Preview: MIS Set to Host Next Wave of Boys Cross Country Champions
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 3, 2023
The podium at Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Boys Cross Country Finals could welcome a host of new champions.
Division 4 is assured of a new team title winner, with 2022 champion Wyoming Potter’s House Christian running in Division 3. Anticipation is likely high for Ada Forest Hills Eastern in Division 2 and Traverse City St. Francis in Division 3 among others as well, as they are ranked No. 1 in their respective divisions and seeking their first championships in this sport.
There will be at least three new individual champions, with last year’s Division 2 pacesetter Connell Alford of Chelsea the only one running again. But he is part of an elite group who have emerged this fall, and there’s more on many of those and other team contenders below.
The "season bests" list referred to frequently is a ranking list of every runner's best time this season, maintained by Athletic.net. The day’s first race, Division 4 girls, begins at 9:30 a.m.; click here for the full schedule and ticket information. Additionally, all eight races Saturday at MIS will be streamed live and viewable with subscription on MHSAA.tv.
Division 1
Reigning champion: Northville
2022 runner-up: Traverse City Central
2023 top-ranked: 1. Brighton, 2. Northville, 3. Grand Haven.
While Northville won last season’s championship, Brighton won in 2021 and 2019, and they’ve matched up multiple times this season with Northville notably claiming the Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship race but Brighton winning the early-season Spartan Invitational Elite race on a tie-breaker. Brighton is paced by senior Tyler Langley, who finished 24th last season and has the 17th-fastest season-best time in Division 1 this fall, while Northville follows senior Brendan Herger and junior Ethan Powell, who finished third and 28th, respectively, at last season’s Final – and both have top-15 times on the season bests list this year. Grand Haven was 11th last season behind individual runner-up Seth Norder, who finished just 1.63 seconds off the lead, and he has the fastest time in Division 1 this fall of 14:48.2 run to win the Allendale Regional.
Individuals: Jenison junior Seth Connor was right behind Norder at Allendale and has the second-fastest season best in Division 1 with a 14:54 from that day. He should make a big jump from 34th a year ago. Six more runners join Norder and Herger from last season’s top 20, with New Baltimore Anchor Bay senior Thomas Westphal fourth last year and eighth on this year’s season bests list, and Romeo junior Vincent Guaresimo back after finishing eighth and sitting 12th among the season bests. Dexter senior Brandon Anderson has the third-fastest season best in Division 1 and was 12th last season, and Battle Creek Lakeview senior Aiden Moore is tenths of a second behind him this fall after finishing 21st at last year’s Final. A big Finals debut is anticipated from Ann Arbor Pioneer freshman Kamari Ronfeldt, who owns the fifth-fastest season best in Division 1 and won his Regional. Joining him and Norder among Regional champs were Bay City Western senior Noah Selvaraj (20th at last year’s Final), Moore, Anderson, Herger, Milford sophomore Kyle O’Rourke, Troy senior Vishvaa Ravishankar and Westphal.
Division 2
Reigning champion: East Grand Rapids
2022 runner-up: Chelsea
2023 top-ranked: 1. Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 2. Allendale, 3. Pinckney.
This might be the toughest race to forecast of the entire Finals day. East Grand Rapids won last season with its top five finishing between 28th-46th, and three Pioneers sit among the top 23 on the Division 2 season bests list this fall as the team enters ranked No. 4. Forest Hills Eastern is seeking its first championship and finished 21 points better than EGR at their Regional at Grand Rapids South Christian after placing fifth at last year’s Final but graduating the third-place runner. Allendale is seeking its first championship since 1999 and was 11th a year ago with five underclassmen leading the way, and Pinckney is seeking its first Finals team title since 2007 and was third last year. The Pirates have three runners among the top 26 on the season bests list including senior Evan Loughridge, who finished 10th a year ago. Chelsea has finished runner-up the last two seasons and returns individual champion Connell Alford but graduated its next three placers from last season.
Individuals: Graduated seniors made up most of the top 10 last season, but elite runners return from that group to contend again. Freeland junior TJ Hansen finished fifth at last year’s Final and has posted the fastest boys time in the state this fall, regardless of division, of 14:46.3. Alford (15:06.2) ranks fourth overall regardless of division in addition to being second-best in D2. Loughridge has the third-fastest season best, and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood senior Solomon Kwartowitz checks in at No. 11 this season after finishing ninth at last year’s Final. Marshall junior Jack Bidwell is fourth on the season bests list as he looks to jump from 30th in 2022, and EGR senior Alex Thole sets the pace for the reigning champ, having finished 33rd last year but entering this weekend with the fifth-fastest season-best time in Division 2. Bidwell, Hansen, Loughridge, Alford, Fremont senior Sean Pettis, Holland senior Noah Lambers, Plainwell junior Henry Cox, Haslett senior Nate Carmody and Macomb Lutheran North senior Brewer Slay won Regional titles.
