
cared what place they
finish. When everyone
says (they ran their
hardest), it was a great
day.”
So, Saturday was another
great day for Ross as
the Bear Lake girls took
12th and the boys 15th
in the Division 4 state
finals at Michigan
International Speedway.
“I thought they did an
awesome job,” he said.
“I was really pleased
with the way they ran.”
Although the goal is to
peak at the end of the
season and run personal
records in the last two
meets, that’s tough to
do coming off a regional
at Benzie Central, which
is a fast course, to
MIS, which is known for
speed more on four
wheels than two legs.
“I think that some of
them were disappointed
because they didn’t have
PRs, but it’s a slow
course,” Ross said.
“It’s tough to PR
there.”
The Bear Lake girls
finished with 333 points
while Hesperia won with
67. “They’ve all got
good heads on their
shoulders,” Ross said of
the girls. “This team
bonded so well this
year. That’s why I think
they’ll be hungry next
year.”
Senior Jaylee Brown, a
former All-Stater, made
her fourth appearance at
MIS and took 57th in
20:42.
“I’m not glad or upset
about how I ran,” Brown
said. “It was mediocre.
I think I could have
done better but you’ve
got to deal with what
you have.”
Brown was followed by
teammates Keena Gilbert
(61st, 20:52), McKaya
Groenwald (96th, 21:31),
Kelly Babcock (116th,
21:51), Alycia Peterson
(161st, 22:43), Meredith
Hengy (174th, 23:08) and
Taylor Anderson (184th,
23:29).
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“The team did
amazing,” Brown said. “I can’t even explain how much they’ve just gotten
better this year.” Considering four
of the seven Bear Lake girls that ran Saturday are freshmen, the future
looks bright for the Lakers. “They can continue the legacy,” Ross said.
“They saw how it works. They know what they can shoot for next year.”
The Bear Lake boys, who had a number of
runners battle illness this week, finished with 430 points while Concord
won with 64.
“For those things to have had happened,
they still did well,” Ross said.
Senior Tyler Groenwald paced the Lakers
by taking 83rd in 17:41. “The race was all right,” he said. “It was a
little slow course today. I got a side ache with two miles left that
kind of ruined my dreams of getting All-State but we all did really
well.”
He was followed across the finish line by
teammates John Girven (99th, 17:58), Shane Peterson (149th, 18:38),
Jared Bair (155th, 18:42), Alex Barto (163rd, 18:52), Kyle Nettler
(169th, 18:57) and Alex Ringel (186th, 19:20).
“I was proud of everyone, especially the
underclassmen,” Tyler Groenwald said. “They really pulled everything
together mentally and physically in what they needed to get done.”
While Ross reiterated that he was happy
with how his teams performed, he said offseason conditioning can lead to
better times next year. “They know what it’s all about and if they want
to set their goals a little higher, they just need to put in a few more
miles,” he said. “They’ve got to put the time in.”
The Lakers will have to do it without
their senior captains, Brown and Tyler Groenwald.
“Those are the kids that make the
impression, that set the stage for these kids and the experiences they
had this season,” Ross said. “It’s not me, it’s the kids. If you’ve got
that good leadership with the captains, it creates an atmosphere they
never want to get away from and they’ll miss when they get away from
it.”
Ross is pretty confident the next leaders
are in the making.
“They’re a great group of kids and they
just keep coming year after year,” Ross said. “Every year when you lose
someone you’re like, ‘how am I going to replace him?’ and next thing you
know, you’ve got another handful.” |
