Norder Leaves No Doubt with 1st Finals Win, Northville Breaks Away for Repeat
November 4, 2023
BROOKLYN — All that stood between Grand Haven’s Seth Norder and his cross country dreams last year were 1.63 lousy seconds.
That was the margin when Norder took second place in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final to then-senior Benne Anderson of Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills.
Looking back, Norder believed his mistake was allowing that race to come down to a sprint to the finish line.
He wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.
When Norder looked over his shoulder down the stretch, he didn’t see a serious threat as he put the finishing touches on an individual Division 1 championship Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. Norder finished in 14:54.3.
Norder was part of a three-runner lead pack at the mile mark, closely pursued by about a dozen other hopefuls. By the two-mile mark, Norder opened up a 4.7-second lead over New Baltimore Anchor Bay senior Thomas Westphal, who would go on to finish second by 3.6 seconds.
“Last year, I lost on a sprint-off with like 200 (meters) to go,” Norder said. “I wasn’t going to let that happen again. I believed I had the strength to pull away from the field. I guess I had the strength and ended up holding it down that stretch. That felt like forever.”
Norder finally has a championship on his resume after placing second both of the last two years. As a sophomore, he finished 23.5 seconds behind Hartland senior Riley Hough, who went on to win the Eastbay National Cross Country Championship.
“It feels so good,” Norder said. “Sophomore year — I lost to Riley, OK. Junior year, I wanted to win. I lost by a second. I decided I wasn’t going to lose again. If I was going to lose, it was not going to be a sprint-off. It was going to be the toughest man.”
Norder did have one MHSAA championship going into Saturday, having won the 3,200-meter run in 9:04.68 on the track last spring.
The team championship came down to a clash between Kensington Lakes Activities Association rivals Northville and Brighton, who split four meetings during the regular season.
Northville emerged with a second straight championship, scoring 128 points to edge Brighton by 13. Norder’s Grand Haven team was third with 187 points.
Northville had three all-staters, with senior Brendan Herger placing third in 15:05.6, junior Ethan Powell 13th in 15:28.0 and sophomore Benjamin Hartigan 24th in 15:37.7. Rounding out the Mustangs’ team score were junior Nick Barretto in 16:05.1 and senior Nicholas Yaquinto in 16:14.8.
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Haven's Seth Norder closes the MHSAA Finals with a Division 1 win Saturday. (Middle) Northville's Benjamin Hartigan (318) leads a pack down the stretch. (Photos by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)
Houghton Cross Country Teams Support Coach's Cancer Fight with Surprise Uniforms
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 28, 2025
MUNISING — Houghton’s cross country teams ran one for their coach while placing third in both girls and boys races at the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Finals on Oct. 18.
Under assistant coach Erik Johnson’s direction, the Gremlins unveiled new pink-toned uniforms at the Pictured Rocks Golf Course in honor of Cancer Awareness Month and their head coach Traci Welch, who has led the program since 1998 and recently was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I had no idea they were doing the new uniforms,” she said. “They really surprised me. The prognosis is good right now. I felt I dealt with chemo better than most people. I’m about to start radiation, but I’d rather be with them. This helps me get through it.”
Welch has led the girls team to Upper Peninsula Division 1 Finals championships twice, in 2020 and 2021, and the boys team to a Finals title in 2017.
Johnson says Welch is a real competitor. “Traci has always been an inspiration,” he added.
The Marquette girls capped this season by winning the Division 1 meet for the fourth straight time with 39 points. They were followed by Sault with 52 and Houghton with 63.
“This is much better than being at home,” Welch said. “The more I’m with them, the better. They persevered all year. They came every day, worked hard and had fun. The team camaraderie is just fantastic.”
The Gremlins girls were led by sophomores Holly Cooke in fourth (20:39.4) and Sela Niska fifth (20:41.1).
“We’re all very happy we can support (our coach),” Cooke said. “She would go to a doctor’s appointment, then come to practice for us.”
Niska believes she and Cooke share a common bond.
“She’s my best friend,” Niska says. “It’s very fun. Holly didn’t run last year. I’m glad she came out. We were right next to each other and paced off each other. We told ourselves to go out and run one for our coach.”
The Marquette boys won for the seventh consecutive year with 34 points, followed by Sault Ste. Marie with 43 and Houghton with 84.
Senior Ben Hemmer led the Gremlins with a seventh-place finish, covering the 3.1-mile course in 17:27.8. Sophomore Brandon Van Karsen took ninth at 17:40.7.
“We were running for our coach. She’s the best coach we ever had,” Hemmer said. “She comes to practice every day.
“I’m just grateful for cross country.”
Senior Jovie Williams took 16th (21:57.6) and Tessa Rautiola, who was crowned U.P. Division 1 champion a year ago, missed most of this season due to a stress fracture but was able to place 18th this time (22:05.8).
“We lost Norah (Woodruff) due to appendicitis,” Welch said. “Although, we’re glad Tessa was able to run. Tessa ran well considering she hadn’t run in about six weeks, and she was very appreciative.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS: From left, standing for a photo, are Houghton's Lilli Gast (150), Cecilia McDonald (152), Romi Mattson (151), Sela Niska (153), Holly Cooke (149), Jovie Williams (154), and Tessa Rautiola (155). (Middle) Cooke (149) and Niska (153) run together during the UP Division 1 Cross Country Finals at Pictured Rocks in Munising. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)