August 12, 2024, is the official MHSAA start date for high school sports practices...so it’s time for the 2024 Blue Water Area Cross Country Preview!  You can read the full article on the website with a lot more explanation/details, more athlete names, and quotes from coaches and such, but for those of you who would rather listen, I’ll give a brief rundown of the local teams and some specific athletes to keep an eye on.  The preview is based on last year's season performances, so I use what I know from the fall and also go through athletic.net to gather information.  I also sent out a survey to all the area coaches and placed it on the webpage, so whoever responds has their quotes and info added to the preview, too, which is why some teams’ writeups are significantly longer than others (if your coach had more to say).  Blue Water Running covers Algonac, Almont, Anchor Bay, Armada, Austin Catholic, Capac, Cros-Lex, Dryden, Imlay City, Kimball New Life Christian, Kimball Landmark Academy, Macomb Lutheran North, Marine City, Marine City Cardinal Mooney, Marysville, Memphis, Michigan Athletic Club for Homeschoolers, New Haven, Port Huron High, Port Huron Northern, North Branch, Richmond, Saint Clair, Yale, and the two surrounding community colleges, which include SC4 and Macomb Community College.

Remember, this is just one perspective of potential outcomes for the season.  Obviously, it’s not a perfect prediction or any kind of expectation, it’s just a summary of what the season might hold and helps coaches, athletes, and fans of the sport keep up to date on area teams and what the 2024 season is shaping up to be.  For the sake of time, I tried to focus in the podcast on one athlete per gender and school, but as I mentioned, you can read more in-depth in the full article on the website. Also, my apologies if I mispronounce your name. So without further ado, let’s get into it!

I’ll be kicking off the season on Thursday, August 22 at the Mike Jackson Invitational in Cros-Lex, and Friday, August 23 at the Mariner Invitational at Columbus Park.

Special thanks to Elite Feet of Port Huron for sponsoring cross country coverage in the Blue Water Area!  If you need spikes, training shoes, or running accessories for your season, they have a large selection and an excellent, knowledgeable staff to help you find what you need.  They are located at 327 Huron Ave downtown Port Huron.

If you'd like to promote area cross country and track and field as a sponsor or advertiser on the website, podcast, or social media, we are always looking for great partners to help us cover our costs and expand our coverage! Please visit www.bluewaterrunning.org for more information.

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Imagine this: you're standing in the middle of Hayward Field in Eugene Oregon, looking out at the crowd as you get ready to fulfill one of your greatest goals and dreams: competing for a spot on Team USA at the Olympic Track and Field Trials.  Oh, and you’re also going to fling yourself almost two stories in the air using a thin pole.  Our guest on today’s episode has done all of those things!

We will be talking with Kenzie Shell Beukes, a 2015 Port Huron Northern graduate who recently vaulted in the 2024 Olympic Track and Field Trials.  Kenzie is an incredibly accomplished athlete: she was undefeated in pole vault during the regular season her entire senior year as a Husky, including winning the Division 1 state meet with a vault of 13’3”.  That made her a back-to-back MHSAA champion, as she also won the state meet - indoor and outdoors - her junior year and was third as a sophomore. She set a state record in pole vault for indoor (13-6.00) and outdoor (13-9.00) and was a USATF Junior Olympics All-American. Kenzie went on to have a very successful collegiate career at the University of Oklahoma, becoming an NCAA All-American as a freshman, winning various invitationals and setting meet records, and graduating in 2019 as the school record holder in pole vault (at that time) at 14-5.5.

A little background on pole vaulting: according to historians, people have been vaulting since the ancient Greeks for non-competitive purposes such as jumping over walls (think castle invasion during battle), obstacles, or even to get from place to place across very marshy and wet areas.  In some parts of Europe, they kept stacks of jumping poles at every house to cross canals without getting wet or to avoid long journeys to find a bridge.  Pole vaulting is now a competitive sport for height instead of distance and has been an Olympic event for men since 1896.  An American man won every pole vault gold medal from 1896 until 1968.  The women’s pole vault has only been in the Olympics since 2000. The technology of poles has changed quite a bit as well, starting with ash or hickory wood, bamboo, aluminum, and steel, and then to modern fiberglass or carbon fiber.     

I’ll leave you with this quote by Stacy Dragila, the first woman to win Olympic Pole Vault Gold when the event debuted in the 2000 Olympics in a vault of 15-1.  The world record is currently 16-7.

