Preview: Pair of Teams, Trio of Reigning Individual Winners Set to Chase Championships Again
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 6, 2026
One of the most notable winning streaks in MHSAA boys cross country history will be on the line – and could become even more extraordinary – Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
Northville has won four straight Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals championships, and a fifth in a row this weekend would tie the Mustangs for the longest Finals winning streak in Lower Peninsula history. The Mustangs are attempting to catch Dexter (2002-06) and Charlevoix (1987-91) for that honor.
Holland Calvary Christian in Division 4 and three of last season’s four individual champions – Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Kamari Ronfeldt, Whitehall’s Robert Jazwinski and Charlevoix’s Hunter Eaton – also are headed back to Brooklyn seeking to repeat.
See below for several more team and individual contenders. The "season bests" list referred to frequently is a ranking of every runner's best time this season, maintained by Athletic.net. The first boys race, in Division 4, 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 the NFHS Network: Divisions 1 & 2 | Divisions 3 & 4.
Division 1
Reigning champion: Northville
2025 runner-up: Ann Arbor Pioneer
Top-ranked: 1. Brighton, 2. Ann Arbor Skyline, 3. Traverse City West.
Northville is ranked No. 5, and Brighton will run as the favorite to break the Mustangs’ streak and is the last team not Northville to win Division 1, doing so in 2021. The Bulldogs return five of their runners from last season’s fourth-place finisher. Skyline is running for its first Finals championship and is expected to make a major jump from 16th a year ago with four runners back from that team. Traverse City West also is seeking to become a first-time champion and brings back four runners from last year’s 11th-place performance. Titans senior Liam Wierzba has the fastest time this season from those three teams, a 15:04.5 to rank 13th on the Division 1 top times list, just ahead of Northville senior – and last season’s individual runner-up – Brandon Cloud (15:06) at 14th, Skyline junior Roman Stilwell (15:20.6) ranking 18th and Brighton sophomore Grant Kulesza (15:25.2) listed 23rd.
Individuals: Three juniors were the first three to cross the finish last season, and four juniors total placed among the top six – and all four will run again this weekend. Ann Arbor Pioneer senior Kamari Ronfeldt is the reigning champion and has the second-fastest top time in Division 1 this season at 14:44.3, just behind the 14:43 of Grandville senior Caden Livermore – last year’s third-place finisher. Northville’s Cloud placed second in 2025 and is noted above, and Howell senior Jack MacGregor placed sixth last fall for the second-straight season and has the sixth-fastest top time this year at 14:58.3. Macomb L’Anse Creuse North junior Xavier Solgot was 11th last season and ranks fifth (14:55) on this year’s top times list, with Grand Haven senior Luka Hammond third this season (14:50.1) and sophomore teammate Archer VerHage fourth (14:51.8). Hammond was 14th at MIS last year and fifth as a sophomore. Fenton junior Gavin Katic finished fourth in Division 2 last season and enters the Division 1 race tied for the ninth-fastest top time in this field.
Division 2
Reigning champion: Flint Powers Catholic
2025 runner-up: East Grand Rapids
Top-ranked: 1. Holland Christian, 2. Pinckney, 3. East Grand Rapids
As in Division 1, the reigning champion enters ranked No. 5 this time and certainly still in the mix. Holland Christian is looking to make a jump from sixth last year to win its first championship and returns four runners from a year ago with sophomore Grant Lampen (16th) and freshman Drew Franken (20th) on the Division 2 top-times list. Pinckney has two among the top 18 – seniors Cole McCraw (fourth, 15:22.2) and Lincoln Reed (18th) – as it looks to jump from 10th last season while returning five runners. East Grand Rapids returns only three runners after finishing second last season, eight points off the lead, but among them are junior Micah Becker – who placed seventh individually. He ranks ninth on the top times list (15:32.7), and senior teammate Thomas Fisher ranks 21st.
