Hornet Harriers a "Missed Free Throw" From Winning Spartan

The Saline Hornets’ boys’ cross country got a good idea of where they measure against the top teams in the state at the Michigan State University Spartan Invitational, held Friday at Forest Akers East golf course in East Lansing.

Saline finished fourth in an event that featured nine of the state’s top 10 Division 1 teams. The Hornets were among five teams that battled for first. They finished with 194 points, behind Grandville Calvin Christian (172), Hartland (180) and Mason (189). Just 23 points in the event separated the top five teams.

“We finished with in 22 points of first place. In a race like Spartan, that’s nothing. That’s like a missed free throw in a race this big,” said Saline coach Carl Spina said. “It’s tough to swallow but these kids are competing at a very high level. Little things make a huge difference.”

Senior Nick Renberg took fourth, running the 5,000-meter course in 15:40. Senior Spencer Bishop was 22nd, finishing in 16:08. Freshman Logan Wetzel took 39th in 16:20. Junior Grant Praschan was 45th in 16:23. Junior Anthony Lamus was the last Hornet to finish in scoring, finishing 84th in 16:49. Juniors Andrew Kitto (111th, 17:03) and Dylan Jennings (140th, 17:23) also ran for Saline.

“This race has been circled on our calendar for a long time,” said Spina. “It’s one of those races that we plan our training around. With so many really good teams there, it’s kind of like a ‘pre-state’ meet.’ You leave the meet with a pretty good idea of how we stand compared to the rest of the state.”

Its fourth place finish disappointed the team, which was ranked first in the state going into the race.

“They ran some outstanding times and still finished fourth. They are using it for fuel for the fire, so that’s good,” Spina said. “On Monday, we go right back to training. Our boys will have some extra motivation to do one more set, to run a few more miles, to do a few more push-ups, to stretch a little more carefully, to eat a little better and to get to bed a little sooner. It was an “eye-opener.’”

Still, it was good race for the Hornet Seven, which features a lot of runners without much varsity experience. Four of the top seven have never competed such a competitive race, Spina said.

“There are so many other kids in the race and there are so many other good kids in the race, it gets very crowded. If you don't know how to handle that crowd, you can get yourself into trouble,” Spina said.

Jennings, Kitto and Lamus got stuck in traffic early, but moved through it well, he said, and that experience will help them at big races at Portage and Michigan International Speedway.

Saline’s ace, Renberg, had his first test of the season.

“There are not many people that can really challenge Renberg, but he found a few today,” Spina said.

Spina said they worked on a plan for the race and that Renberg executed the plan well, making a few minor mistakes early, but recovering quickly.

“It was nice to see him race so skillfully. For his first two miles he did just what he wanted to and he was in a perfect spot. He had some issues in the last mile, so he couldn't do exactly what he wanted to then. But he did a good job with ‘plan b.’ He held his spot and didn't give up any more spots. That's tough when you're struggling late in the race,” Spina said. “He's executing race plans well, adjusting mid-race, and running very tough. He's at a very good point right now.”

Bishop and Praschan ran together early, and that’s a good thing, Spina said.

“If we can get Praschan running with Bishop, that would be a pretty big deal. He made it through about 1.5 miles with Bishop and I think the team scores gave Praschan some motivation to stay with him a little longer,” Spina said. “Both of those guys are running about as well as they ever have and it's early in the season, so I'd say they are a little ahead of where I thought they would be at this point.”

Wetzel continues to impress. He’s the second fastest freshman Saline has ever had.

“Watching Logan Wetzel race is tough on a coach. He's just so far back early in the race, it's scary. I love watching him race up through the crowd, but that first mile and a half I'm a wreck,” Spina said. “He's most comfortable racing that way, and it's working for him. He's a rookie and he's handling the big-race pressure like a veteran.”

Jennings, Kitto and Lamus worked together for the first two miles of the race and moved up through the pack.

“The problem is that takes a lot more effort to move through a pack like they did. Today was the first really big race for them, so they learned that lesson first-hand,” Spina said.

Over the last 1,000 meters, Lamus got on his horse.

“(He) just kept picking off kids. I'd guess that he picked up ten or fifteen points over that part of the race. He ended up running 16:49, which is his first trip under 17 minutes. There's a few million high school boys that dream of breaking that time, so it's a big deal to him.”

Spina said that the team backed off training and the SEC jamboree to focus on this race, and that it paid off. Six of the Hornet Seven ran season-best times, and the seniors were near career-bests.