#30 - XC Nationals & Records Already Falling Indoors

Inside This Issue

• Why You Need To Get The State Meet History

• High School XC Nationals Round-Up

• Indoor Action Begins!

• More College Signings

• Legend: Our First Female Olympian

• Interview: Brooke Bowers, Pole Vault Record-Breaker

• Spread The Word!

The Updated State Meet History Is Available For Xmas!

That’s right—a new edition of The Fleet Feet of Spring, the ultimate history of the state finals in track & field, is updated to include the 2023 season. This is a huge undertaking, nearly 500 pages. The state owes a huge debt to Jim Moyes, the visionary who started this project.

This year, Jim has added a great story about all of the state track & field champions who’ve gone onto pro careers in the “major” sports: football, baseball and basketball. There are more than you think!

And I won’t be shy about saying: every high school should have a copy of this. Why?

• It’s great reading. There have been tons of fascinating stories in the last 125 years!

• Every state champion EVER is included. Including yours. Including relay team personnel.

• Don’t have a state champion from your school? Show your kids this. It might inspire them to be the first.

• After every state finals, we get tons of questions from schools starting with “Has anyone from our school ever…?” The answers are all in here.

• Lots of cool photos.

• Stats. Lots of really cool stats.

• Most importantly, it's about supporting our efforts to preserve the history of this sport. If you think the young people competing today for our schools are important and worth celebrating, maybe you want to have this book to show them that people will still care about what they accomplished long after they have moved on.

• Also… costs less than a couple of pizzas.

ORDER HERE

NXN: Forsyth Gets 5th

Portland, December 2—Anyone who has seen Rachel Forsyth race wasn’t surprised that she went to the lead immediately—it’s how she’s wired. The Pioneer senior blazed through the early going and put us on the edge of the seats, hoping that she could maintain her margin. However, Elizabeth Leachman (Texas) caught her at the 1K mark, and herself was caught by eventual winner Addy Ritzenhein (name probably rings a bell; her parents were okay runners). Forsyth ended up 5th in 17:38.6. Selma Anderson of Ottawa Hills ran 23rd in 18:07.8. Madison Osterberg of Lumen Christi was 122nd in 19:28.9.

The boys race was actually earlier, and junior TJ Hansen of Freeland was the only Michigander. He placed a very respectable 10th in 15:27.8. At the 2K mark, he was only 39th, so he really rolled the final 2M.

Foot Locker: Forsyth Gets 3rd

San Diego, December 9—Rachel Forsyth doubled down on her strategy of going out hard. This time she ran the fastest first (XC) mile of her life on the challenging course at Balboa Park, leading at that point in a stunning 5:00.9. She held that lead through 2M (10:43.0) but soon after was passed by Elizabeth Leachman. This time, Leachman held on for the win (at NXN she faded to 15th). Forsyth worked hard in the final stages and only in the last stretch was passed by someone else. Her 17:08.3 would have won 22 editions of this race. Her 5/3 finish at both Nationals was the best of any competitor this year.

Jessie Jazwinski of Hart also went out hard, running past the mile post in 5:10.9 in 3rd. She finished in 9th (17:45.9). Midland Dow’s Victoria Garces finished 20th in 18:18.5.

In the boys race, Chelsea’s Connell Alford finished 17th in 15:43.9. Anchor Bay’s Thomas Westphal ran 31st at 16:03.5 after being a few tenths behind the leaders at the mile mark (4:44.8). He noted later on Instagram, “First time racing on the big stage, won’t be my last.”

Another Nationals

One I completely missed in my roundup last newsletter was a new one on my radar, the Home School Nationals in Hermitage, Tennessee (Nov. 4). And as they do everywhere they go, Michigan runners made a big splash. The GRTC Peregrines ran away with the girls race, scoring a stunning 32 points in the 18-team field. Second place was 72 points back. Capital Homeschool placed 4th, and Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports 11th. The Peregrines put 3 in the top 10: Stephanie DiPiazza (3rd, 18:39), Sinead Noonan (5th, 19:16) and Melanie Berna (6th, 19:19).