Individuals: Whitehall senior Robert Jazwinski won last season’s championship by five seconds and will attempt to repeat with the top time in the state this season in any division by 20 seconds at 14:23 – which is also nearly 44 seconds faster than anyone else in the Division 2 field this fall. Flint Powers junior Lennox Naswell is the next-highest returning placer after coming in fifth a year ago, and he has the second-fastest top time in Division 2 at 15:06.6. Alma senior Ezekiel Baltierra (sixth), Becker (seventh) and Grand Rapids Catholic Central senior Mitchell Dunlap (eighth) also are back from the 2025 top 10, Baltierra ranking third on the top times list (15:08.6) and Dunlap seventh (15:29.2).
Division 3
Reigning champion: Charlevoix
2025 runner-up: Lansing Catholic
Top-ranked: 1. Hart, 2. Hanover-Horton, 3. Charlevoix.
Charlevoix’s first championship last season since 1991 was among the stories of the day at MIS, and the Rayders will turn to five returning runners led by reigning individual champion Hunter Eaton, now a senior, and 10th-place finisher Ryder Hopkins, also a senior. Hart was 10th last season but without a senior, and five of those runners are back as well. Hanover-Horton has two runners among the top 19 on the Division 3 top times list, seniors Cooper Flick (sixth) and Chad Tyson (19th) and six runners back total from last year’s 13th-place finisher. Hart last won Division 3 in 2022, and Hanover-Horton most recently claimed the title in 2019.
Individuals: Only four seniors finished among the top 17 last season, and Eaton leads a large group of returning runners after claiming last year’s title by three seconds. He ranks eighth on the fastest times list this fall at 15:30.9, with Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest junior Nole Lorenzen setting the pace at 15:10.3 after finishing fifth at last year’s Final. Hillsdale senior Logan Youngman finished fourth a year ago and is second on the top times list at 15:18.3, and Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central junior Christian Craanen placed third last year and has the third-fastest top time this fall at 15:21.3. Caro senior Luke Herron (sixth), Holland Black River senior Jonas Ballard (seventh), Bath junior Owen Poppema (eighth), Saugatuck senior Marcus Silva (ninth) and Hopkins also are back from the top 10, and Jonesville senior Caleb Blonde also could be in the mix ranking fourth on the top times list (15:27.1) coming off a 17th-place finish a year ago.
Division 4
Reigning champion: Holland Calvary Christian
2025 runner-up: Maple City Glen Lake
Top-ranked: 1. Holland Calvary Christian, 2. Breckenridge, 3. Hillsdale Academy.
Calvary returns its top five runners and six total from last year’s program-first championship team, with seniors Noah Schipper (15:39) and Christian Getz (15:39.6) ranking third and fourth, respectively, on the Division 4 top times list and six runners total among the top 23. Getz was eighth and Schipper 18th at last year’s Final. Breckenridge last won in 2019 and placed eighth last season with four freshmen and three juniors; the Huskies return their top five with senior Anthony Rowe 14th individually last season and entering this weekend with the top time in Division 4 this fall at 15:33.2. Hillsdale Academy is seeking to move back into the top spot after finishing third last season but winning Division 4 three times over the last six seasons. Three runners are back from the 2025 lineup, and sophomore Stephen Holm ranks 14th on the top times list.
Individuals: Getz was one of only two non-seniors to finish among the top 10 last fall, and he’s the only one back this weekend. Wyoming Tri-unity Christian junior Lincoln Laansma placed 20th last season and ranks second on the top times list this year at 15:35.8, and Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart senior Brady Edwards ranks fifth (15:41.7) after placing 11th last season. Mesick senior Kyle Redman finished 13th as a sophomore and 12th last fall, and could make a move as well entering 10th on the top times list.
PHOTOS (Top) Charlevoix’s Hunter Eaton pulls away from the field during his team’s Division 3 Regional championship run last week at Mancelona. (Middle) Several runners including those from East Grand Rapids break from the starting line during the Oct. 21 Ottawa-Kent Conference White championship race. (Top photo by kishba media. Middle photo by Michigan Sports Media.)
