Newaygo's Arney Blows Past Projections at State Championship

Newaygo's Arney Blows Past Projections at State Championship
Photos and story by Alexis Mercer

In all sincerity, I was hoping the rain would come down harder and the wind would stay gusting at the same gale force strength for the entirety of the Division 2 State Championship race. As Remington Arney’s coach for some time now, I knew that not only could she handle the adverse conditions, but that she would thrive in them whereas other runners wouldn’t fare as well.

Though the wish for the rain to come down harder didn’t come to fruition, the gale force winds certainly held their own. 

“It’s a great day to run.” That’s our motto in Newaygo. Because every day that we are able to run truly is a great day to run, and we are grateful for the opportunity. 

Off she went from the start line she shared with 249 other young women into the wind; strong, capable and confident this would be her day.

Indeed it was. She executed the game plan to a t. 

Her freshman year, Remington ran a 22:22 at her debut at Michigan International Speedway, placing 211th. She was happy to have qualified and experience the meet of all meets in cross country.

As a sophomore she ran with more confidence and experience. By taking 9th place in the Regional she earned her spot on the starting line at MIS once again, this time improving to 41st place and a time of 19:38.9: a personal record.

This, her junior year, she came in with a projected place of 66th. The girls in Division 2 are quicker this year than last, so despite running a 19:50 at Chippewa Hills Regional, which was a full 36 seconds faster than her 9th place finish at the same course last year, she wasn’t close to her finish place from last year in the projections.

But what all predictors of such things can’t possibly know is the size of the runner’s heart or the determination in their bones. So rather than meeting the expectations of those who crunch numbers and compare races (kudos to these people, they really are awesome for our sport…and make it infinitely more fun to watch the races play out), she blew those predictions out of the water.

Remington Arney crossed the line in 19:36.8 seconds (a new PR) and an impressive 34th place. 

Very few people ran PRs on Saturday. In fact many ran slower than even their season’s best time. MIS isn’t normally considered a PR course, even when the weather cooperates. 

Maybe next year we will wish for a snow storm at Regionals to ensure another trip to the State Meet…

Full meet results can be found here:
https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/207977/results/833803

​

Remington Arney (middle) with teammates Rebecca Grandy (left) and Lyda Lathrop (right) in the tunnel to the MIS infield