Capital Homeschool won the boys race, scoring 76 points with an impressive 1-2-3 sweep. Leading the way was Jesse Carson in 15:37, Logan Zahn (15:51) and Ezekiel Grimmet (16:05). Two other Michigan teams made the top 10 in the 27-team field: GRTC Peregrines (4th, 146) and Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports (5th, 184). And while I generally don’t cover middle school (and younger) results, note that the future looks bright, as the Michiganders dominated there too.

Indoor Action Begins!

I love the early portion of the indoor track season: new beginnings, new names and all that. I start putting together the boys and girls indoor lists, where I keep track of what school the top athletes attend. It helps make the insanity of our indoor circuit a little more clear. So many kids are running unattached and for clubs that it’s nice to put them into context and see which schools are putting down great marks early. Another part of the job is finding the carpetbaggers from other states and throwing them off the lists—that includes the frosh phenom from Indiana who has blazed 1:55 and 1:20 (600) in MITS meets.

Allendale (12/2): Brooke Bowers improved her PR in the pole vault to 13-2. That makes her the No. 3 indoor jumper in state history, and just 4 inches away from the state record that Mackenzie Shell and Landon Kemp share. On an in/out combined all-time list she would be No. 6… Jessie Jazwinski tuned up for Foot Locker Nationals with an impressive 4:48.98 for 1600; that makes her No. 6 in state indoor history (all track sizes)… Rockford’s Greta Caprathe-Buczek hit 17-3.5 in the long jump… Jake Machiniak doubled in the sprints at 7.04/22.13… Owen Patton’s 1:56.21 in the 800 is notable… George Brown of Rockford and GR Fire hurdled 8.28… Brennan Faber of Parma Western hit 63-1 in the weight throw to become No. 13 in state history.

LAB (12/9): The Jaylas burned up the track for Track Life, both Jayla Dace & teammate Jayla Graham running state-leading 7.81s in the 60… Neveah Burns is finally a high schooler, and won the 300 in 40.25 for Motor City… Kylee King went 1:34.08 to win the 600 by more than 4 seconds; she is now No. 4 in state history (all track sizes)… Carrie VanNoy opened at 8.96 for 60 hurdles… 7th-grader Magdelena Kandt was shown as winning the shot with a 40-3.5—pretty darn impressive for her age if it was a 4K shot, but it turns out she was throwing a middle school ball… Kamren Flowers won the 60 in 6.97… Shamar Heard hit 34.07 in the 300, the No. 4 performance in state history… Eric Overdier won the 1600 in 4:22.50… Tecumseh soph Declan Cornish leaped a big 6-7 in the high jump. He’s just 3 inches away from the sophomore indoor record by Mario Patterson of Adrian.

Saginaw (12/9): Cass Tech frosh Anyla Robinson impressed with a 58.04/2:16.36 mid-distance double… Montrose frosh Addyson Stiverson signaled she has a big future in the throws, opening up her prep career with a 41-9.5 in the shot. That’s just 2 inches from Valadian Pallett’s indoor state 9th grade record… George Brown and Zacchaeus Brocks battled in the hurdles, Brown winning 8.30-8.32…, Vaulter Chase Battani tied the state lead at 14-0.

Vault Barn (12/9): The Ugly Sweater Vault at Jerry Sessions’ Vault Barn in Vermontville saw history as Brooke Bowers soared over 13-7 to become the new state record holder in the event, and also the early season national leader. That tops the old best of 13-6 set by Mackenzie Shell of Port Huron Northern in 2015 and tied by Landon Kemp of Greenville at the MITS Finals in 2017. She cleared a PR 13-3 along the way. For more details, see our interview with Brooke below.

More College Signings

This is the third installment of what is likely to become a regular feature. Not all seniors sign on Signing Day — and I’ve known plenty who felt like they were somehow screwing up if they hadn’t signed early. Trust me, it’s a huge decision, and it’s OK to take the time to make a good one. If you know of any current HS seniors who are planning to compete at the college level and haven’t been reported here, please email [email protected].

