LocalSportsJournal.com
Some of the best runners in the area are being honored at Local Sports Journal’s first-ever Varsity Blues Athletic Awards Show on Feb. 17 at the Frauenthal Theater in downtown Muskegon.
The evening celebrates the excellence of today’s student-athletes while reflecting on the history of sports leadership from the Greater Muskegon area. Tickets can be purchased to attend the unique night by clicking here.
LSJ staff, area coaches and athletic directors and even some area sports enthusiasts came up with nominations for the best athlete in each sport that Varsity Blues will highlight this year.
With all the hard work that is being done inside and outside by our high school cross country stars, we had a tough time narrowing it down to four in each category.
For this year’s Rich Tompkins Cross Country Award, four male and four female runners separated themselves from the pack.
Male nominations
Jaxon Allen – Reeths-Puffer
Samuel Martini – Kent City
Seth Norder – Grand Haven
Sean Pettis – Fremont
Female nominations
Valerie Beeck – Grand Haven
Jessica Jazwinski – Hart
Grace Vanderkooi – Western Michigan Christian
Lila Volkers – Kent City
Each of these runners have tasted success at the highest of competitions, all with near-the-top finishes at this past fall’s MHSAA cross country state finals.
We chose Rich Tompkins for the name of the award because he raised the bar for all of the area’s track and cross country runners and coaches.
Tompkins was a three-sport star at Hart High School in the 1960s and went on to run at Michigan State University.
Shortly after graduating from MSU, Tompkins went to Fremont High School and started to make history. During his tenure as coach, Fremont’s boys cross country teams had a 250-29-1 dual meet record, won 21 conference titles (including 18 in a row from 1978 to 1995), 13 regional titles and six state championships.
His girls’ cross country teams at Fremont were nearly as good, posting a 111-22 dual record with 11 conference titles and six regional championships.
Tompkins coached standout individuals like quarter-miler Alvin McNair, who went on to place in several Big Ten Championship meets, and ex-Bowling Green standout JoAnn Lanciaux.
Much of Tompkins’ success can be traced to his businesslike, no-nonsense approach and his ability to motivate young runners to keep running year-round.
He started Fremont’s famed 500-mile summer workout club in 1970.