Division 3
Reigning champion: Hart
2022 runner-up: Traverse City St. Francis
2023 top-ranked: 1. Traverse City St. Francis, 2. Pewamo-Westphalia, 3. Grand Rapids Covenant Christian.
After finishing second to first-time team champion Hart last year, St. Francis is looking to improve on its best Finals finish with its first championship as well. The Gladiators return four of their top six from that race including junior Josh Slocum, who was 23rd individually and sits 14th on the Division 3 season bests list with junior Leo Swager ranking eighth and four more St. Francis runners between 23-37th. Pewamo-Westphalia senior Collin Farmer has run the second-fastest season best in Division 3, 15:29.3, after finishing 26th a year ago and will try to lead the Pirates from 12th last season to their first title since 2016 in Division 4. Covenant Christian returns four runners from last year’s fourth-place finish, with junior Levi Kamps the top placer back and 20th on the season bests list. Last season’s Division 4 champion Potter’s House is ranked No. 11.
Individuals: Led by four-time Finals champion Hunter Jones, seniors took the top five spots individually last season – and a freshman has the top time in the division this fall. Hart’s Robert Jazwinski II has run a 15:23.9 to set that pace for the reigning team champion, which graduated two top-12 individual finishers. Four top-10 finishers from 2022 return: Kent City senior Samuel Martini (sixth), Bloomingdale senior Jaden Barnes (seventh), Central Montcalm sophomore Gage Hoffman (ninth) and Dansville junior Theodore Davis (10th). Clare senior Brad White was 17th a year ago and sits third on the season bests list for this fall, followed by Onsted junior Mitchell Hiatt and St. Louis senior Ben March – the latter after finishing 15th at last year’s Final. White, Farmer, March, Davis, Reed City junior August Rohde (18th in 2022), Potter’s House senior Jackson Rodriguez, Olivet senior Lucas Hopkins, Jackson Lumen Christi junior Isaiah Dinverno and Flat Rock sophomore Jacob Stanislawski won Regional titles. Rodriguez finished third in Division 4 last season and has the 12th-fastest season best in Division 3.
Division 4
Reigning champion: Wyoming Potter’s House Christian
2022 runner-up: Johannesburg-Lewiston
2023 top-ranked: 1. Hillsdale Academy, 2. Mason County Eastern, 3. Holland Calvary.
With Potter’s House running in Division 3, a new champion is guaranteed – and both Mason County Eastern and Holland Calvary are seeking their first team titles in this sport, while Hillsdale Academy is running for its second after earning its first in 2021. Hillsdale Academy was fourth a year ago with just one senior, and four runners return including 12th-place senior Thomas Holm and 13th-place junior Reece Poole. They rank 11th and 18th, respectively, on the Division 4 season bests list this fall. Mason County Eastern has two runners among the top 30 on that list, led by junior Alex Tyndall, who sits ninth and should make a big jump from 54th at last year’s Final, where MCE finished seventh as a team. Holland Calvary was 14th last season with its five top runners in eighth grade and followed by a sophomore and freshman. Five of those seven will run this weekend.
Individuals: Potter’s House placed the top three runners last season and four of the top 11, and with several more seniors running fast only five of last year’s top 20 will join this race again Saturday. Holm and Poole are two, joined by Vestaburg senior Owen Patton (eighth), Johannesburg-Lewiston senior Blake Fox (16th) and Three Oaks River Valley sophomore Landon Rogers (17th). Patton has the fastest time in Division 4 this fall, 15:36.9, followed on the season bests list by Mesick freshman Kyle Redman, Maple City Glen Lake junior Colebrook Sutherland, Bear Lake/Onekama senior Kaden Forward and Pentwater senior Abe VanDuinen. Redman, Patton, Holm, Johannesburg-Lewiston senior Malaki Gascho, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian junior Matthias Morse, Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep sophomore Marek Butkiewicz, Genesee senior Connor Rouse, Harbor Beach sophomore Brody Karg and Royal Oak Shrine Catholic sophomore Abenezer Cerone won Regional titles.
PHOTO Northville’s Ethan Powell (111) leads a pack toward the finish of last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final 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.)