#67 - Reflections On The State Finals

November 08, 2024

Inside This Issue

State Finals Thoughts (Random, Of Course)

Victoria Garces made a stunning move at 2M and pulled away with an amazing final mile in D1.
(Pete Draugalis photo)

Another incredible day of cross country racing at MIS. It’s hard to believe that the State Finals have been held there for 28 years now! I’m proud that I’ve been part of the team putting the meet on for 27 of those years (Year One I sat in the stands freezing my buns off and was most impressed by Ryan Shay’s solo victory that day). I’m not going to do a complete news write-up of the event—that’s already been done. Every finals I try to take notes that will help me recreate races for the next update of my history of the finals, but I find if I don’t write things down right away they disappear from my brain. That’s because I have to refocus immediately on the next race which I announce from the lead golf cart (yes, 24 miles of play-by-play announcing). This year I tried to solve the problem by recording my announcements. Anyway, here are some things I saw that still stand out, 6 days into my recovery program:

  • The massive kick that Victoria Garces of Dow used to leave Helen Sachs of West Ottawa behind at the 2M mark impressed me so much because I missed it! There I was, at 2M, making the announcement about Sachs leading there by a few strides in 10:43.5. Then we raced to get the golf cart into the stadium before the lead runners, trusting the always-able speed driving skills of the lead official, Rudy Godefroidt (even though he was saddled with one of the slower carts of the day). We got into the stadium, and we waited for the lead runner, and I honestly was shocked at the lead Garces had when she entered. Racing like that takes preparation. Her mile from 2M to 3M took just 5:19.4, so her actual final kick with a bit more sprint added on was surely faster. Pioneer’s Rachel Forsyth, when she set the course record, split that section in 5:24.6.

  • Natasza Dudek’s freshman record on the course was astounding: 17:04.1. The day before, the Pioneer frosh’s big sister Zofia led Stanford with a 10th-place finish in their new home, the ACC conference.

  • TJ Hansen set a D2 course record with his 14:50.5, despite taking an unplanned tempo run before the start to grab the correct uniform top. Word is he was training through the race, with his eye on nationals.

  • Also in D2, Mason Hill of Allendale broke the 10th grade record with his 15:24.0. Fremont’s Riley Klingel set the old mark back in 2002.

  • With her D2 win, Ava Schafer of St. Johns broke the D2 record for sophomores in an impressive 17:20.7. The old mark was 17:44 by Lahser’s Erin Lafave in 2005. Lafave, by the way, was a competitor in the Deafolympics and made D3 All-American in the steeplechase for Rochester Institute of Technology. She later played soccer at Gallaudet.

  • I didn’t get a chance to announce whose record Marek Butkiewicz broke in winning the D4 crown. His 15:09.7 took down the 15:23.0 that Concord legend Jesse Hersha set 10 years ago.

  • Saline’s double runner-up finish was pretty cool. The boy’s finish stunned me, since they weren’t on my radar at the mile mark. At 1M they had 274 points for 6th place. At 2M they had improved to 211 and 4th. Then 2nd at the finish with 169 points. Carl Spina should be giving a talk at MITCA on “How To Pace MIS.”

  • If anyone thought the Northville boys would go away after Brendan Herger graduated, they got another think coming. Are we seeing a dynasty in the making? Three straight wins in D1! Milford did that in 2011-13, Pinckney in 2005-07, Lansing Eastern in 1955-57, and Jackson 1947-49. But the last time that anyone won 4-straight? That would be Kalamazoo Central way back in 1930-33. Northville’s got something to shoot for.

  • There are surely more items that will emerge in my brain, but I’m out of time. Plus there’s simply no way to mention every deserving athlete in team in the biggest high school sporting event in Michigan. What a treat it is for us to play a part in it all!

Hall of Fame: Ryan Shay Remembered

Ryan Shay might have come from the tiny Class D school of Central Lake, but that didn’t stop him in his quest to be the best. Coached by his father, Joe Shay, when he made himself a high school cross country legend, Shay went on to a great collegiate career at Notre Dame and later became one of America’s top marathoners before his career ended in stunning tragedy.

