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The Blue Water Running Podcast features local high school/collegiate cross country and track and field athletes from the Blue Water Area of Michigan. We highlight and celebrate their accomplishments!
62 Episodes
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Philippians 4:13 - “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” GVSU runner Abby Vanderkooi is back for another episode of the pod and has a great perspective to share. If you haven’t heard her first interview, I highly encourage you to take a listen, as she details her incredibly inspiring story of recovering from disordered eating. Abby was a cross country state champion for Muskegon Western Christian High School all four years of high school, with a 5K best of 16:48, and ...
"The only thing that I see that is distinctly different about me is: I'm not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be outworked, period. You might have more talent than me, you might be smarter than me. But if we get on the treadmill together, there are two things: You're getting off first, or I'm going to die. It's really that simple." -Will Smith In this episode, former Anchor Bay athlete and current MSU Spartan Thomas Westphal is back for his second interview, and wow, a lot has happene...
We've got a very special guest who just wrapped up a monumental freshman cross country season, earning a prestigious national honor. Today, we're talking with Brynn Hurley, a runner for Saint Clair County Community College, better known as the SC4 Skippers. Brynn formerly ran for the Cros-Lex Pioneers, where she qualified for the state meet in cross country all four years of her high school career. During this time, the Pioneers won back-to-back BWAC and regional team titles in 2022 and 2023....
Our episode guest is Xavier Roman, a senior at Macomb Lutheran North High School. Xavier has qualified for the state meet every year of his career and ran his PR of 16:18 early in the season on August 29 at the Golden Grizzlies Invite. After a meet the following week, he didn’t race for almost a full month due to illness and injury, but despite that, he came back at the Macomb County Meet to take 15th and earn All-County status, which was his highest finish at that race in his car...
"Doing the hard work is always easier than the regret you have later." Our episode guest is Maxwell Durham, a senior at New Haven High School. Max has seen significant, steady growth as a runner over the years, starting at 27 minutes for a 5K as a freshman to a 19:51 as a sophomore, 18:16 as a junior, to his PR of 16:58 this season at the Autumn Classic, where he ran 16:58. Max just won the MAC Blue Jamboree in a time of 17:29. Max is our first guest from New Haven High School, so we ...
Our episode guest is Owen Beindit, a senior at Algonac High School. Owen has seen significant, steady growth as a runner over the years, starting at 21 minutes for a 5K as a freshman to his PR of 16:58 last year as a junior at MIS. Owen has qualified for the D3 state finals every year of his high school career and recently finished third at the second BWAC jamboree as his team’s top runner for the first time. He’s also run a 2:06 in the 800 and 5:09 in the 1600 on the track. We will cha...
Our episode guest is Brady VanConant, a sophomore at Yale High School. When Brady raced his first high school 5K, he ran an 18:49 and earned himself a spot in the varsity top 7, and by the end of his freshman season, he had dropped that time to the mid-17-minute range. This year, he set a PR of 17:01 by finishing 9th at the Algonac Muskrat Classic on Sept. 6, then followed that up a few days later with a win at the first BWAC jamboree at Almont High School on Sept. 9. He was...
Our episode guest is Logan Romain, a senior at Dryden High School. Logan has come a long way in his high school cross country career, starting as a freshman in the mid-20-minute range for the 5K distance, and dropping all the way to a PR of 17:26 last week at the Holly Invitational, where he placed fifth. Logan won the BTC Blue/Red League Meet, was the top runner for the Cardinals at last fall’s D4 regional, which they won as a team, and ran his previous best at the 2024 state mee...
Our episode guest is Claire Albrecht, a freshman at Armada High School and the first ninth-grader interviewed on the podcast. In the preseason, Matt Armelagos of Michigan Speed Ratings ranked Claire third in D2 Region 17, and she’s lived up to the prediction. Claire opened her first high school season at the Algonac Muskrat Classic, placing tenth as the only freshman in the top ten, then followed that debut a few days later by winning the first BWAC Jamboree in a time of 20:54.&nb...
Our episode guest is Madelyn Barkley, a sophomore at Cros-Lex High School. Madelyn had a great freshman season for the Pioneers last fall, dropping from a 23:01 to a 21:08 by the end of her first high school season. She was part of her team’s top five scorers, helping them earn a team regional qualification to the D2 state finals. Madelyn recently won the Skippers Invitational at Goodells Park over Labor Day weekend in a time of 21:13, then dropped her PR again at the Algonac Musk...
