Switching sports hasn't slowed Fedewa

Fri, Nov 6, 2009    to del.icio.us

SPRING LAKE — Tyler Fedewa made a decision that not many high school athletes would consider: Dropping a sport in which he enjoyed plenty of previous personal and team success.

Plus, there was likely plenty of more victories in store for his upcoming senior season on the tennis court.

It wasn't an easy choice to switch from tennis to cross country this fall, Fedewa said, but the success he's enjoyed with the Lakers suggests he made the right move.

"It was a very tough decision," Fedewa said. "But I bonded with a lot with the cross country guys and I've just come to really enjoy running from running in a lot of road races.

"In tennis, I felt like I wasn't getting better. I was still at No. 2 (singles) and I wasn't going anywhere. It was tough telling Coach (Charlie) Bassett, because I've known him for a long time, but I think he understood."

Fedewa missed out on the Lakers' tennis team qualifying for the Division 3 state finals this season, but if he'd still have a racquet in his hand, he would have never gotten a chance to experience the thrills of the state cross country finals. Fedewa placed fourth at last weekend's Division 2 regional in Grand Rapids, earning him a trip to the finals at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday. The Lakers' boys just missed the cut at advancing as a team.

"I'm a little nervous, but I'm also excited," Fedewa said. "I went down there last year as a spectator. There's like 300 runners and they're all really good. It's like a huge stampede with all the runners and spectators. It's really cool."

Fedewa's arrival was a boost for Coach Greg Brown's squad, as he also earned all-conference honors in the Lakes Eight, a top-50 showing at the prestigious Portage Invite and a medal at Fremont's Hill & Bale Invitational.

Fedewa hopes the adrenaline of running on such a big stage helps him surpass his season-best time of 16 minutes, 47 seconds.

"Right now, I'm seeded 83rd," he said. "But I'm hoping to be hitting about 16:20, which would likely put me 30th and I'd be All-State. If I don't reach that, it will just be like, 'Oh well.' I'm out there to have fun."

Fedewa's had such a rewarding experience this fall that he's strongly considering continuing his running career in college, possibly joining former Lakers' standout Blake Rottschafer at Hope College.

GH MAKING TRIP TO MIS

Grand Haven's girls cross country team, coming off of back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Division 1 state finals, will be making a return trip to Michigan International Speedway on Saturday.

The Bucs will be led by Cristina Perez, Catherine Keegin, Karen Lomeo, Julia Stock, Laura Addison, Kirsti King and Natalie Myers.

Grand Haven's boys failed to qualify, but they'll be represented by individual qualifer Joe Duff, a junior.