By SteveU
Photos by Pat Davey

To the average person, it was an exceptionally beautiful November Saturday in mid-Michigan – a long-awaited sun-splashed spectacle, temperatures soaring boldly into the 60s, and a fresh fall breeze to boot.

Even runners and coaches at Saturday’s MHSAA State Championships at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn may have been seduced.  But the wise among them knew that the breeze was actually a potent 20-30 mph wind, and that the temps were deceptively warm for runners used to weeks of training with the thermometer stuck in the 40s.  The result, as runners pushed through the gut-testing wind tunnel that was the final 400 in race after race, was finishes littered with crash and burns, and unusually slow times for the flat course.

That didn’t stop one runner from making history, however.  Megan Goethals was the story of the state meet.  She was going to break 17:00 and nothing was going to stop her – not wind, not warmth, and not the stunning lack of competition, as the Rochester senior left an extremely talented field of D1 girls gasping in her jet stream.  The first mile was very solid – 5:24 – but Goethals simply didn’t let up, attacking the early part of the race like never before.  When she passed 2M in 10:50, her goal was clearly within her reach – but could she fight the wind alone in the final mile for the 5:30-something she’d need to do it? 

“The last mile was a killer,” she said.  “When you got on to the (speedway), it was like a wind tunnel.”

But that was where the surprising strength the tall, slender runner possesses paid off.  Don’t forget, Goethals (photo at right) has run 4:47.04 for 1600 and showed a very solid kick all last spring.  She displayed excellent form in the final 300, pumping her arms high with a relentless spirit until the finish line was crossed in … 16:54.8!  The nation’s top Foot Locker returnee and US#2-ranked star had beaten her own 2008 mark (in superior conditions) by 16 seconds and absolutely crushed the field by 1:15.

Goethals’ epic performance was far and away the highlight of the day, but it was hardly the only exciting story.  The D1 girls team battle was to be the usual war between several contenders, with MI D1#1 Rockford and #2 Saline at the top of the list.  Those two powers traded punches at the huge Bath, Spartan and Portage Invitationals, with Rockford having the overall edge.  But Saturday, Saline not only got its powerful 1-2 punch with seniors Alex Leptich (scoring 5th) and Kate Carter (10th), but the strong 3-4-5 effort it needed.  Their 141-point total was 51 better than the Rams.

On the boys side of D1, Troy senior and 4:07 1600 talent Michael Atchoo turned on the gas in the last kilometer to pull away from Kenowa Hills sr Reed Kamyszek and moved up from 2nd last year for the 15:28.5 win – the fastest boys time of the day.  D1#1 Ann Arbor Pioneer was the favorite in the boys battle to repeat its 2008 title, but Detroit Catholic Central – which had beaten Pioneer in early September, but lost to them and #2 Pinckney in other meets – put together a super top-to-bottom top 5 and scored 68 to win by 28.

The other three boys team races saw D4#1 Concord dominate as expected behind the 1-2 of Kyle Stacks and Spencer Nousain, while D3#2 Benzie Central triumphed despite not having anyone score higher than 25th.  D2#1 Ionia bounced back from illness and a regional loss to rule D2.  Individually, besides Stack’s D4 win, strong finishing kicks were the ultimate winning formula for both Durand sr David Madrigal in D3 (15:42.3) and Pontiac Notre Dame sr Christopher Burns in D2 (15:47.5).

For the girls, East Grand Rapids sr Lauren Grunewald overtook race-long leader Taylor Pougue of Goodrich in the last half mile, only to get outkicked in the final 150, but still led her D2#1 team to a 12-point win.  Devan John three-peated for Allendale in D3 and, with teammate Ali Weirsma 3rd, almost paced her D3#4 squad to an upset – but #1 Hanover-Horton prevailed on its depth for a first-ever state crown.  And in D4, Harbor Springs and Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart sr Bridget Bennett were both repeat champs.

D1 Girls: Goethals and Saline

Goethals is by nature a conservative starter.  She prefers to run with or off the leaders in a major race for at least the first half.  So when she hammered past the 2k checkpoint, with 2nd place Sara Kroll of Livonia Churchill already 15 seconds in arrears, it was a bit jarring.

“By 600 I could feel myself edging ahead,” she said.  “I looked back once and someone yelled, ‘Don’t ever look back!’”  And she didn’t, allowing herself to really start pushing early.

Actually, that was not entirely surprising.  Goethals has been saying all year she wanted to break 17:00 at the state meet and, on a windy day like Saturday, there was clearly no one else who could run that pace for more than a mile.  Another clue to her mindset coming in was her performance at regionals, where there was no one who could run within two minutes of her, but she still pushed herself hard to a 17:24.  She wanted to experiment with producing that kind of effort alone, the way she would have to Saturday if she wanted to reach her goal.

“(Regionals) really showed me I could do it,” she said.  “It showed me I was where I was supposed to be.”

So the aforementioned first mile (5:24) was solid, but there could be little or no second mile slowdown, a natural inclination for most runners.  Goethals is naturally good at sustaining pace, partly because she doesn’t start too fast like so many others.  She knew she had to be at 11:00 or better at the 2M to have a chance at sub-17:00, so with an intense focus, she kept working it – harder and earlier than she ever does.

Goethals was 25 seconds ahead as she approached that 2-mile marker.  She saw the clock and a rush of adrenaline went through her.  10:50!  She would have a cushion to work with as she entered the “wind tunnel.”

“My coach (Larry Adams) and I went over what my splits needed to be,” she said.  “When I saw 10:50 I was so excited!”

That enthusiasm, plus strength and determination got her through the final 1.1 miles, achieving her major goal of the regular season.  “I was so relieved,” she said.  “This was probably the most determined I’ve ever been for a race.  I was focused on this race all season.”

Goethals now has three weeks to prepare for the next item on her check list, Foot Locker Midwest and getting back to San Diego.  And there’s no question that Saturday had a positive effect on her ultimate goal.  “It gives me a lot of confidence and makes me feel like I have a good chance to win it (Foot Locker Finals).”

Behind Goethals, Kroll ran a solitary second most of the race.  But surprising Hartland frosh Avery Evenson closed the gap throughout the third mile and finally nipped Kroll at the line, 18:10.3 to 18:10.7. 


The girls D1 team race, on other hand, has typically been one with several contenders, and this year was no different.  D1#1 Rockford and #2 Saline were clearly the favorites, but it would have hardly been a shocker if new power Grosse Pointe South, defending champ Traverse City Central, East Kentwood or any of 2 or 3 others.

Rockford had beaten Saline at Bath in early September, but Saline returned the favor at the Spartan Invite – though Rockford had one key runner injured and another suffering an unusual false-start DQ.  Then Rockford won Portage with 108 points, followed by Pinckney (124), TCC (167) and then Saline (172).  Rockford had done so without their #1, now lost for the season, and it seemed they would prevail again at MIS, barring disaster.

But while Portage was a low point for Saline as a team, their 3-4-5 began to really come together in the weeks before state behind Leptich and Carter (photo above, #353 and #349).  This time, freshmen Alyssa Cummings and Emily Reyst were 20 seconds each closer to Carter, while Rockford’s group was not nearly as tight as they were at Portage.  Saline won all five spots, changing a 64-point deficit to a 51-point win.

“Gratifying is the key word,” said Saline Coach Mike Smith.  “Portage was good for us.  We realized what we had to do to improve, the kids worked hard, and we got some momentum.  We knew we’d have the best 1-2, but our 3-4-5 started running better.”