“I think women have brought a lot of life back to the sport: first because a lot of people doubted women could actually do it well. Two, part of it is that old fascination some people have in watching athletes risk injury to win.” Stacy Dragila

Once again, thank you so much for tuning into today’s Blue Water Running podcast. I can’t wait to feature more cross country and track and field athletes from the Blue Water Area…stay tuned because it might just be YOU! 

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please share, subscribe, and leave a review.  You can find The Blue Water Running Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major media players.  You can also ask Alexa to play The Blue Water Running Podcast. 

If you have an idea for a great topic or guest you’d like to hear about, feel free to contact me through the website links or show notes.  You can follow Blue Water Running on Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.  You can also find meet and athlete reports and articles at www.bluewaterrunning.org.

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This episode #17x2 is a bit different from our regular format.  The eagerly anticipated Region 17 preview from Michigan XC Speed Ratings came out this week, and it has St. Clair and Yale once again at the forefront of the regional projections.  This local matchup never disappoints and features some of the Blue Water Area’s fastest runners each year.  Both programs have a long tradition of excellence and building talent: in fact, St. Clair holds the D2 state record for the longest continuous streak of qualifiers, taking a team to the state finals every year since 2000.  Yale has done the same for the better part of the last decade.  In a close race last fall, Yale came out on top 37-46 at the 2023 D2 regional meet.  The Bulldogs went 2, 3, 4, 11, and 17 for their top 5 with a team spread of 1:51, while the Saints went 5, 7, 9, 10, and 15 with a team spread of 1:01.  Yale graduated their top 3 runners; St. Clair their top #1 and #4.  As you can see, it’s shaping up to be another great rivalry.   

We will be chatting with Jerry Westrick and Ethan Kreger of St. Clair, and then Ted Rutkofske and Wyatt Murtos of Yale.   St. Clair’s Westrick (PR 17:10) is a senior and Kreger (PR 17:05) is a sophomore, and they were both in the top 10 last year at regionals, returning as favorites in the area.  Yale’s Rutkofske (PR 17:18) was 11t,h and Wyatt Murtos (PR 17:24) was 17t,h and both are seniors this year.  To make this even more interesting, in the Speed Ratings regional projections, Kreger is rated first, Murtos fourth, Westrick fifth, and Rutkofske sixth, and all were within 25 places of each other at the state meet at MIS last fall.  With the St. Clair guys in the first half of the pod episode and the Yale guys in the second half, we’ll get to chat with all four gentlemen about their team training, respective league competitions, goals, and expectations for the season, and the inevitable St. Clair vs. Yale showdown.

Ethan Kreger: “Always ask yourself if you want to be one of the greats.” 

Jerry Westrick: “Float like a Cadillac, Sting like a Beemer” - Doc Hudson

Ted Rutkofske: "Get out there and show them what you guys can do." Coach Jared Shutko

Wyatt Murtos: "No one starts at the top; you have to work your way up."  Muhammad Ali

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On this episode, we will be chatting with Hannah Fisher, a 2022 Marysville High School graduate and a current member of the Golden Grizzlies' track and field squad at Oakland University.  

Hannah was an accomplished runner at Marysville, earning All-State status numerous times.  As a junior, she finished 7th in the 800 meters at the Division II state meet, running 2:19 and crushing her personal best by over 8 seconds.  She also placed 6th with her 4x200 relay and 4th with her 4x400 relay team, including 400-meter state champion Reese Powers (now a runner at MSU).  Hannah saw huge improvements in her 1600-meter times during her senior year, running 5:02 and 2:20 in the 800.  She was also a state qualifier in cross country, running a 5K best of 19:56 and winning several MAC jamborees and invitational meets.  

Hannah has translated her middle-distance success onto the track at the collegiate level for Oakland University, running bests of 2:14 in the 800, 4:37 in the 1500, and 4:05 in the 4x400-meter relay.  She is also dedicated to improving her craft in many facets, including nutrition, weightlifting, and sharing her training with others via Instagram.  

