John Raffel
Sports Scene
All-state athletes from various teams were ecstatic to finish in the top 30.
BOYS
DIVISION 4
Ashton Walker of St. Patrick placed sixth at the Division 4 meet with a time of 16:41.2. “It went pretty well,” he said. “Overall, I liked it.”
DIVISION 3
Evan Goodell, of St. Louis, took third place in Division 3 (15:52.7). “Today didn’t go exactly how I’d like,” he said. “It was a good race. I had good competition. The state meet is always a good experience. It was a little warm for my taste, but everyone had to race in the same conditions.”
He led the entire race until coming down from two miles into the stadium.
Aiden McLaughin of Morley Stanwood is a freshman and placed 17th (16:39).
“I was glad with it,” he said. “Going in, I was going for a PR and I got one.”
His previous best time was 16:52. “It was pretty muddy out. But I had spikes and that helped a lot,” he said.
McLaughlin exceeded his expectations as a freshman.
“I didn’t expect to get top 30 at all,” he said. “I was just going for a PR. This happened to come with it. It was very exciting.”
Ben Haupt of Clare took 30th (16:49.5).
“Personally I ran awful,” he said. “Last year I got 29th. I’m a minute slower than I should have been. My first mile was too fast. I cramped up.”
DIVISION 2
Dillon Haviland of St. Johns placed 11th in the Division 2 race with a time of 15:59.6.
“I’m glad I got where I am,” Haviland, a junior, said. “I’m definitely going to work harder and pace myself to be the best I can be. I’m happy the race went well, and the weather was great.”
DIVISION 1
Senior Tyler McCartney of Grand Ledge was fifth in the Division 1 boys race with a time of 15:52.6.
“I’m very happy with what I did, it’s better than what I expected,” he said. “I came into the stadium at the end and decided to go for it. My PR was a 15:47. Conditions were a lot slower today. I’m happy going out with it. It’s been a breakout year for me compared to other years.”
Evan Meyer of East Lansing took 23rd with a time of 16:02.9.
“It was all right but I wish I would have finished faster,” he said “I had a good start. I didn’t PR (this season) so that was kind of disappointing.”
GIRLS
DIVISION 4
Maddelin Steffke of Beal City placed 23rd in Division 4 (20:13.8).
“It was a great race,” she said. “I just came out and did what I had to do. I ran strong the whole time. I came here what I came here for.”
This is the junior’s second all-state performance.
DIVISION 3
Jasmine Harper of Clare was ninth (19:14.5). “I’m very thankful to have finished all-state again,” she said. “I’m proud of my team. As a team, we were in sixth place and we couldn’t have done it without our coach.”
She’s been all-state all four seasons.
DIVISION 2
Freshman Taryn Chapko, of St. Johns placed 10th (19:06.5).
“It was a good race,” she said. “I was seeded 32nd. It was being smart and passing people. It’s usually at the end.”
Katie Vitou, of DeWitt, took 25th with a time of 19:24.8.
“It was all right, but it was a little muddy,” he said. “I ran my best at regionals”
Now a junior, Vitou was also an all-state athlete as a freshman.
“I had a strong finish, which I’m usually kind of bad at,” she said. “I pushed through to try to get all-state.”
Lidia Clarizio, of Haslett, placed 29th (19:29.1).
“Personally it’s been a good season,” she said. “I PR’d a lot.”
DIVISION I
Midland Dow’s Maija Rettelle placed 24th in Division 1 with a time of 18:44.1.
“I thought it was pretty good,” she said. “Last year, I was injured when I ran here, so I used my experience from that to know which spots of the course were bad. From that I was able to do well. I thought my best part was the end when I came up at the finish line.”