HART — Whitehall senior star Bobby Jazwinski had a busy week, traveling to Terre Haute, Ind. for a national Race of Champions event Saturday, but he still returned to the Vikings Tuesday to compete in the West Michigan Conference Lakes jamboree in Hart.
Jazwinski took it easy Tuesday, though 'easy' is a relative word; he still won the race by 47 seconds, posting a time of 15:38.3 as the Viking boys edged Ludington for second place behind the host Pirates.
The defending Division 2 state champion said his dad Robert, who also coaches him, told him to run a more leisurely race after a terrific effort Saturday, in which he led almost the entire race and finished a close second against a field of superstars.
"He said if I was leading in the first mile, then I wouldn't need to do a double workout tomorrow, so I just took it easy so I can be recovered for a workout," Jazwinski said. "I'm just ramping up the train again this week. I'm excited to race at Portage this Saturday."
Junior Rex Pumford, as usual, was second on the team, and sixth overall, with a time of 16:49.5. Ian Dennis was 22nd (18:08.9), Scout Freiheit placed 30th (18:35.7) and Alex Winczewski was 35th (19:10.0).
The Vikings' goal all year has been to qualify to state as a team rather than have Jazwinski running at Michigan International Speedway alone. Coach Jeff Bassett said the team is progressing well towards that goal, and the Oct. 17 GMAA meet will be a big benchmark as runners attempt to drop their times for the postseason.
"We're going to see what we're capable of at the city meet," Bassett said. "We know that's a good course, so people are excited about it. We're trying to move up (our) three, four and five (runners) Hopefully, it all goes as planned."
Jazwinski is a runner about which no worries are needed, and his efforts at the Terre Haute race, with over 400 runners in the field, 97 of whom ran 16 minutes or less, showed it. Jazwinski kicked himself for going out too fast to start the race - Bassett said his first kilometer was run in a blazing 2:39 - which allowed Rockhurst (Mo.) junior Jack McGovern to edge him out at the line by a second and a half. But his ability to lead almost the entire race and run a time - 14:40.0 - that beat the previous meet record showed his remarkable talent.
"I learned a lot from (McGovern), how you've just got to control that first part of the race and just keep getting more detailed and keep getting the little percentages I can get in races to be on top when it really matters," Jazwinski said.
Jazwinski's being in Terre Haute gave Pumford the opportunity to run a race as the clear No. 1 at the Allendale meet the same day, and Pumford responded, running his second-best career time. Bassett said he's seen the junior get smarter in competitions this year, putting him in position to be an all-state contender.
"I see him getting a lot smarter in his racing throughout the season," Bassett said. "He's been starting aggressive and just trying to hold on. Now he's starting to do some tactics and try to pace well, and he's doing very well at it. The better the competition gets, the easier it is."
It'll be the rest of the team behind Jazwinski and Pumford that will likely determine the team's postseason fate, though. Jazwinski has faith in his teammates to deliver runs that will get them all to state.
"As long as all the guys continue to lock in and do the right things and not slack in training and get good sleep, eating enough, I think we can make it," Jazwinski said. "It's just about the mentality we have going in, to be honest, and we have a good mentality."
The Whitehall girls finished third, squeaking by Fremont by three points. Gabrielle Chevez and Madi Hueschele finished fifth and sixth respectively but were marked with the same time (21:00.4) on Athletic.net. Kassie Sapp finished 18th (23:30.0), Vivian Hesse was 22nd (24:18.3) and Ryanne Ellsworth was 23rd (24:25.9).
Montague placed fifth in the boys' race but had two top-5 finishers. Wesley Mair placed third in a time of 16:32.3 and Nolan Kessler was fifth with a time of 16:41.1. Gibson Smith (34th, 19:07.2), Brock Hunter (38th, 19:46.4) and Caleb Vincent (52nd, 22:01.2) also scored for the 'Cats. Montague girls finishers were Amelia Liskey (28th, a personal best 25:55.9), Erica Hansen (30th, 27:17.8) and Willa Van Loon (37th, 30:26.8).
