A New Beginning for Forum Council

The new Fo-Co Presidents de scribe their plans for the council and their relationship with each other.

BY LYDIA DEBORD

Izzie Jacob and Morgan McClease walked into the room nervous. After a nail-bit ingly close election, an emergency Forum Council meeting had been called. The pair emerged from the room as the 2023/2024 Forum Council presidents.

Jacob first got involved with Forum Council in her freshman year, when she volunteered to be a substitute for an upper classmen in her forum. Though she didn’t have many chances to attend, Jacob found herself really enjoying forum council. That year, she and McClease, a friend and forummate, began planning a campaign for their senior year.

McClease officially joined the council in her sophomore year. She found herself really enjoying the impact the position gave her. “I like being able to have a say and getting to know other people and what they have to say,” McClease said.

McClease and Jacob have been classmates since middle school. They both went to Clague and were in the same advisory class. However, they didn’t become friends until they both went to CHS.

“We really didn’t talk that much,” Jacob said.

In the summer before their freshman year, McClease texted Jacob about when they were getting their schedules. Shortly after, they discovered that they were both in the same forum and from there on out, they began talking and they eventually became close friends. “Forum really brought us together,” Jacob said.

One of the predominant goals of Jacob and McClease’s campaign is to improve middle school outreach. During their time at Clague, neither McClease nor Jacob received outreach from CHS.

“My outreach was really through Scarlett London,” McClease said. “She’s a senior here and I knew her from dance. She told me all about how CHS is such a great place.”

The pair hopes to increase CHS’s presence in schools like Clague by sending volunteers to present at the school.

“The most diverse schools in our district, like Scarlett and Clague, have the least amount of CHS lottery applicants,” Jacob said, “So I think one of our biggest goals is going to these middle schools and implementing some sort of program there, so that [all students] have an equal opportunity to come here.”

For the past few years, at least one council president has been white. But with the Jacob and McClease party, this is not the case.

“I think part of the reason Izzie and I became so close was because we’re both minorities and we have some of those same experiences.” McClease said. Featuring diversity and a new chapter for CHS, McClease and Jacob hope their legacy and impact will be lasting and positive.

Slow and Steady

Leah White, senior, recounts her journey through running as she slowly, steadily improved to become one of the fastest runners in school history.

BY SERENA O’BRIEN

Her mom had always encouraged her to join cross country, but Leah White, now a senior, was, quite frankly, disinterested. A track and field athlete since the fifth grade, White was far more concerned with racing shorter distances.

“I don’t think I even really knew what cross country was,” White said. “So I didn’t even know what I was being disinterested in.”

She would soon become one of the fastest runners in Skyline High School history.

During the summer of her junior year, White allowed herself to be convinced to join the team. She was one week into summer training, and one week into distance running, when she and her brand new teammates packed into SUVs and drove north for cross country camp. There, she was met with a whole different kind of training than she was used to.

“It was a big adjustment,” White said. “But it wasn’t a bad adjustment.”

A few days into camp, she found herself at a complete loss during a goal setting activity. White had no idea what to expect out of distance running, or out of herself. Eventually, she settled on her reach goal: break 24 minutes in the 5k (slightly over three miles).

A few weeks later, she was on the start line of her first meet, about to get her first taste of distance racing. The farthest she’d raced up to that point had been a quarter of a mile — she was about to run three.

She crossed the finish line in 26:30.0, towards the end of the pack.

“It felt super duper hard,” White said. “There were a couple spots in the woods where I’d maybe walk a series of steps that I’m not proud of.”

From there, her times steadily improved. She was surrounded by teammates who all pushed each other to improve.

“I had a crew that I could run with who were running similar times,” White said. “Some a little higher, some a little lower.” In her second race, White shaved off three minutes from her personal best, for a time of 23:01.3.

“It definitely helped push me,” White said. “It was super exciting and encouraging because again, I didn’t really know what I could accomplish.” She did know that she had to set a new goal for herself: breaking 21 minutes.

“I thought that there was probably no way that I was going to do that,” White said.

Over the next several meets she whittled down her time, until she was sitting with a PR (personal record) of 21:55.2.

It was in the final race of her junior season, that she cut an entire minute off her best time, passing teammates she’d been behind the entire season, to run 20:53.4.

“It was definitely a very good note to end on,” White said.

