Varsity highlights
The Pioneer cross country team traveled to Willow Metropark for
this year's Regional contest. Without a doubt, finishing second to
Ann Arbor Huron was a disappointment, as we were favored to take the
championship. Nonetheless next Saturday is the day when it really
counts, and with a very successful season behind us, Pioneer is
poised to make this an unforgettable year.
High winds and a very soft track made fast times and PR's
virtually nonexistent, but our co-captains both ran very strong races
in their final visit to the Regionals. Senior Morty
Stensones-Fornaess continued his string of outstanding performances
by winning the individual title in a time of 15:56, outdistancing the
runner-up Adam Daoud from Huron by seven seconds. While Senior Takashi Gould
finished in third place and ran another solid race finishing with a
time of 16:12, both of these times were exceptional given the
conditions. With the state meet one week away, both Morty and
Takashi have put themselves in a great position to contend for the
top spot at MIS. Great job today!
Junior Eric Anderson (17:05) and Junior Peter Christmas (17:12)
finished in 13th and 15th place respectively, and along with Morty
and Takashi made the All Regional team. Junior Craig Marlatt (17:24)
finished in 18th place, while Junior Leo Callender (17:43) finished
in 26th. Senior Kyle Kulseth pulled out of the race with an injury.
There is no doubt these gentlemen have to run faster at MIS Saturday,
and we certainly believe they will.
This year's regional meet should grab Pioneer's attention and
give us a nice wake-up call one week prior to MIS. Entering the
final week of preparation, the objective remains the same and this
team will settle for nothing less than a state championship!
Junior varsity highlights
The Pioneer JV squad did not disappoint anybody in their final
meet of a truly successful year. Taking the top first through sixth
places, Pioneer dominated the Regional JV meet. Leading the way was
Junior Mark Antonuk (17:43) who ran an outstanding race just missing
a PR and taking first place. Congratulations Mark! Freshman
Charlie Cavell (17:50) lost his shoe early in the race and still
finished in second place. Junior Paul Corbett ran a season best time
of 18:22 on a difficult course.
It's time to recognize the seniors running in their final Pioneer
cross country meet. In 2001 there were 12 freshmen running for Coach
Sleeman, two of those runners were Dale White and Jeff Nao. Dale has
steadily improved every year, and in 2004 made an astronomical leap
in his time running 17:36 at Portage this year. Jeff also improved
his time each year running, and at Portage ran his personal best time
of 17:55. These two young men accomplished a very impressive feat,
running four years of cross country in a very demanding program, and
improving each year. Thank you Dale and Jeff!
Adam Fisher, Greg Johnson, and Dan Zhang started running their
sophomore years. Once again, running three years of cross country is
quite an accomplishment when you look at all the runners who have
come and gone. Each year these guys have improved, but more
importantly this year they have provided the outstanding leadership
and direction for our underclassman, and are a big part of the
phenomenal season we had this year. Thanks to Adam, Greg, and Dan!
All of these seniors will be sorely missed next fall, and our
admiration for them has grown each year.
Final notes
Our final meet of the year is the State Meet being held at the
Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan this Saturday
November 6. Division I Boys will run at 3:00pm, but get there early;
it's a big place with a lot of cars. Hope to see you there!
PR! - new personal record, refers to all-time
PR, not just the best time of the season
The 2004 Honor Roll has been updated
Go Pioneers!