Jazwinski Clinches with Closing Kick, Powers Claims 1st Title Since 1999
November 1, 2025
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Whitehall junior Bobby Jazwinski had an unexpected guest watching the biggest moment of his cross country career.
The day before winning the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 individual championship, Jazwinski saw a familiar face in the family’s kitchen.
It was his sister Jessica, who won two Finals championships and set the girls Division 3 record of 17:08.8 in 2023.
The unusual thing about bumping into his sister in their own home was that she was supposed to still be at school at North Carolina State where she runs for the Wolfpack.
“She was making breakfast,” Jazwinski said. “I was like, ‘What are you doing here?’”
There was no way his sister was going to miss her little brother’s big moment, especially after he had to sit out last season because of the MHSAA transfer rule when he switched from Hart to Whitehall.
Their father slipped out Thursday night to pick up Jessica from the airport.
“I knew she was going to come back home for Thanksgiving and Christmas like usual, but my dad surprised me,” Jazwinski said. “He said he was going to do something in Grand Rapids and brought her home late at night.”
Jazwinski had plenty of family members from Michigan and out of state watching him race at MIS, but having his sister show up unexpectedly was a special gift.
“She’s such an inspiration to me,” he said. “She just kept giving me hugs and said that I’ve got this and to remember how hard I worked. Every time I started hurting, I just remembered how hard I worked over the summer and I didn’t want this to go to waste.”
Jazwinski won a kick to the finish against East Grand Rapids senior Jonah Workman, finishing in 15:07.1. Workman finished in 15:12.1.
Four runners were within 2.6 seconds of each other in the lead pack through two miles before it came down to Jazwinski and Workman at the end.
“My plan was to make a move about the two-mile mark, and I did,” Jazwinski said. “He was pretty much the only one who went with me. My coaches said, ‘Make a move when you get in the stadium; that’s who the contenders are for the championship.’ He was the only one with me I think. I was like, ‘OK, how bad do I really want this?’ I kept pushing through as much pain as I could.”
In the team race, Flint Powers Catholic won its first Finals championship since 1999 by a 98-106 margin over East Grand Rapids one year after not even reaching MIS.
The Chargers finished fourth at their Regional last year, sending Bryce Gross and Lennox Naswell to the Finals as individual qualifiers.
It was Naswell who led the charge Saturday, placing fifth in 15:24.7. Gross was 11th in 15:38.2, Tommy Beiter 30th in 16:00.3, Caleb Carignan 48th in 16:17.5 and Ryan Rathsburg 51st in 16:19.6.
“From the first day of the season, we knew everything doesn’t come easy,” Gross said. “We had a great year, but we learned how to fight from the (Saginaw Valley League meet). In our conference, we took a tough loss by a tie-breaker. From that we learned nothing’s given, not a single spot comes easy. This whole race, if you see a guy in front of you, you need to beat that kid.”
The Chargers’ coaching staff includes Leo Foley, who was a runner on Powers’ 1999 championship team. Head coach Dave Wolbert was an assistant coach 26 years ago.
PHOTOS (Top) Whitehall’s Robert Jazwinski III sprints toward the finish on the way to winning the Division 2 Final on Saturday. (Middle) Flint Powers Catholic’s Lennox Naswell surges through the closing stretch at MIS. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
Ronfeldt Makes Most of Finals Return, Northville Makes History with 4th-Straight Title
November 1, 2025
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Kamari Ronfeldt of Ann Arbor Pioneer came to Michigan International Speedway last year with dreams of winning a championship and left after receiving medical attention on the course.
Ronfeldt was among the contenders to win the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals championship as a sophomore last season, having set a freshman record of 15:08.6 while placing fourth in 2023.
The race was going according to plan when he hit the mile with the lead pack in 4:51.6. But he experienced breathing issues after that and had to drop out before reaching the two-mile mark.
The 2025 season has been a redemption tour for Ronfeldt, who broke the school record for a tradition-rich program and ran the fastest time in Michigan this season by going 14:47.9 at the Jackson Invitational.
The coronation came Saturday when he won a kick to the finish just ahead of Northville junior Brandon Cloud, taking the championship with a time of 14 minutes, 50.6 seconds. It’s the fifth-fastest time ever at MIS.
“I’m just so happy I was able to push through today,” Ronfeldt said. “Last year I had a rough run. At two miles, I couldn’t breathe and dropped out. I took care of that, so I’m happy I won.
“It was kind of cold-induced asthma. I started taking inhalers before races now, and it seems to work pretty well.”
Ronfeldt and senior teammate Beckett Crooks are the first runners in Pioneer history to break 15 minutes. The previous school record of 15:03.1 was set by Nick Foster in 2018.
Crooks finished fourth Saturday in 14:59.0, making he and Ronfeldt the only teammates to break 15 minutes at MIS. The previous fastest duo was Rockford’s Jason Hartmann and Dathan Ritzenhein, who ran 14:51 and 15:11, respectively, in 1998. Ritzenhein went on to be a three-time Olympian, and Hartmann was a four-time U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier.
“I’m only here right now because of him,” Ronfeldt said of Crooks. “Every day the practices are just amazing. I couldn’t be more thankful for him.”
As for breaking Foster’s record, Ronfeldt said: “I have so much respect for him. He was a great runner, who ran for Michigan, a crazy miler. That’s my motivation for getting to where I am.”
It was expected that Crooks would be Ronfeldt’s greatest competition for the individual title, but it was Cloud who was neck-and-neck with him as the finish line approached. Cloud’s time of 14:52.8 shattered his personal best of 15:24.6, which he ran while winning the Regional meet.
“I did not think I was going to be anywhere near him in this race,” Cloud said. “I was like, ‘I’m here. I’m going to try to take it’ with 200 out. He had more than I did.”
Cloud came away with the championship he and his teammates have been pursuing all season, as Northville won a fourth consecutive Division 1 team title by a 125-134 margin over Pioneer.
The Mustangs are the first boys team to win four consecutive championships in the MHSAA’s largest classification since Kalamazoo Central won four in a row in the open division and Class A from 1925-28.
Only four other teams have won three championships in a row in Class A or Division 1.
Cloud and senior Ben Hartigan have been part of Northville’s last three championships. Hartigan came to MIS as an alternate but didn’t run as a freshman.
“Even in middle school, people see the success the program has,” Cloud said. “People come up and they’re like, ‘Oh, Northville’s good at cross country.’ It encourages people to get into cross country in middle school. They want to be part of a state championship, too.”
Northville offset Pioneer’s firepower up front with some star power of its own. Following Cloud across the line were Hartigan in eighth place (15:12.8), Ryan Stojov in 10th (15:17.6), Ethan Hertza in 61st (16:00.7) and Emmanuel Coates in 103rd (16:18.7).
PHOTOS (Top) Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Kamari Ronfeldt pulls away from Northville’s Brandon Cloud at the front of Saturday’s Division 1 championship race. (Middle) Northville’s Ben Hartigan (312) stays a pace ahead of Kalamazoo Loy Norrix’s Jackson Lam. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)