Panthers Record Breaking Freshman has Lofty Goals

Records are meant to be broken, but Rylee Tolson is shattering all of Stockbridge High School girls track and cross country records and she is just a freshman.

Tolson in just her first year of high school already has set the girl’s school record in cross country in the fall and this spring set the record in the 1600 and 3200 and is one of the top runners in the state.

This past fall she earned Division 3 All-State Honors with a 20th place finish at the state finals at Michigan International Speedway.

She became the first girl in Stockbridge history to run a sub 19:00-minute race when she finished in 18:56 at Marshall and she bettered that record by 11 seconds when she won the Regional title at Uncle Johns Cider Mill in St. Johns with a time of 18:45.9, nearly 10 seconds better than the second place finisher. Lindsey Poll held the previous girls’ record set in 2011.

This spring she continued to shatter Stockbridge records by changing her practice style.

“With cross country, practice is more about endurance and long distance runs,” Tolson said. “Track is more about speed and strength training.”

The speed and strength practice helped as she set the school record in the 1600 at the D3 Regional at Bath with a time of 5:10.71 and in the 3200 at a GLAC meet at Lakewood with a time of 11:21.6. The previous 1600 record was held by Taylor Machette in 2016 and the 3200 was held by Poll in 2012.

She also was the GLAC champion in both events as well as the 800, setting the GLAC record in all three events. She was also the D3 Regional champion in all three events.

Based on Regional finishes going into the Finals Tolson had the seventh fastest 800 time. The 1600 she was seeded sixth, behind four seniors and a freshman from Roscommon and seeded seventh in the 3200.

Qualifying for the state finals in three distance events is a rare feat and to have a realistic shot at a state title, she will pick two of the events to run at the Finals at Jenison Saturday, June 1.

“The Division 3 girls’ distance is ranked the toughest division in the Midwest for 2019,” Coach Steve Allison said. “All three races are just loaded.”

Tolson will be running in the 1600 and 3200 at the Finals.

“My goal is a top-five finish in each race,” Tolson said. “To come away with two top-five finishes would be awesome.”

“Rylee is the perfect athlete,” Coach Chuck Bumpus said. “She always wants to do more after practice. She would practice 16 hours a day if she could. When she is done with a race she waits at the finish line to congratulate every finisher. We have her running with the boys and doing their workouts at practice. It pushes her and the boys as well.”

Tolson also has a little sibling rivalry to push her at practice as her brother Ron is a distance runner for the boys. He earned All-State Honors in cross country in the fall and just missed qualifying for the finals in track.

“We push each other, but in a good way,” Tolson said. “He is there to cheer me on and I am there for him.”

While her goal is a top-five finish in the two race Saturday, she has her sights set at loftier goals down the road.

“I would love to win a state title in both track and cross country,” she said. “I will continue to practice hard and really think I can do it.”

“I think she can win a state title down the road,” Bumpus said. “Her dad really works hard with her in the offseason. She has a drive like no one else I have coached before.”

Tolson will have a plaque placed in the Stockbridge Hall of Champions for All-State finishes, but there is no doubt that she will likely be there as a State Champion some day.