Petoskey cross country teams combine for best D2 state finals finish ever
BROOKLYN — A year ago at the Michigan Division 2 Cross Country State Championships, it was the Petoskey girls’ day to shine.
And they undoubtedly did by winning a state championship for the first time in program history.
On Saturday, back at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn for the D2 finals, the spotlight got to be on both Petoskey cross country teams and the boys and girls did not disappoint.
The best-ever combined finish for Northmen boys and girls teams came out of the day, with the girls placing third and the boys earning a ninth place finish.
“In both races, we were hoping for a little bit better placing as a team, but we really did not miss due poor performances and we still were near the top end of the range,” Petoskey coach Dave Farley said. “That said, it was the best year we have had on the same day for both squads, which was one of our goals.”
East Grand Rapids’ girls earned the overall D2 title with a 66-point finish, with four runners placing inside the top 15. Grand Rapids Christian was then second with 99, follow by Petoskey’s 136.
“We had four girls run their best times ever, another one run her second fastest time ever and one run with two seconds of her season best,” said Farley. “In addition, for a team boasting four runners who have never run at the state meet, they all ran pretty smart.”
On the boys side, Otsego placed first overall with 135 points, followed by Chelsea (147) and St. Johnson (150) in a close finish at the top. Petoskey’s boys earned the ninth place finish with 275 points.
Along with the solid placings as a team, Petoskey also had three runners earn all-state honors on the day, which included Noel VanderWall and Caroline Farley in the girls race and Sam Smith for the boys.
“Noel and Caroline getting all-state and now going on to bigger and better things is a bit of an end of an era,” said Farley. “They were part of the group that helped transform Petoskey from a program that had not sent a team to a state meet in a decade, to one of that has been in top three each of the last four years.
“Sam led the way (for the boys) and had a fantastic day. He Pr'ed by 30 seconds and grabbed an all state position. His time was very close (three seconds) to Tyler Guggemos of Kalkaska, which is by far the closest he has been all season.”
VanderWall earned a seventh place finish overall in 18 minutes, 52.27 seconds, which delivered a third straight all-state nod for the standout senior. For Farley, the finish came in at 19:15.50, good for 28th overall.
Top 30 earns a runner all-state and Petoskey’s Cambrie Corey, only a sophomore, just missed out with a 33rd place finish. She ran a time of 19:25.83.
Also for Petoskey, Madeline Loe took 61st in 19:55, Sydney Hoffman placed 66th (19:59); Nora O’Leary, 74th (20:09); and Fiona Scott, 232nd (22:29).
Smith's all-state performance for the Northmen boys came in an 18th place finish in 16:02.46.
For the boys squad after Smith, Shane Izzard placed 59th in 16:42, Cooper Rokop took 66th (16:47); Tommy Farley, 114th (17:16); Brady Odenbach, 141st (17:30); Dylan Odenbach, 143rd (17:31); and Gavin Towner, 184th (17:48).
Petoskey’s top three boys all earned either season or personal best times, while Farley also earned a personal best time by over 30 seconds.
From the teams that made the trip down to the state finals, Petoskey will lose seniors in Smith and Rokop for the boys, along with VanderWall and Caroline Farley on the girls team, though there’s others who helped the Northmen get to where they’ve taken the program over the last few years.
“We are losing a special group of seniors,” said Dave Farley. “On varsity, it will be very tough to replace Sam, Cooper, Noel and Caroline. All four spent their whole high school career on varsity. Lying just outside varsity were Reese Marvin, Blake Howard and Dana Cole. All were great kids that made the program better. Reese had run varsity since his sophomore year and had a back ailment that slowed him down the second half of the season.”
Farley also wanted to take the time to thank all the parents that showed their support and made the trip down to the state finals, where a special donor provided a box at MIS for Petoskey fans and parents.
He also thanked his assistants and others that made the season possible.
“Thanks to Rob Harris and Kacey Riley who really did a great job for the program in their first years,” added Farley. “Thanks to the Dickmann's and Bud Cicerelli who always lend a helpful ear and advice. Mark Peters and his crew are miracle workers at the school and keep our course in top shape. Thanks to Joel Dohm and the rest of the administration that are so supportive of what we are trying to do.”
Contact Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey cross country teams combine for best D2 state finals finish ever
