Preview: Forecast Calls for Historic Wins
November 1, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Team and individual history is waiting to be made at Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Boys Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway.
A year ago, the final state rankings predicted all four champions – and if they’re accurate again, Plymouth will celebrate its first title in this sport. Meanwhile, Caro’s Yami Albrecht will try to lead the Tigers to their first title in four decades, while becoming just the 15th boys runner to win a third individual Finals championship.
A total of 977 runners will take to the course at MIS for the boys races, which begin the day with Division 4 at 9:30 a.m. Below are some of the teams to watch and a glance at each of the individual fields. Click for all Finals qualifiers, a map of the course and links to buy tickets and watch the Finish Line camera on MHSAA.tv, and come back to Second Half later Saturday for coverage of all four meets. (NOTE: “Rankings” of individual runners below are based on data at Athletic.net, which orders runners based on the single fastest times they’ve run this season.)
Division 1
Reigning champion: Ann Arbor Pioneer
2017 runner-up: Plymouth
2018 top-ranked: 1. Plymouth, 2. Ann Arbor Pioneer, 3. Clarkston.
Plymouth’s runner-up finish in 2017 was its highest ever at an MHSAA Finals, and the Wildcats are predicted to take the next step Saturday after finishing second last year by a mere three points. Five of last season’s top six runners return this weekend, led by junior Carter Solomon (fifth in 2017). Plymouth took three of the top four places at its Regional, with Solomon the individual champ in 14:59.4. His 14:59 flat on Oct. 13 is tied for the fastest time in the state this fall. Pioneer brings back three of its top six from last season’s championship team, led by individual champ Nick Foster – his season best of 15:03.1 ranks him third fastest in the state this fall. Clarkston finished eighth last season but with one senior and none in the top five – the other six all return, and senior Brendan Favazza’s 15:16.2 on Oct. 17 ranks him as the eighth-fastest runner statewide.
Individuals: In addition to Foster and Solomon, six more from last season’s top 20 will run this weekend. White Lake Lakeland senior Harrison Grzymkowski should contend again after finishing third in 2017, while Romeo junior Jack Wilson (ninth) also is back from the top 10. Birmingham Seaholm senior George Nummer (10th), Lake Orion junior Andrew Nolan (14th), Brighton junior Zachary Stewart (15th) and Holland senior Sam Martens (20th) also return. Stewart’s 15:08 on Oct. 18 makes him the fourth-ranked runner regardless of division.
Division 2
Reigning champion: Chelsea
2017 runner-up: Corunna
2018 top-ranked: 1. Chelsea, 2. Fremont, 3. Corunna.
Chelsea broke through for its first championship in this sport a year ago, and four of the top six from that team return – and all four rank among the top 20 runners in Division 2, led by senior Jensen Holm (11th in 2017). Fremont was runner-up in 2016 and 2014 and won the title in 2015, and finished sixth last season with four freshmen among its top five. They’re sophomores now, and Nathan Walker’s 15:34.3 to win his Regional ranks him sixth in the division. Corunna senior Ben Jacobs is another standout, and his 15:34.7 personal record run Oct. 6 puts him seventh. He finished third overall last season and is among four of Corunna’s top six from the runner-up finish who will try to carry the team to its second championship in three seasons.
Individuals: Otsego senior Alex Comerford has finished 13th, ninth and last season second at the Finals, and his 14:59 on Sept. 29 is tied for the fastest time in the state this fall. He and Jacobs are joined by Linden junior Tyler Buchanan (sixth) and Dearborn Divine Child juniors Michael Hancock (eighth) and Anthony Hancock (ninth) as half of last season’s top 10 are back. Grosse Ile senior James Gedris (15th), Grand Rapids South Christian junior Micah VanderKooi (18th) and Spring Lake senior Andrew Hylen (19th) also are top returning placers. Grant senior Colten Covington was 12th in Division 3 last year.
Division 3
Reigning champion: Hanover-Horton
2017 runner-up: Caro
2018 top-ranked: 1. Caro, 2. Pewamo-Westphalia, 3. Hanover-Horton
Caro missed its first championship in this sport since 1980 by six points last season, but is the favorite this time with all seven runners back from the runner-up finish. The Tigers are led by senior and reigning two-time individual champion Albrecht – his 15:28.7 on Sept. 29 ranks him second among Division 3 runners this fall and 15th regardless of division – and senior Aaron Hurlburt was 20th individually at last year’s Final. Pewamo-Westphalia finished 10th last season after winning the Division 4 title in 2016 and returns four of last season’s top five led by junior Hayden Germain (23rd in 2017, ranking 11th this fall). Hanover-Horton graduated three of its top four from a year ago but returns its other four runners from the championship team.
Individuals: Albrecht will face strong competition as he runs for the three-peat. Harbor Springs senior Jeremy Kloss finished second to Albrecht both of the last two seasons after running seventh as a freshman. Dundee senior Colin Kane was sixth a year ago and has the fastest time in Division 3 this season, 15:25.9 to win his Regional. Morley Stanwood junior Aiden McLaughlin (seventh), Ithaca senior Ransom Allen (eighth), Holland Black River senior Sam Sharnas (11th), Stockbridge junior Micah Beauregard (14th) and Bad Axe senior David Knarian (17th) also are back from last season’s top 20.
Division 4
Reigning champion: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
2017 runner-up: Potterville
2018 top-ranked: 1. Saugatuck, 2. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, 3. Breckenridge.
