Kirsten Olling made it 3 for 3 in the Division 4 state championship race with her third straight state title. The junior clocked a 17:59.6 to finish more than 32 seconds in front of her nearest competitor.
Holly Bullough of Grand Traverse St. Francis was second in 18:31.7.
Homer won the girls’ team race, while Beal City was fourth, Breckenridge 10th, Pewamo-Westphalia 15th, New Lothrop 24th, and Michigan Lutheran Seminary 25th.
Olling was all smiles after the race. “It was amazing. I always try to do what I did better than in the past,” she said. “I always try to get past the time from the previous year.”
So far, so good, for Olling. Her winning time as a sophomore was 18:02.7 and as a freshman was 18:09.8. Breaking 18 minutes at the state meet was a major thrill for Olling. It was the first time since 2006 that a female Division 4 runner broke 18 minutes.
The girls’ team standing for Beal City was pleasing for coach David King.
“That’s our best finish; we’ve had three other previous top tens, and we’ve qualified for the finals seven of the last 10 years,” King said. “The last three before this one was all top 10 finishes. Our last four appearances we’ve been top 10. We’ve been shooting for a top five finish all year. We felt going into the race several teams had a shot, and we were one of them in the mix. All six girls ran their best time of the year. Three ran their lifetime best.”
Hannah Steffke, a freshman, and her sister Emily, a sophomore, were fifth and 14th in 19:25.7 and 19:59.4, with their best performances of the season. Hannah Neyer was 24th in 20:13.3 and Maggie Kolb was 41st in 20:51.2.
“I’m happy with my race; I made top 10 which is amazing,” Hannah said. “I was definitely happy with the season. I couldn’t ask for much more.”
“I was happy, I placed higher than last year,” Emily said. “I ran pretty steady for all my miles, kicked it in the end, and passed a few girls. I was steadier with my times this season. I did have some ankle problems during the season.”
The Steffkes have a sister, Madeline, who will join the team with her two sisters for the 2014 season.
For Breckenridge, while Olling was first, Rachel Reiber was 40th in team scoring at 20:50.8 and Lindsay Howard 43rd in 20:54.8. Dominque Adams, battling injuries, was 61st in 21:16.2.
“The girls ran very well,” said Breckenridge coach Royce Humm. “We had several PRs. It’s two years in a row we’ve been in top 10. They worked hard this season.”
Olling “has been working hard all season,” Humm said. “For her, it’s always a matter of racing the clock. Her goal for the day was to race the clock.”
Olling realizes she’s drawing attention from colleges and will eventually have to make a big decision. But her junior track season is coming up plus another season of cross country, in which she’s hoping to lower her time even more. But she noted that her November schedule would be busy.
“I’m just going to keep on running,” she said.
Adams and Hope Davidson struggled with injuries through the season, Humm noted.
Besides Olling, runners finishing top 30 for all-state honors were Taylor Smith of Montabella, fourth in 18:54.7; Hannah Steffke in eighth; Moriah Hill-Green of Potterville, 11th in 19:16.7; Emily Steffke 18th; and Betsy Arens of Pewamo-Westphalia, 24th in 20:06.6
For the boys, Concord took first, while Pewamo-Westphalia was third and Breckenridge fifth. Sacred Heart Academy was seventh and Michigan Lutheran Seminary 12th.
It was the highest Pewamo-Westphalia has finished. “We were hoping…it was a goal to finish that high,” said coach Scott Werner. “We had competed against a lot of top teams during the year and had a lot of success.”
In the team race for P-W, Tanner Droste was eighth in 16:21.6, Greg Trierweiler 17th in 16:37.3, Caleb Barker 28th in 17:04.4, and Blake Thelen was 29th in 17:04.8.
“Our top three kids ran personal records,” Warner said. “We run as a pack. [Droste] went away from the pack a little bit and did some frontrunning for us. We’re super excited he finished as high as he did.
“I would say this was the fastest race in the history of Division 4.”
For Breckenridge, Kurt Gulick and Kyle Gulick were 14th and 26th in 16:34.0 and 16:59.2. Nate Partee finished 27th in 17:03.6, Jesse Corbat 33rd in 17:09.2, and Jake Partee 47th in 17:26.2.
“They had a very good day,” Humm said. “There were five teams way ahead of everyone else in the field, and it was nice to be one of those teams right up there battling it out.”
All-staters included Droste, 10th among all individual runners; Nick Pung of Beal City, 17th in 16:29; Grant Feldpausch of Fowler, 21st in 16:31; Sam Traver and Norman Emineth of Potterville, 22nd and 25th in 16:22.6 and 16:36.0; Bohdan Hartman of Fulton, 27th in 16:36.8; and Greg Trierweiler of Pewamo-Westphalia, 29th in 16:37.3.