BELDING — To those who follow Belding’s high school cross country programs the past two years, it comes to no surprise when junior Ethan Rockburn and sophomore Julia Finley are the first to cross the finish line of a race.
For the first time in Belding cross country history, a Black Knights runner has captured the O-K Silver Conference individual championship title in both the female and male division in one season, with sophomore Julia Finley finishing with a personal-best and new school record 18 minutes, 44.92 seconds, and junior Ethan Rockburn (pictured) finishing with a time of 16:12.46. It is Finley’s first conference title and Rockburn’s second consecutive title. — DN file photo
But on Tuesday, at the O-K Silver Conference Championship held at Ironwood Golf Course in Byron Center, the two sensational Black Knight runners did something not seen in school history, both taking first place and winning an individual conference championship.
For Rockburn, it is his second consecutive individual conference championship, however, Tuesday’s race wasn’t easy.
“The two races before that, I cramped up, which hadn’t been happening all season, so I was a little worried about it,” said Rockburn, who finished with a time of 16 minutes, 12.46 seconds. “My parents and I thought it might’ve been eating too late so I decided I’d try to eat earlier, so like four hours before the race. So I was pretty confident I wouldn’t cramp up (before the conference championship), but then I cramped again, so now we’re thinking it’s a hydration issue.”
About a mile into the race, Rockburn felt the cramping, which he described as 75 percent as bad as cramps he suffered in previous races. Forced to slow down, it allowed Calvin Christian’s Luke Witvliet to pass Rockburn for the lead. But two things helped him push through the pain — his coaches and his grandmother, Diane Rockburn, who was at the race watching and cheering him on.
“The coaches really helped in that situation because they kept me really motived, but my grandma was there, too, so I always like to run hard for her,” Rockburn said, “especially since she suffered a stroke last month, which was worrying.”
For the first time in Belding cross country history, a Black Knights runner has captured the O-K Silver Conference individual championship title in both the female and male division in one season, with sophomore Julia Finley (pictured) finishing with a personal-best and new school record 18 minutes, 44.92 seconds, and junior Ethan Rockburn finishing with a time of 16:12.46. It is Finley’s first conference title and Rockburn’s second consecutive title. — DN file photo
With plenty of motivation to push through the pain, Rockburn was able to keep Witvliet within a manageable distance. With just about 800 meters left, Rockburn spotted assistant coach Chris Kmiecik.
“Before the race, he told me to don’t settle and keep pushing,” Rockburn said. “And at that point (800 meters left), I started to settle and slowed down a bit. He was at the right spot and told me then, ‘It’s just an 800 (meter race) now, you’ve done that before,’ and I finally caught the kid with 400 meters left and he didn’t have enough to keep up.”
The cramp, during that time, was an afterthought, Rockburn said.
“I don’t know if it was because of the first two races before that with running through with it, but I didn’t really notice it that much then,” he said. “I don’t know if it was adrenaline or just pushing through it, but it got a little better towards the end.”
Rockburn was able to beat Witvliet by just over two seconds.
“It was nice to win because he had beaten me the last conference meet, which was the first race I cramped,” Rockburn said about Witvliet. “So it felt good to win because, at that point, we were tied, so whoever won was going to be the conference champion, so it was good to win.”
Finley, who splashed onto the cross country scene in a big way her freshman year, qualifying for the state finals, had big goals coming into this season. Ironwood Golf Course had been one of Finley’s favorite courses to run, having taken third in last year’s conference championship and earning a personal-best time and she was aiming to do better this time around.
On Tuesday, her confidence showed as she finished with a time of 18:44.92, a personal best, which breaks the school record she set earlier this year. Her time was more than a minute better than second-place finisher Catherine Kortman of Calvin Christian, who had a time of 19:26.46.
“During the school day, I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I was going to be. I was really excited for it,” Finley said. “Sometimes I get nervous, but I was really excited this time. This year, we did goal sheets, and my goal was to get first or second. I was so happy to get first.”
Though only a sophomore, Finley has been dominant in the sport and often finishes a race well ahead of the pack. But having a good lead doesn’t make her let up or relax.
“Running is very mental. Like (Belding head coach John Carlson) said, if you think this course isn’t a fast course, then you’ve already made it up in your mind how you’re going to run,” Finley said. “So I kept thinking, I can do this, I’ve got this, and so I am just going to go out and see where I can do. If you don’t push yourself, you don’t know what you’re capable of, so I went for it. And during the race, in my head I was saying, ‘I got this, I got this, you can do this, just keep going.’
Both Rockburn and Finely said their season has been going strong and with a conference title now in hand, they both are thinking of the next goals to accomplish. For Rockburn, it’s finishing under the 16-minute mark, which his PR, and school record, is oh-so-close, a 16:01. He’s hoping he can crack the 16-under barrier today when Belding competes at Shepherd, which is where he broke the school record earlier this year.
Rockburn finished 20th at last year’s Division 2 state finals with a time of 16:23 and is hoping to qualify for the state finals again and finish in the top 10.
Finley has her eye on a return to the state finals as well, finishing 79th last year with a time of 20:06.03. She would like to reach the 18-minute barrier like she has now a few times this season and is hoping to medal at the state finals.
Both runners seem to be on the same path as far as accomplishments and both are happy for the other with what they’ve achieved so far, especially making history with the conference championship titles.
“It’s really nice to accomplish that and I’m happy for her,” Rockburn said of the double conference titles with Finley. “She’s been working really hard and running a lot. She’s getting to the point that she’s running with us boys on easier days and keeping up with us and that’s really good. She’s going to be quite good for the next couple years.”
Finley had high praise for Rockburn, too.
“We seem to push each other, actually, Ethan and Katherine (Albert) and I always push one another,” Finley said. “It’s cool being with Ethan on this because we’re accomplishing the same things at the same time. He’s a really great runner.”
The Division 2 regionals will be held at Uncle John’s Cider Mill on U.S.-27 in St. Johns Friday, Oct. 25. Belding will be competing with 13 other schools, including Ionia. Division 2 girls race will begin at 3 p.m. and the Division 2 boys race will start at 4 p.m.