Two top-10 individual finishers led Saugatuck to a 12th-place team finish in Division 3 in 2017, and total three of the top five from that team return. Senior Corey Gorgas was fourth in Division 3 the last two years and has the top time in Division 4 this season at 15:13.3, while sophomore Nik Pettinga took 10th in Division 3 a year ago. Sacred Heart isn’t going to just give the title back, of course; the team’s top four (and five of the top seven) are back. Breckenridge is running for its first Finals championship since 1976, and after missing the Finals completely last season. Freshman Mason Sumner ranks fourth among Division 4 runners with a 16:02.8 run Sept. 19.
Individuals: Plymouth Christian Academy senior Luke Pohl finished runner-up last season and ranks second among Division 4’s fastest this season. He is joined by Walkerville junior Shane Achterhof (fifth) and Johannesburg-Lewiston sophomore Carlos Gascho (seventh) among top-10 finishers back from a year ago. Beal City senior Alex Taylor (12th) and Ellsworth senior Isaiah Romeyn (19th) also could be in the mix again.
PHOTO: Caro’s Yami Albrecht (415) and Harbor Springs’ Jeremy Kloss (466) run as part of the lead pack during a stretch of last season’s Division 3 championship race at Michigan International Speedway. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)
Finals Aspirations Drive Experienced Laker Cross Country Teams as 2025 Chase Begins
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
August 21, 2025
When Aubrey Zarnke started running cross country nine years ago in the Elkton Pigeon Bay Port Laker elementary program, she wasn’t thinking about being part of a varsity turnaround.
In fact, it wasn’t something she thought was possible until the end of her sophomore season, two years ago.
“It was a lot different (when I started), the team was a lot smaller, but I just kind of joined and I stayed with it,” Zarnke said. “It kept growing and got so much more fun. I would say when our boys varsity team won the league championship (in 2023), that was a really big thing. Then it kept getting bigger, and records kept getting broken.”
Now a senior, Zarnke is part of a cross country renaissance at Laker, with both boys and girls teams coming off Big Thumb Conference titles and having their eyes on a trip to the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals on Nov. 1 at Michigan International Speedway. The boys advanced as a team a year ago for the first time since 1994, while the girls are looking for their first trip.
“I feel like it’s a lot better than if only one was doing it,” Zarnke said. “It’s almost like we’re lighting a fire in each other and pushing even more to be better.”
Mike Klosowski, a 1999 Laker graduate and former runner at the school, took over the program in 2009. At that point, he said, getting enough kids to score as a team was hard.
He got to work building elementary and middle school programs, and it’s paying dividends – not only in quality, but quantity.
Now, the boys are carrying nine runners, and the girls have 11.
“This has been a lot of fun,” Klosowski said. “I’ve taken some of the stuff I did and that my coaches taught me when I was in cross country, and now we’re doing that same thing in the same locations, same spots. That’s kind of fun.”
As this current group was coming up through his program, Klosowski could see the potential.
“When a lot of this core group was in middle school, they had some great success, so I thought they could be very good if they could stay together and keep working hard,” Klosowski said. “A lot of it is their offseason willingness to put time in and work. But also the fact they’re just a real tight group. They get along real well, work well together, push each other and keep each other on track. They’re like a big family, and it’s great to see that.”
This year’s Laker teams look a lot like last year’s teams, as both bring back the majority of their runners.
For the boys, six of the seven runners who competed at the MHSAA Finals are returning, including junior Evan Olson, who holds the school record at 16 minutes, 16.2 seconds. Olson finished two places from earning all-state a year ago.
Sophomore Kale Miklovic, juniors Henry Haag and Noah Mantey, and seniors Achilles Jackson and Jeffrey Ignash also return from the Finals-qualifying team.
Miklovic and Olson both won their first race of the year, as the Lakers ran at the Hemlock Huskie Classic, which runs a freshmen/sophomore race and a junior/senior race.
Two other freshmen – Walter Haag and Jonah Mantey – also placed among the top seven, adding more strength to an already established team.
Also in that boat is junior Noah Young, who had not run since middle school.
On the girls size, Zarnke is one of two runners who qualified for the Finals last year as an individual, as she was joined in Brooklyn by junior Pyper Braun.
The Lakers were two points away from tying for third place in last year’s Regional, and all six runners who competed that day have returned, also including sophomores Lydia Popp and Julia Shupe, junior Olivia Hooper and senior Payton Scott.
Hooper is also a returning Finals qualifier, having raced at MIS as a freshman. She’s healthy now after being slowed by injuries a year ago.
That core, plus the motivation of getting so close a year ago, has the Laker girls fired up to make that first run to the Finals.
“It would be crazy,” Zarnke said. “We’ve already got so much support from the community just with us growing. But that would be amazing. I don’t even know how to describe it.”
Laker was scheduled to run today at the Birch Run Early Invitational, a meet that features some of the top schools in the state in all divisions.
Among them are teams Laker would be competing with at the Regional this year, like Ithaca and St. Louis.
“We had a good talk on Monday, reflecting back on the (Hemlock) meet on Friday and how it was our first meet,” Klosowski said. “This week at Birch Run, there are a lot of schools we’ll see at Regionals, and we talked about how we want to set the tone early, and put our mark and our stamp on things. Show everyone that we’re the real deal.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker’s Aubrey Zarnke (2027) races toward the finish during last season’s MHSAA Finals at MIS. (Middle) Evan Olson (840) works to outpace a pair of runners during the closing stretch of his Finals race. (Photos by RunMichigan.com.)