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.)
Concord's Hersha Matches Heroes
By
Bill Khan
Special for MHSAA.com
November 3, 2012
BROOKLYN — Jesse Hersha has already done something his running role models never accomplished, but that doesn’t lessen the sense of awe he has for past Concord state champions Kyle Stacks and Spencer Nousain.
Hersha became Concord’s third individual MHSAA champion in the last four years, but the first to do so as a sophomore, as he cruised alone up front to take the Lower Peninsula Division 4 championship Saturday at Michigan International Speedway with a personal-best time of 15:32.3. His performance led Concord to a second consecutive team title.
Stacks won the 2009 championship in 15:54.8, followed by Nousain two years later in 15:55.8. Both were seniors when they won.
“I’m always fighting to beat Spencer’s times and Kyle’s times,” said Hersha, who was a teammate of Nousain’s on last season’s championship team. “Today I was three seconds or so off Kyle’s best time.
“They are definitely a push for me. They inspire me. Even if I beat their times, I’ll never think of myself as more than them. They’ll always be a role model to me.”
Hersha ran alone up front, winning by 20.5 seconds over David Zinger of Evart. Sean Kelly of Saugatuck was third in 15:58.9.
Hersha placed 19th at last year's Final, ninth among non-seniors. It was during the summer road race season that he began to get the confidence that he could become an MHSAA champion.
“I ran a road race without much training in 17:04 or something,” Hersha said. “My coach came to me after that and told me when Spencer won his senior year, he ran like 16:50 something at that race. When Kyle won his senior year, he ran 16:50 something.”
Nousain was the only senior in Concord’s Finals lineup last year, so the Yellow Jackets were favored to repeat. They did so handily by a 61-100 margin over Evart.
Freshman Josiah Ottolini was 11th in 16:23.0, senior Parker Saenz 14th in 16:27.0, senior Tyler Neu 18th in 16:29.7 and senior Sam Comden 47th in 17:05.4 to complete Concord’s scoring.
PHOTO: Concord's Jesse Hersha became the third MHSAA individual champion from Concord. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com.)