Performance: Negaunee's Colton Yesney
October 27, 2016
Colton Yesney
Negaunee junior - Cross Country
Yesney led the Miners to their second straight MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 championship Saturday, improving from his personal runner-up finish in 2015 to also earn the individual title – in an MHSAA U.P. Finals 5K record time of 15:49.8. Yesney broke the record, set by last season's champion Lance Rambo of Marquette, by 21.2 seconds to earn the Michigan National Guard "Performance of the Week."
His goal for the weekend was to break 16 minutes, and the 15:49 was a personal career record after he ran consistently in the 16-minute range during the rest of his undefeated season. Saturday's time also was 42 seconds faster than what he ran to finish second in 2015. The Miners have won every event where he's run over the last two seasons. Yesney also runs track & field during the spring – he finished second to Rambo in the 1,600 at last season's U.P. Division 1 Finals, while also taking fifth in the 3,200 and running on the third-place 3,200 relay – and was instrumental in the formation of the school's club soccer program.
Yesney's next goals for cross country include running in the annual Foot Locker Midwest meet for the second year in a row, and next fall as a senior he hopes to compete in some downstate events. An honor student, Yesney was part of the Miners' academic all-state team in 2015 that achieved a 3.95 grade-point average. He still has a year to settle on the details, including if he'll seek to run collegiately, but Yesney does know that he'd like a career that allows him to travel.
Coach Lisa Bigalk said: “Colton is a very hard-working, dedicated runner. He is a wonderful leader. He really cares about his team and fellow teammates. Our boys team was led by Colton last year when they had an undefeated season and won the Division 1 U.P. Finals state championship; this team was very determined to defend their Finals championship this year. They did that along with winning the team title of every race that Colton ran in. … Colton is a very focused and determined student-athlete. Colton is an honor student who is very willing to learn and easy to coach. I am very proud of Colton, and I look forward to his future successes.”
Performance Point: “Honestly, I haven’t thought about it recently,” Yesney said of Saturday. “I do remember just feeling good during the race, running as hard as I could and giving it all I can. My teammates, they’re really supportive, and I really wanted to win them a state title, help out with that. I was going to go out and run the race, and if another runner had a good day, then good for him. I can’t really control what everybody else runs, but it just turned out I had a big lead and broke a record.”
Best in U.P. history: “I kinda get embarrassed (when people say that) and feel like I don’t really deserve it because I run for my teammates and not myself. I’m not looking for attention or anything like that. I’m not looking for the self-glory. I can’t deny it … but to me, I don’t deserve it.”
It’s about team: “We do everything together; we practice together, warm up together, socialize outside of school together. All of that bonding makes us more of a family. Since I’ve been part of the program it’s been like that because we’ve had really good leaders on the team. I had a good friend who just graduated (Grant Johnson) who we all looked up to, and he held the team together, knew what to do. I kinda followed him. This year I’m a junior, and I wasn’t even nominated for captain or anything, but I guess people look up to me. My coach said I’m a good role model, and I try to bring people together. … (My teammates) make me happy, and I really appreciate being around them. They deserve to have this title, because they help me out, and I wanted to help them out. It’s something I learned over time; when I was younger I was focused more on myself, but I just developed into a person who puts teammates first now.”
Competitive, with perspective: "It depends on the situation; say I ran and broke 16 and lost. I'd be happy, but there's nothing I can really do about (not winning). My teammates, I think about my family, the people I care about ... I run for them. I don't really get satisfaction from running just for myself. That's just how I am."
See the world: “I’ve been to 24 states and one Canadian province, and when we go on those trips it’s fun to see different people, a different culture and how people live their lives in other places. … I literally want to see everything. I want to see every country, do everything there is to do.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Negaunee's Colton Yesney leads the pack during Saturday's Division 1 Final near Gladstone. (Middle) Yesney approaches the finish line in meet record time. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)