Training for longer distances helped White build endurance, which has benefited her even in her shorter track events, which, until recently, had been her primary focus.

“Since I’ve been doing long and mid distance training, approaching the sprint races is a lot less intimidating, and a lot less tiring for sure,” White said.

That season gave her the momentum she needed to cut down on her times in all of her events. During the indoor track season White started competing for a club team based at Lincoln High School’s track facility, where her former outdoor track coach helped her build the speed to match her newfound endurance.

“I definitely felt results from the new coaching,” White said. She spent the winter focusing on sprint training, and had fewer opportunities to compete. When she did race, she ran slightly above average times in the 60 and 200 meter events.

“I was running pretty average times,” White said. “But faster than I ever had before.”

Going into outdoor season, she was ready to put down some fast times — some in events she’d never run before, like the 800. Her first time racing the half mile she was intimidated, but excited to see what she could do with the new distance.

“I doubled the distance that had previously been the longest distance that I raced,” White said. “And it felt pretty good.”

Throughout the season, she gradually cut down her times in each of her events, ending the season with PRs of 2:33.01 in the 800 and 1:03.01 in the 400. As the season came to a close though, she kept hoping for just one more race opportunity.

“There were definitely some meets that I wasn’t feeling 100%,” White said. “I kept thinking like, ‘Oh, what if I had ran just one more meet, maybe I could have run a bit faster.’”

The summer passed in a blur of activity, and she soon found herself back at the Leelanau Outdoor Center for her second year of cross country training camp. Not only did White have stronger relationships with her teammates, she also had a much stronger distance running foundation, and was able to run much further and faster than in the past.

“On one of the runs I kind of got tricked, and I ended up running with the boys team,” White said. “They were absolutely zipping it.” White clung to the end of the pack for the entire seven miles, the pace often dipping below seven minute per mile pace.

“I definitely could not have done that the previous year,” White said. Although White could tell how much she had improved, she still had no idea what to expect for the season.

“I’m not very good at setting goals for myself,” White said. “I think sometimes I set them too low.”

Her goal of breaking 20 minutes in the 5k, despite seeming like a lofty accomplishment, could definitely keep that type of pace up.”

Over the next several weeks, White continued to push herself, gradually coming closer to the 19 minute barrier: her next big milestone.

As the end of the season drew closer, White was right on the edge of breaking it, running times of 19:03.1 and 19:01.2 in back-to-back races.

The regional meet didn’t bring a new PR, but White and her team successfully qualified for the state meet. The previous year, White hadn’t been fast enough to qualify for the regional team. Now, she had become one of the top runners on her team, helping pave the way to the state meet.

“The improvement definitely made me feel good,” White said. “Having my coach talk to me about it and seeing other people get excited about it was really wonderful.” wear sponsors.

After submitting a form including your name and time, there was a draft, allowing different sponsors to select athletes for their teams.

White, watching the draft online, realized that her form hadn’t gone through correctly and that she would have to compete in a slower race. When the day of the race came, White got lucky.

“At the very last minute, someone from one of the teams couldn’t show up,” White said. “So they gave me a spot on Team Moneyball.” proved to be far too low.

Just over two weeks into the official season, after several meets of gradually whittling her PR down by increments of five to ten seconds, White set a 40 second PR, running a time of 19:54.4 and breaking her season goal.

“That race got me super excited,” White said. “I wasn’t sure how much faster I was going to go, but the race felt good and I started thinking that I

White was excited for a fast time going into the state meet, which was held at the Michigan International Speedway, but was disappointed by windy conditions and slower times. Despite the less than ideal racing conditions, White thought it was an incredibly fun race.

“It was fun, but also super, super windy,” White said. “It was kind of just gritting it out and seeing who could do it for the longest.”

White was still hopeful for one last racing opportunity, and at her coach’s suggestion she and several teammates entered an individual meet, where they would race for other teams made up of athletes from other schools. Different teams were sponsored by shoe and athletic

At every mile point along the course timers were set up so that athletes could track their splits. At her first mile, White could tell she was running faster than usual. She decided to stick to the shoulder of her teammate, who typically ran faster than her. When the two hit the two mile mark, White decided to make a gamble.

“That race, it felt really, really good,” White said. “So I passed her.” As White closed in on the finish line, she could see the clock ahead of her. She’d never seen a time this low.

