GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — The portage invitational is one of the most elite events of the cross country season. Grand haven runner Seth Norder won the event by a nine second lead and has big dreams for the rest of the season.
“That felt nice. I’ve run well there the last two years, my sophomore and junior year. Junior year I got third but this one I wanted to win. Senior year, it was my last chance so it was nice to finally win it,” said Norder.
He didn’t just win, he crushed it. Seth ran a 14:57 to beat the reigning lower peninsula division 2 champ from Chelsea.
“That was comprised of the best kids in the state so winning that one gives me a lot of confidence that I can compete with anyone and win,” said Norder.
John Tarr has coached at Grand Haven for 20 years and creates some tough programs for his runners. But when he noticed Seth’s potential two years ago he knew he needed to kick it up a notch.
“His sophomore year when he got second at the state meet in the cross country finals, I was like ‘okay we have something remarkable here’ we’re going to have to change some things that we do and really work to make him better,” said John Tarr.
That meant really upping is millage. At this point in the year, he’s running between 60 and 65 miles a week but it’s paid off with the success he’s had so far.
“Just increasing millage and increasing it every year. I think that’s brought a lot of strength to my 5k’s and long distance. I’ve had speed but increasing my mileage every year from sophomore year to this year, I’ve had a big jump due to that mileage,” said Norder.
Seth earned a state title in the 3200 meter race at the D1 track finals in June. But after finishing second in back to back years in cross country, this is his final chance for a fall championship.
“In track there are a lot of different events, there are a lot of winners. But in cross country, everyone runs the same race. Best guy on that day wins it so it would be cool. If I could win that, that would definitely be cool,” said Norder.
His running career won’t be over when he gradates next spring. He’s going to be a second generation Spartan, and will join their cross country program.
“My parents both went to Michigan State so it’s where I’ve wanted to go since I was just a kid. And also like the guys on the team, and I trust the coach so to me it wasn’t the hardest decision in the world but I definitely took a while to think about it,” said Norder.
Seth and the Bucs will race at the OK red championship meet at riverside park on Thursday.
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