Holland Calvary Christian Boys Repeat in Record-Tying Fashion
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 7, 2026
BROOKLYN – Holland Calvary Christian boys cross country coach Richard Laninga knew his team had a chance to not only repeat as Lower Peninsula Division 4 champion Saturday at Michigan International Speedway, but make history.
He just didn’t tell his runners the second part.
Calvary finished with 35 points to claim its second-straight title and tie the Finals record for lowest team score.
“It kind of crossed my mind a little bit, but we didn’t really focus on that,” Laninga said. “We just kind of felt like if we came in and we emptied the tank and ran our best, we’d just accept whatever result we got out of that. But I did think it was possible, I just never told the boys.”
Calvary’s 35 points matched Wyoming Potter’s House Christian’s 2022 race, and bested a very dangerous Breckenridge team that placed two of its runners among the top 40 team-connected competitors.
But Calvary had five of the top 11 team scorers on the day, which was simply too much for the Huskies to overcome.
“It’s crazy,” said Calvary senior Noah Schipper, who led the team by finishing fifth overall and scored two points for his team at 16 minutes, 3.7 seconds. “Coming into it, we weren’t even thinking about (tying the record). We knew there were some good teams out there and that we had to do our best. All I could see was a Breckenridge guy in front of me and one behind me. They ran a great race. I was just trying to do my best and trust that (my teammates) would do their best.”
All five Calvary runners finished in the top 15 overall, as Christian Getz was seventh (fourth among team competitors) at 16:06.1, Brody VanTuinen was 12th (eighth) at 16:31.9, Gibson White was 14th (10th) at 16:38.7 and Reagan Downing was 15th (11th) at 16:41.1.
Owen Ledebuhr was 17th at 16:44.8 to also finish all-state, and seventh runner Linkon Utter finished just two places outside of the podium, finishing 32nd at 17:02.9
While Calvary Christian was running away with the team title, Wyoming Tri-unity Christian’s Lincoln Laansma was running away with the individual crown.
The junior led wire to wire and finished off his school’s first Finals title with a 15:50.6, five seconds ahead of Breckenridge’s Anthony Rowe running second at 15:55.6.
“I felt pretty good the first mile, but with the wind and stuff that second mile, it just killed me,” Laansma said. “I know it’s going to sound crazy, because I was way far off, but I was hoping to try and hit (Marek Butkiewicz of Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep’s Division 4 Finals record of 15:09.7 set in 2024), but I just didn’t have it. I maintained the pace for 1K, but then I just fell off after that.”
Laansma was running essentially by himself throughout the race, as he had already opened up a 10-15 meter lead after the first 400.
“I had my coach toward the end of the second mile and he said, ‘Hey, you have a 40-50 yard gap,’” Laansma said. “I knew they were going to start upping the pace, so I knew I had to push it. That’s what I did at the end and luckily was able to come away with the win.”
Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central’s Abram Fettig was third in 16:00.5, with Elias Baldwin of Decatur finishing fourth at 16:02.9. Schipper rounded out the top five.
PHOTOS (Top) Calvary’s Noah Schipper (1204) chases Mesick’s Kyle Redman during the final stretch of the Division 4 Final on Saturday. (Middle) Christian Getz (1202) leads another group toward the finish. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)
Questions Answered for D1 Winner
November 2, 2013
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
BROOKLYN — It's been a year of "what-ifs" for Grand Blanc junior Grant Fisher.
What if the Bobcats' soccer team hadn't made the MHSAA Division 1 Final last season?
What if Fisher, a starting midfielder as a sophomore, hadn't chosen to play in the championship game instead of running in the MHSAA Cross Country Finals, which took place on the same day?
How would he have done against the best runners in the state?
"The soccer final didn't turn out the way we wanted," Fisher said. "We lost 1-0 to East Kentwood. There's always the thought that maybe I could've come here that day and not gone to the soccer game and maybe contended for state. I don't regret that decision, but it's definitely good to be back."
There will be no questions swirling in Fisher's head for the next year. He ran to the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship Saturday with a time of 15:13.7, beating Kensington Lakes Activities Association West rival and defending champion Brian Kettle of Milford by 18 seconds.
The soccer issue was settled when an unbeaten Grand Blanc team was upset 1-0 in the District Final by Clarkston on Oct. 19. Fisher had already determined that he would run in the cross country finals if the Bobcats reached the soccer final.
"We definitely had a good chance to make it in soccer," Fisher said. "We were ranked fourth going in. It was really too bad of a way to go out. It's allowed me to train for cross more and focus. It's definitely helped my cross country. I haven't won a state title in cross. That's something I really wanted to do."
Fisher already had an MHSAA championship on his resume, winning the 3,200-meter run in track and field last spring after taking second in the 1,600 by the narrowest of margins. In his only cross country final before Saturday, Fisher was 44th as a freshman in 16:14.3.
He had raced Kettle one other time this season, winning by 14.6 seconds in the KLAA Lakes Conference meet on Oct. 17. As was the case in that meet, Fisher and Kettle ran together through two miles before Fisher pulled away.
"I didn't want to leave it for too late, so I made my move at two miles," Fisher said. "Brian was with me for a good amount of time. He was right on my shoulder."
Fisher became the third Bobcat to win an MHSAA championship. Mark Mesler was the Class A team champion in 1977 and Chris Catton was the 2002 Division 1 winner.
Kettle didn't come away empty-handed, as he led Milford to a third straight team championship by placing in the top two for the third year in a row.
Milford edged KLAA Lakes rival Waterford Mott, 165-170, for the title. Mott had beaten Milford in both of the teams' meetings this year, winning 88-114 at the Oakland County Championships on Oct. 5 and 63-72 in the KLAA Lakes Conference meet on Oct. 17.
Milford put it together at the right time to win a fifth championship in the last 11 years.
The difference for the Mavericks was at the No. 4 spot, where senior Kevin Black had a 24-point advantage on Mott's No. 4 runner. Three positions were relatively even between the teams, while Mott had an 18-point advantage at No. 2.
Scoring for Milford were Kettle, senior Jeffery Field (28th in the team race, 16:24.0), junior Sean Noone (31st, 16:25.2), Black (34th, 16:26.6) and senior Clinton Caddell (70th, 16:48.5).
Mott had two runners in the top 10 in the team race, third-place Ryan Robinson (15:42.6) and 10th-place Sam Albaugh (15:55.5).
Traverse City Central also was in the title hunt, taking third with 180 points. The Trojans had three runners in the top 11 in the team race, but their No. 5 runner was 118th.
PHOTO: Grand Blanc's Grant Fisher (1023), Waterford Mott's Ryan Robinson (1175), Royal Oak's Ben Hill (1254) and Milford's Brian Kettle (1047) paced the field at Saturday's LP Division 1 Final. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)