|
Michigan High School Track & Cross Country |
||
|
|
Michtrack.org |
|
|
Michigan High School Track & Cross Country |
||
|
|
Michtrack.org |
|
The definitive source for records on the sport in Michigan
The Record-breaking Cross Country Finals… That Weren’t
Every major paper I read today gave a lot of ink to the story that Dexter broke the all-time low-score record and then a half-hour later Pinckney broke it by a point. You have to admit, it’s a great angle for a journalist to write about. If only it were true.
I don’t know how the story got started, but I will take some of the blame because I was in the officials area and someone mentioned to me that they thought the old “record” was Monroe’s 39 points from 1988. It sounded good to me, and I couldn’t think of anything better off the top of my head. The MHSAA program was no help in solving the problem.
In fact, I should be more red-faced than anyone. I wrote the book on this. The year 2000 was the third and last year I published a Michigan High School Cross Country Yearbook. It included a brief history of the state meet, as well enough statistics to choke an elephant.
Here, adapted from that book, are the all-time low scores in Division 1 and 2:
Class A/Division 1 Boys25 Kalamazoo Central. 1925 27 Ann Arbor 1922 27 Pinckney 2006 33 Kalamazoo Central. 1943 36 Ann Arbor 1925 37 Flint Central. 1939 39 Monroe 1988 40 Kalamazoo Central. 1950 41 Birmingham Seaholm 1963 45 Jackson 1947 45 Battle Creek Central 1950 |
Class B/Division 2 Boys21 Niles 1936 22 Niles 1939 26 Niles 1934 28 Ypsilanti 1943 28 Dexter 2006 29 Dearborn 1929 30 Dearborn 1930 33 Iron Mountain 1938 36 Iron Mountain 1937 39 Niles 1935 41 Auburn Hills Avondale 1972 |
Yes, I continue to count records from the Class ABCD days alongside divisional records (that’s what the media did with the Monroe statistic anyway). And as for the all-time record for any state final, consider the perfect 15s that have been pulled down five times by teams in the UP.
Fans who are unable to part with the notion of records being set last Saturday may have to console themselves with various qualifications: the lowest score of the century, the lowest score in modern times, the lowest score when the temperature was between 40 and 45, the lowest score when Michigan had a Democratic governor and Republican legislature, and so on.
Personally I think it takes nothing away from Dexter and Pinckney’s performances that they did not break records set more than 70 years ago when cross country was a different sport. One thing I can say from my history-geek perspective is that on Saturday we were blessed to watch the two greatest teams in the history of Michigan high school cross country.
And that means more than any record.
--Jeff Hollobaugh
PS-I’m planning to publish the cross country yearbook again soon. Watch this website for details.
