East Jackson

By Jeff Steers JTV Sports (October 21, 2023 7:33 AM ET) While others were talking about the race or winding down following the Cascades Conference cross country final at Ella Sharp Park last Wednesday, runner Michael Allen was quietly getting a simple job done.  The senior was collecting clothes strewn near the starting line by East Jackson High School runners just before the start of the race. Allen was slowly and quietly placing the sweatpants and tops into a large container before returning to their rightful owners at the East Jackson team tent. Just 20 minutes prior to that the soft-spoken runner was winning the conference title in cross country with a time of 16 minutes, 40 seconds ahead of Hanover-Horton and Jonesville runners. An East Jackson Community Schools website noted that Allen was the first EJHS runner to win the conference final for the Trojans since the 1970s. Allen just wanted to go out and win. “I just wanted to stay relaxed and not go out too fast,” Allen said of the race.  He was in a bunch of approximately eight runners at the mile mark and pulled ahead in the second mile.  “I just wanted to go for…