WILSON----Never say "never".
The North Central High School boys cross country program had "never" won the Central U.P. Conference championship entering Wednesday's afternoon meet.
Well, that will "never" be said again. Three NCA boys finished in the top eight and delivered long-time Coach Jerry Root his first conference trophy by edging Munising and three other teams on a bright, sunny afternoon on the imposing Gorzinski Farm.
North Central, with a freshman, sophomore, and senior leading the way, won the meet with 42 points. Munising was second with 56, and Superior Central was third with 63.
After the meet ended, Root was emotional.
"I feel really good," he said. "Our girls have won here several times, but the boys, in school history, never won a league championship. So, this is our first. The kids deserve it. They have worked hard."
Jets freshman Seth Polfus led the way by finishing the hilly Gorzinski course in 18 minutes, 25 seconds. That was good for second place, behind Munising's Brett Hannah, who won the race in 18:16. Polfus had a good battle with Carney-Nadeau's Dionte Blahnik, who eventually finished in third place (18:39).
"I felt good," Polfus said. "Dionte, I was right on his heels (at the halfway point), and Bryce (teammate Holle) was right there, too. I could see Brett in the distance, and I was just trying to keep up with him."
Holle finished fourth in 18:41. Superior Central's Nick Maki was fifth in 19:01 and Munising's Sam MacArthur took sixth in 19:25.
(All of the boys team and individual scores are at the bottom of this page)
Root paid tribute to his lone senior, Josh Granquist, who finished eighth overall on Wednesday in 19 minutes, 51 seconds.
"Josh has been with me for four years and never had a trophy until this year," Root said. "This is his third trophy, and he deserves it."
"This is very exciting," Granquist said. "Running with all of my friends and stuff, it's an amazing feeling."
Granquist is also a mainstay on the NCA Jets football team, which is 5-1 this season and in line for a state football playoff berth. Root is impressed with Granquist's dedication.
"We tell him that he has to get in five races, minimum, and this was his fifth race," Root said. "Some Saturdays, he's so beat up from Friday night (football) games, that he can hardly walk. But he's got heart."
"It's tough," Granquist said. "But I just fight right through it and play through pain."
And then, Granquist took off for football practice.
The Gorzinski course is unforgiving, with a steep hill from the "start" line.
"The hills here are giant here compared to other courses," Polfus said. "There's one right at the beginning, and one right at the end. They're just big."
In the end, the Jets used teamwork to beat the Munising boys.
"We've been talking about it all year," Polfus said. "This could be our year. We've got a great team, and we're looking for U.P. Finals!"
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos from the meet, and to listen to audio interviews.
The North Central High School boys cross country program had "never" won the Central U.P. Conference championship entering Wednesday's afternoon meet.
Well, that will "never" be said again. Three NCA boys finished in the top eight and delivered long-time Coach Jerry Root his first conference trophy by edging Munising and three other teams on a bright, sunny afternoon on the imposing Gorzinski Farm.
NCA's Seth Polfus finished second overall.
After the meet ended, Root was emotional.
"I feel really good," he said. "Our girls have won here several times, but the boys, in school history, never won a league championship. So, this is our first. The kids deserve it. They have worked hard."
Jets freshman Seth Polfus led the way by finishing the hilly Gorzinski course in 18 minutes, 25 seconds. That was good for second place, behind Munising's Brett Hannah, who won the race in 18:16. Polfus had a good battle with Carney-Nadeau's Dionte Blahnik, who eventually finished in third place (18:39).
The finish of Wednesday's race
Holle finished fourth in 18:41. Superior Central's Nick Maki was fifth in 19:01 and Munising's Sam MacArthur took sixth in 19:25.
(All of the boys team and individual scores are at the bottom of this page)
NCA's Josh Granquist finished eighth.
"Josh has been with me for four years and never had a trophy until this year," Root said. "This is his third trophy, and he deserves it."
"This is very exciting," Granquist said. "Running with all of my friends and stuff, it's an amazing feeling."
Granquist is also a mainstay on the NCA Jets football team, which is 5-1 this season and in line for a state football playoff berth. Root is impressed with Granquist's dedication.
"We tell him that he has to get in five races, minimum, and this was his fifth race," Root said. "Some Saturdays, he's so beat up from Friday night (football) games, that he can hardly walk. But he's got heart."
NCA Senior Josh Granquist Comments
And then, Granquist took off for football practice.
Carney's Dionte Blahink finished third.
"The hills here are giant here compared to other courses," Polfus said. "There's one right at the beginning, and one right at the end. They're just big."
In the end, the Jets used teamwork to beat the Munising boys.
"We've been talking about it all year," Polfus said. "This could be our year. We've got a great team, and we're looking for U.P. Finals!"
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos from the meet, and to listen to audio interviews.
| CUP Boys Cross Country Team Scores | --- |
| North Central Jets | 42 |
| Munising Mustangs | 56 |
| Superior Central Cougars | 63 |
| Carney-Nadeau Wolves | 70 |
| Big Bay deNoc Black Bears | 113 |
| CUP Boys Cross Country Individual Results | ----- |
| Brett Hannah (Munising) | 18:16 |
| Seth Polfus (North Central) | 18:25 |
| Dionte Blahnik (Carney-Nadeau) | 18:39 |
| Bryce Holle (North Central) | 18:41 |
| Nick Maki (Superior Central) | 19:01 |
| Sam MacArthur (Munising) | 19:25 |
| Anders Busk (Munising) | 19:42 |
| Josh Granquist (North Central) | 19:51 |
| Jesse Elsenbrook (Superior Central) | 19:58 |
| Luke Leppanen (Superior Central) | 20:06 |
| Lucas Sundling (Big Bay deNoc) | 20:21 |
| Greg Seppanen (Superior Central) | 20:36 |
These Superior Central Cougars had four of the top 12 spots on Wednesday, led by Nick Maki (right).
