By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth cross country program is coming off a record 2001 season, and a move made earlier this year has made the 2002 campaign a bright one.
Two years after adding Ellsworth to the fold, H-BC school officials took action to allow Edgerton Public School athletes to join the program.
Edgerton did not compete in cross country in 2001 after sharing a program with Adrian for two years.
Patriot coach Tom Goehle said he's happy to have Edgerton on board.
"It will only make us stronger. At the same time, it gives the Edgerton kids a chance to run," he said.
Running is something the H-BC-E boys' team did well last season.
Competing in their first Red Rock Conference meet, the Patriots stole the show by winning the team championship and earning four of 10 all-conference positions during the meet.
Things got even better a few weeks later, when the Patriots produced a program-best, third-place performance as a team at the Section 3A. The top two teams at the section level advance to state, and H-BC-E missed an invitation by one place.
A group of five seniors helped make the 2001 season a good one.
Matt Buck and Nathan Fick ran at the section meet, placing 54th and 58th respectively. Lee Walraven is another senior who ran some varsity races last season, while Paul Jess competed at the junior varsity level.
No senior, however, made more of an impact than Brad Haak.
Haak won the RRC individual and Section 3A individual titles, with the latter giving him his third straight berth in the state cross country field. By placing 14th at the state attraction in Northfield, Haak made the All-State team.
"We'll miss all of last year's seniors, but you just don't replace a kid like Brad," Goehle said. "It's hard to measure how much he did for our program, but I can say he influenced all of the other runners in our program. As a whole, he has brought a lot of people up to the next level, and we'll be better for it in the long run."
Some of the kids who benefited from Haak's leadership skills will be asked to provide some to the 2002 team.
Junior Lee Jackson and sophomores Tyler Bush, Greg Van Batavia and Kale Wiertzema all earned varsity letters during Haak's senior season.
Bush, who was H-BC-E's second-ranked runner last season, should get better with age. He placed fifth in the RRC and 12th in the section as a freshman, which makes him an athlete to keep an eye on for the next couple of years.
Goehle thinks Jackson could have a breakout season in 2002. He was a member of H-BC-E's state-qualifying 3,200-meter relay team in track last spring, and he placed 39th in the section meet last fall.
Van Batavia and Wiertzema also made the All-RRC team by placing sixth and eighth respectively as freshmen. Van Batavia placed 25th and Wiertzema 45th at the section meet.
Edgerton additions Zach Hadler and Todd Alberty are two runners who should make positive impacts at the varsity level this season.
Hadler, the team's lone senior, was a member of A-E's state-qualifying team in 1999 and advanced to state as an individual in 2000. That kind of experience should elevate Hadler to the status of a team leader.
Alberty, a junior, also was a member of the A-E program in the past. Goehle says Alberty will get better as the season progresses.
A pair of sophomores to watch are Derek Haak and Michael Bos.
Haak has improved with each season, and Goehle would not be surprised if he had a breakout 2002 campaign. Bos, whom Goehle considers to be the team's sleeper prospect, is coming off a strong track and field season.
EllsworthÕs Jared Drenth and H-BC's Justin Hinks are sophomores who will offer experience to the junior varsity team this season, and freshmen Kerry Fink, John Sandbulte and Devin DeBoer will be strong runners with the same team.
Eighth-grader Adam Finke and seventh-grader Grant Hoogendoorn are up-and-coming talents who will serve as the backbone of the junior high teams this fall.
"We got a lot of good kids returning to a team that finished one place short of qualifying for the state meet last season," Goehle said. "One of the goals we'll be shooting for this year is to see if we can place first or second at the section meet and go on to state. It takes a lot of hard work and a lot of hours of practice to get a team to the state meet. I think the opportunity is there if the kids put in the hours."
The H-BC-E girls made program history by fielding a complete team for last year's section meet.
The Patriots were incomplete at the RRC race, but they fielded five runners for the section event, finishing 13th as a team.
H-BC-E did lose senior Becky Broesder, who finished 96th at the section level, to graduation.
The other four runners are back in the ranks, and additional athletes from Ellsworth and Edgerton should help the teamÕs fortunes.
Goehle lists sophomores Cassi Tilstra and Brittney Rozeboom as his top returnees.
Tilstra led H-BC-E by placing 31st at the section meet. Rozeboom finished 50th.
"As a coach who wants to start a tradition in cross country, having runners like Cassi and Brittney on the team is a great place to start," Goehle said.
Edgerton's Erika Fransen, another sophomore, is a welcome addition to the program.
Fransen has competed in the past and will add depth to the team in 2002.
Eighth-graders Amanda Tilstra and Mya Mann are other members of the team.
Tilstra lettered for the Patriots last fall, placing 91st at the section meet.
Mann, an Ellsworth athlete, did not run cross country last season. She is coming off a strong track and field campaign.
"Erika (Fransen) definitely added depth to our team. Mya (Mann) and Amanda (Tilstra) will run junior varsity and varsity races this year. I think they'll progress nicely and have a great year. All of our girls will set a good foundation for our program in years to come," Goehle said.
The Patriots opened the season in Mountain Lake yesterday.