Varsity Highlights

This was a fine day for the Ann Arbor Pioneer Men’s Cross Country Team as they participated in the season’s third SEC Jamboree – the Divisional Championship at Hudson Mills Metropark.  The Pioneers won the championship with a mere 24 points, well under Saline’s second place with 71 points and Bedford High School’s third place with 76 points.

Nathan Karr cruised to victory with in today’s Men’s D1 race.  Nathan claimed the championship by running the 5000 meter course in 15:35.  Nathan has had an outstanding season, winning both prior competitions in this same Divisional field, as well as three of four invitational meets.  Nathan has been fast off the line for each event, and seems to get faster and faster over the finish line, with his famous kick at the end of the race.  Nathan’s finish today is just shy of the (unofficially reported) course record of 15:31. 

Teammates and brothers Adam and Nick Kern demonstrated a racing style that has become familiar as the season progresses.  They start out fast, stay at the front of the pack for the entire race, and then it’s anyone’s guess as to who will push just those few inches to finish ahead of the other.  Today, it was Adam Kern in 15:39, besting his own personal record by 5 seconds and earning a third place finish.  Just a half a shoulder back, Nick completed the run in 15:39, also reducing his personal record by 5 seconds.  Nick came in fourth overall, a fraction of a second after Adam.  It’s thrilling to watch these two compete.  Somehow, each draws out the best performance from the other.  Time and time again, Nick and Adam have demonstrated how healthy competition (clearly coupled with maturity and athletic prowess) can enhance a fellow runner’s outcome.

Somewhere in the second mile, as the course made a tour through the woods, the next three Pioneer varsity runners, Muhammad Sani, Andy Sanz-Guerrero, and Joe Frakes came to match each other’s pace, and ran together for a few meters.  Then, Joe forged ahead and held his pace. As the varsity men emerged from the wooded section of the trail, Joe was in seventh place overall and looking strong.  He dug deep to maintain his position and finished in 16:19.  This was a satisfying finish for Joe – it was his first time to score for the “A” team, and the first time this year to set a new personal record, reducing his best time by 13 seconds.

Nathan Karr, Adam Kern, Nick Kern and Joe Frakes from Pioneer, Justin Whitelaw from Monroe and Nick Kaiser and Tommy Valade from Bedford earned “First Team All Conference” honors.  Congratulations!

Muhammad Sani finished ninth overall in 16:22, a strong finish for Pioneer, and a place to be proud of, but Muhammad has astonishing speed in those legs, and will likely finish even better next race… he has the talent to do it. 

Andy Sanz-Guerrero ran another fast race today, completing the course in 16:26 and earning an eleventh place overall.  Andy is consistently a strong competitor who contributes to the team’s success.  Andy has been delivering finish times very, very close to his personal record of 16:23, so it’s clear he is putting forth an excellent effort.

Sebastian Ag finished as seventh Pioneer today, placing sixteenth overall in 16:44.  Sebastian has been really fun to watch this season, as he shows so much enthusiasm and joy when he runs. 
 
Six Pioneer runners finished the race before the top runner from the second-place team.

All told, Pioneer had a fine day today.  With all seven varsity men running well under seventeen minutes, with less than a minute spread between the finish times of the top five, with all seven runners finishing in the top twenty (top sixteen, for that matter!) with five runners in the top ten and three in the top five, it was a fine day, indeed.

Click here for the MLive report on the SEC Jamboree #3.