Meet highlights
In our best finish in over ten years, the Ann Arbor Pioneer Cross
Country team wrapped up a fantastic season by stepping up onto the
roof at MIS and accepting the second place trophy at this year's
state meet. Coming into the meet ranked fourth in the state, Pioneer
proved the pundits wrong by finishing just behind Pinckney, and way
ahead of Rockford to bring to a close a terrific year. Since 1975
only six Pioneer teams have finished in first or second.
As has been the case all season long, this team was led by Senior
Captain Peter Christmas (15:48) who finished up his career with an
All-State performance and a 10th place finish. Pete had a phenomenal
year, taking home individual championships at the Brother Rice
Invitational, Holly Invitational, Jackson Invitational, the SEC
Conference championship, and finally was Regional champion. But many
of you could not see the outstanding leadership Peter gave this team
beginning back in June when many of these runners started preparing
for this season. Pete practiced just like he ran his races, with an
unrelenting pace that motivated many of his teammates to do just the
same. It was this "leadership by example" that inspired this team to
have such a special year, as Pete will undoubtedly go down as one of
Pioneer's best runners both on and off the course. Congratulations
Pete!
Probably no runner has come as far as Senior Captain Craig Marlatt
has since his freshman year in the history of Pioneer Cross Country.
Craig wrapped up his career at this years state meet with a brilliant
performance finishing in 18th place with a time of 15:57 and making
the All State team. Craig is the perfect example of what hard work,
determination, and great coaching can accomplish in this sport. In
his freshman year Craig's PR was 20:35 and nobody expected him to be
standing with the All State team in his senior year back in 2002.
But with a little inspiration from Coach Sleeman during his sophomore
year, and a resolve to work hard day in and day out all year long,
Craig joined an elite group of only five Pioneer runners since 1998
to go under 16:00. An extraordinary end to an extraordinary career
at Pioneer!
Senior Captain Eric Anderson completed his Pioneer career with
another great state meet performance finishing in 45th place and a
personal best time of 16:20. Eric has a habit of saving his best run
of the year for the state meet, and this year was no exception.
Along with Pete and Craig, Eric has been at the core of Pioneer's
team success, winning two SEC championships, five invitational
championships, and a Regional championship over the past two years.
Eric has also provided the leadership necessary to accomplish these
outstanding achievements, while at the same time making every
individual on the team feel like an important component in our team's
success this year. Thank you Eric!
Freshman Dan Culbertson made history this year by being the fastest
freshman ever at Pioneer, and on Saturday he was the fastest freshman
at the Division I state meet with a PR of 16:30 and a 63rd place
finish. The future is certainly bright for this young man, and he
will be a big part of our team in 2006. Great job Dan! Sophomore
Eric Hubbard (16:55) will also be a big part of that 2006 team as he
finished the season with quite a bang. After bursting onto the scene
at the Regionals, Eric came out of nowhere to really contribute to
this team's success at the state meet, by finishing in 125th place in
that always important fifth position. Great potential here with Eric
also! Over the past two years Senior Leo Callender has accomplished
quite a bit for this team. He has been an important contributor to
the success this team has had over that period, and was a big
contributor to our success at Regionals and States these past two
weeks. Leo finished in 140th place with a time of 16:59, and his
quiet leadership will be missed next season. Great job this year
Leo! Junior Paul Versluis, like Eric Hubbard, really came on strong
the final two weeks of the season. And with injuries and sickness to
some of our runners, Paul stepped up at the last minute to have a
fantastic run Saturday. Paul finished with a PR of 17:04 placing
149th, and he will certainly be counted on again next season.
Congratulations to the Ann Arbor Pioneer Cross Country team on an
amazing and memorable season!
Pioneer varsity runners
Place Name Time
10th Peter Christmas 15:48
18th Craig Marlatt 15:57 PR! (-12)
45th Eric Anderson 16:20 PR! (-12)
63rd Dan Culbertson 16:30 PR! (-02)
125th Eric Hubbard 16:55
140th Leo Callender 16:59
149th Paul Versluis 17:04 PR! (-09)
Final Note
Our banquet will be held on Monday November 14th at 6:00pm in the
Pioneer High School cafeteria. A flyer will be sent out shortly on
what each family should bring. Join us in celebrating an incredible
year!
PR! - new personal record, refers to all-time
PR, not just the best time of the season
Go Pioneers!