• John Almeda (Detroit Catholic Central) - Detroit Mercy

• Tyler Baker (Mason ) - Michigan

• Alexis Ball (Traverse City Central) - Calvin

• Alex Cinzori (Plymouth) - Central Michigan

• Mya Guillermo (Novi Christian) - Cornerstone

• Mylie Kelly (Benzie Central) - Michigan State

• Riley Kerr (Grosse Ile) - Central Michigan

• Alexandria Mason (Ann Arbor Skyline) - Kalamazoo College

• Miranda McNeil (Morley-Stanwood) - Central Michigan

• Faith Moore (Farmington) - Eastern Michigan

• Ashley Richburg (Grand Ledge) - Minnesota State

• Angelia Robinson (Detroit Cass Tech) - Lawrence Tech

• Maya Rollins (AA Pioneer) - Virginia

• Chloe Rooks (Holland West Ottawa) - Grand Rapids CC

• Kennedy Roskopp (Warren Regina) - Seton Hall

• Connor Rouse (Genesee) - Lake Superior State

• Eli Sprague (Rudyard) - Lake Superior State

• Layla Wallace (Portage Central) - Western Michigan

• Larry Washington (Warren Cousino) - Lawrence Tech

• Katie Watkins (Midland Dow) - Michigan

• Isabella Yeoman (Genesee) - Lake Superior State

Legends: Our First Female Olympian -
Ann Arbor’s Francie Kraker

It’s kind of mind-boggling: a 14-year-old girl is spotted running fast in a physical fitness program in the fall and by the next summer, the local paper runs a feature on her with the headline, “Francie Kraker Dreams of Olympics.” Up to that point, her best time was a 63.9 for the 440-yards. Looking at that from a modern perspective, it’s hardly a notable time, let alone Olympic material.

Yet it was a different era in the early 60s, and opportunities for girls in most sports including track & field were almost non-existent. It was Betty Simmons, a PE teacher at Slauson Junior High in Ann Arbor, who spotted Kraker running 600 yards in under 2:00. Soon, her husband, Kenneth “Red” Simmons, was coaching Kraker and the couple was taking her to her first competitions as part of their new Michigammes track club.

“She asked me how I’d like to train for the Olympics, and I just thought it might be something interesting to do for a change,” explained the young Kraker.

Said her coach, “She has a natural stride, which we have never tried to change, good speed, and intelligence. She never forgets her instructions and learns quickly.”

Both of the Simmons should be credited with having a true eye for talent. Kraker blossomed as a runner, and was soon the best one-lapper on the Michigan scene for women. In 1963, during her sophomore year at Ann Arbor High (now Pioneer), she ran 61.9 to place 6^th in the 440 at the women’s indoor nationals in Colombus, Ohio. “I began thinking to myself, ‘Hey, I can actually beat some of these people.”

That July in Flint, she became the first Michigander to break 60 seconds in the 440 with her 59.8 (the yard distance is just 2.34m longer than the now-standard 400; usual conversion is 0.3).

In 1964, her junior year in high school, she failed to make the 440 finals at the AAU Indoor and ran the 880 instead, where she impressed by placing 2^nd in 2:23.2. “The 880 field was weak—that’s why I placed 2^nd —but we decided then that the half-mile was my race.” That summer at the AAU Nationals for girls, she won with a meet record 2:17.4.

During her senior year in high school, she started making bigger waves on the national scene. In June she made a breakthrough, winning the Central States AAU title in 2:13.6. She also ran her first 1500 in 5:02. After winning the 440, 800 and 1500 at the Michigan AAU Championships, she was named the association’s outstanding woman.

As a frosh at the University of Michigan, there would be no track team to join, same as in high school. Kraker continued with the Michigammes, training with Coach Simmons. She opened up her indoor season in 1966 with a near-miss of the American Indoor Record for 880 (2:13.9). At the Mason-Dixon Games a few weeks later, she broke it with a 2:12.8. Outdoors, she showed her speed and endurance had gotten better. She won the 440 and 1500 at the Central States meet in 56.9 & 4:43.0. She placed 3^rd at AAU Nationals in 2:10.9 and days later won the AAU Junior title. By the end of the season she had dropped her 800 time to 2:05.9.

In 1967, she set an American Indoor Record with her 2:09.7 at the Boston Indoor, then broke the World Record for 600 yards with her 1:22.4 in New York. On track for another big outdoor season, she was derailed before Nationals with a hip injury. Then, still on the mend from that, she had an appendectomy. So much for the big buildup to the Olympics.