“You can see in the video that as I run across the finish line I see the time and get super excited,” White said.

It was at this race, a year and a half since her very first 5k, that White shattered the 19 minute barrier, running a time of 18:42.9, securing the second fastest women’s time in Skyline history, and improving on her very first time by seven minutes and 48 seconds.

“I didn’t know that it was any kind of record until people were congratulating me on it,” White said. “I was kind of in denial in the beginning, I was saying, ‘Oh, I’m not really sure if I broke the record.’” kind of just gritting it out and seeing who could do it for the longest.”

Soon though, it was indisputable that her time was faster than the previous second fastest time. So, after joining cross country on a whim, White, slowly, steadily, became the second fastest runner in Skyline history.

CHS Runners Take on New Balance Nationals

In March, Teammates Christopher Van Lent and Mason Jett traveled to Boston to compete in the New Balance Nationals Indoor 2023, a track and field meet with the best high schoolers in the country

BY KURT HAUSMAN

The responsibility fell on the shoulders of CHS junior Mason Jett. Unwilling to let his senior teammates down, Jett pumped out a personal record (PR) split of 4:30 for his leg of the four by mile relay, propelling his squad to the 15th best time in the event for the entire country.

In early March, Jett and fellow teammate and CHS senior Christopher Van Lent traveled to Boston to compete for Skyline High School in the 2023 New Balance Nationals Indoor, an event that hosts the top high school track and field talent in the world. It was the first time competing in a national event for both Jett and Van Lent.

“The atmosphere was insane,” Van Lent said. “They had lights all along the track, they had sparklers that shot out flames, they dimmed the lights and had music. The atmosphere was just unparalleled to anything I’ve ever been a part of before.”

Jett and Van Lent competed together in both the four by mile relay and the four by 800 relay along with their two fellow teammates from Skyline High School.

“I was confident going into the event,” Jett said. “I was thinking ‘If I’m going to run a PR, it’s going to be here.’ Everyone at home is watching, all the practice I’ve been doing for the last six months, it’s led up to this point.”

The pair of distance runners qualified earlier this year and had been putting in grueling practice hours for the past few months; they knew this was their best shot at making a top finish at the national meet.

“We had our eyes on it this year, because we have by far the strongest team Skyline has ever had,” Van Lent said. “We knew if we had one shot to go to the national meet, it would be this year.”

With looming uncertainty surrounding the following season, Jett felt pressure to deliver on this trip to nationals.

“It’s not about the PRs either,” Jett said. “It was more about my team here. Three of them are leaving this year and I want to send them off with a nice ending to the indoor season. This year I told myself if this is the last time I go, I want it to be memorable.”

As Van Lent and the rest of his senior teammates prepare to depart, Jett has begun to take on more responsibility as a leader for the upcoming year.

“We’re really going to have to push our younger guys next year to see if we can hit the times we did this past year,” Jett said. “With all our old guys who have been here for a while, gone, it’s gonna be tough, and we’re going to have to rely on younger individuals.”

Jett has faith in his coaching staff to prepare these young runners for the challenge ahead.

“You’re not going to hit the times you want to hit while you’re a freshman or sophomore,” Jett said.“ Trust your coaches, because your coaches will know your limits better than you do for your first two years on the team. Once you have the practice, and the races under your belt, then you begin to push for the times.”

Jett sees many of the same issues he faced as a new runner with the younger members on the team. He attributes their lack of confidence in the team to a lack of experience.

“A lot of issues are mental,” Jett said. “I’ve been working with the freshmen, critiquing their form, technique and working to improve their mentality. They’re scared to push themselves for fast times, even though they do it in practice. You train for this, so we’re just trying to get into their head ‘you belong.’ You surround yourself with fast people, you belong running fast.”

Van Lent and Jett know this dedication to valuable coaching and consistent effort is what gave them the opportunity to compete at such a high level.

“I’ve been running with the people on my team six days a week, through thick or thin, for three or four years at this point,” Van Lent said. “We’ve always been a young team, but finally seeing all the stars align, all the great coaching, all the effort. Being able to have a fun trip like this to compete on the highest level of high school track and do well was honestly a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Van Lent and Jett begin their Skyline track and field season this spring, where they hope to make times that will allow them to qualify for the Nike Outdoor National competition in Eugene, Oregon.