Litzner Completes Career Finals Sweep to Set Pace at UP Boys XC Finals
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 18, 2025
MUNISING — It’s not often a cross country runner gets to end his or her high school career as a four-time Upper Peninsula Finals champion.
Sault Ste. Marie senior Gabe Litzner wasn’t going to be denied on this sunny and warm Saturday, however, completing the sweep by covering the Pictured Rocks Golf Course 3.1-mile course in 15:58.3.
He was followed by Marquette seniors Rorik Holmquist at 16:15.8 and Peter Argeropoulos (16:24.5) and junior Lucas Ballard (16:40), and Sault Ste. Marie senior Shea Armstrong (16:54.9).
“It’s awesome to look back at all the memories and friends I made,” Litzner said. “It feels like the conditions were a lot better last year. It warmed up quickly, and I think it caught everybody off guard. We’ve had quite a few colder races. The temperature had been in the 50s nearly every day.
“The Marquette guys were definitely pushing me throughout the race. I used a lot of the same strategy as last year. I followed a conservative approach in the first mile, then took off.”
Marquette captured its seventh-straight Division 1 title with 34 points. Sault was runner-up for the seventh consecutive time at 43, and Houghton placed third with 84.
Litzner became the first boys runner since 2019 to take a fourth U.P. championship, following Brimley’s Austin Plotkin, who earned top honors four times in a row in Division 3.
“Gabe and Shea did what they do,” Sault coach Jim Martin said. “We had some kids step up. One of our freshmen (Drew Burtt) really stepped up. We had five guys run good races. They found a way to get it done.”
Division 2
Painesdale Jeffers made it five team titles in a row, placing seven racers among the top 14 and scoring 23 points. The Jets were followed by Rudyard with 51 and Munising with 117.
“On the first day of practice we talked about it, and the biggest accomplishment is all seven boys and both girls medaled,” Jeffers coach Sam Kilpela said. “It ended up being a great day.
"This speaks volumes for our program. Overall, we stayed healthy, and on the last day we finished the job. This is the first time in our school history we won it five years in a row.”
Jeffers senior Cameron Anderson won an individual Finals championship for the first time, in 16:41.1, followed by classmate Landon Larson (17:33.4), Rudyard senior Steven Kirschner (17:51), Jeffers sophomore Branson Anderson (18:07) and Pickford junior Jacob Mitchell (18:11.6).
Division 3
Crystal Falls Forest Park clinched its first Division 3 championship with 58 points, followed by St. Ignace with 71 and 2024 champ Engadine at 91.
“This is a very special day,” Forest Park coach D.J. Rasner said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the boys. They worked so hard all year. Having a full team put us in a better situation. We got our fifth runner halfway through the season, and it gave us a lot of momentum. I think we’re also gaining some momentum in our school. More kids want to be a part of this.”
Cedarville/DeTour junior Ethan Snyder gained the top individual honor at 17:32, becoming the first from his school to take a U.P. title since 2004 when Cedarville’s Chad Schlosser was crowned champion.
Ishpeming junior Kemper Gearhart was runner-up at 17:51.7. He was followed by Rock Mid Peninsula freshman Ashdeyn Gerow in a personal-best 17:55, Engadine sophomore Nate Stielstra (18:13.4) and St. Ignace senior Dalton Champion (18:30.9).
PHOTOS (top) Sault Ste. Marie's Gabe Litzner is the first to cross the finish line in the UP Division 1 Boys Final on Saturday in Munising. (Middle) At the beginning of the Division 2 Final, Painesdale-Jeffers' Cameron Anderson (280), Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer's Sean Lake, Pickford's Jacob Mitchell (293), and Rudyard's Eli Folkersma (331), Seth Templeton (336) and Oliver Dankert (330) lead the field. (Below) Cedarville/DeTour's Ethan Snyder takes over the lead in the Division 3 race. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)
Flashback 100: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First
October 11, 2024
No American had ever won medals in both the 5,000 and 10,000-meter events at an Olympic Games until Grand Blanc’s Grant Fisher did so in Paris this summer.
He claimed bronze in both races, finishing just two-hundredths of a second behind second place in the 10,000. Fisher secured his opportunities in Paris by finishing first in both events at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
During his time at Grand Blanc, Fisher won two Lower Peninsula Finals championships in cross country, taking first place in Division 1 in both 2013 and 2014, his junior and senior years, respectively. In Track & Field, he earned five MHSAA titles, including winning the 3,200 meters in 2013 and both the 1,600 and 3,200 meters in 2014 and 2015.
As a sophomore, Fisher played on the Grand Blanc soccer team that advanced to the Division 1 Final, ultimately losing to East Kentwood 1-0. He played for coach Greg Kehler, who retired from coaching boys soccer after the 2020 season with 340 wins, ninth most in MHSAA history. Kehler is the current girls coach at Grand Blanc and is fourth all-time with 402 victories.
Currently, Fisher holds the American records in the 3,000 meters, two-mile, 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. In 2015, he became the seventh American high school student-athlete to run a mile in under four minutes and holds the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Finals record (all divisions) in the 1,600 meters at 4:00.28. At Stanford, Fisher was a 12-time Track & Field All-American and three-time Pac-12 champion.
Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
PHOTOS (Top) Grant Fisher (15) takes a photo with his Grand Blanc soccer teammates as a sophomore. (Bottom) Fisher competes in multiple Cross Country and Track & Field Finals during his high school career. (Soccer photo courtesy of Greg Kehler. Running photos by RunMichigan.com.)