With the 1968 Olympics not until October, one didn’t want to peak too soon. Kraker took 2^nd in the AAU Indoor, but didn’t start really cranking fast times until mid-summer. The Olympic Trials were in late August. In the final, she went out fast, leading for the first 600. She finished 4^th in 2:07.2, saying, “I learned something from that race. I’ve got to even out my pace.”

The 4^th -place finish didn’t rule her out of the Olympics. Because of the Games being staged in the high altitude of Mexico City, the AAU Women’s Committee decided to stage a high-altitude camp in Los Alamos, New Mexico, and select the team based on how athletes did there. Before she went, Kraker ran 2:05.3 in Canada, getting under the Olympic standard of 2:06.0. That helped. It also helped that it an intersquad meet in Los Alamos she ran 2:07.0 and beat Madeline Manning, the eventual gold medalist. She was named to the team.

In Mexico City, she drew the toughest of the heats, running 2:07.3 but finishing 5^th and missing out on the final. It wouldn’t be her last trip to the Olympics.

The next few years brought many changes: a move to New England, marriage, new coaching. She also committed to a new primary event, the 1500. The Munich 1972 Games would be the first Olympics to let women run that far. At the Olympic Trials she placed 2^nd in 4:15.2, behind the American Record of 4:10.4 that Francie Larrieu set.

At Munich, she qualified out of the first round with her 4:14.73. The semis had been scheduled for the next day, but the terrorist attack on the Israeli team changed everything. Kraker wrote about it in a diary of the Games that she published in the Ann Arbor News: “It is a day of terrible shock, the malignance of violence spreading to even here.”

After seeing Russian Lyudmila Bragina run a World Record in the first round, Kraker knew that making it out of the semi would be very tough. “To qualify for the final I will have to run so much faster than I ever planned that to see those times clicking off will only scare me, each lap faster than I have ever paced a 1500 before…The astounding thought is that these women have ALL run three or more seconds faster than I have ever run.”

The semi went out slowly, 2:17 at the 800. Then they kicked, and she struggled but still ran a bittersweet lifetime best. “The time I run here, 4:12.8, was ranked sixth in the world last year, but gets me nowhere here.” The automatic timing had it 4:12.76, a PR and the second-fastest time ever by an American, but she finished 8^th , more than 4 seconds out of qualifying for the final. Even an American Record would not have made it.

Still dealing with the trauma of the massacre, Kraker left Munich before the closing ceremonies, explaining, “We have shared too much sadness, too much confusion and bitterness. It is best to leave our ideals intact, and not go through the motions here.”

Francie Kraker Goodridge, our first Olympian, went on to a successful career in coaching and sports administration. She followed her first coach, “Red” Simmons, as the head of the Michigan women’s program, and later coached at Wake Forest. She has been honored with inductions into the University of Michigan Women’s Track Hall of Fame, as well as the statewide Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.

She told the Ann Arbor News, “I just followed the desire to accomplish something and the outlet for that ended up being sports, which were just beginning for women in the ‘60s. I was 13, 14, looking for something that would make me special. There weren’t many outlets for girls in those days. And then this opportunity to become an athlete came along and that was the beginning of a long career.”

Interview: Brooke Bowers, New State Record Holder in the Pole Vault

For Forest Hills Central senior Brooke Bowers, the indoor season started back in October. Jumping at the Vault Barn in Vermontville, where she trains with coach Jerry Sessions, she cleared a PR 13-0 at the Halloween Vault (10/28); that’s a height only a handful of girls in Michigan history have ever cleared. On November 18, at the Turkey-Thon, she again cleared 13-0. Then this last weekend, at the Ugly Sweater Vault (yes, the names of these competitions are priceless), she went a bit wild, clearing a PR 13-3 and then adding an inch to the state record with her 13-7. Currently, Brooke, the defending D1 champion, holds the state records for 7^th, 9^th and 10^th graders. (Little sister Aubree has a lock on the 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th and 6^th grade marks.) Currently the national leader in the event, Brooke talked with us about her big day.

Michtrack: Congratulations on the state record. That's gotta feel awesome.