Hannah's favorite verse is: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

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 In this episode, we have an extra-special guest on the podcast: the man, the myth, the legend, Matt Armelagos, who is the analytics genius behind Michigan Cross Country Speed Ratings.  According to his website, Matt looks at cross country and track from a numerical perspective, calculating rankings and standings. In essence, speed ratings are a figure to see how fast an athlete ran on that course on that day.  During the season, an athlete can judge themselves from week to week on how they compare against others, and a coach can look to see if there’s improvement, or in the off-season, take a second look at how an athlete responded to training.  Another planned outcome of the speed ratings was that college coaches could hopefully use these in accordance with track times to find recruits that wouldn’t normally be on their radar. 

Matt has intelligently designed incredibly thoughtful data formulas including calculators, charts, and graphs to compare and contrast runners across the state.  He pours hours of his own free time into writing previews, explanations, rankings, and more and few people know Michigan running better than him.  His website and social media sites have amassed thousands of followers and somewhat of a cult status, as every high school runner I know (and most coaches and parents) tracks his content and posts religiously.  In Matt’s own words, “For all this work, all that matters is what you take out of it.  Whether it be fun, competitive, or goal-setting, we’ve all come to love running in some way.  Cross country isn’t run on paper and that’s one beautiful aspect of our competitions.  My dream is that these ratings call to attention those overachievers, those small schools, and the unfathomable improvements we strive for.”

I'll leave you with a quote by Emil Zátopek, who was a Czech long-distance runner who won three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5K and 10K, but his third medal, and probably the most unbelievable, was earned when he decided at the last minute to compete in the first marathon he had ever run!  It’s no wonder he was nicknamed the Czech Locomotive.

In 1954, Zátopek was the first runner to break the 29-minute barrier in the 10K. He was considered one of the greatest runners of the 20th century and was also known for his brutally tough training methods.  He is the only runner to win the triple crown of 5K, 10K, and marathon all in the same Olympics.  Runner’s World Magazine selected him as the Greatest Runner of All Time in 2013.

“We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon.”

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please share, subscribe, and leave a review.  You can find The Blue Water Running Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major media players.  You can also ask Alexa to play The Blue Water Running Podcast. 

If you have an idea for a great topic or guest you’d like to hear about, feel free to contact me through the website links or show notes.  You can follow Blue Water Running on Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.  You can also find meet and athlete reports and articles at www.bluewaterrunning.org.

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In this episode, we will hear from Thomas Westphal, a now-graduated senior at New Baltimore Anchor Bay High School.  The long list of accolades Thomas Westphal has accrued during the latter half of his high school running career is quite significant: Division 1 Cross Country State Runner-Up, Runner-Up in the 1600, State Champ in the 3200 - run just recently on June 1 - multiple all-state finishes and regional/league/county titles in cross country and track, invitational meet and school records, sub-15 minute 5K times, and more.  This past fall, Thomas won the Footlocker Midwest Regional at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Nov. 25 in 14:59.2, earning a trip to the Footlocker Cross Country National Championships on Dec. 9 in San Diego, California, where he had the opportunity to toe the line with some of the best high school runners in the country.  He has personal bests of 51.99 in the 400, 1:51 in the 800, 4:06 in the 1600, and 8:55 in the 3200, which he ran all alone at the Davison Twilight Invitational, lapping most of the field and setting the meet and facility record.  Thomas is also committed to an NCAA D1 program at Michigan State University to continue running at the collegiate level.

These amazing achievements are in stark contrast to his debut as a runner.  At his first cross country race as a freshman, Thomas finished in 22:03.  He has an amazing story of how he overcame injuries and obstacles to chase dreams with determination, hard work, guts, and grit and become the most successful runner in Anchor Bay history and one of the best in the state.

Until next time, I’ll leave you with this quote by Jakob Ingebrigtsen, a Norwegian middle- and long-distance runner. At age 16, Ingebrigtsen became the youngest man in history to run a mile in less than four minutes.  Ingebrigtsen is the current world record holder for the indoor 1500 meters and holds the world's best time in the two-mile. Ingebrigtsen is a two-time World champion, winning gold medals in the 5000 meters in 2022 and 2023.  He also won a gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, setting an Olympic and European record. He is one of only three men to run a sub-3:30 1500, a sub-7:30 3000, and a sub-12:50 5000 meters. 

“If some people can do something, I believe I can do it better.  That’s just my way of thinking and my way of staying motivated. But it’s like in every aspect of life, there’s a lot of roads to take to become a good runner or even good at anything. It’s a lot of practice and consistency. That’s the most important thing.”

