HARTLAND — Elliana Neuer often smiles when she’s running, because it’s easier to endure the discomfort of a hard race by adopting a sunny disposition.
It wasn’t always that way.
“In middle school, I used to cry every single race, so I’ve come a long way,” Neuer said.
The source of Neuer’s distress in her formative years as a runner was a good old-fashioned sibling rivalry. Before current sophomore Brinley Neuer was a standout basketball and soccer player at the high school, she was also the most successful runner in the family.
“My sister, who is younger than me, used to always beat me, so I didn’t like it,” Neuer said. “Now she’s the one who hates running.”
Not many runners beat Neuer these days, not even some of the best to ever come out of Livingston County.
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Neuer won two showdowns with runners who rank high on Brighton’s all-time lists, winning the 1,600- and 800-meter runs during a dual meet on Tuesday, April 21.
She won the 1,600 in 5 minutes, 6.51 seconds over sophomore Ella Lorenz, who finished in 5:09.78. Neuer ranks third and Lorenz seventh on the county’s all-time 1,600 list.
In the 800, Neuer edged Brighton senior Juliet Lewis in a photo finish. Both runners posted times of 2:18.56. Lorenz was third in 2:20.89. Lewis ranks fourth on the county’s all-time list in the 800.
Not many dual meets feature such high-caliber races.
“I like having competition,” Neuer said. “It makes it a lot more fun.”
Being pushed in such races has helped Neuer challenge records held by Hartland’s Avery Evenson, who went on to become an All-American at the University of Michigan. Neuer became only the third county girl to break five minutes in the 1,600 on April 11 at the Hartland Invitational. (Pinckney’s Jaelyn Ray became the fourth four days later.)
Neuer’s time of 4:57.03 has her within striking distance of Evenson’s county record of 4:54.6 set in 2010. Her 800 time ranks second in school history to Evenson’s 2:15.6 from 2012.
“In middle school when I started liking running, I was only a second off her middle school record,” Neuer said. “Her name has always been in the back of my head, but it seemed so far away. Now it’s so close.”
There was no guarantee Neuer would still be running track as a senior. During her freshman year, she ran track and played softball. She played primarily on the junior varsity softball team, but got into four games as a courtesy runner on a varsity team that won the state Division 1 championship. She scored three runs and stole a base.
“Honestly, I felt I was always going to choose whichever one I liked more,” Neuer said. “Since I had a good freshman year in softball, I felt like I couldn’t top that anymore, whereas I felt like there was so much more I could do with my running.
“The girls and the whole team atmosphere, that’s definitely what I miss the most, because we were such a close team. Making it all the way was surreal.”
Her running career won’t end any time soon, as she will continue competing in cross country and track at Michigan State University.
In the team scoring, Brighton’s depth prevailed for a 74-53 victory over Hartland. Brighton’s boys beat Hartland, 100-28.
Addison Ries of Brighton swept the hurdles, winning the 100s in 18.16 seconds and the 300s in 55.20. Hartland’s Hannah DePestel won the 200 in 26.33, the 400 in 59.92 and was on the winning 400 relay team.
In the boys meet, Brighton’s Mason Gay won the 100 in 11.33, the 200 in 22.96 and was on a winning relay. Jamo Parsell won the 110 hurdles in 16.63 and the 300 hurdles in 43.41 for the Bulldogs.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Smile has replaced tears while running for Hartland’s Elliana Neuer
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
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