Division 1 State Meet

(Lower Penninsula)

Michigan International Speedway

November 3, 2007

M.I.S. State Finals Course

 

 

Meet highlights

 

With high hopes entering into the state finals, Pioneer came up a little short of their goal, finishing in 4th place.  But, what an awesome season it has been for Pioneer!  With three invitational victories, a regional championship, a ranking of third entering the state finals, and two All State performances, the team has every reason to be proud.

 

Leading the way for Pioneer at the MIS speedway was senior Charlie Cavell with a 21st place finish in 15:56, which placed him on the All State team.  Charlie dropped 13 seconds from his previous PR, to join the elite ranks of runners dropping below 16 minutes.  Beginning with his freshman year, when he took honors as Most Promising Freshman and ran in the state finals, Charlie has been a huge contributor to the success of the team over the last four years.  Known as a crowd favorite, Charlie has delighted us all with his gutsy performances during the races and his infectious smile off the course.  We will miss you and thank you for all you have done for the team the last four years, Charlie!

 

Sophomore Nick Kern finished his amazing season with a 23rd place finish in 15:56.8.  Not only did Nick place in the top 30, therefore making the All State team, he dropped below 16 minutes with a new PR by 18.2 seconds,  AND he  placed first among all sophomores running in the Division One race!  What a bright future lies ahead for Nick and how well that bodes for the future of this team.

 

Capping off his fantastic year was sophomore Adam Kern, placing 69th in a time of 16:26.8., a new PR by 13.2 seconds.  Adam has consistently delivered for the team this year and today was no exception, coming in as the 9th fastest sophomore running today.  How wonderful that the team has so many talented sophomores, with three running in the state finals.  Running at States is something that few sophomores get to experience and will give them a big advantage in years to come.

 

Senior Co-captain Taylor DeLuca, running in his first state finals, placed 102nd with a time of 16:36.3, with a new PR by 10.7 seconds. Coming off an injury-prone junior year, Taylor has been a consistent and solid contributor this year to the varsity squad.  Another senior who has run all four years, Taylor epitomizes what makes cross country such a great sport, withstanding the rigorous demands of training for cross country while retaining a deep commitment to hard work and a profound respect for working together as a team.  Thank you for your leadership, Taylor!

 

Junior Dan Culbertson, only recently back into the race, after nagging injuries mid-season, finished in 105th place with a time of 16:37.5.  This no doubt fell short of the early season predictions for Dan but we all hope he will be back 100% next year.  Only two years ago, Dan made history as the fastest freshman ever at Pioneer and as the fastest freshman at the Division 1 state meet.  He will go down in history as one of the Pioneer’s most talented runners and he has his senior year to improve on that record.

 

Senior co-captain David Cogswell placed 122nd in a time of 16:47, capping off a great year.  David joined the team his sophomore year and has consistently improved each year and ran last year in the state finals.  In what may have been the most inspirational run by any runner this year, David gutted his way to an amazing first place win in the JV race at Holly, far outdistancing the next runner.  His performance was so dramatic and thrilling, it inspired the varsity team to a great first place win.  In both his performance and demeanor, David has served as a great role model for the underclassmen this year.  Thank you for your quiet leadership, David!

 

The third sophomore to run at states this year was Nathan Karr.  After last week’s amazing performance at the Regionals (finishing in 16:30.6), Nathan was disappointed with his 192nd place finish in 17:22.8.  But, Nathan should stand proud after completing an absolutely amazing year.  This talented and hard-working sophomore has a brilliant career ahead of him.

 

Congratulations to the Ann Arbor Pioneer Cross Country team on an amazing and memorable season!  Be sure to come to the banquet on Friday, November 16th to help celebrate the accomplishments of the team and to say farewell and thank you to the seniors.

 

 

 

Team Scores

 

 

 

 

Place

 Team

 Points

 

 

 

1st

 Pinckney

124

 

 

 

2nd

 Saline

141

 

 

 

3rd

 Rochester Adams

213

 

 

 

4th

 Ann Arbor Pioneer

217

 

 

 

5th

 Ann Arbor Huron

230

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pioneer Varsity

 

 

Place

Points*

 Name

 Time

 

21

15

  Charlie Cavell

 15:56.0

 PR!  -13.0

23

17

  Nick Kern

 15:56.8

 PR!  -18.2

69

46

  Adam Kern

 16:26.8

 PR!  -13.2

102

68

  Taylor DeLuca

 16:36.3

 PR!  -10.7

105

71

  Dan Culbertson

 16:37.5

 

122

81

  David Cogswell

 16:47.0

 

192

138

  Nathan Karr

 17:22.8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* When calculating team scores, individually-qualifying runners (runners placing well at Regionals, but whose teams did not qualify for this meet) are dropped from the list, then points are reassigned in order of finish only to the remaining runners.  So, for example, 6 of the runners who finished ahead of Charlie were not running for a team, so Charlie scored only 15 points for his 21st place finish.

Updated Nov 4, 2007