Once again, thank you so much for tuning into today’s Blue Water Running podcast. I can’t wait to feature more cross country and track and field athletes from the Blue Water Area…stay tuned because it might just be YOU! 

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please share, subscribe, and leave a review.  You can find The Blue Water Running Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major media players.  You can also ask Alexa to play The Blue Water Running Podcast.  You can follow Blue Water Running on Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.  You can also find meet and athlete reports and articles at www.bluewaterrunning.org.

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In this episode, we will talk with Sadie Dykstra, a sophomore at Yale High School.  Sadie burst onto the high school track and field scene last year, making a statement by earning Division 2 All-State status in the long jump and 100/300-meter hurdles as a freshman.  She returned her sophomore year undefeated the entire regular season in all four events, winning four BWAC and regional titles.  Ranked as a state favorite, she lived up to the hype: at the 2024 Division 2 state finals on Saturday, June 1, Sadie won the long jump in 18 feet, 0.5 inches, the 300 hurdles in a time of 45 seconds flat, was second in the 100 hurdles in 15.19, and anchored her 4x400 relay to fifth place in 4:06.99, helping Yale earn a second-place team finish with 39 points.  Sadie is also an accomplished volleyball and basketball player, playing on the varsity teams since ninth grade and earning multiple accolades in those sports as well, including BWAC All-League and MVP.   We’ll hear from Sadie about her training, goals, reflections on the recent state finals, and what she is looking forward to next season and beyond.   She has a great mindset and her favorite quote is from Yoda: "Do or Do Not.  There is no TRY".

Once again, thank you so much for tuning into today’s Blue Water Running podcast. I can’t wait to feature more cross country and track and field athletes from the Blue Water Area…stay tuned because it might just be YOU! 

Until next time, I’ll leave you with this quote by Edwin Moses, an American former hurdler who won gold medals in the 400 m hurdles at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. Between 1977 and 1987, Moses won 107 consecutive finals (122 consecutive races) and set the world record in the event four times.

“In any competitive environment, you have to know your competition, understand who they are, do intelligent analysis on them, and then you have to know yourself - who you are and what you're capable of doing.  Lots of people let it go by and never accomplish what they want. I just wanted to see what I could do.”
 
If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please share, subscribe, and leave a review.  You can find The Blue Water Running Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major media players.  You can also ask Alexa to play The Blue Water Running Podcast. 

If you have an idea for a great topic or guest you’d like to hear about, feel free to contact me through the website links or show notes.  You can follow Blue Water Running on Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.  You can also find meet and athlete reports and articles at www.bluewaterrunning.org.

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In this episode, we will talk with our first freshman guest, Kai Fisher of Memphis High School.  Kai has personal bests of 10.96 seconds in the 100, 22.91 in the 200, and 53.05 in the 400, and high jumping 6 feet as an eighth grader.

Kai won the 100 and 200-meter dashes at the Algonac Friday Night Lights Invitational on May 10 and was the Greater Thumb League East Conference Champion in the 200 and 400 and runner-up in the 100 and high jump.  At the Blue Water Meet of Champions, Kai took the title in the 200-meter dash in 23.5 seconds, also just narrowly missing a win in the 400, with a 53.05 to the winning 53.03 by Matthew Bacholzky of Almont. His 200 best of 22.91 at the Division 3 regional at Clawson hit the automatic qualifying time, earning him a trip to the state meet: he was the only freshman to make the finals or qualify in that event.  He is the first sprinter from Memphis to ever qualify for the state finals in recent history: the only other runner was Tyler Carlson in 2021, who placed ninth in the 1600.  He’s the only freshman ranked in the top 30 in Division 3 for the 200-meter dash.  Kai’s accomplishments are all the more impressive when you realize he’s still just a ninth grader and Memphis High School does not even have a track. 

We’ll catch up with Kai to discuss his goals for the state meet, what he hopes to accomplish, how he trains without lanes or starting lines, and what he hopes is next for him through the summer and as a sophomore.

Until next time, I’ll leave you with this quote by Noah Lyles, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic 200 meter bronze medalist, and a six-time World champion, winning the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4 × 100 meter events at the 2023 World Championships, becoming the first man since Usain Bolt in 2015 to complete the sprint triple at a World Championships: “I don’t run for other people, I run for myself. As long as I enjoy it and I feel that I can be the best at something, I’m going to try my hardest. I don’t believe in doing something halfway, If I want to get into something I want to do all the research, do as much as I can with what I think I can do, keep going, and let myself figure out my own limit and not hearing what someone else thinks it is.”

