Michigan Track Coaches Association (MITCA) Meet of Champions
11/9/24 @ Shepherd High School
On Saturday, November 9, many local runners made the trip to Shepherd High School to participate in the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association (MITCA) Cross Country Meet of Champions. Shepherd High School has been hosting this event for the last several years and is home to one of the state’s premier courses, featuring flat, fast, well-groomed trails wired with cable for mile splits and speakers for music/announcements. With such a wonderful facility, runners from all over Michigan flock to the event to chase one last-season performance.
One of the most unique features of the meet is the draft process, where sponsors from around the state (typically running shoe/apparel stores) create teams with custom names, jerseys, and swag. They scour statistics from the season to decide on their top-round pics, like fantasy football, but for cross country teams. The sponsors participate in a live selection show, where each coach/sponsor reveals what athletes they have picked for a shot at winning the MITCA team championship, including two local sponsors: Hanson’s Running Shop and Elite Feet. With the fastest and largest field in history, including many state champs and all-staters, boys had to run the required cutoff time of sub-16:06 and girls under 19:14 to be drafted for the elite team race. When drafted runners arrive at the meet, they enjoy a VIP experience with a team coach and a mix of runners from various schools who become their new teammates for the day. It’s a great opportunity for camaraderie and friendly competition against many of the Mitten’s top cross country athletes, who usually compete in separate state divisions and wouldn’t otherwise go head-to-head.
In the Girls’ Elite Team race, Cros-Lex’s Eva Thompson was drafted by local running shop Elite Feet and had one of her career-best times, finishing 34th in 18:17, helping her team place seventh out of 13th overall. To showcase just how spectacularly speedy this race was, the top 18 finishers were all under 18 minutes. The winner was Ava Schafer of St. Johns (running for Hanson’s) in 17:05. Schafer claimed a D2 state championship just last week at MIS in 17:20 and remained undefeated the entire cross country season. D4 state champ Kaylie Livingston was the top finisher for Team Elite Feet, running a 17:44 to place 12th.
Alongside the Elite Team race, there was an Elite Open race and an All-Comers division. The Shepherd Magic was in full effect, as many local athletes from the Blue Water Area set season or personal bests to cap off their seasons.
Other Area Finishers:
PLEASE accept my apology in advance if I missed your name: runners did not compete in their school jerseys or have school names listed in the results, and they are not currently added to athletic.net athlete profiles.
With so many athletes competing, the races were split into two open elite divisions for boys. In section one, Aaron Osterman and Greg Vogt of Anchor Bay both ran personal bests: Osterman was 14th in 16:23 and Vogt was 24th in 16:28. Another set of teammates from Algonac also competed in this division: Julian Walker (76th; 17:02) and Owen Beindit (90th; 17:13). Joshua Macri of Macomb Lutheran North was the top Blue Water Area runner in the second elite open race, as well as posting the fastest time of the day for a local athlete. He finished 11th in 16:16, just equaling his personal best. Fellow Mustang Xavier Roman dropped 12 seconds to run his best of 16:27, placing 21st. Yale’s Wyatt Murtos capped off his career for the Bulldogs with a best by 14 seconds, taking 41st in 16:43. Ethan Kreger of St. Clair was 76th (17:12) and Brandon Ziehmer of Anchor Bay was 84th (17:21).
All-Comers Open Race - Boys
Section #1
110: Levi Fitchett, Dryden. 18:29
113: Jack Kerrigan, Cros-Lex. 18:31
Section #2
Jerry Westrick (St. Clair) fought the injury bug most of the fall, but he closed out his career as a Saint with a 24th-place finish in 17:12, just two seconds from his personal best set last season. Yale’s Ted Rutkofske was right behind in 25th (17:14) and Nolan Korolden 26th (17:14 PR) for the Bulldogs.
57: Brayden Prieskorn, St. Clair. 17:52
99: Griffin Kreger, St. Clair. 18:28
101: Korbyn Thornton, St. Clair. 18:32
129: Luke McDonell, St. Clair. 18:06
Elite Open Girls
Samantha Whitlam of Macomb Lutheran North was the highest girls’ finisher outside the elite team race, taking 12th in a PR of 19:24. Armada’s Brooklyn Khon was 39th in her season’s best of 19:50.
66: Cara Prusakiewicz, Dryden. 20:11
104: Brynn Hurley, Cros-Lex. 20:33
All Comers Open Race - Girls
54: Ella Thornton, St. Clair. 21:09
70: Madelyn Barkley, Cros-Lex. 21:23
96: Gabriella Komarowski, St. Clair. 21:41
101: Avery Stallman, MLN. 21:46
109: Molly McNabb, St. Clair. 21:51
143: Rachel McDonnell, St. Clair. 22:19
184: Jasmine Walker, Algonac. 23:21.
204: Caila Fitchett, Dryden. 23:55.
Collegiate Results: NJCAA DII Cross Country Championships
Pole Green Park, Richmond, VA
Macomb Community College and St. Clair County Community College both wrapped up their seasons at the National Junior College Cross Country Championships. The MCC men secured a top-ten finish, placing tenth out of 41 teams, while the SC4 men finished 12th. The MCC women had two athletes competing, while SC4 had three women runners in the field of 317.
MCC Men | SC4 Men |
23: Dylan Penberthy, 26:13. 33: Brandon Penberthy, 26:34. 73: Gabe Rusch, 27:27. 94: Carson Gilbertson, 27:48. 102: Lucas Shemanksy, 27:56. 112: Jack Dewaele, 28:05. 164: Daryl Winters III, 28:45. | 28: Acer Campbell, 26:23. 47: Ethan McCombs, 26:46. 113: Trent Glass, 28:06. 121: Vinny Schweihofer, 28:13. 158: Lance Kowalski, 28:35. 175: Dylan Schumann, 28:57. 207: Jax Giannosa, 29:27 |
MCC Women | SC4 Women |
49: Erin Rowan, 20:15. 59: Emma Dell, 20:27. | 44: Lily Lemanski, 20:03. 119: Jenna Denver, 21:31. 126: Laela Bhatti, 21:34. |
Once again, thank you to Elite Feet for sponsoring coverage on Blue Water Running this fall during cross country. If you are interested in sponsoring coverage or partnering with Blue Water Running as an advertiser to reach and support local runners, please reach out via our website or social media channels.