Hartland Runners Aim For Trip to States

A trip to Michigan International Speedway for the Division 1 cross country state finals in November is what both the Hartland boys and girls are aiming for this season.

“We’re in real good shape to have a nice season,” Hartland boys coach Matt Gutteridge said. “We’ve got to stay healthy and take care of ourselves. We’re still in the (Kensington Lakes Activities Association) West Division. It’s one of the toughest divisions in the whole state.

“Our goal is to get out of regionals and make it to states and see where we end up.”

The boys are led by returning seniors Ian McGinn, Alex Gietek and Brendan Gavitt. McGinn finished 28th at states last season, which was good for all-state honors. Gietek placed 75th overall.

“(Alex) could be my first runner to go to states for three years,” Gutteridge said. “They both have huge potential. The team has huge potential. They both want to go all-state, though, and finish their careers with success.”

Junior Avery Evenson led the girls last season with an 11th-place finish at states. She is among five key returning runners for the Eagles.

“I can count a dozen kids I can see being in our top seven,” Hartland girls coach Mary Rinkus said. “Their work ethic is great and it’s contagious.”

Allison McGinn and Megan Skinner are returning and the seniors will serve as captains this year.

Kaitlin Halonen and Jordan Gallant, both juniors, are the other key returning runners.

“We had a good turnout of girls,” Skinner said. “Everybody is working hard. We should have a good year. We all have personal goals, but one of the team’s goals is to make it to states for sure. We’ve all been positive coming into the season. I’m excited to see how we can do.”

The girls went to states in 2009 and finished 15th, led by Evenson’s second-place showing.

“I think we have a team that can do that this season,” Rinkus said.

There are 36 girls out for the team and Rinkus is excited about the added depth and the talent among the freshmen.

Last week, the girls stayed at Waldenwoods Resort & Conference Center for team camp.

“It was a good bonding experience,” Skinner said. “We ran a lot of miles. We had a lot of fun. We played games and it was a great way to start the season.”

Rinkus had the seniors share rooms with freshmen and the sophomores share rooms with the juniors.

“This way everyone got to know each other better,” Skinner said.

On the boys team, there are 34 runners, with 23 returning from last season.

“We’ve got almost everyone back,” Gutteridge said. “Despite a 1-4 finish (in the KLAA West), we had some good times. We’ve just got to do the work and stay healthy.”

The Eagles are in a regional hosted by Brighton, which placed ninth at states last season. The defending state champion Detroit Catholic Central is also in the regional. As is Milford, which placed fourth last year.

“It’s going to be tough, but I think we can win the regional,” McGinn said. “Whoever wins that regional is going to finish top five in states easily.”

It’s been at least a decade, maybe two, since the last time the Hartland boys qualified as a team for the state finals.

Despite the challenge, the confidence remains high.

“We’ve got almost our whole top 14 runners back,” Gietek said. “We’ve got the same core of people so we don’t have to worry about losing our frontrunners. Our division is still one of the toughest, if not the toughest, in the state. That’s going to help us, especially at regionals.”

The teams will open the season on Sept. 10 at the KLAA Invite at Willow Metropark in New Boston.

Editor's note: This is the second in a series of stories over the coming weeks that will preview fall sports at Hartland High School. Next up: football.