Once again, thank you so much for tuning into today’s Blue Water Running podcast. I can’t wait to feature more cross country and track and field athletes from the Blue Water Area…stay tuned because it might just be YOU! 

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please share, subscribe, and leave a review.  The Blue Water Running Podcast is on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major media players.  You can also ask Alexa to play The Blue Water Running Podcast. 

If you have an idea for a great topic or guest you’d like to hear about, feel free to contact me through the website links or show notes.  You can follow Blue Water Running on Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.  You can also find meet and athlete reports and articles at www.bluewaterrunning.org.

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In this episode, we will talk with senior Grace Clemens of North Branch High School. Grace is an incredibly accomplished sprinter.  This spring, she was named the Blue Water Area Conference MVP, winning the 100, 200, 400, and the 4x100, making her a perfect four-for-four.  She recently won the 100, 200, and 400, and was runner-up in the long jump at the Blue Water Meet of Champions, taking MVP honors there as well.  She also broke the 60-second barrier in the 400 in that meet for the first time, running 59.96 seconds.  She has a 100-meter best of 12.31, a 200-meter best of 25.54, and her 4x100 relay set the school record at the Davison Twilight Invitational, running 51.06.  Grace has been undefeated in the 100 and 400-meter dash the entire outdoor season and only has one second-place finish in the 200: all the rest of her season results were first-place finishes.  She’s never lost a 4x200 relay event and has finished first or second in every long jump competition she’s entered outdoors this year. Grace was regional champion in the 100, 200, and 4x100 relay, and runner-up in the long jump and will compete at the Division 2 finals in these four events.

Grace will head to Tennessee Wesleyan University this fall to continue her academic and athletic career.  We’ll hear from Grace about her training, goals, reflections on her high school career, and what she is looking forward to after graduation and beyond.

Once again, thank you so much for tuning into today’s Blue Water Running podcast. I can’t wait to feature more cross country and track and field athletes from the Blue Water Area…stay tuned because it might just be YOU! 

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please share, subscribe, and leave a review.  You can find The Blue Water Running Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major media players.  You can also ask Alexa to play The Blue Water Running Podcast. 

If you have an idea for a great topic or guest you’d like to hear about, feel free to contact me through the website links or show notes.  You can follow Blue Water Running on Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.  You can also find meet and athlete reports and articles at www.bluewaterrunning.org.

Until next time, I’ll leave you with this quote by Simone Biles: “A successful competition for me is always going out there and putting 100 percent into whatever I'm doing. It's not always winning. People, I think, mistake that it's just winning. Sometimes it could be, but for me, it's hitting the best sets I can, gaining confidence, and having a good time and having fun.”

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This episode features senior Morgan Newton of Croswell-Lexington High School. On May 18, Morgan qualified at regionals for the Division 2 state finals in the 800 meters, taking third in 2:22.74.  Morgan has been incredibly consistent in the 800-meter run and has won the Blue Water Area Conference title in this event every year since she was a sophomore.  She is an integral part of her team’s 4x800 relay, which broke the BWAC record this year in 10:02 and placed third at regionals, qualifying for the state meet and breaking the Cros-Lex school record in 9:46.  She’s a versatile track runner: she’s run 5:30s in the 1600 consistently and has raced everything from the 400 to the 3200.  

Last fall, Morgan was the BWAC runner-up in cross country, won her first-ever regional championship, and ran her best of 19:12 to finish 42nd at the state cross country finals at MIS.  She then dropped even more time to break the 19-minute barrier and end her high school career with a 5k best of 18:57 at the MITCA Meet of Champions, which puts her fifth all-time for the Pioneers.  She will head to Ferris State University this fall to continue her academic and athletic career for the Bulldogs.

We’ll hear from Morgan about her training, goals, reflections on her high school career, and what she is looking forward to after graduation and beyond.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please share, subscribe, and leave a review.  You can find The Blue Water Running Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major media players.  

If you have an idea for a great topic or guest you’d like to hear about, feel free to contact me through the website links or show notes.  You can follow Blue Water Running on Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.  You can also find meet and athlete reports and articles at www.bluewaterrunning.org.

Send Blue Water Running a Message

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