Our episode guest is Samantha Langolf, a senior at Port Huron Northern High School. Sam had a breakout season for the Huskies last fall, dropping from a 21:23 in her first meet to a 19:17 PR at the state finals to become the fifth-fastest girl in school history; she returns this season with the second-fastest time from 2024 in the Blue Water Area. Langolf and her teammate Haley Sharp also helped lead PHN to a second-place finish in the MAC Division Championships. Sam also ran PRs ...
This episode features Reese Powers, a 2022 Marysville High School grad and recent Michigan State University cross country/track athlete. Reese is a very accomplished runner: in high school, she was the 2021 Division 2 state champion in the 400-meter dash with a PR of 57.71, was all-state in the 400, 4x200, and 4x400 several times over her career, along with going four-for-four as regional champion her junior year in the 400, 800, 4x200, and 4x400 and undefeated in any event she entered ...
Our episode guest is Leo Bearrs, a senior at Yale High School. While local Blue Water Area athletes might recognize Leo from around the BWAC conference meets, what they might not know is that Leo is also a racewalker and steeplechaser. Leo recently won the Michigan USATF Junior Olympic Championships 3000-meter racewalk and 2K steeplechase in Olivet on June 21. He also won the regional championship in both events in Louisville, Kentucky, in July, qualifying for the USATF Junior Olympics ...
"The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.“ ~ Fyoder Dostoevsky Our guest is Luke Bowman, a recent graduate of Anchor Bay High School. Luke is an accomplished adaptive athlete, competing in track and field at a very competitive level, winning D1 state championships in the 400 meters and shotput for two straight years: he even wheeled a full 5K in 19 minutes at the Macomb County Championships. Since 2023, Luke has been a fixture ...
Today's episode features a repeat guest, Noah Verlinde. Noah first came on the pod last December in episode #30 to talk about his cross country and track experiences at Saginaw Valley State University and his trip to California to race in the NCAA D2 championship event for the first time. Since then, Noah graduated from SVSU this spring, joined his father in the family business at Verlinde Insurance Agency, and turned his running pursuits to further distances, tackling his first 2...
This episode features Algonac High School senior Kate Bennett. Kate’s outdoor track and field career just ended in the best way possible: on May 31 at the D3 state finals at Kent City High School, she dropped a massive personal best in the 800, running 2:22.91 to finish sixth and earn All-State honors, her first trip ever to the podium. Kate’s no stranger to the state meet: she is a three-time regional champ and state qualifier in the 800, but her times kept dropping all spring in...
Eli Bickel, a North Branch High School junior, joins me to discuss his accomplishments this year in the shot put and discus. Eli earned All-State in the discus by finishing as the runner-up at the D2 state finals on May 31 with a new personal best of 180'-9" and also finished tenth in the shot put in 52’-2.25”. He has had a season of massive improvements: last year, his bests were 47'-11" and 149’, so he’s throwing significantly farther than he did as a sophomore. His shot put bes...
This episode features St. Clair High School junior Colin Boullard. At the Anchor Bay Invitational on May 2, Colin ran his best of 15.12 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles, a PR by close to half a second and meeting the Division 2 state early qualifying mark of 15.3 seconds. Colin is currently the second-fastest high school boy in the event in the Blue Water Running coverage area behind another D1 EQ hurdler, Jonah Konarz of Anchor Bay. As of the recording of this podcast, he a...
This episode features North Branch senior Thomas Kann. At the Davison Twilight Classic on May 2, Thomas dropped a huge PR and went sub-50 seconds in the open 400-meter dash, running 49.94 to take second place and hit the early qualifying standard of 50.30 for the D2 state finals. This is only the third time Kann has ever raced the 400 meters in his career, and it will be the first time he takes a trip to the state meet. He is currently the fastest high school boy in the event in the Blu...
In this episode, Cameron Gramzow, an Anchor Bay High School junior, joins me to discuss his incredible improvement this year in the shot put and discus. Cameron recently set personal bests in both events this week at the MAC Red meet against Dakota High School: he threw 49’-6” in the shot put and 163’-1” in the discus, and currently tops the Blue Water Area performance list. He also set a new school record in the discus, breaking a 47-year-old mark held by Scott Gostovich at 156’-6” fro...
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