His career, in yearly highlights:

1993: After the third meet of his 9th -grade year, he went undefeated in high school cross country. He became the first 9th -grade boy to win a Class D cross country title, taking the win in 17:48, albeit slower than the winner of the Class D team race (held separately in those days).

1994: In his first state track meet, the frosh was runner-up in the D 1600 (4:25.87) and 3200 (9:41.69). As a sophomore that fall, he took the Class D XC title in 16:34.

1995: He won his first D title on the track with his 1600 of 4:28.73. He also captured the 800 (2:00.88) and 3200 (9:44.76). On a snow-covered course that fall, he won his third-straight Class D title in 16:01.

1996: In track, he repeated his state wins at 1600 (4:22.00) and 3200 (9:47.98), skipping the 800 this time. That fall, in the first year the state finals were run at Michigan International Speedway, Shay ran faster through the snow flurries than even the big school athletes, taking a historic fourth win in 15:30, with a winning margin of over a minute.

1997: He closed out his high school career, taking the Class D 1600 in 4:17.13, and the 3200 in a meet record 9:25.68. In all, he won 11 state titles for Central Lake. As a Notre Dame frosh, he placed 68th in the NCAA cross country championships (30:58).

1998: In the spring he led the U.S. U20 team at the World XC champs, finishing 20th . His next NCAA cross country championships was less than spectacular; he finished 229th (34:16).

1999: Won the Big East Indoor 3000. Shay placed 7th in the NCAA 10,000 in 29:55.78. In the fall he won the Big East XC title, then made All-America in cross country, placing 12th at nationals (30:46).

2000: After an early-season PR of 28:50.73, he won Big East titles at 5000 and 10,000 and placed 7th in the NCAA again, this time in 30:54.65. He was 10th in the USATF 10,000 (28:51.74).

2001: Won the Big East Indoor 5000 (14:10.00), then was 9th in the NCAA Indoor (14:02.35). Captured the NCAA 10,000 title in 29:05.44, the first Notre Dame athlete to win an NCAA track title in 45 years. Also was 6th in the NCAA 5000 (13:52.45). Finished 6th in the NCAA cross country champs in 29:23 for 10K.

2002: Won the Big East Indoor 3000 (8:09.42) then placed 18th at the NCAA Indoor. Ran his 5000 PR of 13:35.08 in the early season at Mt. SAC. Runner-up in the NCAA track championships at 29:02.92, then placed 7th in the USATF race in 28:40.66. Ran his first marathon at Chicago, placing 15th in 2:14:30.

2003: The winner of the 2003 USA Running Circuit, he captured U.S. titles in the marathon (2:14:29) and half marathon (1:04:13), as well as placing 3rd in both the USATF 5K (14:06) and 25K (1:17:44). Competed in the World Championships marathon in Paris, but was unable to finish.

2004: Repeated as winner of the USA Running Circuit, with wins in the national championship half marathon (1:05:04) and 20K (59:53), 2nds in the 25K (1:17:12) and 5K (14:02) and a 3rd in the 10M (47:11). Finished 22nd in the Olympic Trials Marathon. Ran his PR marathon in New York City (2:14:08). Placed 10th in the Olympic Trials 10,000 (28:49.95).

2005: Finished 2nd in the USA Running Circuit standings, winning the USATF half-marathon title. Finished 15th in the World Half Marathon Champs (PR 1:03:13). PRed at 15K in Jacksonville (43:52). Placed 11tjh in the Boston Marathon (2:18:17) and 18th in New York (2:17:14).

2006: Placed 3rd in the USA 5K road champs in 13:58.2. Finished 3rd in the Twin Cities Marathon (2:14:58).

2007: Placed 14th at the USATF XC champs, then competed at the World XC in Kenya. PRed at 10K in 28:03.44 at Stanford in April, then ran 8th in the USATF 10,000 on the track in 28:54.34.

