Varsity Highlights

What an exciting day at the races!  The Pioneer Men's Cross Country Team came out to put an exclamation mark on the season, and this they did amongst 400 competitors in the Regional Meet at Willow Metro Park.  The day was crisp and cool, with a mild breeze and some dampness remaining in the earth; the men will have to wash their uniforms before the State meet, because they qualified by coming in the top three (in fact securing a seond-place finish so, room to spare!).  It was a very close second; only three points separated the Pioneers from Dexter's Dreadnaughts team, which won with 54 points, and only two points from Pinckney's team, which scored 59.  The Pioneer team scored 57, and there were smiles all around after the race.  Congratulations to the entire squad for a stellar finish here, you ran yourselves proud to top off a great Cross Country Season.

The Varsity team ran first, churning through an ankle-deep puddle 100 meters out from the start, ensuring wet socks, mud-encrusted spikes, and splashes up the back of each white singlet.  The pack charged out to set a brisk pace; all the high school men were determined to make their mark on this course and on this 'do-or-die' day.  Costa Willets led the top seven at the beginning, at the first 1000m after a grueling climb up a hill, beginning the second mile, well into the second loop, and at the cluster of trees just before the finish.  This sophomore, springing off the line with excitement twinkling in his eyes, was just charged like a lightning bolt!  There was no question observing the race that Costa had decided this was his day and he owned the challenge.  Costa was accompanied by his trusty teammate, Galen Burrell, who has shown strength, maturity, consistency, and talent all through this fall.  Galen stayed up with Costa very well, along with the leaders from Dexter and Pinckney.  Around the bend after the big hill, Costa and Galen were in 4th and 6th position overall.  They very strategically followed the leaders, gliding behind the boys in front and watching for their moment.  Costa seemed to lift off the ground when he put his kick in for the last 200-300 meters.  He flashed past competitors from Dexter, Pinckney, Huron and Plymouth, slicing thirteen seconds off his last best time and seizing a second place finish overall.  Galen followed suit, moving up from sixth place to capture third, taking our breath away as he charged over the line.  Right behind the swift Pio duo came Eddie Codrington; Eddie had fallen behind Max after the hill, but caught back up in the third mile to overtake Max once again.  Then, his momentum grew and grew, moving him from thirteenth place with 300 meters to go, to 6th place at the finish line.  Wow, what an exciting race to watch you run, Fast Eddie!  Watching Eddie finish is not easy, he just goes by in a flash and too bad for the men who thought they were going to finish in the top ten, for it's a little crowded today with Pioneer runners.  Max ran a solid race, pacing steadily and keeping his teammates within view the entire 5000 meters.  Max has been a consistent and solid competitor all season, contributing each race while demonstrating heart and focus.  Max finished fourth for the Pioneers, taking 20th place overall, and performing very well.  Nick Aukerman, who has just been getting better and better as the season progresses, ran an excellent race, bettering his best by seven seconds and earning a 25th place at Regionals.  Way to go, Nick.  Dean, who has been working through an injury, gave everything he had and came in respectably in 38th position.  We all hope you are feeling 100% for States, Dean!!  Lucas Arrivo showed grit and lots of maturity for a young runner at today's event.  It can't be easy as a freshman to challenge the best upper classmen in the region, but Lucas was well up to the task.  Eighteen minutes is fantastic, young man!  Keep up the good work.  Congratulations on taking your team to the big event at MIS!  See you next Saturday, and well done getting to the finals!!

JV Highlights

Invigorated by the success of the varsity men, the JV team takes their positions at the starting line of the JV Regional race with heightened energy. The mud begins to spatter within the first few strides, adding a trademark element of cross-country racing.  At the gun Jacob and Robbie stride out to lead for Pioneer.  Mark, Danny, Zach, Boris, Jake and Ancel are just behind our two front men with the rest of the team following closely.  Heading toward the bottom of the first hill, Jacob is setting his pace in 9th or 10th position in a tight clump of runners, focused with his game face on.  Danny, Boris and Stephen are a few seconds behind Jacob, with Stephen demonstrating his improving strength and continued recovery as he moves up for Pioneer.

Coming out of the woods and taking the turn to descend the hill at the one mile mark is Jacob maintaining his lead for Pioneer as the top runners in the race start to stretch out.  Danny, Boris and Stephen are about 10-12 runners back followed by several of our athletes who are working together early in this race.  Ancel leads Jake, Robbie, Tyler and Will in a fairly tight group.  Dario rounds the corner next with William just a few second later.  Adam, James and Stone head down the hill in a secure pack of Pioneer men.  Next we see Nick with Mark close behind.  Zach, Jerry and Maro round up the tail of our team, with everyone running this first mile in under 6:30.

At the second ascent of the hill, Jacob heads up determined to pass the competition and makes some headway.  Next, Danny and Boris dig in for the climb with just a few strides between them.  Stephen is the next team member to go up the hill, followed by Jake and Ancel running side by side.  We see two more pairs of Pioneers approaching the hill.  Tyler and Will, and Dario and Robby stay united as they work the course close together.  William fights his way up the hill with great tenacity.  The rest of our team has stretched out further but continues to press on in the race.

At the home stretch, Jacob continues to turn on his might to blaze a new PR.  Danny also PR’s as he powers in to the finish just two seconds behind Jacob, the two taking 7th and 8th places respectively.  Stephen makes a strong finish to take 16th.  Jake shows great focus and a strong kick to PR by slashing over 21 seconds off his best time.  Tyler and Boris come in within a second of each other, followed by Ancel and Will in the same fashion as they shave seconds off of their best times to PR.  William puts everything he has left into his finish and Robby turns on his signature sprint to cross the line consecutively.  Kudos to Dario, as he shatters his PR by 16.5 seconds!  James, Adam, Stone, Nick (PR!) and Mark come in strong to finish yet are spread out by a total of 1.5 minutes.  Jerry Chen destroys his previous PR by nearly 1.5 minutes!  Zach and Maro are our final runners, with Maro fighting to the end to beat a runner from Skyline.

Senior and Co-Captain Stephen Doll has shown great perseverence with training and rehabilitation to recover from his stress fracture.  We are so glad you could race at long last, Stephen, and thank you for your exemplary leadership this fall.  A final shout out to Mark Flamme, Senior and Co-Captain for the season.  Mark is a strong leader, a hard-working athlete, and a calm and friendly presence for all his teammates.  Good luck after high school, Stephen and Mark.  THANK YOU for doing such a nice job this season for the team.

Congratulations on a fantastic season to all of the Pioneer Athletes and best wishes for success and development as you continue to train for this legendary program!