Bowers: Thank you. Yeah, it felt great.

Michtrack: Walk me through that competition a little bit. Did you feel you were ready for big things as you were clearing the lower heights?

Bowers: Going into the meet, I honestly wasn't feeling anything special. I just wasn't feeling that ready for it. But as I kept jumping, I was just clearing them first attempt and then I went to 13-3 and I cleared that. My goal this indoor season was just to get the indoor state record. So we were like, ‘OK, I had some good hip height over 13-3,” so we just moved it straight to 13-7 and I got it on my third attempt.

Michtrack: Back at 12-6 you had two misses. Were you worried then that it was going to be a rough day?

Bowers: At that jump, things weren't clicking for some reason, but I started out just on some smaller poles and then on my third attempt, I moved up to a bigger pole and that pole just worked for me and I ended up staying on it for a couple more jumps.

Michtrack: At 13-7, your two misses leading up to the clearance, were you close on those?

Bowers: Yeah, my two attempts were pretty good. My first one, I kind of blew through the pole a little bit, but I still had some hip height. My second one was really close, so that made me more confident for my third one. But they were all great attempts.

Michtrack: When did you think you had 13-7 nailed?

Bowers: I think I knew I was going to clear it right after my second attempt, just because it felt like a great attempt. I thought I had it and then that third attempt I was like, “OK, I think this is gonna be the one.”

Michtrack: So you decided to call it a day then? No further heights?

Bowers: I just called it a day. I took quite a few jumps, but we just decided to stop it there.

Michtrack: On your Instagram, you got a nice congratulations from an Olympic champion. That's got to feel cool.

Bowers: That was really cool .

Michtrack: Last year you had a great season. No one would dispute that, but this year you're on another level. What has made the difference?

Bowers: Last season I think I was just lacking a little bit of confidence. So during the off season and during the summer, I've just been training really hard. I've been staying consistent with practicing and lifting and all that. So right off the bat, coming into the indoor season, I felt confident in my practices. That made me a lot more confident for the meets. And yeah, I just think I've gotten faster and stronger and so that's helped me get these higher bars this early on in the season.

Michtrack: What's next for you?

Bowers: I was able to get my goal, which was nice. Looking forward, I'm thinking, hopefully just staying consistent in the high 13s. Next would probably be moving the bar to 13-9, and then hopefully by the end of indoor season we're looking at 14 feet.

Michtrack: How did you and your sister get started?

Bowers: My cousin, she's from Fremont, Ohio. She pole vaulted in high school. She would sometimes come to Michigan and vault at some of the Grand Valley meets. One time we were visiting family back in Ohio and she asked my dad if she could bring me to one of her practices. I went and my dad watched me and he was kind of like, “OK, she’s not that bad just to start out with.” I liked it and wanted to keep doing it because it was fun and something new. We came back to Michigan and signed up for practices with KP Athletics. We would practice at Rockford during the summer and then Cornerstone in the winter. And then my sister, she tried a lot of the sports that I did, so she kind of followed in my footsteps and maybe a few weeks after I started practicing she started coming to practices too.

Michtrack: What are your college plans?

Bowers: I would like to pursue pole vault in college and I've been looking at some schools out of state. I took a visit to Penn State and Michigan State and I've been talking to Tennessee and all that. But when I think about it, I'm not sure how far I want to be from home just because I grew up just so super close to my family and they've always been really involved with my sport and I would love for them to be able to watch me at meets in college.

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Little Things

Katrina Brumfield: Has been hired as the new director of TF/XC at Chicago State. She had been head coach at Oakland University.

Mimi Joseph: The ‘22 St Joe grad, an all-stater in the long jump, is at Western Michigan now.

Coming Soon: The all-time lists on Michtrack.org will be updated shortly. Just need a free day (or 3). This is an annual event for me, and one of the best holiday events of the year! I’ll let you know when they’re done.

Back issues? We’ve published 30 issues of the Michtrack Newsletter so far. Tons of interviews, history, random opinions, and statistics. To see the back issues, go here.

Become one of our donors, and good things will come your way. It’s karma. And if you itemize your deductions, it’s a tax write-off. Win-win. Here’s the link.