Shay’s career came to a horrifying conclusion at the New York City Marathon on November 3, 2007. In a race that doubled as the U.S. Olympic Trials, Shay collapsed near the 5.5M mark and was pronounced dead shortly afterward, the victim of a cardiac arrhythmia, the result of a pre-existing enlarged heart. It happened on the same day as the MHSAA cross country finals at MIS; the shock as the news spread sapped the joy from that event.

Anytime someone dies too young, it leaves so many others grappling with grief. Ryan had been recently married to Alicia Craig, herself a notable runner. She has been open about her difficult journey since, as has the Shay family. His father, Joe, passed away in March 2024.

Ryan Shay is remembered through the Ryan Shay Mile in Charlevoix, as well as a memorial bench in New York’s Central Park. But perhaps the best way to remember him is to run where he did. He told Michigan Runner, “One of my favorite places to run is in the Jordan Valley of Northern Michigan. The run is on very soft dirt trails or dirt roads along the fast-moving Jordan River. The color of the leaves in the fall are gorgeous and there is various wildlife to observe while hammering along the trails. But, best of all, its just a few miles from my home.”

Thanks to our Hall of Fame sponsors for making this possible!

D1 Results & Stats: The Boys 4 × 100

Another update in our ongoing work on the D1 Finals Stats. The 4 × 100 has only been with us since 1971 (well, there was also 1908, but I think we all missed that one). Fun fact: did you know that from 1965-1978 the relays at the MHSAA Finals were scored 10-deep?

The all-time ruler of the event is Detroit Cass Tech, scoring 138.5 points all-time (on today’s scoring tables) versus the 102 that East Kentwood has put on the board. The battle for No. 3 is extremely close, with Flint Carman-Ainsworth at 77, Detroit Central at 76.5 and Southfield at 76. Rockford is No. 6 at 69.

When we look at the most wins ever, the Technicians lead just barely, 7 wins to East Kentwood’s 6. Detroit Central, Lansing Sexton and Rockford each have 4 victories.

While there were two years in the hand-timed era where the top 2 teams shared the same time, the closest FAT final ever was the 0.02 that East Kentwood beat Monroe with in 2015. The biggest winning margin was Pontiac Northern’s massive 1.18 seconds in 2003.

The deepest race ever? That would be last spring, when 8th-place Walled Lake Western ran 42.58 and the fastest times ever were recorded for places 3-4-5-6-7-8. Hmmm, we know there’s great coaching—there always is—but maybe the new carbon fiber sprint spikes are making a big difference these days?

Other Things

MITCA’s Meet of Champions will be in Shepherd Saturday. Live results here. And for you visual people, free livestream link here.

What’s next for our top runners? November 17 is the NXR Midwest in Terre Haute. The same day, I believe, is the Mideast XC Championships (website not updated), with Team Michigan being selected tomorrow in Shepherd. November 30 will be Footlocker Midwest in Kenosha.

MITCA: Some of you reading this are at the MITCA XC clinic. How about giving us a boost and encouraging some of the other coaches to subscribe?! The price is right! Just forward this email to them and they’ll have what they need to sign up.

Federico Bruno: If you follow the sport very, very closely, you might remember this name. An Italian exchange student at Benzie Central, he won the 2020 MITS triple jump crown. Then the pandemic hit full-blast and we never got a chance to see him outdoors. Back home, he kept working on the event, becoming one of Italy’s best. Now he is returning to the U.S. to compete for Virginia Tech. His PR of 53-6¼ puts him in good position to factor in the event at the NCAA level.

RIP Don Lukens: We recently lost coach Don Lukens, an amazing man who was instrumental at Loy Norrix and later in Traverse City. Many years ago, when I was trying to run on my own during my college years, he welcomed me to the workouts he was organizing for a mishmash of local runners. That stage of my running did not last long because of conflicts with school and work, but I have always appreciated the kindness and care he showed me. A celebration of his life will take place on May 25, 2025 in Traverse City.

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